PAMS Ordering via API — Operations SOP

Audience: Operations / Fulfillment team  ·  Last updated: June 11, 2026  ·  Replaces: emailing the PAMS buy-price spreadsheet

What changed

We no longer email PAMS the fulfillment spreadsheet. Instead, the same Buy Price file is uploaded into Central, and Central automatically:

  1. Sends the purchase order to PAMS — a PAMS work order is created instantly, with the exact prices from the Ops-verified Buy Price file.
  2. Creates the Go-Parts Ship order at the PAMS warehouse — the same thing the “Ship” button used to do. PAMS staff see the order in Go-Parts Ship and print the shipping label there, like they do today.
  3. Marks the items Shipped in Central and adds the order notes automatically.

Everything runs on a 15-minute cycle — after you upload, the order reaches PAMS within 15 minutes. There is nothing else to send and nobody to email.

HAZMAT parts (airbags / seat belts): the purchase order is still sent to PAMS automatically, but no Go-Parts Ship order is created — PAMS handles the shipping for hazmat themselves.

The 3-step daily workflow

Step 1 — Export the Buy Price file (same as always)

Go to the Fulfillment page, pick your PAMS fulfillment order from the dropdown, and click the purple Export (PAMS) button. This downloads the Buy Price file.

Fulfillment page with Export (PAMS)

The prices, core charges, HAZMAT flags and the ship-to address in this file are exactly what gets sent to PAMS — the usual price verification matters as much as before. PAMS bills whatever price the file says.

Step 2 — Upload it on the PAMS Fulfillment page

Go to PAMS Fulfillment (in the Fulfillment menu), stay on the Import CSV tab, choose the file you just exported, and click Upload.

PAMS Fulfillment import tab File selected

You’ll see an Import Summary — check that the imported count matches the number of PAMS lines in your file:

Import success summary
Summary saysMeaning
importedLine staged — will be sent to PAMS on the next 15-minute cycle
skippedAlready imported earlier (safe — duplicates are never re-sent), or the order/item couldn’t be matched (a message explains which)
errorsSomething is wrong with the line — read the message shown below the summary

Step 3 — Check the View Orders tab (a few minutes later)

Switch to the View Orders tab. Each uploaded part is one row:

View Orders tab

Status column (the PAMS purchase order):

BadgeMeaningWhat to do
PendingWaiting for the next 15-minute cycleNothing — wait
OrderedPAMS accepted the PO — the WO # column shows the PAMS work order numberNothing — done
ErrorPAMS rejected the line — the Error column says whySee “Handling errors”

GPS column (the Go-Parts Ship order):

BadgeMeaning
PendingGo-Parts Ship order not created yet (only happens after PAMS accepts the PO)
CreatedGo-Parts Ship order exists — PAMS will pack & print the label there
Hazmat — PAMS shipsNo Go-Parts Ship order on purpose — PAMS ships hazmat themselves
Pre-shippedThe item already had a shipment before the upload — nothing was duplicated

Handling errors

When a row shows Error, hover the Error column to read the full message, fix the cause, then press the orange Retry button — the row goes back to Pending and is re-sent on the next cycle.

Error row with Retry button

What the error messages mean in plain language:

The error says…What it meansWhat to do
The price is too low (it shows the minimum PAMS expects)Our Buy Price is below PAMS’s price for that partVerify the price, re-export the Buy Price file with the corrected price, then Retry
The part is not availableThe part is no longer in stock at PAMS or is blocked from saleSource the part elsewhere; contact PAMS if you believe it’s wrong
The stock ticket doesn’t matchOur records don’t match the physical part at PAMSContact PAMS with the order number
There is no buy priceThe wrong file was uploaded (not the Buy Price export)Re-export using Export (PAMS) and upload again
There is no stock ticketThe part isn’t in PAMS’s daily inventory file yetTry again later with Retry
It gave up after several attemptsPAMS’s system was unreachable for a whilePress Retry once; if it errors again, tell the dev team
Important: if any line of an order fails, PAMS rejects the whole order (none of its lines get a work order). Fix all errored lines, then Retry them — the order is re-sent as a whole.

Rules to remember

1. Always use the Buy Price export (purple Export (PAMS) button) — not the plain fulfillment export. The plain export has no prices, and those rows will error.

2. Prices are final. PAMS bills exactly what the file says, so the price check before export is the real safeguard. Overpriced lines are accepted by PAMS, not rejected — they just cost us money.

3. No more emails to PAMS. The upload replaces the email completely.

4. Cancellations can’t go through the system. If an order must be cancelled after it shows Ordered, call or email PAMS directly (the work order number is on the row).

5. Duplicates are safe. Re-uploading the same file never creates a second PO — rows already imported are skipped.

6. HAZMAT rows ship by PAMS — don’t look for them in Go-Parts Ship.

Quick reference

PagePAMS Fulfillmenthttps://central.go-parts.com/pams-fulfillment
Processing cycleEvery 15 minutes, automatic
PAMS work order #WO # column on the View Orders tab
PAMS contactpamsadmin@pamsauto.com (include the Order # and WO #)
Export buttonExport (PAMS) on the Fulfillment page = the Buy Price file
CancellationsPhone/email PAMS — they cannot be done from Central

A short video walkthrough is available alongside this document: PAMS-API-Walkthrough.mp4.