The Turn14 Distribution integration allows you to use Turn14 as a warehouse distributor for your X-Cart store.
Before you start: Requirements and setup
To get started with Turn14, make sure your X-Cart store has the necessary automotive add-ons and access to Turn14’s services:
X-Cart Automotive add-ons: Verify that your store has the key X-Cart add-ons for auto parts commerce enabled (Make/Model/Year, Shop by Brand, Auto Catalog Import, Split Shipments, etc.). If any required add-ons are missing, install them via the X-Cart App Store before proceeding.
Turn14 Integration add-on: Install the Turn14 Distribution integration add-on from the X-Cart App Store. This add-on enables the connection between your store and Turn14’s systems.
Turn14 Dealer account and API credentials: You must have an approved Turn14 dealer account to use the integration. Once you have a Turn14 account, obtain your API credentials. These credentials are what X-Cart will use to authenticate and communicate with Turn14’s API. Keep them secure.
Connect your X-Cart store to Turn14
With the prerequisites in place, you can connect X-Cart to Turn14 Distribution. Make sure you choose the Turn14 Distribution tab under Settings.
Initial setup
After connecting your X-Cart store to Turn14 Distribution, make sure you complete the initial integration setup
Configure shipping for Turn14-sourced products.
Turn14 Distribution supports both testing and live operation. You can decide whether to start in test mode (to simulate imports/orders without affecting real data) or live mode. This is controlled by the “Order creation test mode” and “Catalog import test mode” toggles in the integration settings. If you are just trialing the integration or want to test the process, set these to Test. Otherwise, select Live to run with real data and orders.
Vehicle list (Fitment data)
Before importing products, be aware that Turn14’s integration does not import the list of vehicles (Make/Model/Year) into your store’s database. It will attach vehicle fitment information to products, but it expects that the vehicles themselves already exist in your store’s vehicle directory. If you haven’t done so, you should import or set up your vehicle list via another source. For example, you might use a catalog provider like SEMA Data or AutoSync to import a comprehensive vehicle year/make/model database, manually add vehicles using the MMY add-on tools or request help from X-Cart team. Having an up-to-date vehicle list ensures that the fitment data from Turn14 can be used for customer filtering (so customers can search by their car and find compatible parts).
More info:
Catalog data import
Follow the standard procedure for auto integrations:
Import categories: Bring in information about Turn14’s product categories to your store. Please note that the initial import of categories is informational only; this step does not create any categories in your store or change your store's category structure in any way. Actual changes to your storefront category structure happen only when products are imported (according to your mapping rules set at the next step and only for products that were successfully imported).
Map categories: After the initial category import, X-Cart lets you map the imported Turn14 categories to your existing store categories if desired.
Import brands: Next, import information about brands (manufacturers) provided by Turn14. Turn14 carries products from many brands, and during the brand import step X-Cart will fetch a list of all available brands via the Turn14 API. Please note that the initial import of brands is informational only; this step does not create any brands in your store. Actual changes to your store's brands list happen only when products are imported, and only brands of successfully imported products are added. Note that before importing products, you will be able to select specific brands from which to import products.
Customize brand settings: Before importing products, adjust the settings that will define how certain data is handled on a per-brand basis.
Import products: Now the main event – importing the products themselves. Choose the brands whose products you want to import and start the import process.
X-Cart will retrieve all product data for the selected brands from Turn14 and create those products in your store’s catalog. Thanks to Turn14’s robust data, this import will populate your store with a wealth of information for each product: names, descriptions, specifications, images, weight and dimensions, fitment compatibility (Make/Model/Year list for each part), multiple price values (cost, MSRP, etc.), and current stock quantities at Turn14’s warehouses. You can find a summary of the data types that can be imported from Turn14 in the section Data types imported from Turn14 Distribution. The integration even includes extra product details like “Features & Benefits” bullet points for many parts, which X-Cart appends to the description field if available.
Depending on how many products are available through the brands you selected, the import can take some time. (It runs in the background, so you don’t have to keep the browser open the whole time.) Once done, you’ll see the new products in your catalog products list, each assigned to the appropriate categories and brands. If you configured “New product status” as Inactive, remember to activate the imported products when you’re ready to sell – or set that option to Active beforehand if you wanted them live immediately
Note: During product import, X-Cart uses identifiers like SKU, MPN, or UPC to avoid creating duplicates. If you run the import again or add another integration, products might be matched by these fields. It’s strongly recommended not to manually change SKUs or part numbers of imported products in your catalog. If you alter these identifiers, future re-imports may not recognize the product and could create duplicates or fail to update it.
Keeping your Turn14 data up to date
Once your Turn14 products are in your store, the job isn’t completely over – product data, especially prices and stock levels, can change frequently. To ensure your storefront always reflects the latest information, you’ll need to update data regularly.
The Turn14 auto integration provides options for manual re-imports and scheduled automatic updates.
In the Import Options settings for Turn14, you can specify what types of data should be updated during re-import.
After choosing which data types you wish to update by imports from Turn14, you need to specify your desired import schedules. For instance, you could schedule nightly jobs that update Prices and hourly jobs that update Stock, and schedule a separate job weekly that updates All product data.
Price and inventory management with Turn14
When using the Turn14 Distribution integration, price and inventory management in your store follows X-Cart’s standard inventory and pricing logic, with Turn14 acting as one of the external data and stock sources.
Prices imported from Turn14 (for example, cost, retail, MAP-related values) are processed according to your store’s price management rules and brand-level settings. X-Cart determines the final storefront price based on the selected price source, adjustments, and applicable constraints (such as MAP), depending on your store version and configuration.
Inventory from Turn14 is treated as external warehouse stock. Turn14 provides stock levels per warehouse location, which X-Cart uses alongside your local inventory (if any). Inventory availability is continuously updated through re-imports and is also revalidated during checkout to reduce the risk of overselling.
Backorders for Turn14 products are supported and handled according to X-Cart’s backorder rules. If a product is unavailable at the moment of ordering, it can be placed on backorder and fulfilled later, depending on your store’s configuration.
Locations play an important role when working with Turn14 inventory. Turn14 warehouses are represented as separate stock locations, allowing X-Cart to correctly calculate availability, shipping, and order routing.
The exact behavior of pricing, inventory updates, backorders, and location-based stock management depends on the X-Cart version you are using (5.5.1.x or 5.6.x) and on your store’s configuration. See the following articles for details:
Inventory management
Price management
Backorder management
Location management (X-Cart 5.6.x)
Order processing and fulfillment
When you receive orders for products that came from Turn14, the integration can automatically route those orders to the proper fulfillment channel, whether it’s your own stock or Turn14’s warehouses. The goal is to get the product to the customer as fast as possible, with minimal manual work for you.
Automatic order submission: After the customer places the order (completes checkout), X-Cart can automatically send the order to Turn14 for fulfillment (“Submit orders to suppliers automatically” in the integration General Settings needs to be enabled to support this). X-Cart will transmit the necessary details of the drop-ship segments to Turn14 via the API. If you prefer to review orders first, do not enable auto-submission; then you would manually trigger the submission for pending Turn14 orders in your store's admin interface.
Split Shipments: The Turn14 integration’s order fulfillment component works in concert with X-Cart’s Split Shipments feature to ensure a smooth experience. The customer will be able to place a single order on your website, but receive multiple shipments as needed, with full transparency. From the admin perspective, you’ll see one order split into multiple shipments (segments) under the same order ID.
Order tracking and updates: Once Turn14 ships the items, the integration doesn’t stop there – it will update the order in your X-Cart store with the shipment tracking numbers and status updates. You and the customer can see when each segment is shipped and get the tracking information for each package. For example, the item shipping from Turn14’s Texas warehouse might have a UPS tracking number; that will be added to the order notes or shipment section in X-Cart automatically when Turn14 provides it. If an item was backordered, you’ll get an update when it ships later. This automated feedback loop saves you from having to manually enter tracking info or email customers about their drop-shipped items – it’s all kept in sync.
Live/Test mode: If you want to see how the integration works without sending real orders to Turn14, use the Order creation test mode in the Turn14 settings. In test mode, you can simulate an order; Turn14’s API will accept it but not actually process a real shipment. This is a good way to verify that order splitting and submission are working correctly. Just remember to switch back to Live mode when you’re ready to start fulfilling actual customer orders.
For detailed information on order processing and fulfillment in stores using Turn14 Distribution, see Order processing and fulfillment in Turn14 Distribution.
Using Turn14 with other integrations
For many merchants, the Turn14 Distribution integration serves as a complete all-in-one solution, offering both detailed catalog data and warehouse distributor capabilities. At the same time, it can be combined with other automotive integrations when required. For example, it can be paired with SEMA Data, AutoSync or ATD. Our page with installation links for popular X-Cart's auto integrations can be found here.
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