Ecochain Helix is designed to model all of the products produced at your factory, at scale. To do that efficiently, being able to import data into the software is essential.
This article covers the following questions:
Why import data in Helix?
How does importing in Helix work?
How to use importing to complete the Material journey in Helix?
How to use importing to complete the Process journey in Helix?
Next steps.
Feel like you're missing information? This article is connected to the following articles; check them out if you want to learn more:
Why import data in Helix?
Helix is designed to calculate LCA results across your entire factory. The ability to import data in bulk helps you:
Add many products, materials or processes at once.
Maintain consistent formats and units.
Save time compared to manual entry.
Pro tip - Partial data: Even if you only have partial data, imports can be used to set up your structure first, then refined later.
How does importing in Helix work?
Importing is done per page in Ecochain Helix. Any page that allows importing has ‘Import’ and ‘Export’ buttons below its description (See Figure 1).
Figure 1: Example of the ‘Import’ and ‘Export’ buttons on the ‘Footprint x Process’ page.
Steps to import your data into Helix:
Export the template from the page you want to import data to.
Even if the page is empty, the file will have the correct headers and format.
As every page requires different data, the import formats for each page are different.
Fill out your data in the Excel template.
Complete all required fields (see sections for each page).
Use only plain numbers, so no formulas.
Import the file back into Helix via the ‘Import’ button.
Click on ‘Preview changes’ (See Figure 2) before saving. The toast message should say ‘The uploaded file was read successfully’. If not, go back and make sure your import file contains the correct headers. To check your changes, click on the lines below the toast message. The line summaries mean the following:
✅ ‘Updated’ (Figure 3): your import contains updated data for these items.
✅ ‘Existing’: data matches current values.
⚠️ ‘Ignored lines’: these lines failed to import correctly! Check the information for potential problems, adapt these in the import, and try again.
After you’ve checked your import and agree with the changes, press ‘Save’.
Caution - Saving changes: Imports won’t apply until you press Save.
Note - Importing fails: if your import fails, you might get an error message. This often means that your file is different from what Helix expects (e.g. because the headers are not correct/not in the right column, or the file contains formulas instead of ‘plain’ data. Go back to the page, check your file, and try again. When in doubt, reach out to Ecochain support or your environmental specialist!
Figure 2: Import changes preview pop-up.
Figure 3: Save changes by selecting the ‘Save’ button.
How to use importing to complete the Material journey in Helix?
To set up your products in Helix efficiently, we recommend following the sequences in the material and process journey. For the material journey in particular, importing data can save a lot of time. The section below outlines how to import data on each page of the material journey.
Importing Products & Production
To import products into Helix to set up your facility’s product portfolio, follow these steps:
Go to the Input → 3. Product → 2.Products and export the import template by clicking ‘Export'.
Make sure to fill out the following columns (see green columns in Figure 3 below):
Product name (A): Name of your product (if desired, combine product code with the product name in this field).
Type (H): Product type. Generally use ‘Goods and services’ for each product.
UnitCount (I): Amount of product in the unit representing your functional unit. Recommended to keep as ‘1’ to reduce complexity.
Unit (J): Unit used to model your product.
Weight (K): Product weight.
WeightUnit (L): Unit for expressing the product weight.
Produced (M): Production amount for the product in the selected year.
You can use the other (optional) fields to add more details to your product models in Helix.
Once you have populated the file, import it into the page.
Before saving, review the changes to ensure it is correct.
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
If the product import fails or you receive a notification about ‘ignored lines’, check the following:
All required fields are completed correctly.
All headers are in the correct columns and start in column A (row 1).
The ‘Type’ column (H) contains exactly the value ‘Goods and services’.
The file does not contain formulas.
The file contains only one tab and includes only the necessary information for the import.
If the issue persists, contact your dedicated environmental specialist or our helpdesk for support.
Figure 3: Excel import template of ‘Product’ Page.
Importing Compositions
Bill of Materials (BOMs) list the materials or components in each product.
To import the BOM of your products into Helix:
Go to the Input → 3. Product → 4.Compositions page, click ‘Export’ to download the import template (Figure 4).
Fill in the file. Each row represents a single material/component (flat structure; no nested materials). For each row fill out:
Product (A): Name of the product whose BOM you’re importing.
Material (B): The material in that row.
Amount (C): Quantity of that material in the product (a product can only contain each material once, aggregate amounts if needed).
Unit (D): Unit of measurement (usually expressed in weights).
Import the completed file into Helix.
Before saving, verify the imported data is correct.
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
If your import fails or you see ‘ignored lines’:
Confirm all headers are correct and in the right columns.
Remove any formulas.
Ensure no duplicate materials for the same product. A product can only contain a material once, so the total amount for a certain material should be aggregated into one BOM line.
Figure 4: Excel import template of ‘Composition’ Page.
Importing Purchasing data
To import ‘Purchased Materials’ into Helix:
Go to the Input → 1. Company → 3.Purchasing page, click ‘Export’ to download the import template (Figure 5).
Fill out the fields for each material you want to import:
Material name (A): Name of the material.
Comment (B) (optional): Notes on the material.
Product (C): The purchased product (as raw material) (dataset from a database or supplier data item).
Company (D): Source company or database.
Year (E): The year in which the purchased product is modeled. For database datasets, you can find this year by using the dataset search in Helix and checking the year linked to your database version. This year is consistent across all datasets within the same version.
Unit (F): The ‘product’ unit (i.e., the unit of the imported dataset/impact item, not the material unit).
Purchased amount (G): The amount of product purchased. If unknown, enter any number > 0.
Purchasing connected to Compositions (H): Indicates whether you’ve bought the same amount as you’ve used.
Cost (I) (optional): Material cost. Can be used for cost assessment in Helix. This field is not required and often left empty.
Used Amount (J): Amount of material used in BOM. If unknown, enter any number > 0.
Import the file into the ‘Purchasing’ page.
Check your changes before saving.
If you entered placeholder values in G and J, link purchased and used amounts using the link icon (Figure 6) (per material or all at once).
Note - One material per line: Each line in the import file represents one purchasing material. If there are materials you don’t want to include, delete those lines or leave them empty.
Note - Fictional amount: In case of using a fictional amount in ‘G’ and ‘J’, put ‘FALSE’.
Pro Tip - Materials and datasets: In the template (Figure 5), green columns are required for adding new materials, and orange columns are required for adding datasets to these materials.
Figure 5: Excel import template of ‘Purchasing’ page.
Figure 6: Link icon on the ‘Purchasing’ page.
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
If your import fails or you see ‘ignored lines’, check the following:
Ensure that the file headings are correct and placed in the right columns.
Remove any formulas from the file, only plain values are accepted.
Verify that columns G and J contain numbers greater than 0. If the exact values are unknown, you can enter any number above 0 and set column H to ‘FALSE’. Helix will later calculate the correct values based on your data.
Importing Transport
To successfully import Transport for your materials, follow these steps:
Go to the Input → 1.Company → 4.Transport
Ensure all materials have a dataset connected in ‘Purchasing’. Transport is linked to the dataset. Without it, your materials will not appear in the transport export.
Confirm that all required transport methods are added on the ‘Transport’ page.
Export the import template (Figure 7) on the ‘Transport’ page by clicking ‘Export’
Each ‘Material-Transport Method’ combination has its own line in the export.
Example: If you have a material called ‘Polyethylene’ with both ‘Truck Transport’ and ‘Containership Transport’, the export will show two lines; one for each transport method.
Fill out required fields:
Transport method (A): The method of transport.
Material name (B): The material to be transported.
Product (C): Dataset/impact item linked to the material.
Company (D): The ‘company’ (or database) the raw material is sourced from.
Year (E): The year in Helix in which the product is modeled.
Ton (F) (optional): Amount of tons of material transported.
Km (G): The distance over which the material is transported.
Import the file
Upload the completed file on the ‘Transport; page.
Check the changes before saving.
Note – Empty lines: Empty or irrelevant lines can be deleted from the import (e.g. if the distance for a certain material - transport method combination is 0).
Figure 7: Excel import template of ‘Transport’ page.
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
If your import fails or shows ‘ignored lines’, check the following:
Verify that file headings are correct and in the right columns.
Remove any formulas; only plain values are accepted.
Ensure dataset columns (C, D, and E) are filled out. Since transport is connected to the dataset, missing values will prevent the import.
How to use importing to complete the Process journey in Helix?
The first two steps of the process journey, ‘Usages & Emissions’ and ‘Processes’, can only be completed manually. How to import Footprint x Process and Process x Product is described below.
Importing Footprint x Process
To import ‘Footprint x Process’ data, follow these steps:
Go to the Input → 2.Process → 3.Footprint x Process page.
On the ‘Footprint x Process’ page, set the distribution method in the table to the desired method for each footprint item.
Export the import template (Figure 8) from the ‘Footprint x Process’ page by clicking ‘Export’.
Leave columns A and B unchanged, so the footprint items can be recognized correctly upon import.
Fill out the distribution of the footprint items in the Process columns (starting in H). Make sure to use the selected distribution method (shown in column D), or adjust it if necessary. As mentioned above, this is easiest to do in Helix before downloading the import template.
Import your completed file back into Helix.
Check your changes before saving.
Figure 8: Excel import template of ‘Footprint x Process’ page.
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
Import failing: Troubleshooting steps
In case of a failed import or ‘ignored lines’, consider the following:
Ensure the file headings are correct and in the right column.
Ensure the data contains only plain values (no formulas), except for columns E, F, and G where formulas are allowed.
Ensure the data in columns A and B has not been changed and matches what Helix expects.
Importing process x product
Note - When to use Process x Product import: Importing Process x Product is mainly useful if you want to deviate from the allocation options available in Helix. In most cases, adapting the allocation directly within Helix is more efficient and robust than importing it. Keep in mind that only the ‘Manual’ allocation option can be applied through an import.
To import process x product, follow these steps:
Go to the Input → 3.Product → 5.Process x Product page and click ‘Export’ to download the import template (Figure 9).
Fill out the following fields:
Column A: contains the product names of all products in the model.
Column B and onwards: each column represents a process to be allocated. Indicate the process name in the header, and fill out the allocation numbers for each product in the columns.
Figure 8: Excel import template of ‘Process x Product’ page.
Next steps
You’ve now finalized your model through importing! Assess your results using the different results views, or export them on the ‘Product Overview’ page.
This article was written in close collaboration with Emma Thunnissen:
