A product code is 001 in a CSV file. You open it in a spreadsheet, and the cell shows 1.
The spreadsheet may have interpreted the code as a number. That matters if 001 and 1 are different identifiers in your system.
Check the original first
Open a trusted copy of the original CSV in a plain-text editor and look for the value in the relevant column. If the original contains 001, keep that file unchanged while you work on a separate copy.
Use your spreadsheet's import flow and set the identifier column to text before loading it. The wording differs between apps. Check that an earlier automatic conversion has not already removed the zeros, then compare a few known codes against the original. Microsoft explains how to import such columns as text in Excel.
If you export the result to CSV and open it again, repeat the check: a spreadsheet may interpret the column as numbers again during the next import. Quotation marks in CSV do not guarantee that every spreadsheet will preserve the value as text.
If the original already says 1
You cannot tell from that value alone whether it used to be 001, 01 or simply 1. Look for a trustworthy source, backup or documented identifier rule before changing it. Adding zeros based on a guess can create a different wrong code.
An identifier can look like a number without being something you calculate with. Decide its format from the source system, then check it at every import and export.
Have you found an identifier changing when a file moved between tools?
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