Alternative to using Excel DataSink with VLOOKUP?

Hi,

I currently have the following test case where the aim is to create new records in a database table (Product) that includes a foreign key to another table (ProductType). I currently have the test setup as follows:

1. JDBC DataSource that retrieves the IDs and Descriptions of records in ProductType table
2. DataSink that saves these IDs and Descriptions to an Excel workbook in sheet 1. In sheet 2 I have a list of Product Names and Product Types that I want to use in a POST. I then use VLOOKUP to populate the ProductTypeId in sheet 2 based on the values in sheet 1
3. DataSource Loop
4. Excel DataSource that pulls from sheet 2 of the workbook
5. POST REST Request that uses the Name and ProductTypeId values from data source
6. DataSource Loop

This works perfectly well for the moment however I have 2 concerns going forward:

1. The SoapUI project is version controlled using Visual Studio, the Excel workbook should really be checked in along with the project however would mean that I need to check out the Excel workbook every time I wanted to run the DataSink step.
2. When the project moves to another environment, the server may not have an instance of Excel

I would therefore like to keep all data sources contained within SoapUI (e.g. use the Grid type)

I have played around with using Grid data sources and using Property Transfer steps but I'm stuck.

Unfortunately I don't have any previous experience of writing groovy scripts and only know a little bit about XPath.

I am using SoapUI NG Pro 2.0.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!