There are a few actions that you can take from the Akeneo Activation app that will help you streamline your operations and save time when sending your product catalog to retailers and marketplaces. Below is an exhaustive list of all the functionalities available to manage your activation workflows in the Akeneo Activation App.

Activate/deactivate a product data flow

By default, when you create a new activation channel (either fully automated or semi-automated), the product data flow between your PIM and the retailer or marketplace will be inactive. This means the connection between the Akeneo Activation app and the retailer or marketplace won't be open, even if the credentials are correct.

To change the status from inactive to active, use the dropdown menu in the main header of the Akeneo Activation app.

Once the activation channel is active, you will be able to:

• Synchronize the retailer or marketplace requirements with your PIM via the Akeneo Activation app
• Send your product catalog(s) to the retailer or marketplace
  • in an automated way
    • via single exports
    • via scheduled exports
• Receive reports on your catalog exports if the retailer or marketplace you are working with provides reporting

Switching the activation channel status back to inactive will stop all connections between the Akeneo Activation App and the retailer or marketplace. The activation channel status switch acts as the main control of the gateway to the retailer or marketplace.

Schedule product exports

To save time during your activation workflow, you can automate your product catalog exports. When enabled, this functionality will send your product catalogs, at a frequency that you choose, to the retailer or marketplace you are working with.

By default, when creating an activation channel, this setting will be turned off. You can choose and control to frequency of the exports by:

• Time of the day 
  • Hours
  • Minutes
• Day of the week
  • Day
    • Hours
    • Minutes

Switching the toggle on/off will automatically save the action.

Schedule requirements synchronizations

By default, this setting will be turned off. You can choose and control to frequency of the synchronization by:

• Time of the day 
  • Hours
  • Minutes
• Day of the week
  • Day
    • Hours
    • Minutes

Switching the toggle on/off will automatically save the action.

This offers great flexibility. However, if you automate this process as part of your workflow, make sure to synchronize the requirements before making changes to your catalog mapping in the PIM. This ensures you can map your product data according to the latest requirements from the retailer or marketplace.

Working with Delta Export

You can now choose to export only the products with updated data (between catalog exports) to the retailer or marketplace you are working with.

This functionality is fully automated and can be enabled or disabled in the settings tab of the Akeneo Activation app. It is available by default for all retailers and marketplaces. You will be able to keep a record of all the delta exports, allowing you to quickly identify when an update was made and to which products.

By default, it will be disabled.

If enabled, in the next product export report, your catalog export file will contain and highlight only the products that have been modified and therefore, sent to the retailer or marketplace.

Manage other retailer channel setting

Update retailer credentials

After you connect to an activation channel requiring credentials, these credentials might become outdated or the connection to the retailer or marketplace could fail. If the platform detects that your connection is no longer valid, a warning will appear inside the activation channel, prompting you to update your credentials to reconnect to the retailer or marketplace successfully.

For this, you will need to go to the settings tab and click:

• Configure your credentials

If you know that your credentials have changed, to update them, you can simply go to the settings tab and click:

• Edit my identifiers

Delete a channel from Akeneo Activation

In the settings tab, you can delete an activation channel. You might need to do this to adjust your activation channel quotas or if you no longer work with a specific retailer. However, this action cannot be undone, so it should only be done if necessary for your workflow or business strategy.

To delete a channel

1. Click the “delete” button in the Administration section or the settings.
2. Confirm the deletion by typing the name of the activation channel in the deletion modal
3. Your activation channel has now been deleted along with all the catalogs and data that were associated with it