This guide covers Amazon-specific features available in Akeneo Activation: the display/sent comparison matrix, A+ Content retrieval and association, ASIN fetching and push to PIM, and sending product variations to Amazon Marketplace (Amazon Seller). These features complement the standard Activation catalog mapping workflow and are configured inside your Activation channel settings.

Recommended catalog setup for Amazon

Amazon organizes its requirements by product type. In Akeneo Activation, each Amazon product type is a Family with its own required and optional attributes, so most sellers create several catalogs for an Amazon channel: one per product type they sell.

Many attributes are shared across product types, for example the item name, brand, description, bullet points, or images. To avoid mapping them again in every catalog, we recommend the following setup:

1. Create the catalog for your first product type.
2. In the Catalogs tab, create the Common Catalog and map the shared attributes there once.
3. Create a catalog for each other product type, and map only its specific targets.

This setup simplifies maintenance:

• Shared mapping: you configure and update the mapping of shared attributes once, instead of repeating each change in every product type catalog.
• Per-Family exceptions: a mapping set in a product type catalog takes precedence over the Common Catalog, so you can use a different source for one product type without changing the others.

Amazon display/sent comparison matrix

When you export your product catalog to Amazon through Akeneo Activation, Amazon's algorithm may overwrite product data you provided with its own values. To help you identify these discrepancies, Akeneo Activation generates a comparison matrix file each time you export.

This file is available in the Reports tab of your Activation channel and highlights the differences between what was sent to Amazon and what is currently displayed on Amazon product pages.

The screenshot above shows the Amazon comparison file in the Reports section of an Akeneo Activation channel, displaying sent vs. displayed product data side by side.

A+ Content

Akeneo Activation lets you retrieve A+ Content metadata from Amazon into your PIM and push A+ Content product associations back to Amazon. This process involves two steps:

1. Enable A+ Content list retrieval: Activate the feature to pull A+ content metadata from Amazon into your PIM as a Reference Entity (called Aplus).
2. Push A+ Content product associations: Send the associations between A+ documents and your products from your PIM to Amazon. This happens automatically every time you export products to Amazon.

Choose the workflow below that matches your situation.

If you're just starting to work with A+ Content

Use this workflow if you have no existing A+ Content associations in Amazon and are building them from scratch in your PIM.

• Create A+ Content on Amazon: Start by creating your A+ content directly in Amazon Seller Central or Vendor Central.
• Activate A+ Content properties retrieval in Activation: In Akeneo Activation, go to your Amazon channel settings and turn on the toggle Retrieve A+ content properties from Amazon.

The screenshot above shows the Akeneo Activation Amazon channel settings with the "Retrieve A+ content properties from Amazon" toggle enabled.

• Activation creates an Aplus Reference Entity in your PIM automatically and populates it with your A+ content metadata.

The screenshot above shows the Aplus Reference Entity automatically created in the PIM after enabling A+ Content retrieval in Activation.

• Assign A+ documents to products in your PIM: In the product edit form, associate one or more A+ documents with each product.
• Create a single- or multi-select Reference Entity Attribute in your PIM to hold the association.
  • You can do this at scale using bulk actions.

The screenshot above shows a PIM product edit form where an A+ content document is being selected from the Aplus Reference Entity Attribute.

• Map A+ Content in Activation: In Akeneo Activation, open the catalog mapping for your Amazon channel.
• Search for the A+ Document target.
• Select the Reference Entity Attribute you created in your PIM as the source.
• Save your catalog mapping.

The screenshot above shows the Activation catalog mapping page with the A+ Document target mapped to a PIM Reference Entity Attribute.

• Activate the push of A+ Content associations to Amazon: In Akeneo Activation, go to your Amazon channel settings and turn on the toggle Send A+ Content Associations to Amazon.

The screenshot above shows the Akeneo Activation Amazon channel settings with both the retrieval and push toggles enabled.

• Activation sends the association between A+ documents and your products to Amazon automatically every time you export products. Because there was no prior association between products and A+ content in Amazon, your PIM becomes the source of truth automatically.

If you already have A+ Content assigned to products in Amazon

Use this workflow if Amazon already holds existing A+ Content associations that you want to replicate in your PIM before taking over as the source of truth.

1. Activate A+ Content retrieval in Activation: In Akeneo Activation, go to your Amazon channel settings and turn on the toggle Retrieve A+ Content from Amazon. Activation creates an Aplus Reference Entity in your PIM automatically and runs a daily automated job to keep the content up to date.
2. Create a PIM Attribute to hold the associations: In your PIM, create a Reference Entity single- or multi-select Attribute that references the Aplus Reference Entity. You can use bulk actions to assign documents at scale.
3. Reconcile associations in your PIM: This step is critical. For every product in your catalog, verify that the A+ document you assign in the PIM matches the current association in Amazon. The PIM will replace whatever is in Amazon once you enable the push.
4. Map A+ Content in Activation: In Akeneo Activation, open the catalog mapping for your Amazon channel.
5. Search for the A+ Document target.
6. Select the Reference Entity Attribute you created in your PIM (for example, A+ Content) as the source.
7. Save your catalog mapping.
8. Activate the push of A+ Content associations to Amazon: In Akeneo Activation, go to your Amazon channel settings and turn on the toggle Send A+ Content Associations to Amazon. Activation sends the association between A+ documents and your products to Amazon automatically every time you export products, replacing the previous Amazon-side associations.

Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN)

In Akeneo Activation, you can retrieve the Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) from Amazon and optionally push it back to your PIM as a product attribute. This lets you use ASINs for searching products in the grid, tracing export errors, and maintaining a consistent source of truth.

This feature is available by default but disabled. To enable ASIN retrieval from Amazon into Activation, go to your Amazon channel settings in Activation and switch the ASIN fetch toggle to on. You can schedule when the job runs.

The screenshot above shows the ASIN fetch configuration in the Akeneo Activation Amazon channel settings, including the toggle and scheduling options.

How Akeneo Activation matches the ASIN for your products

When ASIN fetch is enabled, Activation determines the right ASIN to associate with each exported product using the following logic:

1. merchant_suggested_asin first. If your product already carries a value mapped to Amazon's merchant_suggested_asin, Activation uses it directly without querying Amazon.
2. Lookup by seller SKU. Otherwise, Activation queries Amazon's Catalog Items API using your product's SKU within your seller account. Because the lookup is scoped to your account, only ASINs from your own listings are considered — competitors' ASINs sharing the same EAN/GTIN/UPC are never returned.
3. Verification with the product's external ID. If your product has an external ID (EAN, GTIN, UPC, ISBN, JAN, or MINSAN) and Amazon returns several ASIN candidates for the SKU, Activation selects the candidate whose external ID matches the one in your PIM. If none of the candidates match, no ASIN is updated for that product and a warning is logged in the export report.
4. Products without an external ID. If the product has no external ID in the PIM, the first ASIN returned by Amazon for the SKU is accepted.

This logic ensures that products whose EAN has been changed in the PIM (for example, after relisting on Amazon) are correctly re-associated with the new ASIN, and that legacy or unrelated ASINs are never written back to the PIM.

Once ASINs are available in Activation, you can push them back to your PIM. Before enabling this, create the Attribute in your PIM where ASINs will be stored, then enter its code in the text field provided in Activation.

If the Attribute is scopable and/or localizable, use the following format:

pim_attribute_code#channel_code#locale_code

Examples:

• Attribute code amazon_asin, scoped to the marketplaces Channel and fr_FR Locale: amazon_asin#marketplaces#fr_FR
• Attribute code amazon_asin, scoped to the fr_FR Locale only (no Channel scope): amazon_asin##fr_FR

For more on scopable and localizable Attributes, see What is an Attribute.

The screenshot above shows the Amazon ASIN mapping configuration in Akeneo Activation, where a PIM Attribute code is entered to receive ASIN values.

Sending FBA and FBM Product Offers to Amazon Seller

When selling on Amazon Seller, you may need to list the same product under two separate fulfillment models simultaneously:

• FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant): you handle storage, packaging, and shipping yourself
• FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon): Amazon handles fulfillment from its own warehouses

Each fulfillment model requires its own SKU on Amazon. Akeneo Activation supports three configurations: FBM only, FBA only, or both FBA and FBM simultaneously for the same product.

Key Requirements

Fulfillment configuration is managed through three requirements in your Activation catalog mapping. You can find these by searching for the requirement codes below in your catalog mapping page.

vendor_sku

The primary SKU used to push a product to Amazon. Its value depends on which fulfillment model(s) you are using:

• FBM only: set this to your FBM SKU
• FBA only: set this to your FBA SKU
• Both FBA and FBM: set this to your FBM SKU — the FBA SKU goes in secondary_vendor_sku

secondary_vendor_sku

This requirement is only used when you want to export a product as both FBM and FBA simultaneously. Set this to your FBA SKU. In all other cases (FBM only or FBA only), this field is ignored.

fulfillment_availability_fulfillment_channel_code

This requirement is a string collection that tells Amazon which fulfillment channel(s) apply to this product. The accepted values are:

• DEFAULT — for FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant)
• AMAZON_XYZ — for FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon), where XYZ depends on your Amazon marketplace region. For example:
  • Amazon US → AMAZON_NA
  • Amazon France, Germany, or other European marketplaces → AMAZON_EU

The correct AMAZON_XYZ value for your specific channel is indicated in the requirement description directly in the mapping interface.

Configuration Scenarios

FBM Only

• vendor_sku: your FBM SKU
• secondary_vendor_sku: leave empty
• fulfillment_availability_fulfillment_channel_code: DEFAULT

Activation exports one product record to Amazon using your FBM SKU.

FBA Only

• vendor_sku: your FBA SKU
• secondary_vendor_sku: leave empty
• fulfillment_availability_fulfillment_channel_code: AMAZON_XYZ (e.g. AMAZON_NA or AMAZON_EU)

Activation exports one product record to Amazon using your FBA SKU.

Both FBA and FBM

• vendor_sku: your FBM SKU
• secondary_vendor_sku: your FBA SKU
• fulfillment_availability_fulfillment_channel_code: both DEFAULT and AMAZON_XYZ

Activation automatically generates two separate product records in the Amazon feed — one for each fulfillment model — from a single product in your PIM.

Using Formulas to Automate the Mapping

If your products store their FBM and FBA SKUs as separate attributes in your PIM, you can use catalog mapping formulas to automatically populate the three requirements based on which SKUs are available for each product. This avoids manually managing the configuration product by product.

Below is an example formula set, assuming your PIM has two attributes: my_fbm_sku and my_fba_sku, and a channel-specific FBA fulfillment code stored in my_amazon_fba_fulfillment:

vendor_sku

IFS(IS_EMPTY(my_fbm_sku), my_fba_sku, true, my_fbm_sku)

→ Uses the FBM SKU when available, falls back to the FBA SKU if no FBM SKU exists.

secondary_vendor_sku

IFS(!IS_EMPTY(my_fbm_sku) AND !IS_EMPTY(my_fba_sku), my_fba_sku, true, "")

→ Populates the FBA SKU only when both SKUs exist. Returns empty in all other cases.

fulfillment_availability_fulfillment_channel_code

IFS(!IS_EMPTY(my_fbm_sku) AND !IS_EMPTY(my_fba_sku), SPLIT(CONCATENATE("DEFAULT", ",", my_amazon_fba_fulfillment)), !IS_EMPTY(my_fbm_sku), SPLIT("DEFAULT", "#%@"), !IS_EMPTY(my_fba_sku), SPLIT(my_amazon_fba_fulfillment, "#%@"), true, NULL)

→ Automatically sets the correct combination of fulfillment channel codes based on which SKUs are present for each product.

Sending product variations to Amazon Marketplace (Amazon Seller)

This section explains how to configure the parent/child (variations) structure for Amazon Seller so you can successfully send product variations through Akeneo Activation.

To send product variations to Amazon Marketplace, you must first establish a parent-child relationship in your PIM data structure and then configure the corresponding mapping in Akeneo Activation.

Set up a parent/child structure

Identify the parent product

In Amazon Seller Central, the parent is a virtual grouping product that links child variations. In Akeneo Activation, you designate an existing simple or child product from your PIM to act as this parent. It cannot be a product model because Amazon requires a unique SKU for the parent entry.

This product is exported to Amazon Seller as a child product that also acts as the parent (or product model) for its associated variations. All child products linked to this parent are listed under it on Amazon Seller.

Map the association in Activation

In the Akeneo Activation catalog mapping for your Amazon Seller channel, search for Parent to display the four mapping targets that control the parent-child relationship.

The screenshot above shows the Akeneo Activation catalog mapping page for an Amazon Seller channel, filtered to the four "Parent" targets used to configure product variations.

Product will generate a parent

This target determines whether a product acts as a parent on Amazon Seller.

In your PIM, create a Yes/No Attribute to flag the parent product: - Attribute type: Yes/No - Suggested label: Is Parent on Amazon Seller

Set this Attribute to Yes for the product that will act as the parent, and No for products that remain as children only.

The screenshot above shows a PIM product edit form with the "Is Parent on Amazon Seller" Yes/No Attribute set to Yes.

In Activation, map this PIM Attribute to the Product will generate a parent target.

The screenshot above shows the Activation catalog mapping with the "Product will generate a parent" target mapped to the PIM Yes/No Attribute.

Parent SKU

This identifier links the parent product to its child products. The parent SKU must be unique and different from the product's own SKU.

In your PIM, create a text Attribute to hold the parent SKU: - Attribute type: Text - Suggested label: Amazon Parent SKU

In the Activation mapping, this target serves two purposes: - For the product acting as a parent: Defines the SKU that Amazon uses for the generated parent entry. - For child products: Associates the child product with the defined parent SKU.

Product name (when used as parent)

Use this target if you want the parent product to display a distinct name on Amazon, separate from the child product's name.

In your PIM, create a text Attribute for the parent name: - Attribute type: Text - Suggested label: Amazon Parent Product Name

The screenshot above shows a PIM product edit form with the "Amazon Parent Product Name" text Attribute filled in.

In the Activation mapping, this target provides the product name used on the generated parent entry.

The screenshot above shows the Activation catalog mapping with the "Product name (when used as parent)" target mapped to the Amazon Parent Product Name PIM Attribute.

Parentage level

Akeneo Activation assigns the parentage level automatically when using the parent creation mechanism. You do not need to map this target manually.

Export products with variations to Amazon Marketplace (Amazon Seller)

1. After mapping the parent-child associations in Activation, save your catalog mapping.
2. In Activation, run a dry-run export to verify that the parent product is correctly identified in the feed document artefact.

The screenshot above shows the Activation dry-run feed document artefact for an Amazon Seller export, confirming the parent product entry.

1. Run a full product export to Amazon Seller.
2. If the export succeeds, your products appear in Amazon Seller Central with a variant menu listing both parent and child products.

The screenshot above shows the variations screen in Amazon Seller Central, displaying the parent product and its associated child products after a successful Activation export.

Common errors when sending product variations to Amazon Seller

When troubleshooting your Amazon Seller parent-child setup in Akeneo Activation, you may encounter the following errors.

Error 8016 — Missing variation data: The product data provided was insufficient to create a variation (parent/child) relationship for a specific SKU. See Amazon help: Error 8016.

Error 8017 — Variation theme missing: A Variation Theme is missing from your product data. Verify that all required Variation Themes are specified in the mapping. See Amazon help: Error 8017.

Error 8018 — Cannot delete non-existing relationship: An attempt was made to delete a relationship that does not exist. Verify that the relationship you are modifying or deleting actually exists in Amazon Seller Central. See Amazon help: Error 8018.

Error 8019 — Parent and child have the same SKU: The parent and child products are assigned the same SKU. Each product, whether parent or child, must have a unique SKU. See Amazon help: Error 8019.

General Amazon API errors often relate to the Attributes step in the Activation mapping. Ensure all mandatory Attributes are mapped and return non-empty values. For a full list of Amazon Marketplace API errors, see Amazon's error catalog guide.

Merchant Shipping Group

In your Amazon catalog mapping, the Merchant Shipping Group (merchant_shipping_group.0.value) attribute allows you to assign a shipping configuration template to your product offers on Amazon Seller. It tells Amazon which of your seller-defined shipping rules apply to a given product — for example, which regions you ship to, your handling times, and your carrier options.

This attribute is required for standard FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant) offers that are not parent products.

Available Values

There are two types of values you can use for this attribute in the Activation mapping:

• Amazon's default template: legacy-template-id — this value is universal and works for all Amazon Seller accounts without any additional setup. Use this if you have not created custom shipping templates in your account, or if Amazon's default template is the one you want to assign.
• Your custom shipping templates: these are UUID-format IDs specific to your Amazon Seller account (e.g. 2218fa98-8ce4-4eb5-83fd-41fcb03513e7). They correspond to shipping templates you have created in your Amazon Seller Central shipping settings. These IDs are unique per seller and must be retrieved directly from your Amazon Seller account — see the steps below.

How to Find Your Shipping Template IDs in Amazon Seller Central

The shipping template ID is found in the URL of the shipping template edition page in Amazon Seller Central. Follow these steps:

1. Open your Amazon Seller Central account and click on the Settings icon (cog icon) in the top navigation bar

2. Click on Shipping Settings

You can also navigate directly using your marketplace-specific URL, for example:

• Amazon France: https://sellercentral.amazon.fr/sbr/ref=xx_shipset_dnav_xx#shipping_templates
• Amazon US: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/sbr/ref=xx_shipset_dnav_xx#shipping_templates

3. On the Shipping Templates tab, click on the name of the shipping template whose ID you want to retrieve to open its edition page
4. Once on the edition page, look at the URL in your browser's address bar. The shipping template ID is the UUID that appears after templateId%3A in the URL
5. Copy the UUID — this is the exact value to use in Akeneo Activation for the merchant_shipping_group attribute
6. Repeat for each shipping template you need to use across your products

How to Use the ID in Activation

Once you have retrieved the correct shipping template ID(s), you have two options for mapping them in your Activation catalog:

• Static default value: if all products in a catalog use the same shipping template, enter the ID directly as a default value in the merchant_shipping_group.0.value mapping target. No PIM attribute is required.
• PIM attribute: if different products use different shipping templates, create a text attribute in your PIM to store the shipping template ID per product, then map that PIM attribute to the merchant_shipping_group requirement in your Activation catalog mapping. You can also use catalog mapping formulas to assign the correct ID dynamically based on product data.