Product Exports

Now that you’re back in the Akeneo Activation App after completing your data selection, mapping, and transformation in your PIM, you can prepare to export one or more product catalogs through the activation channels you’ve connected.

Catalog exports are based on the data transformation done in your PIM, using all the chosen sources and meeting the requirements of the retailer or marketplace for a specific product family.

You have two options at this point: you can either run a “dry-run” export to see what your data would look like on the retailer or marketplace side, or you can perform a regular product export, which will send your product data to the retailer (if you’re using an automated activation channel).

“Dry-run” Product Exports

This option is useful for checking your mapping and transformation before finalizing the export. Running a “dry-run” export will not affect the retailer’s side; it’s simply for verifying catalog mapping. Here are the steps for using a product catalog export in “dry-run” mode:

1. Select the “dry-run” option in the button in the top right corner of the screen.
2. The dry-run export will begin.
3. A toast notification at the bottom of the screen will confirm that the export in “dry-run” mode has started.
4. A spinning wheel icon and a “job in progress” message will appear in the top right corner while the export is underway.

Once the dry-run export is complete, you can review the results in the reports tab.

• Dry-run exports will have a “dry-run” tag next to them.
• You can check the timestamps of the exports for historical analysis.
• You can see the number of products included in that export directly from the reports tab.

To view the product data:

1. Click the “Generated files” button to download a file with all the product data from your PIM for the specific product family.
2. The file will be named “[catalog name] product export” and will include all attributes mapped in the PIM as well as the transformed data.

In this file, you will see:

• The number of products fetched from your PIM.
• The number of products sent for integration with the retailer or marketplace.

If there are any errors in your dry-run export report, you can view them directly from the reports tab within the “dry-run” export report.

Dry-run exports for activation channels working in an automated way

If the activation channel you’re using is fully automated (e.g., Amazon Vendor US via APIs), the dry-run export will not be sent to the retailer or marketplace. It is intended to help you identify and correct any mapping errors in your catalog without sending any data to the retailer or marketplace.

Real Product Export 

The second option for exporting your product catalog data to the retailer is through a regular product export. This process depends on whether you’re using an automated or semi-automated activation channel. It will either send your product catalog data directly to the retailer or marketplace, or it will generate a template that you can use to send your product data.

Automated Activation Channel

These channels are connected directly via APIs or SFTPs.

The product export will send your product data directly to the retailer.

You can see how many products:

• Were fetched from your PIM.
• Were sent for integration with the retailer or marketplace.

Some retailers or marketplaces will show how many products were accepted.

Some will send a report back with the status of your products.

Semi-Automated Activation Channel

These channels use SFTPs or flat files (e.g., XLSX, CSV).

The product export will generate a template with your product data for the retailer or marketplace.

You can see how many products:

• Were fetched from your PIM.
• Were included in the flat file.

This functionality is central to the Akeneo Activation app, allowing you to syndicate your product data across all the activation channels you are connected to. Here’s how to manage a product catalog export:

Click the “Launch Product Export” button in the top right corner of the screen.

The product export will start:

• A toast notification at the bottom of the screen will confirm that the export has begun.
• A spinning wheel icon and a "job in progress" message will appear in the top right corner while the export is in progress.

Once the export is complete, you can review the results by going to the dashboard tab (or the report tab for a full history):

• View the timestamps of the exports for historical analysis.
• See the number of products included in the export directly from the reports tab.
• Click the “Download Files” button to download files with all the product data from your PIM for the specific product family. These files will include all attributes mapped in the PIM and the data resulting from the transformation.

The file will be named “sent catalog data.”

If there are any errors in your product export report, you can view them directly from the dashboard or reports tab.

By default, the Dashboard tab of the Akeneo Activation app will display the latest product export, whether the export was a “dry-run” export or a “real product export”.

To learn more about product export reports, you can refer to the article on product export reports