ChannelEngine: setup

About this article

This article describes the Setup page on ChannelEngine, including its most common settings.

Table of contents

Introduction

Connection settings

• OAuth
• API keys

Advanced settings

Other settings

• Late unshipped
• General
• Stock
• Invoice settings
• Remove channel
• Others

Introduction

Once you have added a marketplace to ChannelEngine, go to its Setup page to see the credentials and settings required to set up the connection between the marketplace and ChannelEngine. Note that the settings and credentials vary per marketplace.

Connection settings

Below you can see an example of common Connection settings on the Setup page of eBay.

eBay requires that you provide information such as:

• Your eBay policy names
• Your warehouse locations
• Whether you want to limit the stock exported (eBay has sales limits based on the total value of submitted products)
• Whether you want to use dedicated SKUs per country

OAuth

Mirakl-based marketplaces, such as Truffaut, use the OAuth open standard. This allows Mirakl to pass authorization to ChannelEngine without sharing your credentials, such as your username and password.

If the marketplace you are connecting with uses OAuth, an orange Authorize button is displayed under the Authorize ChannelEngine section.

When you click Authorize, a popup prompts you to log in using your marketplace account.

API keys

Other marketplaces use API keys, which you can copy from the back-end of the marketplace itself and paste under the Connection section of the Setup page. 

Advanced settings

Many marketplaces, such as Amazon, also contain an Advanced settings section. Clicking this section expands it, but only after you read a warning regarding the impact these features may have. Once you confirm that you are aware of what you are doing, the Advanced settings appear.

Apart from certain marketplace-specific options, these Advanced settings may include the following:

• Disable price updates - disables ChannelEngine's price updates.
• Disable VAT calculation - disables ChannelEngine's VAT/sales tax calculation (e.g.: if you use Amazon's VAT/sales tax calculation service).
• Disable stock reservations - disables stock reservation performed by the marketplace. E.g.: bol.
• Product extra data aspects - appends the selected custom attributes to the order line extra data. E.g.: if you need to communicate the dimensions of ordered products to your ERP or carrier, you can add the Height, Length, Width, and Weight attributes to the order extra data.
• Set orders to closed after import - closes all orders imported by ChannelEngine, with no stock reservation applied.
• Use grandparent products - ignores parent products, establishing a grandparent-child relationship.
• Use fulfillment service - imports fulfillment stock from the marketplace.

Other settings

Most marketplaces include the following settings on their Setup pages.

Late unshipped

The late unshipped feature allows you to track orders that are at risk of being delivered late, thus avoiding penalties issued by marketplaces.

How it works

ChannelEngine calculates the late unshipped date for your orders using available marketplace dates and your custom configurations.

1. Some marketplaces (e.g.: Allegro, Amazon, eBay, Kaufland, OTTO Market, Zalando, etc.) provide delivery or shipment dates. ChannelEngine uses these dates to calculate the late unshipped date for each order using a specific priority system. It first considers shipment dates and then delivery dates. The calculation logic is as follows:
    
2. For marketplaces that do not provide any of these dates, you can set a threshold using the Late unshipped days setting, which is located on the Setup page. ChannelEngine then adds the specified number of days to the order date to calcuate the late unshipped date.
3. If neither marketplace dates nor custom thresholds are available, ChannelEngine sets the order date as the late unshipped date.

If an order is at risk of being shipped late:

• It is marked as Late unshipped in the Order overview. You can filter your orders based on the Late unshipped orders filter under Additional filters. To prioritize urgent shipments, you can sort your orders by the Late unshipped date column.
• ChannelEngine sends notifications for orders at risk of being shipped late. To receive these notifications, enable them in your Notification settings.
  

Scenario

If the expected delivery date is set for 10 May by the marketplace, and it is already 9 May, ChannelEngine does not take any action. However, if it is May 10 or May 11, ChannelEngine notifies you – and marks the order as Late unshipped.

General

• Name - changes the default name of the marketplace. This is particularly useful when using custom channels, but also if you have multiple accounts for the same marketplace and/or need to differentiate between multiple eBay countries.
• Channel reference - provide the marketplace with a unique reference. This reference is then displayed in both the web application and the Merchant API. It can then be used in flows between ChannelEngine and your enterprise resource planning. E.g.: incoming orders from each marketplace can be linked more easily to specific buyers already registered in your ERP, as all required data to match the buyer's data on the order level with the data in your ERP is available in the same call.
• Image - changes the default logo of the marketplace. This is particularly useful when using custom channels, but also if you have multiple accounts for the same marketplace and/or need to differentiate between multiple eBay countries.

Stock

• Stock buffer - enter a value greater than 0 (zero) to set a stock buffer. E.g.: if a product’s stock is 50, a value of 20 ensures that only 30 are available to the marketplace. Note that the stock buffer applies to all products on the marketplace.
• Stock limit - enter a value greater than 0 (zero) to set a stock limit. E.g.: a value of 20 ensures that at most 20 units are available to the marketplace – even if the actual stock is higher than 20. Note that the stock limit applies to all products on the marketplace.

Invoice settings

• Channel API key - displays your Channel API key. On most marketplaces, this API key is not visible as it is not used for anything. However, on custom channels or marketplaces that are directly connected via ChannelEngine's Channel API (e.g.: V&D, HomeDeco, refurbed, etc.), this is also where you can find the API key required by these marketplace to get products, shipments, cancelations, and to submit orders. Note that this API key is generated once when the marketplace is added, and cannot be changed.
• Invoice settings - enable this setting to have invoices automatically sent when an order is received. Make sure to go through the documentation on the requirements for this feature, as your invoice, mail server, and VAT/sales tax settings are needed.

Remove channel

• Remove channel - removes the marketplace. Note that deleting a marketplace removes it and its tasks, but it does not automatically remove the products associated with it.

Others

• Copy from channel - copy the Setup configurations from an active sales channel to a new sales channel, provided that they belong to the same marketplace (e.g.: from Amazon DE to Amazon UK). Note that this feature does not override settings configured before its enabling – nor does it copy the connection settings, which differ per marketplace. This option is only available if:
  • There is at least one active instance of the same marketplace.
  • The instance that imports a copy should be inactive.
  • The instance that imports a copy does not have product selections or price rules configured.