ChannelEngine: custom channels

About this guide

This article explains what a custom channel does, how to set one up, and which features are available out of the box versus which features are enabled when you or your partner build via the Channel API.

Table of contents

Introduction

Channel features

Settings and configuration

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

• Setup
• Product selection
• Mappings
• Pricing
• Listed products

Use cases

Related Channel API documentation

Video

Next steps

Examples

Introduction

If you want to send your product data to a partner or channel that does not yet have a built-in ChannelEngine integration, e.g.: an affiliate network, a dropshipper, an overstock partner, or a marketplace with which you are about to build a live connection, a custom channel is where you start. It gives you a product feed out of the box, and it is also the foundation you build upon, using the Channel API, if you want a live, two-way integration.

What is a custom channel?

A custom channel generates a one-way, automated product feed from the product data (content and offers) that a merchant stores on ChannelEngine. The custom channel generates a dedicated feed URL for the target channel, in CSV and XML format, built from a fixed, predetermined set of attributes.

Out of the box, a custom channel only produces a product feed. It does not process orders, shipments, returns, or any other two-way data by itself — those flows only exist if a Channel API integration is built on top of the custom channel.

Two ways to use a custom channel

Every custom channel starts the same way, but you can use it for two different purposes:

• Feed only - you just need a product feed for an affiliate network, click-and-ad channel, or a partner who reads your product data on their own. No further development is needed — ChannelEngine generates the feed and refreshes it automatically.
• Foundation for a Channel API integration- you (or your partner, or ChannelEngine) build a live, two-way connection on top of the custom channel using the Channel API — importing orders, sending shipment and cancelation updates, handling returns, and more. This is also how new marketplace integrations get built and tested before they become established ChannelEngine channels. 
  • If you are a marketplace (or a merchant who manages their own webshop), custom channels are the foundation for creating a dedicated plugin between ChannelEngine and your marketplace/webshop. 
  • For everything related to building that live connection — authentication, endpoints, resources, and implementation guidance — see Channel API: getting started, and the linked articles per data flow in the Related Channel API documentation section below.

Channel features

1. The Available via Channel API column lists features that require custom development on your part. ChannelEngine does not enable those features automatically, so verify with your partner or development team which features are actually built on top of your custom channel.
2. The Not supported column lists features that are not available on custom channels at all — not even via a Channel API integration.

Settings and configuration

Setting up each channel on ChannelEngine follows the same flow, though not every channel includes the steps listed below.

1. Go through the Setup.
2. Create a Product selection.
3. Complete the Categorization.
4. Set up the Mappings: content, offers, and carriers.
5. Configure the Pricing: rules and currency conversion.
6. Fill in the Stock settings.
7. Finish the Activation.
8. Check the Listed products overview.

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

This section describes extra steps and deviations from the standard settings and configuration steps that are required to successfully configure the custom channel plugin on ChannelEngine.

Setup

On ChannelEngine

Add the Custom channel plugin to your dashboard.

General

Change the name and logo of the custom channel to make it easier to identify, e.g.: Awin.

Conversion tracking

• Cost Per Click (CPC) (ex. VAT) - if the click-and-ad channel charges you a cost per click (CPC), indicate the CPC excluding tax. 

Product selection

This channel accesses your product data directly from source files that ChannelEngine generates. In the Product selection step, you see two URLs. These are placeholders for two versions of the product feed that this channel receives from ChannelEngine – one in CSV and one in XML format.

To generate the product feed files for this channel:

1. Create a product selection for this channel.
2. Check which attributes the channel requires you to map, and make sure these attributes are stored in either the standard ChannelEngine fields or your custom fields.
3. If your product data contains custom fields, mark them as public. For guidance on marking custom fields as public, see the Custom fields section below.
4. Complete the remaining steps in Settings and configuration.
5. Let ChannelEngine run its export task for the first time. This task runs every 60 minutes.

The feed content is visible after you finish the Activation step and ChannelEngine completes its export task.

Custom fields

To include your custom fields in the generated feed and, therefore, expose your custom fields to this marketplace, mark them as public on ChannelEngine.

To mark your custom fields as public:

1. Go to Products, Custom fields.
2. Locate the custom field that you want to expose to this channel.
3. Change the Include in channel product feed status by selecting the pencil icon and setting it to enabled.

For more guidance on custom fields, check out ChannelEngine: custom fields.

Mappings

The mappings contain the standard ChannelEngine attributes that you mapped when you imported your product feed to ChannelEngine. Some can be left empty, even though they are marked as required. However, it is recommended to map as many attributes as possible. The more you map, the greater the product's visibility on the channel. It is the responsibility of whoever manages the mapping to map everything the target channel needs.

Content

All products (required)

• Brand - product brand name. E.g.: fancy t-shirts inc.
• Catalog price - MSRP (including VAT/sales tax). E.g.: 59.95.
• Category - the product's full category path (with each category separated by >). E.g.: men's > t-shirts > crew neck.
• Color - product color. E.g.: black.
• Description - product description. E.g.: A simple black t-shirt from Sustainable T-shirts Inc.
• Details - the product's details. E.g.: a simple t-shirt. color: black. brand: sustainable t-shirts inc.
• Extra image URL 1-9 - deep link to the product's additional images.
• GTIN - the product's universal identifier (e.g.: EAN, ISBN, UPC, etc.). E.g.: 8710400311140.
• Image URL - deep link to the product's image. E.g.: http://www.theshirtshop.com/images/products/192354.jpg.
• Merchant product no - your unique product number. SKUs, GTINs, or any other unique IDs from your source system are the most commonly used. 
• Name - product name. E.g.: Black t-shirt with crew neck.
• Parent merchant product no - the merchant product number of the parent product. All child products of the same family share the same parent merchant product number. 
• Price - product price (including VAT/sales tax). E.g.: 49.95. The price attribute must have a value (even for grandparent/parent products). Use a period (.) or a comma (,) as the decimal separator. Do not use a comma as a thousand separator.
• Product URL - deep link to the product's details page. Only for affiliate networks/click channels.
• Shipping cost - product shipping costs. E.g.: 5.95.
• Shipping time - delivery time indication. E.g.: ordered before 22:00, shipped today.
• Size - product size. E.g.: xl.
• Stock - product stock. E.g.: 25. must be a positive integer. Text and decimal values are not supported.
• Vendor product no - manufacturer/supplier product number. E.g.: fti-blk-xl.

All products (optional)

• Discount percentage - the difference between the sale price and the MSRP as a percentage. E.g.: 47.92.
• Purchase price - product purchase price (excluding VAT/sales tax). E.g.: 35.00.

Offer

• Price before (re)price rules - the selling price of the item, before price rules and discounts are applied. Typically, this attribute is mapped to the ChannelEngine Price field. 

Carrier

There is no carrier mapping on custom channels.

Pricing

In the Pricing step, add price rules or a currency conversion in the Price rules tab. For guidance on price rules, check out ChannelEngine: price rules v2. 

Listed products

If a Channel API integration for product data is implemented, the only status you see on ChannelEngine is Published — and that only confirms the product was successfully exported to the channel, not that it is live, active, or approved on the target channel. Check with the channel or partner directly to confirm the product's actual publication status. 

Use Cases

List products on an affiliate/click-and-ad channel

Affiliate channels/click-and-ad channels, such as Google Shopping and StyleSearch, allow prospective buyers to quickly compare multiple offers for the same product across different marketplaces and webstores. When the prospect clicks one of your offers, they are redirected to the related product page – either in your webstore or on a marketplace. This use case only needs the feed; no Channel API integration is required.

List or sell with niche partners

If you work with a third party to sell your overstock or work with a dropshipper, monitor the third party's sales and process its orders via a custom channel.

To use your custom channel to list or sell with your partners:

1. Configure the custom channel on ChannelEngine.
2. To keep the third-party up-to-date on your product offers, share your product feed in either CSV or XML format.
3. To import orders and further process the orders in your own systems, share your API key with the third party. The third party sets up automated integrations via the Channel API. 
   • Example: your partner is a dropshipper. They sell products on your behalf and import the resulting orders through the Channel API — you focus on fulfillment.

Build a new marketplace integration

A custom channel can also be the starting point for developing and testing a brand-new marketplace integration. Once it is built, ChannelEngine can convert it into an established channel that is available to all ChannelEngine users. Start with Channel API: getting started.

Related Channel API documentation

Everything about building the two-way integration lives in the Channel API documentation. Start with the getting started article; then, jump to the specific data flow you're implementing:

• Getting started
• Product data via API
• Product offers via API
• Orders via API
• Shipments via API
• Cancelations via API
• Returns via API
• Reports via API

Video

Next steps

You now know what a custom channel does out of the box (generates a product feed), what else works when a Channel API integration is built on top of the custom channel, and where to find the implementation details. Related articles:

• ChannelEngine: custom feed builder
• ChannelEngine: custom fields
• ChannelEngine: price rules v2
• Channel API: getting started

Examples - generated product feeds