Praxis/Brico: marketplace guide

About this guide

This is a ChannelEngine guide on the Amsterdam-based Praxis and Brussels-based Brico marketplaces, which are part of the Maxeda DIY Group. Here you can find information on how to request a Praxis/Brico account, how to configure these marketplaces on ChannelEngine, what the specific requirements are, and more.

Table of contents

Commercial information

How to request an account

Associated costs

Requirements

Marketplace features

Settings and configuration

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

• Setup
• Categorization
• Mappings
• Pricing
• Listed products

Additional information

FAQs

Commercial information

Headquarters	Amsterdam, Netherlands (Praxis) and Brussels, Belgium (Brico)
Area served (orders)	Belgium, Netherlands
Area served (shipments)	Belgium, Netherlands
Revenue	circa USD 1.3 billion (2021)
Number of yearly visits	circa 130 million
Website	Brico, Praxis
Setup cost	none
Commission	5.8 to 14% (excl. VAT), depending on the category
Other costs	EUR 66/month for both Praxis and Brico
Payment	monthly on the 10th
Product categories	DIY, gardening, home decoration, furniture, household appliances, lightning and electricity, pets
Input language	Dutch, French
Input currency	EUR
Content creation	yes
Minimum number of SKUs	no
Advertisement options	yes
Profile on ChannelEngine	Brico, Praxis

 

How to request an account

To start selling on Praxis/Brico, fill out their Join our marketplace form.

Associated costs

Praxis/Brico does not charge a setup fee, but it does charge a monthly fee of EUR 66 and a commission fee – which depends on the product category.

Requirements

To become a seller on Praxis/Brico:

• You must have a registration at the local chamber of commerce (Kamer van Koophandel in the Netherlands and Handelsregister in Belgium)
• Your products must be within DIY categories (e.g.: home improvement, gardening, etc.).
• Your products must comply with all laws in the country of sale.
• Your products must be produced under BSCI standards.
• Your products must meet sustainable quality standards (e.g.: F.E. FSC/PEFC certified wood and reduction of packaging).

Marketplace features

Supported	Not supported
Product offers	Repricing
Product content	Marketplace fulfillment service
Orders	EAN matching*
Shipments	Automatic relationships
Returns	Sales channels
Cancelations
Carrier mapping
Refurbished products
HTML formatting

* You can only connect to existing product content by matching shop SKUs. To do that, map the Product-ID van verkoper attribute to the Merchant product number.

Settings and configuration

Setting up each marketplace on ChannelEngine follows the same flow, once you add the marketplace:

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. Finish the Activation.
7. Check the Listed products overview.

Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions

Setup

On ChannelEngine

Praxis and Brico are Mirakl-based channels, so you can connect them with ChannelEngine using a Mirakl Connect SSO account. For more information on this, check out the Mirakl-based channels: SSO authorization article.
You can leave the Mirakl seller name setting empty as Praxis and Brico do not support repricing.

Invoice uploads

To configure your invoice settings, click Advanced settings. You can then click the dropdown menu Enable invoice uploading, which contains the following options:

• ChannelEngine invoices - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it automatically generates an invoice and attaches it to the shipment before exporting it.
• Merchant invoices (optional) - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it exports it – even if there is no invoice attached to it.
• Merchant invoices (required) - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it only exports it if an invoice is attached to it. If not, you receive a notification.
• None - when ChannelEngine receives a shipment, it takes no action other than notifying you that no invoice is present.

If you select one of the Merchant invoices options, make sure to enable the invoice upload to ChannelEngine via the Merchant API. For that, call the POST /v2/orders/{merchantOrderNo}/invoice endpoint. Note that only invoices in PDF are supported.

Invalid XML characters

To remove invalid XML characters from your product data, click Advanced settings and enable the Check and filter invalid XML characters setting. ChannelEngine checks product data submitted in the XML format for invalid characters (e.g.: Ã, ¢, â, etc.). Once identified, invalid characters are removed or converted to a valid equivalent.

Categorization

The categorization on Praxis/Brico is straightforward, and all categories are listed in English. You can also see the full list of categories on GS1's GPC browser.

Mappings

Content

Praxis/Brico enforces strict content guidelines, therefore it is important to make sure that your products meet these guidelines before you follow the setup process.

All products (required)

• Beschrijving [language country] (Description) - the product's description. This attribute supports the HTML tags br, b, i, ol, ul, and div. The minimum number of characters allowed is 150. The following recommendations apply:
  • Mention your product's name, type, and series in the description.
  • Make use of HTML tags in the description. E.g.: apply paragraphs by using the br tag.
  • Address customers with 'jij/je' in Dutch and 'vous' in French.
  • Use a space between the value and the unit of measurement. Use abbreviations for units of measurement. E.g.: 30 kg.
  • If an accessory is shown in the picture but not included in the product, make that clear.
  • Depending on the product's category, keep the word count between 30 and 400 words.
• Description (Mirakl) - the product's description for the Mirakl back-end.
• EAN - the product's 13-digit unique identifier (i.e.: GTIN). Note that you cannot connect with the existing product content using the EAN.
• Galerijafbeelding 1 (Gallery image) - the URL to the product's additional image. The following requirements apply:
  
  • Background - white.
  • Minimum resolution - 800x550 px.
  • Make sure to depict product details that create a unique selling point (USP).
• Hoofdafbeelding (Main product image) - the product's main image. The following requirements apply:
  
  • Background - white.
  • Minimum resolution - 550x550 px.
  • Make sure to depict product details that create a unique selling point (USP). Additionally, your images must show how products fit into the surrounding. E.g.: a shed in a garden.
• Indicatie wifi (Indication of Wi-Fi) - indicates if the product can connect to Wi-Fi.
• Merknaam (Brand name) - the brand/manufacturer of the product. Make sure to spell it exactly like the brand owner spells it.
• Product-ID van verkoper (Vendor product ID) - the product's SKU, usually the Merchant product number on ChannelEngine. This attribute is used to connect with your existing products.
• Producttitel (Mirakl) (Product title) - the product's title for the Mirakl back-end.
• Producttitel (Product title) - the product’s title. The maximum number of characters allowed is 85 for the BE-NL and NL-NL languages, and 100 for BE-FR. The following requirements apply:
  • Structure in Dutch - [brand] [product type] [serial name] [attributes]. E.g.: GS Schroevendraaier Combi Zwart 0,7cm.
  • Structure in French - [product type] [brand] [serial name] [attributes]. E.g.: Spot encastrable fixe Briloner Attach blanc 5W.
  • Brand - must always be capitalized. If a brand consists of several words, all of them must be capitalized.
  • Product type - must be a singular noun.
  • Serial name - must always be capitalized. If a serial name consists of several words, all of them must be capitalized. E.g.: King Size Faro. If a serial name consists of several letters and/or numbers that have spaces between them, omit the spaces. E.g.: JV183DWE.
  • Attributes - must be written in lowercase. Use a minimum of one and a maximum of four attributes, listed in order of importance. Do not use spaces between values and units of measurement. E.g.: 8mm.

• USP [1-3] [language country] - the product's unique selling points (USP) or highlights. The maximum number of characters allowed is 65.

All products (optional)

• Breedte (zonder verpakking) in cm (Width without packaging in cm) - the width of the product without outer packaging, in cm.
• Diepte (zonder verpakking) in cm (Depth without packaging in cm) - the depth of the product without outer packaging, in cm. 
• Document (Document) - the link to the product's manual.
• Energielabel (Energy label) - the product's energy label. E.g.: A+, A++.
• Galerijafbeelding [2-9] (Gallery image) - the URL to the product's additional image. The following requirements apply:
  • Background - white.
  • Minimum resolution - 800x550 px.
  • Make sure to depict product details that create a unique selling point (USP). Additionally, your images must show how products fit into the surrounding. E.g.: a shed in a garden.
• Galerijvideo (Gallery video) - the URL to the product's video.
• Hoogte (zonder verpakking) in cm (Height without packaging in cm) - the height of the product without outer packaging, in cm.
• Indicatie FSC keurmerk (Indication of FSC certification) - indicates if the product is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
• Indicatie PEFC keurmerk (Indication of PEFC certification) - indicates if the product is certified by the Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). 
• Indicatie Wi-Fi vereist (Indication of Wi-Fi required) - indicates if the product requires a Wi-Fi connection to function properly.
• Korte beschrijving [language country] (Short description) - the product's short description.
• Oorsprong van hout (Origin of wood) - the region where the wood originates from, if applicable.
• Operating systeem (Operating system) - the operating system installed on the product. E.g.: Microsoft Windows, Android.
• Parent product ID - the product's parent ID, which can be used to group product variants together.
• Sale content - the product's price per unit of measurement. This attribute is used in combination with the UOM for sales content attribute. E.g.: 25.99 euros per square meter – where '25,99' corresponds to the Sale content and 'm2' corresponds to the UOM for sales content.
• UOM for sales content - the unit of measurement related to the Sale content attribute.

• USP [4-5] [language country] - the product's unique selling points (USP) or highlights. The maximum number of characters allowed is 65.
• Vereist besturingssysteem (Operating system required) - the operating system required for the device that you want to connect your product with. E.g.: this camera requires Windows 10 on the device you plan to use it with.

Offer

All products (required)

The only mandatory offer mapping is Price, which is your desired sale price.

All products (optional)

• Discount end date - the date until when the product's sale price is valid, if applicable. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ. E.g.: 2022-12-31 23:59:59 +00.
• Discount price - the product's sale price, if applicable. This attribute must have a lower value than the Price attribute.
• Discount quantity threshold - the minimum quantity required for the discount rate to be available.
• Discount start date - the date from when the product's sale price is valid, if applicable. The date format is YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS ZZ. E.g.: 2022-12-31 23:59:59 +00.
• Product tax code - the tax code that applies to specific product categories, which are eligible for a lower VAT rate. E.g.: children's clothing, books, medical equipment.

The following offer attributes are common to some Mirakl-based marketplaces, particularly in France and Germany:

• ECO #1-5 - Amount - the amount due for the eco-contribution related to the product. E.g.: 2.50.
• ECO #1-5 - EPR category code - the extended producer responsibility (EPR) code that applies to the product. For a list of category codes, check out the article Providing data to comply with circular economy regulations in Mirakl's help center (note that you need to be logged in to Mirakl to access this page). E.g.: DE-WEEE, FR-DEA, etc. 
• ECO #1-5 - Producer ID - your producer ID, received upon registering with a packaging register, such as Germany's LUCID. The maximum number of characters is 255.

The following offer attributes are common to Mirakl-based marketplaces:

• Leadtime to shipment - the number of days before you ship the product. By default, this is set to two. You can create your own unique rules, if applicable.
• Minimum quantity alert - map this attribute to receive a notification from ChannelEngine if your stock drops below the threshold defined.
• Offer state - the product's condition. Find your option from the dropdown menu by selecting the fixed value to apply to all.
• Product tax code - the taxation code applicable to the product.
• Logistic class - your optional shipping class. Make sure to map it using the marketplace’s codes, not the labels visible in the front-end. These codes vary per marketplace. Below you can find the codes used by this marketplace:

Code	Label	Description
M	parcel	Regular parcel carrier
XXL	oversized	Oversized parcels or pallets

Carrier

Carrier mapping is not required on Praxis/Brico. However, you can map your carrier to a specific list of carriers maintained by Praxis/Brico. This allows for working tracking codes in the back-end, as well as for the buyer. If your default carrier is missing, contact Praxis/Brico.

Note that if you select Unknown as the carrier, you still need to provide a working tracking code.

Pricing

Praxis/Brico requires the prices to be submitted in EUR. If you do not have pricing attributes in EUR, you need to set a currency conversion.

Listed products

If you have problems with products not appearing on Mirakl-based marketplaces – especially if you are trying to create products – check the Listed products page for more information.

You can either filter on Channel status (select Invalid to show all products that ChannelEngine has not exported, such as products with an empty GTIN or that currently do not exist on the marketplace) or use the Validation and feedback tab to see all known errors for specific products.

For detailed status reports, go to the Mirakl back-end. Their reports contain specific errors if a product or product offer cannot be created. To find them, go to My inventory, Import from file, Track offer imports/Track product imports. By hovering over the 'i' under the Status section, you can see how many products in the file were processed correctly and how many had errors, etc.

If there are errors, the last column shows a downloadable file in which they are listed. The same goes for the product file import, but this can contain multiple files because processing goes through several systems. There is also a manual check of your submitted content, which, once approved, goes to staging as well. Note that you need to map as much as possible to prevent products from not being created.

Additional information

Praxis/Brico uses custom return/refund reasons. ChannelEngine maps these custom reasons according to the following scheme:

ChannelEngine	Praxis/Brico
Default	Product doesn’t work as expected
Product unsatisfactory	Product doesn’t work as expected
Wrong size	Product doesn’t work as expected
Wrong product	Description not correct
Too many products	Bought too much
Refused (damaged)	Damaged goods
Refused	Price dissatisfaction
Product defect	Damaged goods
Wrong address	Item not received
Not collected	Item not received

 

Order extra data items

When an order is imported to ChannelEngine, ChannelEngine also fetches extra data items related to the order itself – or to order lines. This extra data is specific to this marketplace. An explanation of each can be found below: 

Order extra data

Key	Conditional*	Description
billing_address_vat	No	The VAT number as taken from the channel order.
registered	No	Indicates whether the buyer has a Praxis Plus or Brico card membership.

* Conditional fields only display if the channel provided a value. 

 

FAQs

How often does each task run on Mirakl-based marketplaces?

By default, Mirakl-based marketplaces follow the schedule below:

Task	Frequency
Export product data to channel	every 60 minutes
Export product offers to channel	every 15 minutes
Import product offers from channel	every 15 minutes
Import orders from channel	every 15 minutes
Export order shipments to channel	every 15 minutes
Export returns to channel	every 30 minutes