How API Publication Can Go Wrong (And How to Prevent It)
The Amazon Selling Partner API, in the right hands, is an effective tool for managing product setups and specifications. By avoiding the constant back-and-forth of spreadsheets, emails and queries, you can maximise efficiency and see your changes appear in a much shorter timeframe than before.
However, as is the case with many API connections, there are complications and traps for the unwary. Without an understanding of the underlying systems and process, and experience with Amazon themselves, assumptions can be made which lead to wasted work, constrained resources, and delays in getting your products optimised on the largest online marketplaces.
To help you avoid these pitfalls, we’ve pulled together three API issues we’ve seen clients encounter, and our advice on how to best avoid them.
Manage Your Assumptions with Thorough Testing
Recently, one of our clients had partnered with a SaaS platform to use their Amazon API integration. The client eagerly entered a testing phase, noting with satisfaction that all of their new product setups went through without issue. Work began in earnest, and it was only afterwards that a horrible realisation hit them: they were unable to update any of their existing products on Amazon. Only new product setups were going through.
In the weeks that followed the issue only got worse. Rather than being an isolated problem, this was seemingly systemic and related to the core functionality of the platform. Even worse, the platform engineers had no idea why the issue was occurring, let alone how they could fix it in a timely manner. The client was left with a service that could only perform part of the work they had been promised.
To avoid these situations, our advice is to always test a wide range of products on any platform you’re intending to use, including legacy products. Because it’s guaranteed that the one type of product that you fail to test is the one you’ll encounter urgent problems with.
Thankfully, this client was able to approach Digishare and, because of our understanding and experience of Amazon systems, we were able to provide a solution. What’s more, this solution has been built-into our Digishare platform, providing all of our clients with the insights needed to successfully update their legacy products with the same ease and efficiency as new setups.
Make Validation an Integral Part of Your Process
One of the biggest causes of delays and repeated work is validation failure. Amazon has specific requirements as to the information it needs for a product and the exact format it must be in. Without any consideration of this, it is all too easy to compile product data in bulk for submission, only to find that it won’t be accepted by Amazon’s systems. The costs of such incidents, especially coming at the end of a long process of creating product data, can be hefty, both in terms of resource and delays.
By incorporating this validation into your product launch process at an early stage, you can ensure that your data is acceptable for Amazon from the start. When pairing this with an API connection that does validation for you automatically, you can have full peace of mind that your submissions will be successful.
Digishare not only incorporates automatic validation of every API submission at the click of a button, allowing you to foresee any potential issues and quickly amend them.
Remain Vigilant & Agile
Requirements change, and Amazon aren’t always the best at communication. For each product type listed on Amazon, there are several mandatory attributes that must be populated for your submission to be successful. The problem is, over time, these mandatory attributes often change; either to reflect changing consumer practices or the evolution of technology.
Amazon have a spotty track record when it comes to communicating these changes, and there have been multiple instances of clients preparing submissions with the previously accepted specifications, only learning through rejection that new or different information is now required.
To avoid this, we recommend finding an API partner or platform that has a close connection and understanding with Amazon. They can advise you when these requirements change and better prepare you to deal with the unexpected.
Here at Digishare, we go a step further. Our platform is designed to automatically check for the latest Amazon mandatory attributes before you begin the submissions process, giving you the most up-to-date information, and allowing you to see at a glance what information is required to ensure a successful submission.