Configuring and Managing Channels

Table of Contents

How to Add a Channel After you Add your Channel

Channels are the lifeblood of your Flxpoint operations. They represent your selling destinations—where your products live and where your orders are born. This guide covers everything from the initial handshake between platforms to the fine-tuning required for a seamless, automated workflow.

1. Overview: What is a Channel?

A Channel in Flxpoint is any external sales platform where you sell products. This includes B2C storefronts (like Shopify or BigCommerce), Marketplaces (Amazon, Walmart), or even a B2B Reseller Portal for your wholesale partners.

Channels allow Flxpoint to automate four core pillars of eCommerce:

Publishing

Creating new product listings from your Flxpoint catalog.

Syncing

Updating price and quantity in real-time to prevent overselling.

Order Management

Importing sales orders for automated routing.

Fulfillment Tracking

Pushing tracking numbers back to the channel so your customers stay informed.

Note: Channels are distinct from Sources. Think of a Source as where the inventory comes from and a Channel as where the inventory goes to be sold.

Why This Matters

Adding and configuring a Channel correctly is one of the most important steps in Flxpoint. Your Channel connection controls how products are published, how inventory is synchronized, and how orders flow into and out of the system.

If a Channel is not configured properly, it can lead to:

Products not publishing or publishing incorrectly
Inventory not syncing accurately
Orders failing to import
Tracking not syncing back to customers
Delays in fulfillment or overselling

⚠️ Important: Because Channels sit at the center of your product and order workflows, small configuration mistakes can create large operational issues.

2. Prerequisites

Before you begin the setup process, ensure you have checked the following boxes to avoid integration "hiccups":

Channel Access & Credentials

Admin login for the platform/store (Shopify/WooCommerce/etc.)
API keys / tokens if required by the channel integration

Catalog Readiness

Products imported/created in Flxpoint
Product data complete enough for listing requirements (titles, SKUs, price, images)
Variant SKUs mapped cleanly

Operational Readiness

Confirm fulfillment method (Source routing, Owned inventory, etc.)
Confirm shipping workflow and whether tracking will sync back to the channel

3. Step-by-Step: Adding a New Channel

Follow these steps to establish the connection between Flxpoint and your storefront. You can also watch the video walkthrough on the right.

Log into your Flxpoint account.
Navigate to the Channel menu on the left panel.
Click on the +Add Channel button to add a new channel.
Search for and select the channel you wish to integrate, such as Shopify or Walmart.
Follow the prompts to complete the channel setup.
Once the setup is complete, your channel is now integrated and ready to sync products and orders.

4. Configuration Best Practices

Channel Naming Conventions

A clear naming strategy is vital for troubleshooting and scaling.

Recommended Format: [Platform] - [Brand/Store Name] - [Region/Environment]

Example: Shopify - GearHead - US Production or Amazon - GearHead - UK

💡 Pro Tip: If you are setting up a channel for testing, always prefix the name with TEST_. This prevents your team from accidentally fulfilling mock orders or pushing test data to a live store.

Channel Connection & Authentication

To avoid unexpected sync failures:

Always authenticate using an admin-level account
Use dedicated integration credentials (avoid personal accounts)
Confirm permissions include product and order scopes

⚠️ Common Risk: A password reset or removed user can break integrations, causing Get Orders / Sync Orders to stop.

Product Publishing & Syncing

The "Paused" Safety Net: When configuring the Publish Listings operation, set the default status to Paused. This allows you to review how the data looks in Flxpoint before it's pushed live to your customers.
Quantity Buffers: Use channel-specific quantity rules to protect your reputation. For example, you might set a rule to show "0" on Amazon if your actual stock falls below 5 to account for rapid sales.

Order Syncing

Flxpoint includes the following order operations:

Get Orders: imports orders from the channel into Flxpoint
Sync Orders: syncs shipment/tracking back to the channel

For successful order operations:

Enable Get Orders only after validating product/listing setup
Ensure SKU mapping is consistent
Confirm shipment/tracking workflow is active

Note: Imported shipments are flagged for syncing back and picked up during Sync Orders execution.

5. Testing & Validation (The "Limited Set" Method)

One of the most common mistakes is attempting to sync a 10,000-item catalog on day one. We highly recommend a phased rollout:

Select a Subset: Choose 10–50 products to publish or link first.
Verify Quality: Check the live storefront. Do the images look right? Are the variant options (size/color) displaying correctly?
The "Test Order" Run: Place a manual order on the storefront.
- Verify the order imports into Flxpoint.
- Ensure the order routes to the correct Source.
- Check that a test tracking number pushes back to the storefront successfully.

6. Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue	Likely Cause	Solution
Listing Error	Missing required attributes (e.g., GTIN, Brand)	Check the Sync Logs for the specific missing field required by the channel.
Orders Not Importing	SKU Mismatch	Ensure the SKU on your storefront matches the SKU in Flxpoint exactly (watch out for hidden spaces!).
Syncing Stopped	API Token Expiration	Some platforms require you to "Re-authenticate" every few months. Check the Integrations tab.
Overselling	Sync frequency too low or buffer not set	Increase the frequency of your Sync Listings job and add a quantity buffer rule.

💡 Pro Tip: If a listing succeeds but isn't visible on your storefront, check the "Draft" or "Hidden" section of your store admin. Many channels default new listings to a non-public state for a final review.

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