Mandatory if Applicable Properties

If you are selling on Zalando, you may have noticed a requirement for certain product properties: "mandatory if applicable." This can be a bit confusing at first, so let's break down what it means and why Zalando has introduced this approach.

What Does "Mandatory if Applicable" Mean?

Essentially, this rule requires that for certain properties, you must provide a value for every product. This value can either be the actual information (if the property applies to your product) or a the value "not applicable" (if it doesn't).

This is a departure from the typical approach used by many other marketplaces that often have highly specific product categories.

Why Is This Different from Other Marketplaces?

Many marketplaces use a very detailed category structure. For example, a marketplace might have separate categories for "Rain Jackets" and "Down & Winter Jackets." This allows them to make a specific property, like 'lining,' mandatory only for the "Down & Winter Jackets" category, as it's a key feature for those products. For a rain jacket, 'lining' might not even be an option to provide.

Zalando, however, uses broader categories. Rather than having separate categories for every type of jacket, they have a single, more general category called 'Jackets.' This category includes everything from a lightweight rain jacket to a thick, insulated winter coat. To allow for this slimmer category structure, Zalando needs "Mandatory if applicable" values.

How do "Mandatory if applicable" properties solve this problem?

Since Zalando only has a single "Jackets" category, they need a way to gather detailed information about specific product types within that category.

This is where "mandatory if applicable" comes in. With this system, every product in the "Jackets" category must now provide information on the "lining" property.

•For a winter jacket, you would provide the specific lining material (e.g., 'polyester' or 'fleece').

•For a rain jacket, which typically doesn't have a lining, you would simply select "not applicable".

This approach gives Zalando the specific, structured product data they need, while still allowing for a flexible, top-level category structure. It's essentially an "opt-in or opt-out" system where every product is required to make a choice.

By providing this information, you're helping Zalando improve the discoverability and user experience for customers, ensuring that products are accurately represented and easier to find.

How to Manage Zalando's "Mandatory if Applicable" Properties in TB.One

This guide will walk you through how to handle "Mandatory if Applicable" properties effectively in TB.One using the 'lining' property for jackets as an example.

Step 1: Create a Product Component

First, you need to create a new product component that will store the lining information for all your products.

•Go to “Basic Data > Properties > Components”.

•Create a new product component with a clear name, such as "Zalando lining information" or "lining material".

Step 2: Add the Component to All Relevant Products

This new component must be added to every single product within the affected categories (e.g., all products in your "Jackets" category).

•For products where you can provide the information (e.g., insulated winter jackets), add the actual value to this component (e.g., "100% polyester").

•For products where the information is not applicable (e.g., rain jackets or windbreakers), add the value "Not applicable" to this component.

Remember: Every product must have the component itself and a value for this component.

Step 3: Map the Component in TB.One

Now, you'll connect your new product component to Zalando's required property using the value mapping feature.

•Navigate to the Value Mapping section in TB.One.

•In the second (middle) column, find and select the Zalando property for "lining material".

•Assign the product component you created in Step 1 (e.g., "Zalando lining information") to this property.

Step 4: Map Your Values to Zalando's Values

This is the most critical step. You need to tell TB.One how to translate your values into Zalando's values.

1.In the third (right) column of the Value Mapping screen, you will see a list of available Zalando values for 'lining material.'

2.Map all your specific lining values (e.g., "100% polyester," "fleece") to the corresponding Zalando values.

3.For the value "Not applicable," you must map it to the "not applicable" value provided by Zalando. Be sure to add 100% to this mapping to ensure it is always exported correctly for products with no lining.

Once these steps are completed, your TB.One system will be configured to export the lining material information for all your products, either with the actual material or with the "not applicable" value as required by Zalando.