Some suppliers set an embargo date for new products. This is the date and time before which the product shouldn't be made public. If you tick Active on a product that's still under embargo, Cloud MT warns you and shows you the embargo date, so you can decide what to do. Products set to activate automatically are held back until the embargo date has passed.

This article covers the following topics:

• What is an embargo date?
• Activating a product that's under embargo
• Automatic activation and embargo dates
• When the warning won't appear

What is an embargo date?

Brands often launch new products at a set moment, for example 09:00 CET on a particular Tuesday. Every distributor, retailer and press outlet is expected to wait until exactly that point before making the product public.

Making a product live before its embargo date can damage the brand's launch, undermine its marketing and press activity, and may breach your agreement with the supplier. It can also mean customers see product information that isn't yet complete or accurate.

Embargo dates come from your supplier's product data. You don't need to set them yourself.

Activating a product that's under embargo

1) In Cloud MT, go to Product Management > Products and edit the product.

2) Wait for the page to finish loading.

3) Tick Active.

4) If the product is still under embargo, a warning appears. It shows the embargo date twice: first in your store's own time zone, then in UTC:

5) Choose what to do:

• Click Cancel to leave the product inactive. The Active tick is removed, and nothing is saved.
• Click Continue, then Save Changes, to make the product live now.

Automatic activation and embargo dates

Products that would normally be activated automatically, through AutoSIM or a scheduled activation date, aren’t activated while they’re under embargo. They’re activated automatically once the embargo date has passed, so you don’t need to do anything.

AutoSIM

If you use AutoSIM, items you have in stock usually activate automatically. An item that’s still under embargo stays inactive until the embargo date has passed, even if you have stock. This also applies when you click Fetch Full Data from AutoSIM.

Scheduled activation

You can set a Scheduled Activation date on a product that's under embargo. No warning appears when you do this because a scheduled date can't make the product live early.

A product with a scheduled activation date only goes live once both of these have passed:

• the scheduled activation date
• the embargo date

If the scheduled date arrives while the product is still under embargo, the product stays inactive. The schedule stays in place, and the product goes live automatically once the embargo date has passed. You don't need to do anything.

The same applies when you set scheduled activation dates on several products at once.

When the warning won't appear

The warning only appears when you tick Active on a product that's still under embargo and has never been live before. You won't see it if:

• the embargo date has already passed, or the product has no embargo date
• the product has been live before, even if it's inactive now
• you're unticking Active
• you're setting a scheduled activation date (see above)
• you tick Active before the page has finished loading
• the embargo date can't be checked at that moment

Embargo dates are matched to your products using the brand and product codes. If you change a product's codes, barcodes or brand so they no longer match the supplier's data, the embargo date can’t be found. No warning is shown, and the product can be activated automatically before its embargo date.

Frequently Asked Questions