Icecat

Icecat Hexagon Release Notes – September 2026

Icecat Hexagon is Icecat’s internal platform for connecting retailers, Akeneo users, and marketplaces like Mirakl. It also includes a built-in Digital Asset Management (DAM) system that offers centralized control over product assets.

This month’s release puts distribution channels at the heart of digital asset management, with faster and more intuitive ways to control where each asset goes. It also makes finding and matching products easier than ever, brings a more consistent and accessible interface, and strengthens the security of the platform’s authentication layer.

SMARTER CHANNEL MANAGEMENT

Channel management is what lets organizations decide precisely how their information is distributed from Icecat Hexagon. A channel defines the export behavior of both product data and digital assets: for which target market, over which period, and to which network of partners. Combined, these rules give teams fine-grained control over who receives what, where and when — and this month’s release makes that control faster and more intuitive to use.

Each digital asset now has a dedicated “Channels” tab in its edit window, available both from the DAM and from a product’s Images, Videos and Documents. Users can see the asset’s default channel at a glance and adjust distribution product by product, without leaving their current screen. Every change stays local to that asset, and removing a link never deletes the channel itself — giving teams precise control with no risk of side effects elsewhere.

Assigning assets to a channel is now as simple as selecting them in the catalog grid and dropping them onto a channel in the side panel. Users choose whether to move the assets or copy them to the new channel, and all asset metadata — including display order — is preserved. What used to require opening assets one by one now takes a single gesture.

A new “+ Add channel” shortcut in the product’s asset panel lets users link an existing channel to a product, or create a brand-new one on the spot, using the same creation form as the central channel management screen. Channel setup now fits naturally into everyday catalog work.

Every organization on Icecat Hexagon now includes a dedicated Private channel (reserved for the organization itself) and a Global channel (available to all). Icecat Hexagon provisions both automatically, and we brought all existing organizations up to the same standard.

Icecat Hexagon now clearly flags channels whose end date has passed as “Expired” across the interface — in the DAM, in the product’s channel panel and in the asset edit window. Teams can immediately spot assets that are no longer actively distributed and act on them, while expired channels can be reactivated at any time simply by updating their end date.

Every channel now carries a unique, human-readable identifier that external systems can reference. Building on this, FTP/SFTP imports can read that identifier directly from the file path of deposited images and videos, and attach them automatically to the right channel. The feature is fully opt-in, and files that don’t match any channel are safely routed to the organization’s Private channel without interrupting the import.

SMARTER PRODUCT MATCHING

Many products carry more than one Brand Product Code. Icecat Hexagon now synchronizes these alternate codes from Icecat’s Index File and uses them everywhere it matters: products can be found in the catalog by any of their codes, enrichment lists are matched automatically even when only an alternate code is provided, and the product page lists all known codes under the product’s identity. The result: fewer unmatched products and a clear view of why a match was made.

A MORE INTUITIVE & ACCESSIBLE INTERFACE

We redesigned filtering across the platform’s main list screens. Filters now sit directly on table column headers, complemented by a single “Add filter” entry point for everything else. The experience is the same on every screen; active filters are always visible and easy to clear, and no existing filtering capability has been lost.

Users can now paste an entire list of GTINs, Brand Product Codes, or GTIN/Brand Product Code pairs to filter the Products screen in one go. Duplicates are removed automatically, and combined searches isolate the exact product even when a single GTIN is shared by several products — a major time saver when working on large selections of references.

When configuring an Action, users can now open any selected value — a connector, a format, a transport or an enrichment configuration — in a new browser tab. Users can verify or adjust the related setting and return to their Action configuration exactly as they left it.

We improved color contrasts across the entire Icecat Hexagon interface, in both light and dark themes. Text, icons, buttons and form fields now stand out more clearly, making the platform easier to read and more accessible for everyone, including users with low vision. We now check every new screen and component for contrast before release, so the interface keeps getting more accessible over time.

STRONGER SECURITY

As part of an ongoing security and compliance effort, we significantly reinforced the authentication service behind Icecat Hexagon:

– The service now accepts access only from a controlled list of trusted web origins.

– Sign-in flows follow the latest industry recommendations for secure authorization.

– Clearer password rules and account lockout protection guard against weak or repeatedly guessed passwords.

– Internal data handling follows the safest recommended practices.

These improvements are transparent for users: logging in to Icecat Hexagon works the same as before, just more securely.

RELIABILITY & QUALITY

This release also includes a range of behind-the-scenes fixes and stability improvements across template-based imports, data precomputing, transport configuration, access permissions, eligibility reports and channel display performance, contributing to a smoother and more reliable experience across the platform.

Previous Release Notes

▸ Release 2026.08 | August 2026 

▸ Release 2026.07 | July 2026 

Isabelle Le Mince

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