Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Zalando Direct Data Sharing (DDS) enables Partners to access their Zalando data directly using the delta sharing protocol. With DDS, you can work with up-to-date data while maintaining security and performance.

What data is available through DDS?

For complete dataset details, see the DDS Datasets Overview.

Setup and Configuration

How do I get started with DDS?

Create a zDirect application with DDS API permissions. Refer to
Obtain DDS credentials through the Credential Management API
Configure your environment with the required packages
Start accessing data through Delta Sharing

Refer to the Getting Started Guide for detailed instructions.

What are the prerequisites for DDS integration?

For Python environments -

Python 3.11+ installed
required Python packages: delta-sharing + pandas or pyspark
zDirect application that has access to DDS API
A Delta Sharing Credential File (.share file)

Access and Credentials

The token URL, which is unique for each partner, is provided by the Direct Data Sharing API. To get the .share file:

Authenticate to the DDS API using your client credentials
Request a token using the API
The API response contains an activation_link
Use the activation_link to download the .share credential file
Save the file securely and reference it in your Python scripts

Refer to the Direct Data Sharing Getting Started Guide for detailed instructions.

Best practices for credential file security:

Store in a secure location
Never share your .share file via email or chat
Use environment variables to reference file paths
Tokens expire after 90 days - set up automated rotation (see Token Management)
Limit who has access to the file

Please refer to the Direct Data Sharing Best Practices Guide for more information on securing the share file.

Yes. You can have up to 2 tokens active at any given time. This is mainly intended to support token rotation without service interruption. You create a second token, switch over, and keep the old token active only for a limited transition period before revoking it.

Errors and Troubleshooting

ImportError: No module named 'delta_sharing', while using python scripts

Cause: The delta-sharing package is not installed.

Solution: Install the package:

pip install delta-sharing

HTTP 401 Unauthorized - Invalid Bearer Token

Cause: The Client_ID and Client_Secret in the auth token URL are invalid.

Solution: Ensure that you are using the correct Client_ID and Client_Secret from your zDirect application.

# Verify your credentials
auth_token_url = 'https://api-sandbox.merchants.zalando.com/auth/token'
client_id = "your-client-id"
client_secret = "your-client-secret"

auth_response = requests.post(
    auth_token_url,
    headers={'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded'},
    data={
        "grant_type": "client_credentials",
        "client_id": client_id,
        "client_secret": client_secret,
        "scope": "access_token_only"
    }
)

HTTP 401 or 403 Unauthorized - Invalid Credentials

Cause: The delta-sharing server rejected the request due to insufficient permissions or invalid/expired credentials in the .share file.

Solution: - Ensure that you are using the correct .share file - Rotate your token if it has expired

HTTP 403 - Missing Business Partner IDs

Type: Missing Business Partner IDs

Cause: Your zDirect Application does not have access to "All" business partner IDs under your zDirect Account. The Technical Integration account is missing one or more merchants.

Solution:

Check if the Technical Integration account has access to ALL merchants
Enable all Merchants in the Technical Organisation account
Go to your zDirect application and ensure that it also has all Merchants enabled
If all merchants are enabled but you still get the error, there may be an internal Zalando setup issue. Contact your Partner Consultant or Partner Care.

Note

Consumer do not have access to all Business Partner IDs. If the issue persists after enabling all merchants, reach out to Partner Care to check if there is a special integration of merchants created for your partner account that is not visible in zDirect.

HTTP 429: Token API Fails with HTTP 429

Cause: Rate limiting - you've exceeded the maximum requests per second.

Solution: The DDS API allows 1 request per second. Wait before retrying. Refer to the Rate Limiting and Direct Data Sharing Credential Management API Overview documentation for more details.

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