Some products — items with lithium batteries, liquids, or gels, generally called Environmentally Sensitive Items (ESIM) — need to be registered with UL WERCSmart before Target will approve them for listing on Target+. This guide walks through registering your items and completing the related fields in Acenda.
Who does what: Registration itself happens outside Acenda, in UL's WERCSmart system and (for some steps) Target's own tools. We've labeled each step UL-side or Target-side below. Where we describe how Target's system behaves, that's per Target's guidance — Target can change this without telling us, so treat the specifics as a starting point, not a guarantee.
Step 1: Identify which products need registration
Check your catalog for any items that contain, or are packaged with:
Lithium batteries
Liquids
Gels
This isn't a complete list — UL WERCSmart's own item-type list (UL-side) covers the full scope of what counts as Environmentally Sensitive. If a product has multiple color or size variants, each variant has its own UPC and needs its own registration.
Step 2: Check whether your items are already registered
UL-side. Before doing anything else, check your UL WERCSmart dashboard for each item's UPC:
Already registered: go ahead and list the item on Target+ — see Step 4 below.
Not registered: contact UL WERCSmart to start registration for each unregistered UPC.
Not sure: Target's guidance is to send your SKU list to your Target category manager. If you don't have a direct contact there, contact Acenda Support and we'll help you figure out the right path.
Step 3: Register your products with UL WERCSmart
UL-side. A few things to keep in mind while registering:
Register at the UPC level: every color and size variant needs its own UPC-level registration — not just the parent product.
No need to send proof to Target: per Target's guidance, Target checks your WERCSmart registration automatically against the item's UPC — you don't need to email or upload anything to Target separately.
Give it time: per Target's guidance, it can take a few business days (up to three) for a completed registration to reach Target's compliance system. If your item is still showing a registration error, wait at least 48 hours after completing registration before troubleshooting further (see the Troubleshooting section below) — checking too soon is the most common false alarm.
Step 4: Complete battery and hazmat fields in Acenda
Acenda-side. WERCSmart registration covers the compliance check, but Target also requires battery and hazmat attribution on the item itself before it will accept the listing. Fill these in before you submit:
One item at a time: go to CATALOG > Items, open the item (the eye icon), and go to its Channel Status tab, Target+ sub-tab.
Across your whole catalog: open your Target+ posting template under CHANNELS > Integrations > Target+ > Edit > Posting Templates, and map your battery/hazmat source fields there. See Building a Posting Template: A How-To Guide for how mapping works.
For bulk updates across many SKUs at once, use DATA TRANSFERS > Imports > New Import (.xlsx or UTF-8 .csv only). See Using the Import Feature: How to Import Product Data into Acenda.
Tip: The exact field names Target's category requires can vary. If you're not sure which fields in your posting template map to battery/hazmat data, contact Acenda Support and we can point you to the right ones for your category.
Step 5: List your ESIM items on Target+
Once registration is confirmed and your battery/hazmat fields are filled in, submit the item for listing as you normally would.
Match found: Target's system finds your WERCSmart registration and the item continues through its normal validation steps.
No match found: Target rejects the item in data validation. You'll see this in Acenda under CHANNELS > Item Issues and on the item's Channel Status tab, with the error text
UPC Not in WERCs — Supplier action needed.
This error means Target hasn't yet matched a registration to that UPC — it isn't something re-sending the listing from Acenda can fix. Per Target's guidance, once the UPC shows as registered and approved in WERCSmart, Target re-checks and advances the listing on its own; you don't need to resubmit or relist the item.
Troubleshooting
Item still rejected even though you registered it: double check in your UL WERCSmart dashboard that the registration shows an approved state and is tagged for Target's use — a pending or untagged registration won't be picked up. Also confirm it's been at least 48 hours since you completed the registration.
Battery/hazmat fields missing: see Step 4 above — these are separate from WERCSmart registration and must be filled in on the item or its posting template.
UPC mismatch: the UPC on the item in Acenda must exactly match the UPC you registered in WERCSmart, including for each individual variant.
For other listing errors, see How to Fix Marketplace Listing Errors.
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Still stuck? Contact Acenda Support and include the SKU and UPC involved.