Data Alignment is the term used to describe the matching of the trading partners data to the vendors data. For The Order Exchange there are 2 main data alignment areas.
Customers
Depending on your system this can also be called Debtors, Cards, or a variety of other names. The customer is whom the order will be assigned to in your system. We are very flexible on this and can use nearly any field on your customer in your system to match the order to. There are 2 main types of set ups we come across.
- You have one customer/debtor/card in your system for the trading partner. In this case we simply need to know the account number or name of the customer in your system.
- You have a customer/debtor/card in your system for each store/cross dock. In this case we recommend using the store code prefixed with a letter as the account code. For example, The customer/debtor for Walmart store 1234 should have a code of W1234
We can link to most fields on a customer/debtor and will discuss what works best for you in the setup process.
Products or Items
Trading partners will normally send one or more of the following pieces of information to indicate what product they are ordering
- Barcode (GTIN/EAN)
- Trading Partner Item Code (the retailer internal item code)
- Vendor Item Code (the item code from your system)
The Order Exchange will match the trading partners order based on this information. It is recommended that you store the barcode in your system if possible. The Order Exchange can 'extend' your accounting system to store barcodes, alternate barcodes, and retailer codes if required. We can discuss the best options for you in the setup process
The above items are the basics needed for data alignment. Our friendly team will assist you in checking that your data is aligned with your trading partners during the setup process.