Proof Is In The Pudding
As I mentioned in my article "Knowledge Is Power" I referred to just one interface file being used to support multiple methods of trading, these being:
1) Wholesale
2) Drop Ship Vendor (DSV)
3) Marketplace
4) Direct to Consumer
This article is a follow on to this article to prove that one interface file can support multiple methods of trading, if you understand the data contained withing the transactional file and the subsequent processes that will consume this data.
I am going to attach five mapping documents to this article that demonstrate how the one orders interface file can support each of the trading models mentioned above.
Wholesale
I have attached two orders mapping documents as these demonstrate how each each suppliers requirements are met. There are requirements within the Amazon data that requires the ASIN number provided to be sent back to Amazon in the Order Acknowledgement file whether the ASIN is recognised or not. This is where I used a field called ActualItemCode so whatever product number that was provided within the order was sent back and not cause a rejection on the Amazon system
Amazon Wholesale ORDERS Mapping Document
.xlsx
Download XLSX • 57KB
The Castorama mapping document considers the joys of Cross Docking and store number. Details that are of no interest to an ERP but are critical to the Warehouse operation and the labels generated. Here I used a number of fields to store the delivery address including store number and the cross dock address plus cross dock number.
Castorama Wholesale ORDERS Mapping Document
.xlsx
Download XLSX • 56KB
In both of these examples I do not think I have seen an ERP system hold this data.
Drop Ship Vendor
I have used the mapping document I built to support Amazon DSV as this sits quite nicely with the example Amazon Wholesale mapping above.
Amazon DSV ORDERS Mapping Document
.xlsx
Download XLSX • 54KB
Not only have I catered for a new format being received from Amazon I also needed to support a unique CustomerOrderNumber that I needed to pass back to Amazon.
Marketplace
Again I am using my Amazon mapping document (three different ways to trade and three different behaviours) to show how the one interface document is coping with the different behaviours that need to be supported.
Amazon Marketplace ORDERS Mapping Document
.xlsx
Download XLSX • 37KB
In this process I had to support a unique product number in every order and pass this back to Amazon. Again I used the ActualItemNumber field to hold this number as it would never have been recognised by the receiving ERP.
Direct To Consumer
Finally I am looking at supporting a trading partners website and processing the orders data into the ERP system.
Shopify Plus D2C ORDERS Mapping Document
.xlsx
Download XLSX • 52KB
There is nothing to dramatic in this mapping document other than this is now a JSON order being mapping into my generic orders interface file.
Conclusion
I hope with these examples you can see that a lot can be achieved with a little thought and a generic method of processing data.
I am more than happy to discuss so please feel free to contact me.