Map a pre existing customer number to Party-ID

[James Lawton]

Is there a way to map a prexisting customer number and scheme to Party ID?

 

I have customers whose I data I will be importing into the database. I can
certainly simply load their customers customer number into the Party ID
field.

 

However, my users might have specific customer number schemes that they want
to keep. Which means being able to add a new one whenever they want.
Currently in OOTB Ofbiz, whenever a new Party is created through the UIs the
party number is automagically created as an auto increment number - this is
what gets tracked through the system.

 

How can my users use their version of customer numbers to put data into the
system and to search for that data?

 

An example of when this becomes a problem is when you are creating an order
- on the very first screen of the create order page (release 10.04) there is
a customer entry field with a lookup button. Selecting that opens a Window
where there is no mention of a customer, instead Party ID and Party type are
prominent. Yes you can search by name but it should also be possible to
lookup a customer by what he (the end customer) thinks is his customer
number.

 

Any thoughts or comments are appreciated - my product management are driving
me nuts on this one.

 

Thanks

Jams

[Adrian Crum-3]

The way I usually handle that is to create a separate entity to tie
customer numbers (or employee numbers, supplier numbers, etc) to a
partyId, and then build out screens that use it.

Businesses that like to create their own numbering systems ultimately
change that system, and a common request is "How do I change a
customer's number?" If the customer number is kept in the partyId field,
then you can't change it - since it ties all the party related entities
together. If the customer number is kept in a separate field, then
changing it is trivial and it doesn't affect any other data.

-Adrian

On 4/19/2011 12:48 PM, James Lawton wrote:

> Is there a way to map a prexisting customer number and scheme to Party ID?
>
>
>
> I have customers whose I data I will be importing into the database. I can
> certainly simply load their customers customer number into the Party ID
> field.
>
>
>
> However, my users might have specific customer number schemes that they want
> to keep. Which means being able to add a new one whenever they want.
> Currently in OOTB Ofbiz, whenever a new Party is created through the UIs the
> party number is automagically created as an auto increment number - this is
> what gets tracked through the system.
>
>
>
> How can my users use their version of customer numbers to put data into the
> system and to search for that data?
>
>
>
> An example of when this becomes a problem is when you are creating an order
> - on the very first screen of the create order page (release 10.04) there is
> a customer entry field with a lookup button. Selecting that opens a Window
> where there is no mention of a customer, instead Party ID and Party type are
> prominent. Yes you can search by name but it should also be possible to
> lookup a customer by what he (the end customer) thinks is his customer
> number.
>
>
>
> Any thoughts or comments are appreciated - my product management are driving
> me nuts on this one.
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
> Jams
>
>

[SkipDever]

The service that gets called when you create a customer (Party) takes the
partyId as a parameter and if missing, generates a sequential one.  When you
create the customer, supply a party Id.  I have modified the OOTB Ofbiz code
to ask for the partyId.

The code is in //party/webapp/partymgr/party/PartyForms.xml (EditPerson),
EditPartyGroup, etc.



-----Original Message-----
From: James Lawton [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 12:48 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Map a pre existing customer number to Party-ID


Is there a way to map a prexisting customer number and scheme to Party ID?



I have customers whose I data I will be importing into the database. I can
certainly simply load their customers customer number into the Party ID
field.



However, my users might have specific customer number schemes that they want
to keep. Which means being able to add a new one whenever they want.
Currently in OOTB Ofbiz, whenever a new Party is created through the UIs the
party number is automagically created as an auto increment number - this is
what gets tracked through the system.



How can my users use their version of customer numbers to put data into the
system and to search for that data?



An example of when this becomes a problem is when you are creating an order
- on the very first screen of the create order page (release 10.04) there is
a customer entry field with a lookup button. Selecting that opens a Window
where there is no mention of a customer, instead Party ID and Party type are
prominent. Yes you can search by name but it should also be possible to
lookup a customer by what he (the end customer) thinks is his customer
number.



Any thoughts or comments are appreciated - my product management are driving
me nuts on this one.



Thanks

Jams

[James Lawton]

Thanks - I'll have a look at that...I am assuming that you can use what ever
tag you want when asking for the partyId...

-----Original Message-----
From: SkipDever [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: April-19-11 4:18 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: RE: Map a pre existing customer number to Party-ID

The service that gets called when you create a customer (Party) takes the
partyId as a parameter and if missing, generates a sequential one.  When you
create the customer, supply a party Id.  I have modified the OOTB Ofbiz code
to ask for the partyId.

The code is in //party/webapp/partymgr/party/PartyForms.xml (EditPerson),
EditPartyGroup, etc.



-----Original Message-----
From: James Lawton [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 12:48 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Map a pre existing customer number to Party-ID


Is there a way to map a prexisting customer number and scheme to Party ID?



I have customers whose I data I will be importing into the database. I can
certainly simply load their customers customer number into the Party ID
field.



However, my users might have specific customer number schemes that they want
to keep. Which means being able to add a new one whenever they want.
Currently in OOTB Ofbiz, whenever a new Party is created through the UIs the
party number is automagically created as an auto increment number - this is
what gets tracked through the system.



How can my users use their version of customer numbers to put data into the
system and to search for that data?



An example of when this becomes a problem is when you are creating an order
- on the very first screen of the create order page (release 10.04) there is
a customer entry field with a lookup button. Selecting that opens a Window
where there is no mention of a customer, instead Party ID and Party type are
prominent. Yes you can search by name but it should also be possible to
lookup a customer by what he (the end customer) thinks is his customer
number.



Any thoughts or comments are appreciated - my product management are driving
me nuts on this one.



Thanks

Jams

[James Lawton]

Hmmm, good thought about needing to change it again at a later date...

Does that mean though that you have to change and create screens throughout
the system? Or were you doing only on a localized basis?

Thanks
James

-----Original Message-----
From: Adrian Crum [mailto:[hidden email]]
Sent: April-19-11 4:09 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: Map a pre existing customer number to Party-ID

The way I usually handle that is to create a separate entity to tie customer
numbers (or employee numbers, supplier numbers, etc) to a partyId, and then
build out screens that use it.

Businesses that like to create their own numbering systems ultimately change
that system, and a common request is "How do I change a customer's number?"
If the customer number is kept in the partyId field, then you can't change
it - since it ties all the party related entities together. If the customer
number is kept in a separate field, then changing it is trivial and it
doesn't affect any other data.

-Adrian

On 4/19/2011 12:48 PM, James Lawton wrote:

> Is there a way to map a prexisting customer number and scheme to Party ID?
>
>
>
> I have customers whose I data I will be importing into the database. I
> can certainly simply load their customers customer number into the
> Party ID field.
>
>
>
> However, my users might have specific customer number schemes that
> they want to keep. Which means being able to add a new one whenever they

want.

> Currently in OOTB Ofbiz, whenever a new Party is created through the
> UIs the party number is automagically created as an auto increment
> number - this is what gets tracked through the system.
>
>
>
> How can my users use their version of customer numbers to put data
> into the system and to search for that data?
>
>
>
> An example of when this becomes a problem is when you are creating an
> order
> - on the very first screen of the create order page (release 10.04)
> there is a customer entry field with a lookup button. Selecting that
> opens a Window where there is no mention of a customer, instead Party
> ID and Party type are prominent. Yes you can search by name but it
> should also be possible to lookup a customer by what he (the end
> customer) thinks is his customer number.
>
>
>
> Any thoughts or comments are appreciated - my product management are
> driving me nuts on this one.
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
> Jams
>
>

[Adrian Crum-3]

Like I said, I build out screens that use it.

Also, the entity that ties customer number to party ID should have from
and through dates.

-Adrian

On 4/19/2011 4:18 PM, James Lawton wrote:

> Hmmm, good thought about needing to change it again at a later date...
>
> Does that mean though that you have to change and create screens throughout
> the system? Or were you doing only on a localized basis?
>
> Thanks
> James
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Adrian Crum [mailto:[hidden email]]
> Sent: April-19-11 4:09 PM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: Map a pre existing customer number to Party-ID
>
> The way I usually handle that is to create a separate entity to tie customer
> numbers (or employee numbers, supplier numbers, etc) to a partyId, and then
> build out screens that use it.
>
> Businesses that like to create their own numbering systems ultimately change
> that system, and a common request is "How do I change a customer's number?"
> If the customer number is kept in the partyId field, then you can't change
> it - since it ties all the party related entities together. If the customer
> number is kept in a separate field, then changing it is trivial and it
> doesn't affect any other data.
>
> -Adrian
>
> On 4/19/2011 12:48 PM, James Lawton wrote:
>> Is there a way to map a prexisting customer number and scheme to Party ID?
>>
>>
>>
>> I have customers whose I data I will be importing into the database. I
>> can certainly simply load their customers customer number into the
>> Party ID field.
>>
>>
>>
>> However, my users might have specific customer number schemes that
>> they want to keep. Which means being able to add a new one whenever they
> want.
>> Currently in OOTB Ofbiz, whenever a new Party is created through the
>> UIs the party number is automagically created as an auto increment
>> number - this is what gets tracked through the system.
>>
>>
>>
>> How can my users use their version of customer numbers to put data
>> into the system and to search for that data?
>>
>>
>>
>> An example of when this becomes a problem is when you are creating an
>> order
>> - on the very first screen of the create order page (release 10.04)
>> there is a customer entry field with a lookup button. Selecting that
>> opens a Window where there is no mention of a customer, instead Party
>> ID and Party type are prominent. Yes you can search by name but it
>> should also be possible to lookup a customer by what he (the end
>> customer) thinks is his customer number.
>>
>>
>>
>> Any thoughts or comments are appreciated - my product management are
>> driving me nuts on this one.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Jams
>>
>>
>