Understanding Customer Setup in your ERP

In your ERP, there are four possible approaches for configuring customer records. It’s essential to review your current setup and decide the best approach based on how you want customers to flow into your CRM and manage subscriptions.

If you’re managing multiple brands within a single ERP instance, it’s crucial to separate your customer records and have a clear way to identify which brand each customer interacts with. Additionally, you’ll want the ability to track whether a customer has opted in to receive communications via email, SMS, or both for each brand.

Example Scenario

Consider a customer named Jane who signs up for email updates at an Aje store and, on a separate occasion, subscribes to SMS updates at an Athletica store. To handle these nuances, choose a customer setup that aligns with your desired brand and subscription tracking.

Customer Setup Options

Option	Approach	Use Case	Implementation Details
1	Single Brand, No Brand Separation	Suitable for merchants using a single brand in the ERP. Manages subscription preferences without differentiating between email or SMS. Note: Apparel21 Privacy setting is used as our only marketing reference.	No additional fields are needed.
2	Single Brand, Enhanced Subscription Tracking	Single brand setup with more detailed fields to distinguish between email and SMS opt-ins.	Uses either: - REF Codes - Custom Data Fields
3	Multiple Brands, Brand Separation via Custom Data Fields	Manages multiple brands in a single ERP instance, with granular tracking for email and SMS preferences per brand.	Uses either: - REF Codes - Custom Data Fields Example: [e-mail] Brand A: Email = Yes, SMS = No Brand B: Email = Yes, SMS = Yes Brand C: Email = No, SMS = No
4	Multiple Brands, Complete ERP Brand Separation	Recommended for merchants managing multiple brands who want each brand to have a separate customer record.	Uses ERP Brand Separation to create distinct records for each brand, along with REF Codes. Example: [e-mail] Brand A: Email = Yes, SMS = No [e-mail] Brand B: Email = Yes, SMS = Yes [e-mail] Brand C: Email = No, SMS = No

Difference between REF CODES vs. CUSTOM DATA

CUSTOM DATA (preferred)

• Offers greater flexibility in how fields are displayed in POS.

• Field titles can exceed 15 characters, allowing for more descriptive labels.

• Enables data validation within POS (e.g., clicking on a "Brand Marketing Email" field and selecting "Yes" or "No").

• When viewing a customer profile in POS, a separate column will be shown for each brand, making it easier to manage and view brand-specific data.

REF Codes

• Field names are limited to a maximum of 15 characters, which can restrict how detailed the labels are.

Key Considerations for Option 4

• Ideal For: Merchants with multiple brands that don’t sell other brands in the same retail location.

• Data Management: This is the cleanest solution for maintaining separate customer records, ensuring that each brand’s data is accurately captured and extracted.

• Implementation Timeframe: If not already in place, setting up ERP Brand Separation may require a dedicated project with an estimated turnaround time of 1-2 months.

• Cost Implication: The implementation could be costly and would need to be managed as a separate ERP project.

Implementation Responsibility and Steps

1. ERP Team: Schedule and execute the brand separation project.

2. Merchant: Approve the project scope and budget.

3. ERP Team: Confirm the successful completion of brand separation.

4. DotApparel: Proceed with the project once the ERP setup is confirmed.

Note: Without proper brand separation, data extraction may be complex and prone to errors. This setup is critical for a seamless integration with DotApparel Customers.

Additional Effort

If you require assistance from an Apparel21 expert (Options 1, 2 and 3), this work is charged based on time & material, charged at A$180 per hour. Setting up CUSTOM DATA in Apparel21 is estimated at least 4 hours of effort (estimated total of A$720).