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
