Tips on how to Match Vendor Merchandise Codes to Stock in NetSuite

It is a widespread AP problem that you have in all probability seen earlier than – relating to shopping for items and providers, no two folks (or corporations) will use the identical language.

Whilst you can create uniform merchandise codes and UPCs (Common Product Codes) in your NetSuite atmosphere, your distributors all have a thoughts of their very own – and can hardly ever (if ever) comply with the identical terminology.

If the identical stock gadgets are procured from a number of suppliers, or in case your buying division is sourcing from a number of places – it provides to the complexity.

Fortunately, there may be a couple of method out.

On this information, we’ll stroll via alternative ways you may map vendor-specific merchandise codes to your NetSuite gadgets. We’ll particularly take a look at:

1. Mapping A number of Vendor Codes to One Merchandise Code
2. Mapping a Single Vendor Code to an Merchandise Code
3. Utilizing CSV Imports for Bulk Mapping
4. Storing SKU Mappings Outdoors NetSuite (for eg. while you’re utilizing OCR)
5. Utilizing Workflow Automation to mix the perfect components of options 1 – 4

These options will differ a bit – some are extra handbook whereas some options are extremely automated and good for scale. You possibly can choose what’s finest for your online business relying in your scale of operations.

Mapping A number of Vendor Codes to One Merchandise Code

When you work with a number of distributors for a similar merchandise, one of the simplest ways to retailer vendor SKU codes is within the ItemVendor Desk. This lets you hyperlink every merchandise to a number of distributors together with their particular merchandise codes.

💡

That is the most typical situation – many widespread stock gadgets will fall into this class. For instance, when you’re buying standardized components/equipment as a part of a small manufacturing setup, you may in all probability must supply from a number of distributors to get the perfect worth.

Here is how one can set this up and fetch the info via a Saved Search or SuiteQL question.

Steps:

1. Allow A number of Distributors for an Merchandise:
   • Go to Setup > Firm > Allow Options.
   • Below the “Gadgets & Stock” tab, allow A number of Distributors for gadgets.
2. Enter Vendor Codes:
   • Open the merchandise document and navigate to the Buying/Stock tab.
   • Within the Distributors subtab, you’ll discover a subject so as to add vendor-specific merchandise codes. Enter the seller SKU code for every vendor supplying the merchandise.
3. Create a Saved Search to Show Vendor Codes:
   • Go to Experiences > Saved Searches > New.
   • Choose Merchandise as the sort.
   • Within the Outcomes tab, choose the next fields:
     • Merchandise > Identify
     • Vendor > Identify
     • Vendor > Vendor Code
   • Run the search to get an inventory of things and their vendor-specific codes.
4. Utilizing SuiteQL to Fetch Vendor SKU Codes: SuiteQL is a strong question language that permits extra superior retrieval of knowledge. You need to use SuiteQL to extract vendor SKUs for gadgets instantly. This methodology can be utilized when you’re utilizing the NetSuite API.

SELECT 
   Vendor.CompanyName,
   ItemVendor.vendorCode,
   ItemVendor.purchasePrice
FROM 
   ItemVendor
INNER JOIN 
   Vendor ON ItemVendor.vendor = Vendor.Id
WHERE 
   ItemVendor.Merchandise = 'YOUR_ITEM_NUMBER';

On this question, we’re utilizing the itemVendor desk to get the record of all distributors which have that merchandise listed, and their respective codes for that particular merchandise.

Mapping a single Vendor Code to an Merchandise Code

When you solely work with one vendor per merchandise, utilizing a customized subject or an Merchandise Alias is an easier methodology. This lets you retailer the seller’s SKU code instantly within the merchandise document.

Here is methods to implement this mapping:

Steps:

1. Create a Customized Subject:
   • Navigate to Customization > Lists, Data, & Fields > Merchandise Fields > New.
   • Create a customized subject known as Vendor SKU Code (Textual content subject kind).
   • Add this subject to your merchandise data.
2. Enter Vendor SKU Code:
   • Go to every merchandise document and populate the Vendor SKU Code subject with the respective vendor’s SKU.
3. Use the Vendor SKU in Transactions:
   • As soon as added, this tradition subject can be utilized in transactions like buy orders and payments to indicate the seller SKU subsequent to your inner merchandise code.
4. Show the Vendor SKU on Kinds:
   • If you’d like the seller SKU to indicate up on printed buy orders or vendor payments, you may customise the transaction varieties to incorporate this tradition subject.

Utilizing CSV Imports for Bulk Mapping

When you’ve got a lot of gadgets and distributors, manually coming into every SKU code could possibly be time-consuming. On this case, you should use NetSuite’s CSV Import function to bulk replace vendor SKU codes on your gadgets.

Steps:

1. Put together the CSV File:
   • Create a CSV file with columns for Merchandise Identify/ID, Vendor Identify, and Vendor SKU Code.
2. Go to CSV Import Instrument:
   • Navigate to Setup > Import/Export > Import CSV Data.
   • Select Merchandise because the document kind and comply with the prompts to add your CSV file.
3. Map the Fields:
   • Through the import course of, be certain that the CSV columns are appropriately mapped to the suitable fields in NetSuite (Merchandise, Vendor, and Vendor SKU Code).
4. Run the Import:
   • After mapping, run the import to replace all of your merchandise data with the seller SKU codes in a single go.

Storing SKU Mappings Externally

When you’re utilizing an exterior software to course of invoices — akin to OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or AP Automation software program — you may choose to retailer the SKU mappings in an exterior system or CSV file slightly than in NetSuite.

This methodology is helpful while you use an OCR/AP resolution and need to map vendor codes to your inner merchandise codes on the time of coding an bill, BEFORE it’s imported into NetSuite.

Tips on how to Implement:

1. Retailer Mappings in an Exterior CSV or Database:
   • Preserve a CSV or database with the next columns: Vendor SKU, Inside SKU, Vendor Identify.
   • This may be saved in your native system or in a cloud-based storage like Google Sheets.
2. OCR/AP Integration:
   • When an bill is available in, use your OCR software to extract the seller’s SKU from the bill.
   • Write a script or use an integration software (most OCR or AP instruments permit customized integrations with Python) to search for the seller SKU in your exterior file and retrieve the corresponding inner SKU.
   • When importing the info into NetSuite to create the Vendor Invoice, use the interior SKU code that you just simply fetched from the lookup in step #2.

Right here’s a easy Python script to match the seller SKU from a CSV file:

import csv

def get_internal_sku(vendor_sku, csv_file):
    with open(csv_file, mode="r") as file:
        reader = csv.DictReader(file)
        for row in reader:
            if row['Vendor SKU'] == vendor_sku:
                return row['Internal SKU']
    return None

# Instance Utilization
vendor_sku = 'ABC123'
internal_sku = get_internal_sku(vendor_sku, 'vendor_mapping.csv')
print(f'Inside SKU: {internal_sku}')

When processing vendor payments in NetSuite, now you can use the interior SKU returned by your script or integration to make sure the proper merchandise is used.

• Keep in mind that you will in all probability nonetheless must do information validation when coming into the seller payments into NetSuite (until your OCR/AP software already does this). Not doing this may imply damaged information going into NetSuite.

Utilizing AI-Primarily based Workflow Automation

There’s one other method to do that that’s each faster + extra scaleable.

It entails utilizing an AI workflow builder like Nanonets, which lets you arrange the precise workflow wanted to match vendor merchandise codes together with your NetSuite merchandise codes, earlier than syncing it with NetSuite.

That is what a typical workflow will appear like:

1. Use a Nanonets AI mannequin to extract information from invoices and payments – this mannequin will extract vendor merchandise codes from every vendor invoice
2. Arrange a NetSuite integration on this mannequin and create lookups to get the interior merchandise codes
3. Nanonets then does the beneath for each vendor invoice that you just course of:
   1. Learn the seller merchandise code on the invoice
   2. Discover a matching inner merchandise code utilizing a mixture of AI studying from reinforcement + SuiteQL + pure language understanding
   3. If no match is discovered, then the mannequin will ask the consumer to pick an inner merchandise code, and be taught from that call

However why even do that?

Utilizing AI automation like Nanonets has important benefits:

• You will find yourself saving greater than 80% of the time it takes to search for vendor codes.
• Nanonets has in-built information validation – for each bill that you just export into NetSuite, each subject is validated and formatted to make sure consistency with object information fashions in NetSuite.
• You get the benefit of the NetSuite API and SuiteQL within the backend, whereas additionally getting high-accuracy OCR and AI studying capabilities that enhance your workflow based mostly in your suggestions.

All for studying extra? A brief 15-minute intro name with an automation knowledgeable is one of the simplest ways to get began.

Conclusion

Mapping vendor SKU codes to your inner merchandise codes in NetSuite may be dealt with in a number of methods, relying on your online business setup. You possibly can go for one thing that’s extra handbook and offers you extra management, or you may absolutely automate it utilizing the API (with considerably greater effort and a few coding concerned).

By combining the perfect of each worlds utilizing a no-code resolution like Nanonets, you may confidently handle vendor merchandise codes, streamline information entry, and cut back handbook errors, saving invaluable time on your procurement and finance groups.

API/SuiteQL References: