Response Channel Manager. For Web Store Integration. CoLinear Systems Inc. v10

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v10

Response Channel Manager

For Web Store Integration

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Overview

The Response “Channel Manager” account facilitates integration with select web sites such as Commerce V3 (CV3), Amazon, Magento and Volusion. Those are referred to in this document as “web stores”. The Channel Manager interface allows Response to communicate with your web store. Using this interface, XML is sent via the Channel Manager

interface to update inventory items, categories, and pull down orders from the Web Store into Response. Other tasks can be accomplished as well.

Current online stores supported by Channel Manger include…..

 CommerceV3 (CV3)

 Magento

 Volusion

There currently is no cost to setup up a Channel Manager account to talk to your web store. However, to use Channel manager for your web store, you must license the optional BATCH Order Import module in Response. The Batch Order Import module is a separate mechanism used for importing orders from sources other than the web stores previously mentioned.

Many Response users already license the Batch Order import module to import orders in .csv format. The “Channel Manager” Interface utilizes some of the features of Batch Import such as the “Exceptions to Review” and “Edit Problem Orders”. These menu options are enabled by the Batch Order Import module. They will be discussed in context in the pages that follow.

Note: CV3 Web Services (API) and other supported web stores allow Response to push XML files back and forth. For general info on “API” and more (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Api, look at “web management section there for laymans terms)

For CV3 specifics, See also

 http://www.commercev3.com/colinearresponse

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Response Channel Manager Connector

To work with the Response Channel Manager your web store must provide a service for their customers (you) to download order data via xml. Web stores must have an SSL certificate (Secure Socket Layer) if they expose their order data to be sent via xml from an http post request. Transfers from the web site over the secure socket layer is a PCI compliant method.

The principals in setting up a "generic" order download service.

When you have .NET or .PHP control of the environment to CREATE web services such as this it's typically not difficult to talk to Channel Manager. However, those details are not in the scope of this document. This is a brief discussion for information purposes only.

The typical communications look like this: Order Requests:

Response will ask Channel Manager….. do we have any new orders to download?

Channel Manager can bet setup to initiate a GET or POST request to a custom URL for purposes of downloading the order

e.g: https://www.myshoppingcart.com/GetOrders.aspx?password=fortran1

This URL will return an XML representation of the orders, and relay that information to Response via the Channel Manager, which will map and generate the orders. As Response generates EACH order, it will send a message back to Channel Manager saying "I've downloaded order X". Channel Manager can be setup to GET or POST another request to the shopping cart telling the shopping cart it has downloaded order X, e.g:

https://www.myshoppingcart.com/VerifyOrder.aspx?password=fortran1&order=12345

You can schedule the requester so orders are downloaded routinely (every hour, every fifteen minutes, etc) whatever makes the most sense based on the velocity of orders. Email notification is sent saying how many orders were downloaded, how much revenue, and how many were put into exceptions to review.

An example order download can be found here: http://support.colinear.com/doc/files/CMorders_sample.xml

In regards to encrypted credit card info – it needs to be in clear text within the XML, but the transport should be https (SSL encrypted). You set the URL for download in Channel Manager settings, so there you will specify https instead of http.

The ORDER integration is typically the first integration of channel manager in Response, and should be considered a Phase I. Phase II would be integration of products, description, category/navigation info, and product availability, which are all capabilities of our Channel Manager product. We have already built this for a few shopping carts such as CV3, Volusion and Magento. Those are discussed in detail in this document.

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Menu Path: Orders / Import / Configure Channel Manager Connector

Note the view title in the title bar is Channel Manager Setup. A Section within a view has a faint outline around it with a title for that section. This view has sections for Channel Manager Credentials in the upper left and Business Rules section on the lower half of the view. Those outlines are for organization only. Letting you know briefly the purpose of the fields and buttons within the outline.

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Channel Manager Buttons

 Verify Credentials: This verifies the Channel Manager account does exist exactly as described in the fields to the left. Be sure you have entered the names exactly. It only verifies the Channel Manager account and the names entered there. It does not verify the existence of the CV3 Account or store.

 Import Category and Item data from CommerceV3: Used only if you have a CV3 store with existing data before it exists in Response and only for initial setup. Most users will have or will create data in Response to build their CV3 data.

 Category and Item Management: Where you will create category structure and tag information in Response to push to your CV3 store. A lot goes on in here, you will use it often.

 (Re)Initialize Tags. Rebuilds the default CV3 tags in the event they become corrupt

 Rebuild Items + Inventory Controls Only (Check Box): Sends data (like inventory counts) to CV3 for EVERY web enabled item. You make items web enabled in the Category and Item Management view. If you check “inventory controls only” description information will be skipped.

 Rebuild Categories: Sends category information to CV3 for all web enabled categories.

 Generate Discount Files: Creates *.csv files you can upload using the CV3 web interface. (this is not automatic yet)

 Rebuild Items (if changed): Sends all information for items lists in Response ITEMPOST table #223 to CV3. An Item is added to ITEMPOST when any process touches any inventory qty field for the item. For example, PO receive, inventory receipts and adjustments, adding an item to an order (sales).

 Import Orders: Triggers orders to be downloaded from CV3 to Response. You must have a valid Order import template designated (*.iox file)

 Exceptions: Opens the Imported Orders on Hold view.

 Import Catalog Requests: Triggers catalog requests from your CV3 Web store to be downloaded from CV3 to Response. You must have a valid Catalog Request template designated (*.icx file)

 Generate Batch File for Schedule Automation: Opens a scheduled task configuration dialog box. This feature uses your Windows Task Scheduler and is under construction.

 Post Weights (check box). Send item weight information during rebuild items

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 The numbers before the .xml should keep incrementing. You will want to remove those occasionally.

 “?” button (in business rules section): opens this message for the optional Price Categories field

 ESC: Close: pressing this button or the ESC key will close the CommerceV3 Management view without saving changes.

 F2 - Save: pressing this button or the F2 key will save the default information you have entered or changed here.

 Send Order Status (Cv3 Only): By default when orders are confirmed in Response, information will be sent back to your web store indicating this. General information like the shipping date and tracking number are sent. The send order status button will send order status information for all confirmed orders currently in the system. Use the order range field to send information for only a range of order numbers.

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Setting Up Your Channel Manager Account

Important: Set up your account before doing anything else!

Step by Step Process:

1. Go to –http://channelmanager.net 1

2. Click the Register button to create your service account. 3. Fill out all the following fields

4. Open your E-Mail and you should see an email from [email protected]. Follow the directions in the E-Mail to activate your service account.

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____________________________________________________________________________ 5. Click the link to access the site

6. If you are not at this prompt or the link above is simply not available go back to http://channelmanager.net and enter your new ID and password.

7. The FIRST time you log in to Channel Manager with your new Login ID you will see the message: “You do not have any accounts.” Once logged in click the “Create New Channel Manager Account” link.

8. This is a reference to your Channel Manager Account name (in my example I created Cv3 Store

Example). In the near future you may have many CV3 accounts (one for each domain name) under this single channel manager account

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10. Select a Channel Manager account to review by clicking on the Account from the list. I’ll select my “Cv3

Store Example”

11. Next you will click the link “Add CommerceV3 Account”

12. Next you will need to enter in the correct information for your Store.

a. Account Name: Enter ANY NAME YOU WANT on the first line to identify a single CV3 Account. b. CommerceV3 User ID: Enter your CommerceV3.com Login Email

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d. CommerceV3 Service ID: Found under your CommerceV3 Store Options > General Options and store

Information.

13. Back in Response, In the Commerce V3 Management view, enter the new channel manager user ID and password. The channel manger account is “Your New account name” (the one you just created). The

commercev3 account is “Cv3 Store Example” (for this example). The User ID and Password are the exact same as the user ID and Password you just entered in for your Cv3 Account Information.

14. Next make sure that the Channel Manager URL is correct in the Channel Manager URL Field.

http://channelmanager.net/CMService.asmx/ChannelManagerAction2

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15. Click Verify Credentials to ensure the information you entered is correct

16. When you receive the notification that “Account Info OK” click the save button at the bottom right of the module, or hit F2 to save the information. This information will be saved to Channelmanager.xml in your data\00* Folder.

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Cv3 Password Change

IMPORTANT

If you forget to perform the above steps after you change your Cv3 password all channel manager functions

will fail to execute properly.

Every so often Cv3 requires that you update and change your password. When you do this you must also change it under your Cv3 Store settings within your channelmanager.net account.

Log into your service account, and navigate back to the desired Cv3 Store setup at http://channelmanager.net until you reach this page…

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Initialize Tags

Tags are used to push associated item data to Cv3

It is important to initialize tags to allow Response to push associated item data to Cv3. Response already pushes general item data to Cv3, but tags allow Response to also push other associated fields on the Cv3 site.

** Click “(RE)Initialize Tags” to create the entries in the TAGMAST table for all the Cv3 Tags.

Commerce V3 Tag listing

List of all Cv3 tags currently supposed by Response or in development

 CV3AltID: Maps to Cv3 ALT. ID. This field is found listed under each inventory item.

 CV3Brand: Maps to the cv3 Brand field found under each item in the product display options

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 CV3Description: Maps to Cv3 description found under product display > Product Display.

 CV3DescriptionHeader: Maps to Cv3 Description Header udner product display > Product Display.

 CV3Hidden: Maps to Cv3 hidden check box founder under options > options

 CV3Keywords: Maps to site search keywords under product display > product display

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 CV3Manufacturer: Maps to the manufacturer field under product display > product display.

 CV3MetaDescription, MetaKeywords, MetaTitle: Each of these maps to their respective field under Cv3. Each name mimics the one on Cv3. These are found under product display -> product display.

 CV3Name: Maps to the Cv3 Name field listed at the top of each inventory item page. This field default is your Response item Description.

 CV3New: In Development

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 CV3Template: Maps to Cv3 template field under product display > product display. Determines the template style to use for this items page. The default setting is default.

 CV3ThumbnailImage: In Development

 CV3URLName: Populates the URL name under product display > product display. By default it will be set to a lowercase version of the SKU.

 CV3Invisible(category only): Maps to invisible check box under edit category. If set to true the check box will be checked and the category will not be visible on the site.

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Manual Tag Edit

Edit Tag Data Manually with Channel Manager or Inventory Module

You can edit tag data under the Inventory Items Module (File > Inventory > Inventory Items). This data is located under the Web Info Tab and then the Tags Tab.

You can also Edit Tags under the Category and Item Management Section of Channel Manager. Tag data for each category and item will be listed for the category/item selected

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Tag Import

Importing Tag Data using import inventory

Tag data can also be imported using the Import Inventory Module (Addons >Import > Import Inventory > Import Inventory). Tag Data is imported just as any other inventory data would be imported. Tag fields are denoted in the import File definition by [].

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Category and Item Management

Used to manage all item and Category Data

Button Listing

 New: Opens view to create new category

 Modify: Opens modification window for chosen Category

 Delete: Deletes chosen category

 Expand All: Expands(opens) all category trees

 Collapse All: Collapses (closes) all category trees

 Refresh: Refreshes and updates the categories view pane of Category and item Management to reflect any recent changes made to categories.

 Tag Master List: View where you can view all tag data and create new tags for most record type sin Response.

 Import Product Classes: Utility for importing product classes. Requires an import file definition specific to your flat file format.

 Import Categories: Import utility where you can import your categories along with their tag data. Requires that you set up an import file definition specific to your flat file format.

 Import Category/Item Info: Import utility where you can import items into categories. Requires that you set up an import definition file specific to your flat file format.

 Import Related Items: Import utility where you can import item relations. Requires that you set up an import file definition specific to your flat file format.

 Related Items: Opens the Related Items view where you can manually set items relations

 Web Enable(toggle): Enables/disables a chosen category from being pushed or not pushed to cv3.

 All items: Searches and shows all items that meet the criteria in the search field.

 Category Items: Searches and brings up all items within the chosen category

 <-Include in this Category: Inserts the chosen item on the right into the chosen category. Must have a category in the category pane selected.

 Remove from this Category: Removes the chosen item on the right from the category it is currently in. Must have a category from the category pane selected.

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Items in Category and Item Management

This section of the Category and item Management is where you can edit tag data manually for items, find items to insert into categories, remove items from categories, and view items that are currently found in a specified category.

{ Searching for Items }

Use the item filter text field to search for items currently in your inventor record. To find all items insert a * (Shift+8) in the field and click All items

{Adding items to Categories}

To add items to categories select the category you want the items to be included in on the left. Then select the items you want to include in that category on the right.

**NOTE ** to select multiple items in the list use CTRL or click on item and hold shift while you click another item, and all items between the two will be selected.

{Removing Items from Categories}

To remove an item from a category, select a category from the category pane. Then click the Category Items button located above the items pane. This will display all the items in the selected category. Click or highlight the item(s) you wish to remove from the category and click the “Remove from Category” button.

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To view item relationships select an item from the items pane. Then click the Item Relationships button located directly under the items pane.

{Magic Wand}

The Magic wand allows you to push a single given item to cv3 without having to do an full item rebuild or even a smart item rebuild(if changed). To do this select an item you wish to push to Cv3 and then click the magic wand. This will update the single item on the Cv3 site.

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Import Utilities

All import utilities require that the user create an import file definition type that is specific to the flat file format you use. All of these work the same as any import you might have performed before. To create the flat file format open the import utility of your choosing and follow these instructions….

Example. Importing Related items – Step by Step

This example is for tag data import. However, this methodology can be used for all the imports.

1. Click the Edit/Create button to create your import File definition

2. Choose the correct format for your flat file. Also Select the “Ignore First Line” check box if the first line of your file is headers or something of the sort.

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3. Use the Copy button to move fields from the left pane to the right pane that you will be mapping to. In this example I am mapping to Item_Id(main item ID), REL_TYPE(This is the relation Type), and REL_ITEM_ID(The item related to the main item).

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____________________________________________________________________________ 5. This file I created in Excel demonstrates the mapping set up by the import file definition Above

6. Once you are satisfied with the selected fields of the import file definition click next(2x) and you should come to the save screen. Here you can save the import file definition with any name to your 001 folder. In this example it is called “RELITEM.iri”

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8. Next you can either test your import to make sure that the fields are mapping correctly. Or if you are certain that you have set everything up correctly you can click Import.

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Item Relations

The related item view allows you to create item relations that will be pushed to cv3. The items relations available are

 Subproduct

 Additional

 Cross sell

 Related

 Upsell

Input or select the item you want to add relations to in the top item ID field. Then select the relation type followed by the related item. The description field will be updated automatically with the item description stored in the inventor table. The ordering field only controls the ordering of the relations in this window. It does not control the ordering of the items on cv3.

Item relations are viewed on the Cv3 site usually as a link next to the “Parent” items name. (Example for Subproducts)

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Ordering Categories and Items within Categories

There are two methods for ordering categories and items within categories. There is the manual option, and the import option. To manually order categories or items you can use the arrow buttons found next to the categories and items windows.

To control category and item ordering through import you simply need to make sure that your import document contains a field for item order, and that you map to it in your import field definition.

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Pushing Data to Commerce V3

This Section will cover all information related to getting information from Response to

Cv3

The entire purpose of Channel Manager is to get data from Response to the store front website. There are a couple of utilities in Response that make this happen.

 Rebuild Items

 Rebuild Categories

 Rebuild Items (If Changed)

 Send Order Status

Rebuild Categories

Rebuild Categories will send all new or modified information regarding categories to Cv3. This includes information about which items are included in a category. If you make changes to which items are included in which categories it is important to do a category rebuild, or the changes will not appear on Cv3.

Rebuild categories will also send item associations with categories as well. If you move items around into different categories in Response but not on your Web site, when you rebuild these changes will be applied.

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Rebuild Items/Rebuild Items (if Changed)

Rebuild Items will do a FULL item rebuild to Cv3. This will push all web associated data to cv3 about every item in a web enabled category. If you do not want data about an item being pushed to cv3 anymore, then remove the item from the web enabled categories. Depending on the number of items in web enabled categories it could vary greatly on how long a full item rebuild can take.

If you have a large number of items and you make only a few changes to the items in categories. It is better to run Rebuild Items if changed. This will only push information to Cv3 for items that have had recent changes that are not on Cv3. To see what items will be pushed to Cv3 in a smart item rebuild you can look at the ITEMPOST table.

{Post Counts/Post Weights Check Boxes}

Post Counts

By having the check box checked when Channel Manager performs item rebuilds it will also send stock count data to Cv3. This only needs to be checked if you are running inventory controls on your cv3 site

Post Weights

By having this check box checked when Channel Manager performs item rebuilds it will also send unit weights to Cv3 as well. Response does not by default send item weights, and therefore if you want weights to be on Cv3 for any reason make sure this box is checked.

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{Inventory Controls Only Check Box}

This box when checked will only send stock counts to Cv3. So if you want to update only the stock counts on Cv3 for every item in a web enabled category check this box and the time to perform the rebuild will be greatly shortened.

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Order Data to Cv3

Since Build 5104 users can now send order data to Cv3. Order data is automatically sent to Cv3 during Order confirm. Order data can also be sent to Cv3 by use of the Send Order Status button found on the channel manager screen.

Clicking this button will send an XML feed to Cv3 containing all the shipments information for every order.

You can specify a given order range using the Order Range field. However, when specifying an order range for sending order status you actually need to input a transaction ID # range. Transaction IDs can be found under the shipments view of service lookup.

Order Status Push Requirements

There are certain specifications that Response looks for to know whether or not to set order status for the order back to Cv3.

1) Order Source/Type must be “CommerceV3”

a. If you do not currently use the “CommerceV3” order type you can review how to add it to your order type selections here

2) You must also be storing your Cv3 Order # in the PO number field prepended with a “W”. You can alternatively enter your Cv3 Order # in the web order id (impo.web_order_id) field if you prefer.

IF YOUR CURRENT SETUP DOES NOT SUPPORT THESE REQUIREMENTS CONTACT COLINEAR SYSTEMS AND WE CAN HELP SETUP YOUR *.IOX FILE TO MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS

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Item Configurator and Channel Manager/Cv3

Channel Manager and Commercev3 allow for quick easy implementation of any configured items in Cv3. For more information on how to setup configured items in Response see our Item Configurator document

Configured items appear on Cv3 as a drop down selection menu. This drop down selection menu allows the customer to select which “Attribute/Configuration” of the base item they want.

Once you have completed the necessary steps to create a configured item all you need to do to push the item and all its configurations to Cv3, is to insert the BASE ITEM into a web enabled category. Response will push all the item

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Special Pricing / Item Discounts on Cv3

Cv3 allows setting item discounts for items by using the “Special Ongoing” check box, and discount fields under the retail tab of each inventory item.

Response manages these fields simply by using the list price and price code 1 fields found on the inventory charges tab. By setting the Price Code 1 field to a lower price then the list price for an item Response will automatically set the Special Ongoing check box and update the special price for the item.

Price Categories – Driving Special Pricing

If using price code 1 as your default price for driving special pricing on Cv3 is not an option then you can use the “Price Categories” business rule in Channel Manager Setup.

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The price categories business rule will allow you to easily setup price categories on Cv3 to drive pricing. The main three categories are

1. Standard – By default the list price for an item is the standard price. Standard will set a allow you to set a different standard price for an item.

2. Retail – By default this is the price general customers will receive. 3. Wholesale – Whole price category

Example.

The above example will push pricing to cv3 by setting the standard or baseline price equal to price code 10. It will then set the retail price of the items to price code 11 followed by price code 12 for the whole sale category. If either price code 11 or 12 are lower than price code 10 then the special ongoing checkbox will be set to true.

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Debug Logging

Helps identify issues between Response and Cv3

It is important to turn on Debug Logging in Channel Manager because it will us and you determine and resolve issues when dealing with all actions associated with Channel Manager. To turn Debug Logging on check the Debug Logging Check box located on the main screen of Channel Manager

Since Build 5103 *.xml files will be written to your data\00* folder when performing any action in Channel manager from item rebuild, category rebuild, and Rebuild items (if changed).

These XML files will look like

 ProductRequest1.xml  ProductRequest2.xml  ProductReply1.xml  ProductReply2.xml  OrderStatusRequest.xml  OrderStatusReply.xml  CategoriesRequest.xml  CategoriesReply.xml

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Order download to Response

Bring down order information from Cv3 to Response.

The first step to setting up order download is to ensure that you have an *.iox file that Channel Manager is mapped to. The *.iox file is how Response knows where to map the fields from Cv3 into Response. When you are ready CoLinear will provide you with a default *.iox file. We can also make changes as needed to fit any specific needs that you might have. On the main Channel Manager Screen once you have received the *.iox file from CoLinear map the file path to the *.iox in the Order Import Template Field. You can also download a generic version of each from this link.

The full file path in this example is (c:\program files\colinear\r4w\data\001\cv3orders.iox)

{Order Range}

Setting an order range allows you to only download orders that meet that specific criteria. If you have orders that you want to remain only on cv3 or wait to have them imported later use this field.

{Order Numbers}

When Orders are downloaded from Cv3 they are given a unique order number by Response. The Order number from Response is what populates the ORDER_NO field. Currently there is not a field specific for cv3 order numbers.

Currently the best solution to this problem is to map the Cv3 order number to the PO_NUMBER. By importing the Cv3 Order number to the PO number field it makes it possible to still search for the order by PO number in service lookup or order entry. We can also use the PO field to populate the order number for E-Mails generated to customer so they do not get confused by receiving a Response order number that differs from the Cv3 order number.

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*.iox Import Templates

Download the default *.iox here. The Default cv3orders.iox you download should look a lot like this…

The fields in the *.iox map to fields that exist in Response.

If you look in the *.iox file with notepad, you can see how the xml tags in the .xml source file are defined by the same tag name in the

-<CustomerInformation>

<FirstName>Bozeman</FirstName> <LastName>Joseph</LastName>

CustomerInformation/FirstName,MASTPROS.FILE_NUMBER,FIRST_NAME CustomerInformation/LastName,MASTPROS.FILE_NUMBER,LAST_NAME

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Order Import

Pressing the Import orders button connects to CV3 to pull down any new orders

Orders that contain problems are put into the exceptions to review. The process complete window shows how many orders were imported, the total amount of revenue, and how many orders were put into exceptions.

When an order is successfully downloaded it will go directly into the SYSOENT order record. The bill to information will be created as a customer in the SYSCUST record. Response uses match back mechanics to determine if a SYSCUST record already exists for the customer information being imported. Response will check address, phone #, and email to

determine the match or not.

Ship to information will be imported into the SHIPTO table. Order comments will be put into SERVICE, and order messages will be put into ORDERMSG.

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Exceptions

This new CV3 interface DOES use the “Exceptions to Review” view on the order import menu and the temporary tables IMPC, IMPO, IMPS, and IMPL etc. Those temporary tables are the records populating the Imported Orders on Hold (aka “Exceptions”).

From Channel Manager you can access exceptions to review by clicking the Exceptions to Review button located next to the order import button.

The Exceptions window allows you to view orders that have met the criteria for exceptions. Reasons for being put into exceptions can be because of an error, or because they met certain criteria build into the *.iox file.

The order selected is what populates the different sections of this view. In the example below Order # 101493 is selected. General information about this order is shown in the following columns.

Reasons the order was placed in exceptions will be seen in the Reasons on Hold section of this view.

For more information on *.iox file exceptions, visit the *.iox section of this document.

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Comments placed on the order will be shown in the comments section of this view.

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This will open in the order in the order entry screen where changes can be made through the usual means. Once you have identified any problems from the Reason on hold and corrected them navigate to the totals tab of order entry and save the changes.

Once you are sure the order is ready to create highlight the order in the exceptions window and click the generate order button. This will create the order and remove the data from IMPO, IMPC, IMPM, IMPS, etc. These tables are used as temporary data storage until an order is generated.

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Matching Response to Cv3

If must exist on cv3 as it does in Response

Orders that are imported from Commerce v3 must exist exactly in Response as the do on Cv3. This means two things. 1. When an order comes in from Response variables like price, shipping, and other sensitive data must not be

changed in the process. After the order is placed on Cv3 the customer will expect what they see there to be the same all the way through unless notified otherwise.

2. Fields coming down from Cv3 must also exist in Response. This could vary depending on how you set up you *.iox file. For most users using the default *.iox will mean that…..

a. Salesman ID = WEB b. Media = WEB

c. Customer type = CNSMR d. Batch # = WEB

So before you start downloading orders make sure that these fields and any other exist in Response or all orders will be placed in exceptions for this reason.

(Example)

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Catalog Requests

When customers request a catalog from you on your Cv3 store you will want to download/import these requests into Response.

You will first need to make sure that you have the proper cv3catalogs.icx file in the catalog request template field of your channel manager setup. Download the default cv3catalogs.icx here

When you want to import your catalog requests all you will need to do is click the “Import Catalog Requests Button”.

Customers who requested a catalog will be downloaded and imported into your system as a Prospect. Their data will be placed in the MASTPROS table. To view information about people who requested a catalog go to File / Prospects / Prospects.

I strongly suggest setting up a custom demographic field for prospects that we can map to when importing customers from Cv3 to identify where these prospects came from. For help modifying your cv3catalogs.icx file for mapping to custom fields send an email to [email protected]. For more information on setting up custom Demographic data see our documentation here.

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Generate Discount Files

For product price breaks, the "Generate Discount Files" button creates 2 separate files: CV3DiscountTables.csv

CV3ProductGroups.csv

These two files can be uploaded in the CV3 Admin, and the price breaks will be available on CV3. Each product is handled separately (but within the same file), so it doesn't matter if each product has different price break levels.

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Schedule a Channel Manager task

Channel Manager is capable of scheduling order download, category rebuilds, and item

rebuilds, smart item rebuilds, and catalog requests

Setting up a scheduled task in channel manager is actually quite simple. If you follow these steps you should be able to automatically perform Cv3 Channel Manager Functions.

Windows Task Scheduler

Files created by the Scheduler automation are created for use by the Windows Scheduler feature of your MS Windows version. (XP, Vista, Win7 scheduler may each look different)

Naming the scheduled task something relevant to what you’re trying to do is a good idea. Be aware, a category rebuild will be necessary to do full item rebuild, so you may want to check that box as well for the full item rebuild. You can check multiple tasks for each output text file you generate. The smart item rebuild will only do ‘changed’ items that quantities have adjusted for in receipts/order shipments/etc…. This is something you may want to consider doing in conjunction with your order downloads.

The idea is you'll have SEVERAL scheduled tasks running in the scheduler, one for a full item rebuild (maybe weekly), one for a rebuild of changed only item (maybe every hour or so), one for downloading orders (every 10 minutes), etc.

Click the "next time login automati cally" and it won't ask you for the information any longer. The scheduled process can be run on any workstation, but its best suited for a server or a machine that is "always on".

Step by Step Process

This example focuses on an order download scheduled task.

You must be running Response 10.0 Build 5102f or greater. If you don’t have CMSched.vd7 in your \r4w\programs folder, download the latest build release

(http://support.colinear.com/download/r10/10xbuilds.htm) and extract cmsched.vd7 to \r4w\programs.

In order to run unattended, you must store the SQL username/password credentials in the registry. To do this, the first time the scheduled process runs it may ask you for a username/password

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1. First Click the Generate Batch File for Scheduler Automation

2. Select an output file name specific to the task you are scheduling. Click the magnifying glass to create the file path much more easily. Also select the task you wish to perform.

(In this example we selected Order Download)

3. Be sure to save the output file as a text file.

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____________________________________________________________________________

5. Click the Generate File Button. This creates a *.txt file the Windows scheduled task along with cmsched.vd7 will use as parameters. (See FAQ section for an example of what these files look like)

6. Next open the Windows Task scheduler. Go to Start > Control Panel > Scheduled Tasks. Click the Add a

scheduled Task link. These screens show Win XP, (XP, Vista, Win7 scheduler may each look different, talk to your Network Admin for additional assistance)

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7. A scheduled task wizard appears will appear. 8. Click Next

9. In the “click the program you want to run”, choose “Browse”.

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____________________________________________________________________________ 11. Type a name for this task, something like “Download Orders from CommerceV3”.

12. For now, choose “perform this task “Daily”” – we’re going to change that in the next step.

13. Click Next. Choose the time you want to run the task. In this example, we’ll run it daily at 8:30am. (We’ll show you how to change the schedule).

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14. Enter the username and password of the person who has authority to run Response. This can be a normal user or an administrator, but the person needs to have permissions necessary to run Response.

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____________________________________________________________________________

16. At the end of the wizard, click the box that says “Open advanced properties for this task when I click “finish”, and click “Finish”. In the advanced properties of the task, we must change the command line.

17. The Run section of the task: window needs 3 pieces of information. a. The full path to dfrun.exe

b. The full path to cmsched.vd7 and

c. The full path to the batch file that you exported from the Channel Manager Connector screen. 18. In the example above, the full command for the “Run” field would be:

"c:\program files\colinear\r4w\bin\dfrun.exe" "c:\program files\colinear\r4w\programs\cmsched.vd7" "c:\scheduler\OrderDownload.txt"

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19. Click the "Schedule" tab to manage the schedule. In the schedule tab you can manage the simple schedule, or click the "Advanced" button to create a more advanced schedule (like hourly).

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____________________________________________________________________________

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Scheduling a Task in Windows 7/Vista

The following guide walks you through the process of setting up a scheduled task in windows 7 or Vista. The process varies greatly from Windows XP due to the changes to the Task Scheduler. Windows XP uses Task scheduler 1.0 while Vista and 7 use 2.0.

There are known problems with setting up a scheduled task in Windows 7 and Vista due to the security Changes with Task Scheduler 2.0. Many of these issues arise when trying to schedule a task to run while the user is not logged on. If you experience these issues with this setting contact support and we will try to work with you to get the issues resolved. Step by Step Process

1. Open Response and open up Channel Manager (Orders --- Import --- Configure Channel Manager Connector)

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____________________________________________________________________________ ii. Full Item Rebuild (inventory only) – Stock Counts

iii. Smart Item Rebuild – If changed

iv. Category Rebuild (recommend with any item rebuild) v. Order Download

vi. Catalog Request Download

4. Once you have selected the task you wish to have performed click the magnifying Glass at the right of the “Output Filename” Field to create the text file needed for the scheduler. Make sure that you save the file as a *.txt file, and that the name relates to the task you are trying to perform.

In this Example I create the *.txt file “OrderDownLoad.txt”

Click Open and you will be promoted to create this file because it does not exist.

Click “YES” to create the file.

5. The “Output Filename” Text field should now populate with the file path to the file you just created. Click the “Generate File” Button to have the file created in your r4w\001 (or other appropriate) folder.

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6. Now it is time to set up the Scheduled Task.

Open the start menu and type into the search field “Task” to find and open the Task Scheduler.

7. Create a basic Scheduled task by clicking the “Create Basic Task” button located on the right hand side of the screen.

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____________________________________________________________________________ 10. The action will be to start a program

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11. Next you will set up the triggers for the file path actions for the task to run.

a. **NOTE** These file paths are only examples for this document. Your file paths could be different and the name of your .txt document could be different as well.

b. Program/Script

i. “C:\Program Files\Colinear\R4W\BIN\DFRUN.exe” c. Add Arguments(Optional)

i. “C:\Program Files\Colinear\R4W\Programs\CMSched.vd7” “C:\Program Files\Colinear\R4W\DATA\001\OrderDownload.txt”

d. Start in(optional)

i. C:\Program Files\Colinear\R4W\BIN

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____________________________________________________________________________ 13. Here you can set more specific properties for the scheduled task

14. Most likely you will want to set the task to “Run whether user is logged on or not”

15. Under the “Triggers” Tab you can set the task to run every so often if you wish to have it run every 10 minutes a day or something of this sort.

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Appendix A: www.channelmanager.net

9/12/2011 post to the Response user group: Attention Channel Manager users:

Recently the Channel Manager Service has been moved from our internal servers to the RackSpace Cloud. This move will provide a much more stable environment decreasing the chance of down time or outage. This means that users will experience fewer interruptions when downloading orders from the web.

To use the new service users will need to change the Channel Manager URL setting on the main Channel Manager setup page in Response. Follow the steps below to do so.

1. From within Response go to Orders / Import / Configure Channel Manager Connector

2. In the Channel Manager URL field change the service.colinear.com portion to read ChannelManager.net - http://channelmanager.net/CMService.asmx/ChannelManagerAction

3. Press <CTRL> + <F2> to save the changes.

Once you have updated the URL in Response you will need to log into your account on http://www.channelmanager.net

and be sure that everything is the same as it was on service.colinear.com. Be sure that all your accounts & stored are there, as well as any recent password changes as well. It is very important to make sure your passwords are updated so that Channel Manager can connect to your online stores without issue. For Cv3 Users see pg.14 of the Channel Manager Document

(http://support.colinear.com/doc/Optional%20Modules/Channel_Manager.pdf) . If you have any further questions please contact [email protected]

New: http://www.channelmanager.net/ (this works too: http://channelmanager.net/ )

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FAQ and Tech Memos

Frequently Asked Questions and side notes

Question:

Where can I find more information on the Batch Order impord module? Can I import orders from a text file my call center provides thru that?

Answer:

Yes, you can find details here:

http://support.colinear.com/doc/Optional%20Modules/impord/IMPORD72forR4W9x_userguide.DOC

Question:

May 2009: Special Memo regarding CSS module and Response V10 Commerce V3 (CV3) integration. Is CSS module obsolete for those using CV3 Integration? RCK?

Answer:

No. CV3 integration will make CV3 order status visible on the CV3 site, but there is no means to view orders that were NOT placed in CV3. Meaning, phone in or mail in orders are not accessible via the CV3 interface. The CSS is a classic ASP implementation of an order status lookup front-end where customers can lookup orders by customer ID or order

number and another piece of info (PO #, phone #, etc). ALL orders (phone/mail/web) are accessible via CSS, and you can edit the pages however you wish.

What about RCK?

The CV3 interface will take the place of most of this (creating orders, extracting item info, etc). There are other potentially cool things you can do with RCK that may interest the user, e.g. create your own/simple order entry front end, etc but those require a lot of technical expertise.

Question:

This morning we received the message that there were 0 orders to import but there were in fact quite a few ready to come over from CV3. This happened before and we found bad characters in the SHIPTO field like “&” and a “—“double dash). Those caused us not to be able to import in the past. We’ve seen this with tilde characters too. Is there a way we might locate problem characters in the future?

Answer:

Troubleshooting the CV3 download orders web service. Use this tool to look for potentially bad characters if this happens again:

Use the following URL:

http://channelmanager.net/WebServiceTestGeneric.htm

The top 4 entries will be the same 4 entries you enter in Channel Manager Connector in Response. In the XML section, enter the following:

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____________________________________________________________________________

Login to CV3 to see the order number ranges that are still "pending" (i.e. haven't been downloaded into Response). Enter that full range of orders and it will fail with an invalid XML request. Click "back" in your browser and choose the first half of the range. If it's successful, try the second half. If it fails, continue to cut the ranges in half until you find the order(s) that have the problem.

Question:

I have an order in Exceptions with reason calc tot = x vs. data total = y Can I correct this from IMPORD exception maintenance?

Answer:

This particular error is hard to see or correct because we're not looking at Response prices at all. We're totaling the extended lineitem price in IMPL. and comparing to the imported impo.gross total. When that calculation does not match the order gross value from the source the exception occurs.

The total of all extended lineitems IMPL.ORDER_QTY * IMPL.ITEM_PRICE in the source must equal IMPO.GROSS value. Here's the thing: if your web prices aren't quite the same as pricing in Response it should not cause this problem

because they should create the impo.gross value correctly based on those web prices. It's rare to see this error unless you have web pricing with fractions of pennies like 5.955 or discount calculations where rounding errors may cause a discrepancy. This really needs to be addressed at the creation of the source file.

The source file must be corrected and the order imported again. Or create the order manually and remove from exceptions.

Question:

Can I open the text file created for scheduled tasks?

MEMO: The text file looks something like this if you open it in Notepad, however there is no need to do so (this is just for those who are curious )

C:\R10\data\001\;c:\r10\data\;c:\r10\bitmaps\;c:\r10\help\;c:\r10\programs\;.\;c :\vdf7\bin\;c:\vdf7\usr\;c:\vdf7\lib\;c:\vdf7\bitmaps\;c:\vdf7\help\;c:\r4wflags\ gwenvostro sa c:\r10\data\ChannelManager.xml INVENTORY_SMART

In this example the file contains INVENTORY_SMART that would be running the "rebuild items (if changed)" but if the scheduled task file contains additional lines, it's doing other things too :) for example ORDERS would be an order download

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Document History

 11/10/2010 – Document Response_Channel_Manager_Cv3.docx created with significant updates to replace original ChannelManager.doc

 11/22/2010 – Document renamed Channel_Manager.docx. Saved to .pdf for publishing on support doc website.

 11/24/2010 – Added information about configured items, cv3 password change, and Order data push to cv3. Also made a few slight changes to layout.

 02/18/2011: cosmetics/typo correction

 03/25/2011 – Cosmetic corrections (removing a lot of extra spaces.)

 05/25/2011 – Switched the layout of the document up some. Added the section on the catalog import

 6/21/2011: page 4, minor changes and note on pci compliance

 7/5/2011: page 5, added the section The principals in setting up a "generic" order download service.

 10/31/2011: pgs 6,9,10,12 plus Appendix A for info/reference new hosted CM url http://www.channelmanager.net/

vs. our old internal server location http://service.colinear.com/.

 11/1/11: pg 33 info re: build categories will send item associations too

Response Channel Manager. For Web Store Integration. CoLinear Systems Inc. v10

v10