Baan Connector - Customer Update

This document describes the process for synchronizing customer data from a Baan ERP system to the App4Sales platform. The process retrieves customer core data, addresses, and contact persons, then applies various business rules and transformations before storing the data in App4Sales. The data is fetched from a Baan web service.

Data Source Configuration

The connector retrieves customer data by calling the A4SListCustomers method on the Baan web service. The service endpoint is configured in the administration settings. Authentication is done using a username also configured in the settings. The service returns an XML structure containing a list of customers and their details.

Customer Core Fields

App4Sales Field	Source Field (XML Caption)	Logic/Notes
CustomerGuid	customers.customerGUID	The GUID is taken from the source if available. If not, the system attempts to find an existing GUID based on the `CustomerCode`. If no existing GUID is found, a new one is generated. Inactive customers can be reactivated, reusing their existing GUID.
CustomerCode	customers.customerCode	The value is trimmed. This field is mandatory.
CustomerName	customers.customerName	Direct mapping. This field is mandatory.
LanguageCode	customers.languageCode	The ERP language code is mapped to an App4Sales language code.
Discount	customers.discount	Parsed as a decimal. Defaults to 0 if the source value is missing or empty.
CustomerManager	customers.customerManager	Direct mapping.
Sysmodified	customers.sysmodified or customers.lastModified	Uses `customers.sysmodified` if available, otherwise falls back to `customers.lastModified`. If neither is present, the current date and time is used.
VatCode	customers.VATCode	Direct mapping. This field is cleared if the administration is a USA-based administration.
VatLiable	customers.isVATLiable	Parsed as a boolean. This field is set to false if the administration is a USA-based administration.
PaymentConditionCode	Not in source XML	The generic handler sets this to null if it's an empty string to prevent foreign key issues. It is not explicitly mapped in the Baan connector.
ActionPriceList	Not in source XML	The generic handler can set a default action price list based on the `DefaultActionPriceListCode` connector setting. It is not explicitly mapped in the Baan connector.

Addresses

The connector creates two address records for each customer: one for the delivery address and one for the visit address.

App4Sales Field	Source Field (XML Caption)	Logic/Notes
AddressType	(hardcoded)	'del' for the delivery address, 'vis' for the visit address. The generic handler ensures both types exist, potentially by duplicating an existing address.
AddressLine1	customers.deliveryAddress1, customers.visitAddress1	Mapped from the respective source fields. The generic handler may parse this into structured street, number, and addition fields.
PostCode	customers.deliveryPostCode, customers.visitPostCode	Mapped from the respective source fields.
City	customers.deliveryCity, customers.visitCity	Mapped from the respective source fields.
Country	customers.languageCode	The customer's language code is used as the country. The generic handler attempts to derive a standardized ISO2 code from this.
Phone	customers.contactPhone	The same phone number is used for both addresses.
Email	(hardcoded)	Hardcoded to an empty string in the Baan connector. The generic handler might fill it with the customer's main email if the address is a main address.
Fax	(hardcoded)	Hardcoded to an empty string.
IsMainAddress	(Derived)	The generic handler will set one visit address and one delivery address as the main address if none are marked as such.

Contacts

A single contact person is created for each customer based on the available contact information.

App4Sales Field	Source Field (XML Caption)	Logic/Notes
FullName	customers.contactFullName	Direct mapping. The generic handler may split this into first name and last name.
IsMainContactPerson	(Derived)	The generic handler will mark the first contact person as the main contact if no main contact is specified.

Dashboards, Notes & Other Artifacts

The connector also handles related customer data like dashboards and notes.

App4Sales Field	Source Field (XML Caption)	Logic/Notes
CustomerDashboard	customers.customerDashboard	The Base64 encoded dashboard data is decoded and saved separately.
CustomerNote	Not in source XML	The generic handler has logic to process `CustomerNote`, but it is not mapped in the Baan connector. If a note were provided, it would delete old "BackOffice" notes and insert the new one.

Special Logic & Filters

Data Fixing: The connector has a "fixing data" step that provides default values for several fields if they are missing from the source XML. For example, customers.discount defaults to "0".
GUID Resolution: The connector prioritizes the GUID from the source XML, then attempts to find one via the App4Sales portal, and finally generates a new one. This ensures consistency.
Batch Processing: The `CustomerUpdateHandler` processes customers in batches of 100 to manage memory and performance.
Scripting Hooks: The update process supports `BeforeUpdateCustomers` and `UpdateCustomers` scripts, allowing for custom logic to be injected.

Related Settings & Prerequisites

DefaultActionPriceListCode: A connector setting that specifies a default action price list for all customers.
EnablePriceDeduplication: A setting to enable price list migration to deduplicated versions.

Baan - Customer sync