A Customer Part Number (CPN) is a unique identifier or code assigned by a customer to an item or product they purchase. This part number is typically used to reference the product in their internal systems, making it easier for the customer to identify and manage the item in their supply chain or inventory.
Key Points About Customer Part Numbers:
- Customer-Specific: Unlike the manufacturer’s or supplier’s part number, a CPN is created by the customer and may not match the part number used by the supplier.
- Purpose: It helps the customer to align products with their internal catalog or procurement systems, improving efficiency and reducing errors in communication.
- Use Case in Systems:
- In ERP systems like NetSuite, the CPN may appear on purchase orders, invoices, or EDI documents.
- When processing transactions like Sales Orders or Purchase Orders, the CPN can link the customer’s identification of the product to the supplier’s equivalent product.
- EDI Transactions: In Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), the Customer Part Number is often included in purchase orders (e.g., the 850 EDI document) to ensure the supplier identifies the correct item.
For example:
- A supplier sells a product with the Supplier Part Number: SPN1234.
- The customer refers to the same product with the Customer Part Number: CPN5678.
In systems like NetSuite or integration tools like Celigo, ensuring that the CPN is correctly mapped or displayed can streamline order processing and avoid discrepancies.
In NetSuite, the Supply Chain Management SuiteApp offers a toolbox of useful features which can help you streamline and centralize operational activities within NetSuite. One of the many tools within the Supply Chain Management bundle is the Customer Part Number feature.
This feature allows you to meet certain trading partner requirements such as those from trading partners who require you to list their part number on transactions. In those scenarios, you may have an internal part number in NetSuite, but the trading partner has their own unique part number which they require to be listed on sales order or packing slip documents.
Using the Supply Chain Management bundle, you can quickly meet these requirements in a streamlined fashion.
Feature Setup
Enabling the feature is fairly straightforward once you have installed the Supply Chain Management bundle.
- Enable the Customer Part Number Feature by navigating to Transactions > Management > Supply Chain Management > Preferences.
- Click Edit.
- Check the Customer Part Number box.
- Click Save.
- Next, enable the customer part number feature by updating your existing roles.
- Navigate to Setup > User/Roles > Manage Roles.
- Select a role and click Edit to open it in Edit Mode.
- Check the Enable Customer Part Number box.
- Click Save.
- Finally, add the Customer Part Number permission to your existing roles.
- Navigate to Setup > User/Roles > Manage Roles.
- Select a role and click Edit to open it in Edit Mode.
- Under Permissions > Custom Record, set the Customer Part Number permission to Full.
- This permission allows users using this role to create and modify customer part numbers you’ve created.
- Click Save.
Using Customer Part Number
After enabling the feature, you’ll need to set up your customer part numbers. Note that CSV import is supported and recommended. However, for our purposes, I’ll list the steps for creating customer part numbers manually to introduce the key concepts.
Finally, note only inventory items and assembly items currently support the customer part number feature.
To add a customer part number, do the following:
- Navigate to Lists > Accounting > Items.
- Select an item you’d like to add a customer part number for and open it by clicking Edit.
- Navigate to the Customer Part Number tab.
- Click New Customer Part Number.
- On the Customer Part Number Form, enter the following.
- The Customer Part Number.
- Note that the NetSuite item has already been selected.
- The Customer.
- Click Save.
Customer Part Numbers can be used right away and will appear on your sales order forms as a new transaction line field. Depending on your forms, you may need to update those forms to make that field visible. As you enter items to a sales order, NetSuite will automatically source any applicable customer numbers to the form. Note that NetSuite will not update any transactions you’ve already created.
However, you have the option of updating those to set the customer part number by using CSV import. Finally, the customer part number field can be mapped to your Advanced PDF documents such as Sales Orders, Packing Slips, and Invoices. Using these tools, you can have the customer part numbers printed on your documents thereby satisfying any trading partner requirements.