One of the examples how you can use custom attributes is configuring Purchase Order (PO) Numbers scenario.
Why PO Numbers are needed
Resellers often have their internal ERP system where customers place their orders. The orders in the internal system are assigned the so-called Purchase Order numbers (hereinafter, PO number). At the same time, resellers place orders on behalf of their customers via CloudBlue Commerce. When the invoice from a higher-level reseller or provider comes, it is hard to find the match between orders placed in the internal ERP system and CloudBlue Commerce.
CloudBlue Commerce provides a flexible mechanism to assign the PO number of order from the internal system to the corresponding order in CloudBlue Commerce using custom attributes. When a reseller will receive an invoice from the provider, he or she will be able to see the corresponding PO number in each invoice line.
How PO Numbers are propagated
First, PO numbers are propagated from sales orders to subscriptions. When a change or renewal order is placed, the PO number is taken from a subscription (if the PO number is not specified by a reseller explicitly). PO number is also propagated to reseller transactions. See the scheme below. At the end of billing period, the billing order for a reseller will be created on the basis of reseller transactions which have the corresponding PO numbers.
How it works
A provider should create and configure a custom attribute to be used as a PO number in CloudBlue Commerce. This custom attribute will be delegated through the reseller sales channels downwards so that resellers can use it. The resellers will be able to use PO number field for saving the order number from their ERP system.
For example, look at the scheme below. When an L2 reseller creates orders on behalf of a customer, he or she can define the PO number for the order. PO number from the order is propagated to the reseller transaction. At the end of billing period, a billing order for the reseller is created on the basis of reseller transactions. The reseller gets the invoice from a provider where each line has the PO number for the respective order.
