iVend POS UDF Integration in iVend POS with SBO

iVend POS UDF Integration in iVend POS with SBO

What exactly is UDF (User Defined Field) Integration in iVend POS with SAP Business One (SBO)?

The UDF is very useful tool when it comes to integrating static values entered in these fields from one application to the other application, apart from the standard integration available between the applications. You do not need to change or add any lines of code to integrate values of the UDFs attached areas such as the Item Master and Customer Master. It is already built-in and can be done very easily by following certain steps between the two systems namely SBO and iVend Retail POS (iVend).
The two (2) Business Cases that arise are:
1. UDF Integration from SBO to iVend
2. UDF Integration from iVend to SBO

· We will understand the steps for the first business case and the steps for the second business case are the same but in reverse.
· Keep in mind to create the UDF, the naming convention with U_<Name> is used while creating the UDF from iVend [Administration > Application Setup > User Defined Fields].

Configuring UDF Integration in iVend POS with SBO

Let us understand the UDF Integration with an example, say we want to add a new UDF called Cloth Material as an Alpha-numeric Data type with 20 Characters in the Item Master Data to identify the Apparel Items with a specific cloth material such as Silk, Cotton, etc.
Follow the steps mentioned below to Configure the UDF Integration between SBO and iVend:
· Log into SBO and then go to: Tools > Customization Tools > User Defined Fields – Management

Select Category > Master Data > Items > Items. As we wanted to create the UDF in the Item Master, expand Items as shown below and then click on the [Add] button.

Enter the details [Title, Description, Type and Length] of the field to be created and then click on the [Add] button – Use the example shown in the following screen image as a guide. A System Message of Database Modification will be received, click on Yes. The UDF will be created with the convention of: U_<Name> i.e. U_Material.

 If there is any machine connected to the Company then a further system message will pop-up with the details, click on the [Ignore] button as long as you know that you are the only user connected. If other users are connected then ensure they have disconnected before proceeding.

Click on Yes on the following System Message to continue. A Message, “Operation completed successfully” will be returned.

Once the above steps are completed, the new UDF will be visible as shown below [scroll down if the list is long]. Click on the [Ok] button to close the window.

Now, go to:  System Initialization > iVend  Retail > UDF Integration. Click on the option UDF Integration to open the screen - the UDF just created will appear in the list, check the checkbox for the UDF to Integrate to iVend and then click on the [Add] button. This will integrate the field to iVend.

Log into the iVend Management Console and go to: Administration > Application Setup > User Defined Fields, select InvProduct and then click on Edit button.

User Defined Field window will open and the UDF will be shown with all possible activities that can be carried out with the field.
The description for individual parameters available in the grid are listed below in the following table:

Items

Description

Field Name

Displays the UDF Name

Description

Displays the Description of the UDF provided in SBO

Data Type

Displays the Data Type selected while creating the UDF

Is Searchable

If checked then the UDF will be searchable in the respective Product Search screens

Data Length

Data Length provided while creating the UDF

Display Only

If checked, Display Only (View Only) will be allowed and values cannot be entered in the field

Display in Results

If checked then this will enable the display of the UDF on Product Search result screens


Behaviour of the UDF Integration based on the Settings/Configurations performed
· If the Is Searchable checkbox is enabled, then the UDF will appear in the Product Search screen Search Criteria as shown below.

If the Display Only checkbox is enabled, then the UDF will only display the values available and the field will not be available to the user to enter a value therefore, if you want to enter values in this field, do not check this checkbox.

If the Display in Results checkbox is enabled, then the UDF will display in the Search Results screen as shown in the following screen image below.

The above and following screen images demonstrate how it will appear in the iVend Management Console and the POS Product Search screens. We can see how useful this would be in helping the user to see and search on the specific product(s) based on value entered in the UDF.

Let us see how it will appear in SBO on the Item Master Data screen – see the screen image below that shows the Item Master screen with the UDFs visible, including the new UDF that we created earlier, Cloth Material.