Common Mapping patterns
Lesson 17 of 21 7 min read
The handful of Mapping patterns that cover most businesses, how to send one Document to several places, and how to split a flow by customer or Location.
Most businesses' Mappings are built from a few standard patterns. Recognise them and you can sketch a complete set of Mappings for almost any setup in minutes. This lesson walks through them and builds Hilltop's full set.
The core patterns
Order routing: storefront to ERP
The usual starting point. Orders from a storefront go to your ERP or inventory system for fulfilment.
| From | Map | To |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify | Order | Unleashed |
Stock sync: ERP to storefront
Keeps stock levels on your storefront up to date when inventory changes in your ERP.
| From | Map | To |
|---|---|---|
| Unleashed | Inventory | Shopify |
Order to warehouse
Sends a warehouse instruction to your 3PL or WMS once an order is ready for fulfilment.
| From | Map | To |
|---|---|---|
| ERP | Warehouse Order | 3PL Integration |
Despatch back
The 3PL confirms despatch; the confirmation goes to your ERP, and tracking goes back to the storefront.
| From | Map | To |
|---|---|---|
| 3PL Integration | Shipment | ERP |
| 3PL Integration | Shipment | Shopify |
One Document, several destinations
You can create several Mappings from the same source to send the same document type to more than one place. Supply Lens processes each Mapping independently: if one fails, the others aren't affected.
That independence is useful: if Shopify is briefly unavailable, Unleashed still records the despatch. It also means you check each destination's target data separately when investigating.
Splitting a flow
Filters let one source feed different destinations depending on the Document:
- By customer. Send one wholesale customer's orders somewhere different from everyone else's.
- By Location. With two warehouses, send warehouse orders to the right 3PL using Ship from location.
- By tags. Route Documents that carry a particular tag.
Filter on the right Party
On warehouse orders and warehouse shipments, the Parties are you and your end customer, not the 3PL. To route a particular customer's despatches, filter on Customer, not on the 3PL.
Hilltop's complete Mapping set
| # | From | Map | As | To | Filters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shopify | Order | Target Data | Unleashed | None |
| 2 | Unleashed | Inventory | Target Data | Shopify | None |
| 3 | Unleashed | Warehouse Order | Target Data | Brookside (Mintsoft) | None |
| 4 | Brookside (Mintsoft) | Shipment | Target Data | Unleashed | None |
| 5 | Brookside (Mintsoft) | Shipment | Target Data | Shopify | None |
| 6 | Greenleaf EDI | Order | Target Data | Unleashed | None (set up with Support) |
Should Greenleaf's despatches go back to Shopify in Mapping 5? Shopify only needs tracking for its own orders. Priya asks Support how a Shipment for an order that didn't come from Shopify is handled before deciding whether Mapping 5 needs a filter.
Recap
- Most setups combine four patterns: orders to ERP, stock to storefront, warehouse orders to 3PL, and despatches back.
- Several Mappings can send the same document type to different destinations, and each runs independently.
- Filters split a flow by customer, Location or tags.
- On warehouse Documents, filter on the end customer, not the 3PL.
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