A fault-finding routine

Lesson 13 of 17 8 min read

One repeatable routine for any "it didn't arrive" or "it looks wrong" problem, following the data from source to target.

When something goes wrong, the temptation is to jump to the most likely cause. A routine is faster in the end: you follow the data along its path and stop at the first place it went wrong. In this lesson you will learn a five-question routine that works for almost any Document problem, and how to hand over to Support with everything they need.

Follow the data, left to right

Every flow has the same shape, so every investigation can follow it:

Rendering diagram...

Start at the left and stop at the first "no".

The five questions

1. Did it arrive?

Press / and paste the reference. If nothing at all comes back, the data never reached Supply Lens (or carries a different reference). Check:

Is the source Integration Enabled, and is it showing connection or authentication errors?
When did it last run, or does it receive by webhook? Try Run receive.
Does the source system show the record? If a third-party app changes orders after they are created, see Orders missing changes.

2. Was it understood?

Open the Document. What is its status?

Failed: open the Logs. The error usually names the problem, for example a product that does not exist. Fix the cause, then reprocess.
Ready: it was understood but its Mapping is manual. Process it.
Complete: move to question 3.

3. Was it routed?

From the Document's links menu, look at its target data. Is there target data for the Integration you expect?

None: check there is a Mapping for this document type from this source to this target, that it is Enabled, and that any filters (Customer, Ship to, Tags) match this Document.
Present but Cancelled: probably the duplicate fail-safe. Was this already sent?

4. Was it delivered?

Check the target data's communication status.

Sent: Supply Lens delivered it. Go to question 5.
Pending: waiting for the next send. Run send on the target Integration if needed.
Failed: open the target data's Logs, and check the target Integration is enabled and its credentials are valid.

5. Is it right?

If it was delivered but looks wrong in the target system, compare the three versions: source data, Document and target data. Where the data changed tells you where the problem is:

Source data	Document	Target data	Where to look
Wrong	Wrong	Wrong	The source system sent it that way.
Right	Wrong	Wrong	How Supply Lens read it: product, party or Unit of Measure setup. Ask Support.
Right	Right	Wrong	How it was converted for the target. Ask Support.
Right	Right	Right	The target system's own handling of the data.

Trace does steps 1 to 4 in one picture

Trace any record to see its whole chain as a diagram, with each record's status and anything held or failed highlighted. It is often the fastest way to find the first "no".

Handing over to Support

If you need help, contact the Support Team and include:

the Document ID and the reference (order number, invoice number)
the Integration ID of the Integration involved (shown on the Integration panel)
which question in the routine failed, and what you saw
the relevant logs: select the rows, open Logs and use Download CSV

'My order never arrived at the warehouse'

Sam gets a complaint about order #2550. He works left to right:

Arrived? Search finds the source data and the Order. Yes.
Understood? The Order is Complete. Yes.
Routed? The links menu shows target data for Unleashed, but none for Northgate. No.

He stops there. In Settings → Integration setup → Mappings he finds the Orders Mapping to Northgate is filtered to Ship from location "Main warehouse", and this order was assigned to the new overflow location. He passes the detail to Priya, who decides whether the Mapping needs widening.

Recap

Follow the data left to right and stop at the first "no": arrived, understood, routed, delivered, right.
Failed means read the logs; Ready means process it; no target data means check the Mapping.
Compare source data, Document and target data to find where a value changed.
Trace shows the whole chain in one diagram.
Give Support the Document ID, reference, Integration ID, what you found and the logs as CSV.

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Run an Integration manually Document not appearing in the target system