Customer Types, Aliases & Relationships

Customer Types  

Customers in iContracts are classified by Customer Type as:

Commercial Transactions

• Vendors if they submit chargebacks like wholesalers and distributors.
  • Vendor Parent refers to the BILL TO LOCATION
  • Vendor Child refers to the SHIP TO LOCATION
    • A vendor should always have the Class of Trade Vendor
• Buying Groups if they contract for membership, like a GPO or Chain.
  • A buying group should always have the Class of Trade Buying Group, or the Class of Trade of the entity
• Purchasers if they purchase on contracts like GPO members.
  • A purchaser may have any end customer COT designation.

Government Transactions

• State Medicaid Programs if you are using Medicaid Payer module and need to add a Medicaid Program.
• Sponsors if they manage contracts for the Medicare GAP program.  

Customer Aliases

An alias is an alternative reference ID that can be used to identify a customer.

Alias Type                    Description and Requirements

Internal	ERP billing system ID.  A customer may only have one Internal Type alias.  The Internal alias must be unique across the iContracts system.
DEA	Drug Enforcement Agency ID.  A customer may have one DEA Type alias.  The DEA alias must be unique across the iContracts system.  The alias must conform to the format of the DEA registration record layout (9 digits).
HIN	Health Industry Number.  A customer may have multiple HIN numbers. A HIN ID must be unique across the iContracts system.
External	An external identification number. A customer may have multiple External Type aliases, but they must be unique across the iContracts system.
340B ID	340B ID for covered entities.  A customer may have multiple 340B IDs and a 340B ID may be associated with more than one customer.
GPO ID	Group Purchasing Organization ID.  A customer may have one GPO ID.   A GPO ID may be associated with more than one customer.
GLN	Global Location Number.  A customer may have one GLN Code.  A GLN ID may be associated with more than one customer.

Customer Relationships 

A customer relationship refers to the connection between a bill-to or headquarter location to all of its associated ship-to or distribution centers.

Establishing the correct customer relationships are important for Chargeback and Rebate processing.

Vendor Type Customers

A wholesaler or distributor. 
Requires a level  (parent or child) to be chosen before the customer type is saved on the Customer Header.

A Vendor Parent is a BILL TO LOCATION or HEADQUARTER LOCATION.

• There are limitations on vendor child/parent relationships. You can connect as many vendor children to a single vendor parent as needed.

A Vendor Child is a SHIP TO LOCATION or WAREHOUSE/DISTRIBUTION CENTER.

• A vendor child can only have ONE vendor parent. 

Buying Group Type Customers

A headquarter or bill-to location that is not a manufacturer or distributor.
Includes Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) and Chains.

A buying group will always have the level parent.

A relationship can be formed between a buying group and any other customer type, including other buying groups, vendors (parent and child), and/or purchasers.

Purchaser Type Customers

A ship-to location that is not a wholesaler or distributor.
Makes up the majority of indirect end customers – hospitals, pharmacies, etc.

A purchaser can only be connected to a buying group.

For a visual representation of customer relationships, see the below flowchart: