How to Add a Buying Group Type Customer

A Buying Group type customer is a headquarter or bill-to location that is not a manufacturer or a distributor.
This can be a GPO – Group Purchasing Organization – or a chain entity.

A Buying Group type customer will always be the owner of an indirect contract.

To add a new customer, navigate to Contract Core -> Customer Maintenance -> Add.



The Customer Header will open. 

Customer details are split across three different tabs:
1. Header – Customer Details, including customer type, class of trade, reference ID, name, and address details must be submitted.
2. Alias – Customer aliases and IDs are assigned here. The Reference ID listed on the Customer Header will be the default alias for the customer unless changed.
3. Relationships – Establish customer relationships for vendors, purchasers, and buying groups. Correct customer relationships are required for chargeback and rebate operations in the iContracts application.

Refer to the table below when filling out the customer header for BUYING GROUP type customers:
 

Field                                 Description

Class of Trade  (Required)	Select the COT of the entity – BUYING GROUP, CHAIN, GPO, etc.
340B Entity	Check the box to exclude sales in Government Pricing.
Territory  (Required)	Select a territory from the territory drop-down menu; defaults to UNKNOWN.
Reference Id  (Required)	This field contains an Internal / Industry account number for the customer.  It is displayed in most screens throughout the application. In Reporting/Analytics the Reference ID = Customer_Ref_ID field.
Name  (Required)	Enter the name of the customer.
Address	Enter the customer’s address.
City  (Required)	Enter the customer’s city.
State  (Required)	Enter the customer’s state.
Zip Code  (Required)	Enter the customer’s zip code. This field is optional if the country is outside of the USA.
Country	Choose the customer’s country from the drop-down menu; defaults to USA.
E-mail	Enter the customer’s email address.
Phone	Enter the customer’s phone number.
Fax	Enter the customer’s fax number.
Level  (Required)	Defaults to the Parent level. This field cannot be changed.

After filling in all required fields, press the SAVE button.

If there are no errors, Tab 2. Alias will automatically open.

Buying Group Aliases

An internal alias is required for a Buying Group.
The system will automatically populate the Reference ID input on the Customer Header as the MAIN INDICATOR with a reference type INTERNAL.

Additional aliases can be added, if needed, by selecting the ADD NEW ALIAS button.

Once all of the appropriate aliases have been added, click on the NEXT button to continue to Tab 3. Relationship.

Buying Group Relationships

The Customer Relationships header will open.

When reviewing the customer relationships header for a Buying Group, the application will not display a list of connections by default.

A Buying Group type customer can be connected to:

1) Purchasers, ship-to locations that are not wholesalers or distributors. A purchaser type customer can only be connected to a buying group.

2) Vendors, if they purchase on contracts that are owned by the Buying Group.

3) Buying Groups

*Any customer that will purchase on a Buying Group contract must be a member of the buying group.

Note: Purchaser Membership can be loaded and maintained using the Multi Contract Group Membership interface.
 

To add a customer relationship to a buying group, you can:

- Enter a customer name or reference ID, if you know it.
- Search by Trade Class
- View by the following classifications via drop-down menu:
MEMBERS – Will show all currently attached members/relationships connected to the Buying Group.
NON-MEMBERS – Will show all customers in the system that are not currently members of the Buying Group.
ALL – Will show all eligible customers/entities that can be added to the buying group.

Note: Because a Buying Group type customer can have a relationship with any other customer type, you will see all customers with entries in the system.


Once you’ve entered your desired search criteria, hit GO.

A list of eligible connections will be displayed.
To view customer details, click on the customer Reference ID. 
This will open up the Customer Header for the customer.

To add a relationship, click the checkbox next to the desired customer, then hit the SAVE button.
To remove a relationship, uncheck the checkbox, then hit SAVE.