Guidelines and Best Practices for Submitting a Change Request

Submit a Change Request to update your configurations. Configurations are central to the operations of Conexiom applications. The guidelines outlined below will help facilitate the onboarding process.

1. Basic Steps
2. Rules and Syntax
3. Primary Guidelines
4. Formatting Guidelines
5. Additional Guidelines
6. Examples
7. How to Submit a Change Request [Video]

Basic Steps

Creating a change request is a matter using statements to set up a series of rules.  These rules are used to configure the trading partner so that the information from the original document is correctly transcribed into the digital document being created. For example, through this process,  you can define the ShipTo field in the digital version, based on the location of the ShipTo field in the original documents.

There are 2 recommended ways to submit a Change Request:

• Text Request via Partner Portal
• Email Request initiated via Partner Portal (use if you have attachments)

Best Practices

When making a change request, there are a number of rules you should adhere to to ensure your statement is correctly interpreted by the Connection Developer handling the request. This is relevant with regards to context and formatting. 

Rules and Syntax

Each email or text request is written in a basic A-D-E format:

Primary Guidelines

• Use Quotation Marks (“ABC”) around all proper names of fields, cross reference tables, columns, and segments. 

• Use asterisks around the word “Example” or “Note” to call out examples or notes:
  **Example** For the attached document, B12345, use line 4.

• Use either the word “Extract” or “Remove” when you need to have characters scrubbed from the original data. These are often used to request the removal of special characters.

• Use two returns between request sections. To do so, at the end of the first line, Click Enter twice.

• Do not use any formatting common to word processors or email applications, such as Tabs, Bullets, Centering, etc. You can use slashes, dashes, spaces, and similar keyboard entries to communicate your intentions.

• Use exact names of tables, columns, labels on the document, output file terms, etc. 

• When applicable, state if the value is being set or used from a Header Level vs. a Line Level, such as with expected delivery dates. 

• Try to be as specific as possible about where a value is to populate in the output file.  

Formatting Guidelines

• Use Quotation Marks “ABC” around all proper names of fields, cross reference tables, columns, and segments. 

• Use ** <NOTE> ** to call out examples or notes for the CD team member. 

• Use two returned (enters) between request sections. 

• Do NOT use any word or email formatting such as tabs, bullets etc. Use slashes, dashes, spaces, etc. instead. 

• Use EXACT names for tables, columns, labels on the document, output file terms, etc.  

• When applicable, state if the value is being set or used from a Header Level vs. a Line Level such as with expected delivery dates. 

• Try to be as specific as possible about where a value is to populate in the output file.  

Additional Guidelines

• When mentioning a cross-reference table, use the exact column heading as the reference; not the column number.

• Use the word “Concatenate,” “Prefix,” or “Suffix” when you need the connection development team to merge or link two words or fields together into one value for the ERP system. (See Preferred Terms for Change Requests).

• Use either the word “Extract” or “Remove” when you need to have characters scrubbed from the original data. These are often used to request the removal of special characters. (See Preferred Terms for Change Requests).

• When a reference table is five items or fewer, it can be manually typed out into the map request. For any cross-reference tables that contains more than five rows, create a cross-reference table in the portal.

• Provide examples in all requests, including the document number the example is taken from.

• Describe the expected behavior from the change in all requests.

• When reviewing example documents:

  • If the document is multiple pages be sure to review all pages.

  • If the customer provides more than one example, be sure to review all examples.

  • If you need to submit information in two different requests, make sure you indicate the requests are labelled “Part 1 of 2” and “Part 2 of 2” so that the Connection Development team works on them in the correct order. 

Examples of Full Statements

For more detailed examples and templates, see: Template and Examples for Submitting Change Requests 

Example 1

Use the following table to identify the Ship To ID based on the Ship To Address:

Else, generate a Ship To alert.

Example 2

The trading partner has changed their document layout recently.

Please update the mapping for this document. The quantity column has shifted right and the label has changed to “Total Qty.”

Example 3

If there is no value under the “Item” column on the document, then take the “Description” as the part number and do not fail the document.

Else, no action is needed. 

Example 4a

Step 1: Clean up Part Number 

If the part number has any dashes, slashes or periods, then remove these from the part number. 

Else, use the part number as is. 

Example 4b

Step 2: Part Number Prefix 

If the cleaned-up part number does not start with “AB01”, then prefix “AB01” to the part number 

Else, use the part number from step 1. 

How to Submit a Change Request [Video]