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Integrating Flxpoint with NetSuite for 3PL Workflows: A Step-by-Step Guide
Table of Contents
- Why Integrate Flxpoint with NetSuite for Dropshipping?
- What Problems Does Manual NetSuite Management Create?
- How Does Flxpoint Automate NetSuite Dropship Operations?
- What Are the Steps to Connect Flxpoint with NetSuite?
- How Can You Optimize Your 3PL Workflows After Integration?
Why Integrate Flxpoint with NetSuite for Dropshipping?
Running dropship operations through NetSuite without automation is like manually updating a spreadsheet that never stops growing. Every new vendor adds complexity. Every order requires decisions about routing, item records, and purchase orders.
Flxpoint connects directly to NetSuite to handle these workflows automatically. The integration uses REST Web Services and Token-Based Authentication to create sales orders, route purchases to the right vendors, sync shipments, and keep your books accurate; all without custom development work.
If you're managing multiple dropship vendors through NetSuite, this integration eliminates the busywork that doesn't scale.
What Problems Does Manual NetSuite Management Create?
How do item records slow down dropship operations?
Dropship items create more volume and more NetSuite complexity. Manual item creation and management at scale is error prone and leads to downstream order reconciliation issues.
The challenge gets worse when you scale: You need to filter out items you don't plan on selling before creating an item record and merchandising. There are specific item record fields that need configuration like defining a preferred vendor and marking items as dropship versus special order.
NetSuite doesn't let you browse vendor inventory before merchandising. You're working blind unless you build custom solutions.
Why is vendor routing so rigid in NetSuite?
Adding dropship operations introduces complexity with routing orders for overlapping items and increased order volume.
Here's what happens: NetSuite always defaults order routing to the item's preferred vendor. There's no ability to route based on true business logic like margins, split orders, or delivery times.
Order approvals, changes, and status updates are tough to tackle in bulk. Cross-referencing PO numbers across all systems becomes a struggle.
What happens when you scale with multiple dropship vendors?
|
Challenge |
Impact on Operations |
|
Different vendor requirements |
Each vendor has unique connection options for sending and receiving order data |
|
Managing multiple order records |
Updating and approving multiple purchase orders in NetSuite becomes unsustainable |
|
Limited integrations |
NetSuite has limited native vendor and sales channel communication tools, so custom development work is almost always required |
How Does Flxpoint Automate NetSuite Dropship Operations?
Flxpoint sits between your NetSuite ERP and your vendors to automate the entire dropship cycle. Orders come in from your sales channels, get routed to the right fulfillment partner, and sync back to NetSuite with tracking and invoice data.
What specific workflows does the integration handle?
Item management automation starts before you create records. Filter out items you don't plan on selling before creating item records and merchandising. Automatically create accurate item records in bulk, then increase cash on hand by removing slow moving inventory from your books.
Intelligent order routing replaces NetSuite's single-vendor dependency. Route orders based on margins, inventory availability, delivery speed, or any combination of factors you define. Split multi-item orders across vendors when it makes sense.
Purchase order automation cuts manual operations by 50%. When an order routes to a vendor, Flxpoint automatically creates the corresponding sales order and purchase order in NetSuite, then sends the PO directly to the vendor using their preferred connection method.
How does shipment syncing work?
After vendors ship, Flxpoint pulls fulfillment data and creates Item Fulfillments in NetSuite. Each shipment includes tracking numbers, carrier info, and shipped quantities. If a vendor ships partial quantities, the integration handles that too; fulfilled lines close out while unshipped lines stay open.
The workflow looks like this:
- Order imports to Flxpoint from sales channel
- Order gets routed to vendor or internal warehouse
- Purchase orders and fulfillment requests are sent
- Vendor ships and provides tracking
- Flxpoint pulls fulfillment data from vendors and internal warehouse
- Item Fulfillments and Item Receipts are added to NetSuite
- Shipments sync back to sales channel from Flxpoint
What Are the Steps to Connect Flxpoint with NetSuite?
What do you need to enable in NetSuite first?
Before connecting, turn on these NetSuite features in Setup → Company → Enable Features under the SuiteCloud tab:
- SuiteScript (Client + Server)
- SuiteTalk (Web Services) → REST Web Services
- Token-Based Authentication (TBA)
Set up role permissions next. Go to Setup → Users/Roles → Manage Roles and create a dedicated "Flxpoint Integration" role with these permissions:
Setup Permissions:
- Access Token Management
- Log in using Access Tokens
- REST Web Services
List Permissions:
- Customers, Vendors, Items
- Custom Record Entries / Record Custom Field
- Subsidiaries (for OneWorld accounts)
Transactions Permissions:
- Sales Order
- Purchase Order
- Item Fulfillment
- Inventory Adjustment
- Vendor Bill (for billing syncs)
How do you generate the authentication tokens?
Log in with a role that has Access Token Management. In the Settings portlet, click Manage Access Tokens, then New My Access Token. Select your Integration application and role, then save.
Copy the Token ID and Token Secret immediately and store them securely. Sandbox and Production environments need separate tokens; don't reuse them across environments.
How do you configure the connection in Flxpoint?
Navigate to Account Settings → Accounting → Add new accounting integration. Choose NetSuite Sales Order from the list.
Enter these credentials exactly as provisioned in NetSuite:
- Connection Name
- Client ID & Client Secret (from your Integration record)
- NetSuite Store ID (your account ID)
- Token ID & Token Secret (generated in previous step)
Click Test Connection. When it succeeds, click Save Connection → Save and Proceed.
What operations should you enable?
Turn on the accounting operations you need:
Send Accounting Orders creates NetSuite Sales Orders when orders arrive from your sales channels. For dropship routes, it also creates the related Purchase Order. You'll choose whether to send order-level SKUs or PO-level SKUs based on your vendor requirements.
Send Accounting Shipments creates Item Fulfillments in NetSuite when vendors ship. It attaches tracking numbers and updates shipped line items while keeping unshipped lines open.
Select the relevant sources or channels for each enabled operation. Multiple channels can map to one NetSuite connection when appropriate. Click Save and Complete to finalize setup.
How Can You Optimize Your 3PL Workflows After Integration??
Should you use order-level or PO-level SKUs?
This choice affects how items appear on sales orders and purchase orders:
Order-level SKUs use the SKU your customer ordered. This works when a single SKU represents the item end-to-end and you don't need vendor-specific identifiers on purchase orders.
PO-level SKUs use vendor-specific SKUs (exploded SKUs). Choose this when vendors require their own SKU on purchase orders or when routing splits quantities across multiple vendors.
Example scenario: You sell SKU FLX-SKU123 (Qty 3). Routing splits to vendor SKUs. Your sales order lines become:
- VA-SKU123: Qty 1 | Internal Warehouse
- FLX-SKU123: Qty 2 | Dropship | Vendor A
How should you handle partial shipments and invoices?
Flxpoint creates Item Fulfillments for shipped lines and leaves unshipped lines open. The sales order stays in "Partially Fulfilled" status until all lines ship.
For vendor billing, partial invoicing is supported. When a vendor bills only some PO lines, send all lines on the first bill but use quantity zero for not-yet-billed items. On later bills, send only newly invoiced items with billed quantities.
What vendor filters improve efficiency?
Use Flxpoint's filter system to control which items sync from vendors to NetSuite. Create filters based on estimated cost, image availability, description length, brand restrictions, categories, and minimum quantities.
This prevents low-margin or incomplete product data from cluttering your NetSuite item records. You'll merchandise faster and keep your catalog focused on items that actually sell.
Can you customize customer and order field mapping?
The integration supports custom fields throughout. Map NetSuite custom fields like custbody_* to Flxpoint order fields. Configure customer creation logic; provide a Customer ID directly, or let Flxpoint find by email first, then name, or create the customer automatically when no match exists.
Set Category ID, Custom Form ID, Entity Status ID, and Subsidiary ID (for OneWorld accounts) based on your NetSuite values. The mapping template gives you control over which product attributes update during sync.
Manual NetSuite management might work for low-volume operations, but it crumbles under the weight of real dropship scale. The clicks, the errors, the bottlenecks; they all compound until your team spends more time managing systems than growing the business.
Flxpoint eliminates that friction by automating the entire flow from order import to item fulfillment, while adding the intelligent routing logic NetSuite's preferred vendor system can't handle.
The choice isn't really between doing things manually or automating; it's between building custom solutions that require constant maintenance or using proven infrastructure that scales with your business. When vendors change their systems, when you add new sales channels, when order volume doubles, you need automation that flexes without breaking.
That's what this integration delivers: fewer clicks, smarter routing, and more time to focus on what actually matters; selling more products and serving customers better.