How to Account for Customer Supplied Products

This article explains how to create and manage customer-supplied products in DecoNetwork. Customer-supplied products are items provided directly by your customers (or via contract printing and embroidery clients) that you decorate without raising a purchase order through DecoNetwork’s supplier catalogs. By setting up these products correctly, you ensure accurate decoration pricing, clear production workflows, and visual mockups for both customers and staff.

Watch the video below, then follow the written tutorial for details instructions.

In this article

• Prerequisites
• Why Use Customer-Supplied Products
• Step 1: Create a Customer Supplied Supplier
• Step 2: Create a Customer Supplied Product Group
• Step 3: Add Custom Fields
• Step 4: Copy and White-Label a Product
• Step 5: Configure Pricing and Sizes
• Step 6: Assign Supplier and Categories
• Step 7: Configure Availability and Custom Fields
• Step 8: Use Customer Supplied Products in Business Hub
• Best-Practice Tips
• Troubleshooting
• FAQs
• Additional Resources

Prerequisites

Why Use Customer-Supplied Products

This feature lets you decorate items your customers bring in or ship directly to you without accidentally ordering blanks from suppliers. Using customer-supplied products delivers:

• Accurate decoration-only pricing with no blank cost added.
• Visual mockups for customers and production staff, just like supplier-based products.
• Clear tracking of when customer-supplied blanks arrive, reducing confusion in production.

Step 1: Create a Customer Supplied Supplier

1. Go to Admin → Products → Supplier Account Details.
2. Add a new supplier called Customer Supplied.

Step 2: Create a Customer Supplied Product Group

1. Go to Admin → Products → Product Groups.
2. Create a new group called Customer Supplied.

Step 3: Add Custom Fields

1. Go to Admin → Products → Custom Fields.
2. Create fields such as:
   • Product Name/Code (e.g., Nike Polo, SportTek Tee).
   • Product Color.
3. Assign these fields to the Customer Supplied product group.

Step 4: Copy and White-Label a Product

1. Go to Admin → Products.
2. Find a product with many color options (e.g., Gildan 5000 for t-shirts, Gildan 18500 for hoodies).
3. Click Manage → Copy to make a clone.
4. Change the product group to Customer Supplied.
5. Create a brand called Customer Supplied and assign it to the product.
6. Rename the product (e.g., Customer Supplied T-Shirt) and update its code (e.g., CST-TS).

Step 5: Configure Pricing and Sizes

1. Go to the Pricing tab and set the Blank Product Price to 0 for all colors and levels.
2. Go to the Sizing tab and ensure larger sizes do not have surcharges—set them to 0 as well.

Step 6: Assign Supplier and Categories

1. In the Supplier & Purchasing tab, assign the product to Customer Supplied.
2. In the Categories tab, remove default categories and assign it only to the Customer Supplied category.

Step 7: Configure Availability and Custom Fields

1. Go to the Availability tab and set availability to Business Hub only (or assign to a private contract portal if needed).
2. Go to the Custom Fields tab and verify the custom fields are applied automatically from the product group.

Step 8: Use Customer Supplied Products in Business Hub

1. Create a new quote or order in Business Hub.
2. Add the Customer Supplied product.
3. Apply decoration as usual—the system will calculate the correct decoration-only price.
4. Enter the product name/code and color in the custom fields for production tracking.

Best-Practice Tips

• Create only a handful of generic customer-supplied products (e.g., t-shirt, hoodie, long sleeve, v-neck).
• Use purchase orders for tracking arrivals, even if no blanks are ordered.
• Offer contract clients a private portal for streamlined ordering.

Troubleshooting

• Problem: Customer-supplied products are showing a blank cost.
  Solution: Verify the blank price is set to 0 in product pricing.
• Problem: Custom fields are missing on orders.
  Solution: Confirm the fields are assigned to the product group.

FAQs

• Q: Can I skip using purchase orders for customer-supplied products?
  A: It’s possible, but not recommended—you may lose track of whether blanks have arrived.
• Q: Do I need a new product for every brand customers supply?
  A: No, create generic placeholders (t-shirt, hoodie, etc.) to cover most scenarios.

Additional Resources

• How to Add a Custom Product
• Managing Product Groups
• Working with Custom Fields