The heart of any MIS system is its contact data. The same holds for a WS4P website. Consequently, passing contact information seamlessly between the two systems is critical to building an integrated solution.

Every cXML transaction that occurs between a WS4P website and an MIS system includes full <Contact> information for the buyer making the purchase or requesting the quote. Here is a sample of how that information appears in a typical cXML transaction:

            <Contact role="buyer">  
            
                <ID domain="ws4p">187094</ID>
                <ID domain="mis_system"><![CDATA[983379]]></ID>
                <Name><![CDATA[George Jetson]]></Name>
                <Email><![CDATA[jetson6@kolstad.net]]></Email>

The contact information begins by defining the contact's role (typically "buyer"), along with their ID on the website (domain="ws4p") and in the MIS system (domain="mis_system").

If a contact ID is not present for either the website or the MIS system, the system in question will first query its records to see if a contact with a matching Name and Email address already exists, then either create a new record (if no match exists) or update the existing record to include the ID passed through from the other system, so future transactions can reflect this change.

                <Phone name="Work">
                    <TelephoneNumber>
                        <Number><![CDATA[9876541 x879]]></Number>
                    </TelephoneNumber>
                </Phone>
                
                <Phone name="Cell">
                    <TelephoneNumber>
                        <Number><![CDATA[7779876541]]></Number>
                    </TelephoneNumber>
                </Phone>
                
                <Fax>
                    <TelephoneNumber>
                        <Number><![CDATA[8889876541]]></Number>
                    </TelephoneNumber>
                </Fax>

Phone and fax information is also included with the cXML transaction. <Phone> names correspond with the fields present in the WS4P tables.

                <Company>
                    <ID domain="ws4p">89297</ID>
                    <ID domain="Test MIS"><![CDATA[COMP2223]]></ID>
                    <Name><![CDATA[George 'n' Sons]]></Name>
                </Company>
                
                <Branch>
                    <ID domain="ws4p">9342</ID>
                    <ID domain="Test MIS"><![CDATA[BRANCH684]]></ID>
                    <Name><![CDATA[Fargo]]></Name>
                </Branch>
                
                <Department><![CDATA[]]></Department>
                <Position><![CDATA[VP]]></Position>

Company and branch information, including IDs for both the website (domain="ws4p") and MIS system (domain="mis_system"), complete the contact information present in the cXML file. As with the contact ID, if an ID is missing for either the website or the MIS system, the system in question will either create a new record or update an existing record, if a company/branch with the same name is found.

            
            </Contact>