Product: Nexternal

Article Link: http://help.truecommerce.com/en/articles/5599735-nexternal-sms-in-stock-notifications

In this article we will discuss:

Benefits

Requirements

Setup

Customer Experience

Merchant Experience

In addition to email back-in-stock notifications which are included in the Nexternal platform at no extra charge, most merchants want to increase revenue by offering SMS back-in-stock notifications as well (fees apply). Research shows that today, many people are far more likely to respond to a text than an email, as they have much less "noise" in their text message app than they do in their email inbox. Plus, text messages create a higher sense of urgency just by their nature. The low cost of this feature is likely to be quickly offset and exceeded by sales of back-in-stock items.

1. You must have access Nexternal through the TrueCommerce Foundry Platform. SMS messaging leverages the alerting framework in the Foundry Platform, so in order for a Nexternal merchant to offer SMS In-Stock notifications, the merchant must be set up to access Nexternal through the Foundry platform using "middle tier" navigation (Left-side Foundry navigation that replaces the legacy Nexternal navigation that resides in the white area), which looks like this:

If you are not set up to access Nexternal through the Foundry Platform, or if you are accessing Nexternal through Foundry but do not have the "middle tier" left-hand Foundry navigation for Nexternal, please contact Customer Support as set forth at the top of the Settings section in your Order Management System (OMS), and we'll get you set up.

2. To enable SMS transmission, you must activate an account with 3rd-party provider CDYNE to use their SMS Notify! API. Once you fill out the form, CDYNE will reach out to you to get you registered with the phone carriers.

Setup with CDYNE for a 10-digit local number typically takes about 2-3 business days, but is subject to the phone carrier's registration speed so at times could take longer. You will know your account is fully set up and ready to go when you receive an email communication from a CDYNE representative which identifies your 10-digit phone number. Once you receive your 10-digit phone number, you are ready to set up SMS In-Stock Notifications per the directions below in the Setup Section.

As of the date of this article, fees apply as follows*:

*fees subject to update by CDYNE.

To set up SMS In-Stock Notifications, follow these steps:

1. Enter your Foundry Tenant ID* into the Foundry Tenant ID field in Nexternal OMS (Settings / Compatible Software / Foundry Platform Access / Foundry Tenant ID)

*If you don't know your Tenant ID, you can find it in Foundry by selecting your name in the upper right, and selecting Alert Subscriptions. You will see the 5-digit tenant in the light gray bar at the top:

2. Select the Boolean Options in the Nexternal OMS regarding which you would like to send SMS Notifications. You may select both Email and SMS notifications for each product status - Preordered, Backordered and Sold Out:

IMPORTANT: You must be an Administrator in your Foundry tenant to do the balance of the steps in Foundry:

3. Enter your SMS Gateway License in the Foundry Platform (Foundry/Settings/Setup/Tenant/Services/SMS Gateway/SMS Gateway License)

After you enter your license number, don't forget to click Save in the upper right of Foundry.

4. Then take the following steps to set up the SMS Alert:

a. Click your name, then click Alert Subscriptions:

b. Then click + New Subscription:

c. Fill out the New Alert Subscription form with the values you see below. Do not check the Use Template box:

d. Click Next at the bottom of the page, and then click Next a second time to get to the Parameters tab (so you're skipping the Filters tab). Then click the blue folder.

e. In the resulting popup, under [new item], select ToPhone, and then click Select at the bottom of the popup:

f. Place your cursor in the To Phone field, then click Add, and you will see a code string appear in the To Phone field. Do not modify this code string.:

g. Click Next at the bottom of the page to get to the Content tab. DELETE the code string in the Content or Message box. Leave your cursor in that box, and click the blue folder.

h. In the resulting popup, under [new item], select Message, and then click Select at the bottom of the popup:

i. Ensure that your cursor is in the Content or Message field, then click Add. You will see a code string appear in the content box. Do not modify this code string.

j. Click Next. In the "Alert Name" box, type: SMS InStock Notifications.

k. Click Finish. (Be patient, it could take a few minutes for the alert to be created.)

For any out-of-stock item for which SMS notifications are enabled, when a customer clicks Notify Me upon Availability, they will have the opportunity to enter their mobile phone number. Once the merchant adds inventory to the item, the customer will receive a text message that looks something like this:

Mouse over the people icon on the order list page in the OMS to see how many email and text notifications have been requested. To see who has requested In Stock notifications, navigate in your OMS to Products / Export Traffic Tools / Instock Notification / Excel.

rev. 11/4/21