Synching Contacts in NetSuite’s Outlook 2.0

Findings

1. To get Outlook contacts uploaded into NetSuite, the synchronization options are not used.  The synchronization options are designed for pulling down information into Outlook from NetSuite records that meet the criteria.  As such, we turned off all criteria so records would upload into NetSuite.  Remember, you must indicate that Outlook records are to be shared for them to upload into NetSuite.
2. We had a number of records that we flagged as “shared”, but would not go up to NetSuite.  Reviewing the log, we found an error as follows:Addition error of Contact object to storage {3D89CEF0-BE12-781B-6134-54B805D39F95}: object_updated_prematurely (The country and state/province are mismatched, the country is US and the state/province is CA,. Please enter a state/province short name that matches the country.)
3. This error message is misleading but it gave us the hint we needed to resolve the issue.  In Outlook, when you review the business address, you can click the Business button that shows an address formatting form (below).  The Country must have a valid Country item in the address else it will not upload.  Although ours says “United States of America”, the NetSuite log described it as “US”. 
4. We noted that contact categories are not synchronizing between Outlook and NetSuite.  NetSuite Support noted it as a problem.  We need this capability so we can distinguish our contacts between different preference requirements.
5. NetSuite also recognized that hiding the Outlook Company field in favor of the NetSuite Customer field does not make sense.   The good news is the data is still there as witnessed through the  “All Fields” tab, “All contact fields” drop down list.  If I have to, I will modify the Outlook form to expose this field.  But I suspect the next revision will be enhanced.
6. Outlook Email address map as follows:  Email1 address maps to the main NetSuite email address for the contact.  Email2 address maps to the NetSuite “Alt. Email” address.  Email3 address does not map.

I am optimistic that we are going to get this working.  We will post more findings as we develop out the solution. 

Updates

We just posted some Outlook Code to clean up contacts to make sure synchronization works.  We also have some more challenges with company information.  See Outlook Company Information Missing from NetSuite 2.0 Sync.

Marty Zigman

Holding all three official certifications, Marty is regarded as the top NetSuite expert and leads a team of senior professionals at Prolecto Resources, Inc. He is a former Deloitte & Touche CPA and has held CTO roles. For over 30 years, Marty has produced leadership in ERP, CRM and eCommerce business systems. Contact Marty to set up a conversation.

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