Published at: 2026-10-12

Get started as a group channel admin

Complete the shortest path to get started as a group channel admin, then verify the business result.

Learning objectives

Complete the shortest path to get started as a group channel admin, then verify the business result.

Before you begin

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Applicable scope: ShareOrder Group Edition.
Role and permission: Use an admin account with ShareOrder management permission.
Prerequisites: Prepare test accounts, products, and price data.

Steps

Multi-level ordering handbook

System initialization

Group Edition initialization

After purchasing ShareOrder Group Edition, ShareOrder management guides industry initialization.

Complete the same step-by-step industry flow as single-level ordering.

Prerequisites:

Enable Price Book
Do not purchase SharePartner (multi-level ordering and SharePartner are mutually exclusive)

NOTE: Both Inventory Management modes (Self-management mode and ERP integration) support the Channel Inventory Plugin.

Enable the multi-level ordering plugin

After initialization, open system configuration. Select Enable if you need multi-level ordering. The system checks whether inventory is enabled. If it is, multi-level ordering is initialized. Otherwise, a dialog prompts you to initialize inventory.

Initialization content

After multi-level ordering initialization, the Channel Distribution External Apps item is added:

Adds Channel Distribution External Apps, with preset web and Mobile Client page templates
Adds multi-level ordering menu groups in ShareOrder management
Upgrades ShareOrder logic so accounts can choose a supplier and place an order
Presets an indirect-channel page template. The applicable role is Channel ordering clerk
Presets Channel Distribution navigation templates

NOTE: Channel Distribution is a new External Apps item built on Partner basics. It is the core app for channel merchants.

Plugin-based in-process trading changes

After multi-level ordering is enabled, both direct accounts and channel accounts create trading relationships. When an order selects an account, it can only select an Associated Account of the current organization. Shipment, Payment, invoicing, contract, quote, and Related Documents work the same way.

Object	Operation	Change	Note
Account object	Create	Creating a direct account prompts the system to create an Organization direct supply trading relationship. Creating a channel account automatically creates a Channel supply trading relationship.
	List	Data is filtered by Data Permission plus trading relationship. Channel data has an independent menu and is isolated from direct data.	Important change
Account, contact	List	Adds a Channel Type Record Type. Channel data has an independent menu and is isolated from direct data.
Order, shipment, Payment, invoicing, refund, return, and more	List	Adds a Channel Type Record Type and Details Page Layout. Channel data has an independent menu and is isolated from direct data.
	Create	When the create page selects an account, it is filtered by trading relationship. Users or internal staff placing an order on behalf of a customer can select only accounts in Organization direct supply. Channel merchants can select only accounts they supply.	Important change
Inventory, inbound order, outbound order, and other inventory objects	List	Adds a Channel Type Record Type and Details Page Layout. Channel data has an independent menu and is isolated from direct data.	Enable the Channel inventory plugin

System configuration flow

In the standard channel merchant flow, after the brand owner enables a merchant account, the channel merchant can operate independently, including creating accounts, saleable scope, Price Books, and promotions, then placing orders and managing inventory.

For a strong-control brand owner, the brand owner configures channel saleable scope, channel pricing, and channel promotions uniformly.

Channel merchants

In the account list or details, select New Channel Merchant to create a same-named channel merchant profile (Partner object). The create page fills Account Name. Complete other fields as needed.

After the channel merchant is created, the system:

Automatically creates a channel warehouse
Presets a default warehouse for the channel merchant (channel merchant Partner + warehouse)
Creates a channel warehouse on the Warehouse object
Creates a Channel inbound warehouse setting record as the default warehouse for later channel inventory sell-in

In ShareOrder management > Channel Merchants, select Enable connected account to create Channel Users and assign External Roles.

After External Organizations are created, the system writes the external organization ID into warehouse and account Related Teams, so the channel merchant can view its warehouse and accounts in Channel Distribution.

Notes:

A channel merchant is a Partner Record Type. Creating a channel merchant creates a Partner. Because the merchant also orders, it must be linked to an account profile.

- If ShareOrder management has no preset page template, create a page template and configure menus.

Channel trading relationships

Trading relationship types

There are two types: Organization direct supply and Channel supply. One account can have multiple trading relationships, such as Organization direct supply from the brand owner and Channel supply from another dealer.

Organization direct supply: the brand owner supplies a direct account (the preset record can be disabled but not deleted)
Channel supply: a dealer supplies an indirect account

2. Automatically create trading relationships

When a salesperson creates a direct account, the system creates an Organization direct supply relationship that cannot be deleted or disabled manually. When the account is deleted or merged, the relationship follows.

After a channel merchant account is enabled and a channel account is created, the system creates a Channel supply relationship. It is enabled by default.

Notes:

Channel supply relationships are generated from Account Name and Partner on the account profile. Later Partner changes on the account do not change the relationship.
You can edit automatically generated relationships.

Other trading relationship operations

When an account has multiple suppliers, you can create a channel trading relationship manually.

Merchant Business Scope

Business Scope description

To help brand owners manage dealers more precisely, brand owners can set a Business Scope for each dealer and authorize the Product Scope they can sell to lower-level channels. Brand owners choose whether to Enable Business Scope control.

- Control off: dealers can sell all brand-owner products to lower-level channels - Control on: dealers can sell only products in the authorized Business Scope to lower-level channels

Create a merchant Business Scope

Create a Business Scope for the merchant and enable control.

NOTE: After merchant Business Scope control is on, dealers can maintain the sellable catalog and pricing for lower-level channels within the authorized range. Only products in the Business Scope can be sold to a Subordinate Account.

3. After Business Scope control is enabled, the system automatically sends a CRM notification to the channel merchant

After you configure Business Scope, enable control and preset the channel merchant saleable scope and Price Book. The system automatically sends a CRM notification. Disable or change events are also notified.

Direct channel ordering

This is standard ShareOrder. Sign in with an ordering account and place an order.

Indirect channel ordering

Standard ordering

Like direct channel ordering, indirect channels sign in to ShareOrder. The system gets the channel merchant from the trading relationship and filters saleable scope.

Unlike direct channels, creating an indirect-channel order fills the account and channel merchant by default. The channel order goes to the channel merchant, not the brand owner.

The products and prices come from the channel merchant saleable scope.

Indirect channel orders fill the channel merchant from the trading relationship.

Channel merchants handle these orders in Channel Distribution.

Switch merchant and order

When there are multiple trading relationships, the first ShareOrder visit prompts the user to choose a supplier. The supplier can be a sales organization or an Parent Channel.

When the supplier is a sales organization, submitted orders, Payment, and invoicing use the standard Record Type. When the supplier is an Parent Channel, submitted data uses the channel Record Type.

## Run and verify

Use a test account to confirm the saved settings take effect on the related pages and records.

Undo or roll back

Return to the configuration entry, restore the previous switch, layout, or rule values, and re-verify with a test account.