Apparel CRM: the account record a generic CRM was never built to hold
One record per wholesale account, carrying the terms, price tier, credit limit, factor, rep and commission every order inherits before anyone types a line. Underneath it sit every door you ship to, the distribution centers those doors route through, the contacts who each receive a different document, and the notes that decide what prints and what stays private. It is the operational customer master, not a marketing CRM, and this page is clear about the difference.
Does an apparel ERP have a CRM?
AIMS360 has a full customer master, and it is worth being exact about what that means. There are no campaigns, no lead scoring and no pipeline stages. It is the operational record of what an account bought, owes and shipped, plus the contacts, notes and follow ups that go with it.
What it does hold is the part a general purpose CRM has no field for: terms and price tier, the in house credit limit, the factor the invoice is assigned to, the rep and the commission, the retailer's own SKU numbers, the EDI trading partner setup, every door the account ships to, and the distribution centers those doors route through.
So the practical shape is this. If you want prospecting and marketing automation, connect a dedicated tool and let AIMS360 stay the system of record for the accounts you already sell to. What you should not do is try to run wholesale terms, credit exposure and a four hundred door store list out of a marketing CRM.
Everything that ever happened on the account, on the account
More than twenty tabs, which fall into four jobs.
| Job | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Identity | The bill to address, the people you email, every ship to location, and the documents that belong to the account: the resale certificate, the signed terms, the vendor guide |
| Commercial rules | What every order inherits before anyone types a line: terms, ship via, price tier, division, warehouse, order status, customer specific pricing, the in house credit limit, stored cards, the rep and commission, the retailer's SKUs and the trading partner setup |
| History | Open orders, returns and credits, shipments, accounts receivable, pre-payments and a year by year financial summary, all filterable on the record itself. Print a statement from the same screen |
| Working the account | The private relationship history, the follow ups assigned to people, the lists the account belongs to, and the portal login that lets the buyer place their own orders |
The point of the template section is that a correctly set up account makes the next order almost typing free. Terms, ship via, price sheet, division, warehouse and starting status all come from the record, so the order desk is entering styles and quantities rather than re-deciding commercial terms every time.
Seven settings that change how the system treats this account
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Class | A classification that separates boutique retail from major department stores in reporting. Worth setting on every account from day one |
| Region | Where the account is, domestically or internationally, so sales and shipping reports can be cut by territory |
| COD | Collect on delivery. Flagged here, and the shipping integrations honor it when the label is created |
| Ship complete | No pick ticket is created unless 100 percent of the units can be allocated. For accounts that refuse partial shipments and charge back for them |
| Credit limit | A whole dollar in house limit, used for credit exposure on the AR tab and for the order entry warning. Not the limit your factor gave you, which lives in factor approvals |
| Freight charges | A percentage or dollar amount added on top of actual freight for this account, automatically, every time |
| Shipping, packing and VAS notes | Three text boxes that print on the pick ticket and pass to an integrated 3PL on the outbound 940, so routing instructions, packing rules and value added service requirements reach the floor without a phone call |
Credit exposure, before the next shipment
The credit limit view on the AR tab shows open, unpaid invoices plus approved orders against the limit, which is the real exposure rather than the invoiced balance. At order entry, total AR for the account is one click from the order header.
Warn, then hold
With the order entry setting on, saving an order that would exceed the limit shows a warning. Continue and the order saves on hold with your reason code. Stop and it is not saved. Without that setting the limit is visible but stops nothing, so somebody has to review exposure by hand. Factored orders are approved by the factor, not by this limit.
One account, every door it ships to
This is the part that separates a wholesale customer record from a contact in a CRM. You bill one account and ship to four hundred addresses, and the retailer decides what those addresses are called.
What a store record carries
- The store number, which for an EDI trading partner has to match the retailer's published number character for character, leading zeros included
- The ship to address, which for EDI retailers is what prints on the GS1-128 carton label
- Optionally its own buyer, its own sales rep and its own bill to address
- A preferred warehouse, so an East coast door ships from the East coast building without anyone choosing
Distribution centers and mark for
Retailers that receive centrally publish a list of distribution centers and which stores each one serves. In AIMS360 a DC is a store record with the DC flag on, and each store is cross referenced to the DC it routes through. The purchase order names the store, the shipment goes to the DC, and the carton label carries the DC as the ship to and the store as the mark for.
A retailer with three DCs and four hundred doors is four hundred store records each pointing at one of three DC records. If a sample label does not match the retailer's guide, the fix is the record rather than the label.
Two things worth deciding before the first order. Separate accounts per store cannot be merged later, so if a retailer's doors were set up as individual customers, that history stays where it is. And a rep on a store becomes the second rep on any order shipped there, whatever the account or division setup says, so do not put a rep on a store unless that rep should be paid on every order to that door.
Which document reaches which person
An invoice going to the buyer instead of accounts payable is the quietest way to age a receivable. Contacts in AIMS360 carry document flags rather than a single email address for the whole account.
| Document | When it goes | Who receives it |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice | Automatically, the moment the invoice is created, one at a time or in a batch run | Every contact flagged for invoices, in the To, CC or BCC slot you gave them. The subject carries the customer PO number, account code, invoice number and amount, with a link to view the PDF and a pay button where you take cards |
| Order confirmation | Automatically when an order is saved, for customers you have switched on | The contacts flagged for confirmations, so the buyer sees what was booked before it ships and catches a wrong size run early |
| Payment method request | On demand, from the customer record, from an order, or in bulk for accounts on card terms | The same contacts who receive invoices, with a link to a secure page where the customer adds a card or updates an expiry date |
There is no cap on contacts per account. A one person boutique is set up in ten seconds and a department store with a dozen people takes a few minutes, on the same screen. Each contact carries a name, title and department, so a new hire on your side can work out who to call without asking around.
Six kinds of note, and the one character that decides what prints
| Note | Who sees it | What goes there |
|---|---|---|
| Customer notes | Private, internal only, never on a document, with an access level per note | The account history: slow to pay, bounces boxes, asked for a different rep, the conversation that explains the credit limit |
| Order notes, short | Print on every related form: confirmation, pick ticket, invoice | Call before shipping. Gift wrap. Deliver to the side door. Two lines of up to 30 characters each |
| Order notes, long | Print only if you choose at print time, and never if the note contains an asterisk | The order history: every call about payment, every change, every addition |
| Line item notes | Print by default on confirmations, pick tickets, invoices, cut tickets and purchase orders | A substitution the buyer agreed to, a hangtag exception, a size run change on one style only |
| Shipping, packing and VAS | Print on the pick ticket and travel to an integrated 3PL on the 940 | Standing routing instructions, packing rules and value added service requirements for the account |
| Tasks | Your own team, in their task list | Chase the missing PO. Call about the unpaid invoice on Friday. With an owner, a date, a priority, reminders and the record attached |
The asterisk rule
An asterisk anywhere in an order note tells AIMS360 not to print that note on any document. It is the single most useful thing to know about notes here, because it turns the long order note into a private history while the short notes stay visible to the customer and the warehouse. It is all or nothing per note, so anything that should print goes in a separate note without one.
Standing instructions belong on the customer
Shipping, packing and VAS notes live on the customer record and copy onto new orders as they are created. They do not chase orders that already exist, so changing them on the account leaves open orders carrying the old text until somebody edits them.
What the customer record will not do
| Constraint | Detail |
|---|---|
| It is not a marketing CRM | No campaigns, no lead scoring, no pipeline stages. Brands that want marketing automation connect a dedicated tool and let AIMS360 stay the system of record for accounts they already sell to. |
| Notes do not aggregate | A note cannot be filtered, grouped or counted. If what you are writing is really a value, such as a buying group or a program name, make it a custom field so it can go in a view or a report. |
| The credit limit is a prompt, not a wall | With the setting on, an order past the limit warns and goes on hold if the user continues. Without it, the limit is information. Neither applies to factored orders. |
| Some things lock after the first order | Currency is fixed once orders exist against the account, and the account code is the key everything hangs off. Both are worth a second look before the first order is saved. |
| Separate accounts per store cannot be merged | If a retailer's doors were set up as individual customers, that history stays where it is. Move forward on one account with stores and accept the split. |
| Every flagged contact needs an email address | Flag a contact with no email and the automatic send for that customer fails, because the address list is invalid. If invoices for one account stop going out, check its contacts first. |
| Confirmations are switched on customer by customer | Automatic invoice email can be enabled for every account at once. Automatic order confirmations are per customer, and manual confirmations go out one order at a time. |
| Nobody is alerted when a customer pays online | A payment made from the invoice email posts to AIMS360, but no message goes to your side. Turn on payment notifications at your card processor so AR hears about it. |
What each part of the customer record does
The account master, the contacts, the store and distribution center list, and the notes and tasks, one page each.
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Common questions
What order desks, controllers and owners ask about running wholesale accounts in the ERP.
It has a full customer master, which is a different thing from a marketing CRM and worth separating. There are no campaigns, no lead scoring and no pipeline stages. What there is: one record per wholesale account holding terms, price tier, credit limit, factor assignment, rep and commission, the retailer's own SKUs, the EDI trading partner setup, every ship to door, the contacts who each receive different documents, the full order and payment history, and private notes and tasks. Brands that want prospecting and marketing automation connect a dedicated tool and keep AIMS360 as the system of record.
What the record is shaped to hold. A general CRM is built around a person and a deal. A wholesale customer record is built around an account you bill and the doors you ship to, with commercial rules attached: net terms, a price tier, an in house credit limit, a factor the invoice gets assigned to, a rep and a commission rate, and a store list where every door has a number the retailer publishes. None of that has a field in a marketing CRM, which is why brands that try end up running their real customer data in a spreadsheet beside it.
One customer record for the account you bill, and one store record under it for each ship to location. Every store carries its own number, address and optionally its own buyer, sales rep, bill to address and preferred warehouse. For an EDI trading partner the store number has to match the retailer's published number exactly, including leading zeros, because that is what the incoming purchase order references and what prints on the GS1-128 carton label.
A distribution center is a store record with the DC flag switched on, and each store is cross referenced to the DC it routes through. The retailer's purchase order names the store, the shipment physically goes to the DC, and the carton label carries the DC as the ship to and the store as the mark for. A retailer with three DCs and four hundred doors is four hundred store records each pointing at one of three DC records, loaded from the retailer's own published list rather than typed from memory.
Yes, with no cap. Each contact carries a name, title, department, email and phone, plus flags for which documents they should receive and whether they are on To, CC or BCC. Accounts payable goes on To for invoices; the owner who wants visibility goes on BCC. That is how an invoice reaches the person who pays it rather than the buyer who ordered it, which is the quietest cause of an aging receivable.
Yes. The invoice email goes the moment an invoice is created, one at a time or in a batch run, to every contact flagged for invoices, with the customer PO number, account code, invoice number and amount in the subject, a link to view the PDF and a pay button where you take cards through AIMS360. Order confirmations go automatically when an order is saved, for the customers you have switched on. Automatic invoicing can be enabled for every account at once; confirmations are switched on customer by customer.
The in house credit limit is a whole dollar figure on the customer record, for business you finance yourself rather than the limit a factor gave you. The credit limit view on the AR tab shows open unpaid invoices plus approved orders against it, which is real exposure rather than the invoiced balance. With the order entry setting on, saving an order that would breach the limit warns, and continuing saves the order on hold with your reason code. Without that setting the limit is information rather than a control.
It depends who should read them. Private notes about the account go on the customer record with an access level per note and never appear on a document. Instructions the buyer or warehouse must see go on the order, either as the two short header lines that print on every form or as a line item note attached to one style. Standing routing, packing and value added service instructions go on the customer record, where they print on the pick ticket and travel to an integrated 3PL on the 940.
Put an asterisk in it. An asterisk anywhere in an order note tells AIMS360 not to print that note on any document, which is what turns the long order note into a private running history. It is all or nothing per note rather than per line, so anything that should reach the customer goes in a separate note without one.
Yes. A task is assigned to one or more staff with a start date, a completion date, a priority, optional reminders and a recurrence for weekly and monthly routines. The record it is about attaches to it, so the task opens straight into the order, cut ticket, purchase order or customer in question. Tasks are for your own team: if the warehouse or the buyer needs to know something, it belongs in a note that prints.
Terms, ship via, price sheet, division, warehouse, starting order status, customer specific pricing, the sales rep and commission, and any standing shipping, packing and value added service notes. A correctly set up account makes the next order close to typing free, because the order desk is entering styles and quantities rather than re-deciding commercial terms every time.
Yes, on the record itself rather than in a separate report. Open and hold orders, every shipped and returned order, return authorizations and issued credits, every invoice, payment, adjustment and credit on the AR tab, pre-payments used and unused, and a year by year financial summary for every year you have worked together. A statement of open invoices and adjustments prints from the same screen. The yearly figures round to the nearest dollar, so use the AR tab or a report when you need the cents.
Yes. The customer record carries a portal login, so an account can sign in to your own B2B site and place orders against the price tier, terms and store list already on the record. Buyers do not edit their own addresses there, because a store address ends up on a retailer's carton label, so an address change goes through their rep. That is the right control rather than a limitation.
Three things, because they are difficult to change afterwards. The account code, which is the key everything hangs off. The currency, which locks once orders exist against the account. And whether a retailer's doors are stores under one account or separate accounts, because separate accounts cannot be merged later and their history stays where it is. Setting class and region from day one is worth the extra minute too, since that is what lets you cut reporting by account type and territory later.
Where the account record touches the rest of the system
Last reviewed 16 September 2026 by the AIMS360 team. Customer record scope reflects the AIMS360 configuration as of that date and is confirmed for your setup during implementation. Product and company names belong to their owners.
Bring us your hardest account
The retailer with the longest store list, the account nobody can explain the terms on, or the one whose invoices keep landing in the wrong inbox. We will set it up on screen with its doors, its DCs, its contacts and its credit limit, and show you what the next order inherits.
