This documentation helps you select a suitable organizational structure for the Portal. This supplement to the article "Creating Organization Structure RetailForce Cloud" provides a detailed description of the practical implementation.
Fundamentals of Organization Hierarchy in the RetailForce Portal
The Portal provides distributors with the ability to create and manage structures for their end customers. Within their distribution, the Portal maps business structures across up to three main levels:
Organization
Is the highest hierarchical level that the partner creates for an end customer. It represents this end customer as an independent tenant.
- It provides complete data separation from other organizations
- Can carry a primary company identifier (e.g., VAT ID, tax number) (→ see also Company Identification)
Company
The Company level is an optional subdivision within an organization. It is used to represent legally independent companies, different countries, or specific business areas of an end customer (tenant) that are all managed under the umbrella of the same organization and thus use the same organization API key.
- Serves to represent subsidiaries or country representations within an organization
- Each Company can have its own company identifiers (Company Identification) (→ see Multi-Company Structure)
- All actions and data access for Companies and their subordinate Stores are performed via the API key of the parent organization
Stores
The lowest level, representing a physical branch or operational location.
- A Store is always assigned to a Company or - if no Companies are used - directly to an Organization
- Terminals (cash registers) are managed within a Store
Key Factors for Choosing Your Organization Structure
The correct structural choice is determined by the following aspects. (→ For a quick overview see Decision Guide)
1. API Key Management and Access Control
The Portal offers two levels for generating API keys with different access permissions:
For API access by the end customer or their systems (including Portal login), the Organization API key should be used. The Distributor API key primarily serves internal purposes of the distributor and should not be shared with end customers for security and separation reasons. If an end customer needs their own API key for portal access or other systems, they must be created as a separate Organization. (→ see Multi-Organization Structure)
2. Company Identification
Various types of company identifiers (Company Identification) can be stored in the Portal, including VAT ID as well as other country-specific identifiers (e.g., commercial register number, tax number). The need to maintain separate company identifiers, especially different VAT IDs for different countries or legal entities, is a decisive factor. These must be represented either at the Company level (within an organization) or, if strict API separation is also required (i.e., each entity needs its own Organization API key), through separate organizations. (→ Compare Multi-Company vs. Multi-Organization)
Structure Models in Detail
Simple Organization Structure
End customers who operate in only one country, use a single primary company identifier for all locations and want centralized, unified management.
API Key at organization level
Company Identifier at organization level, applying to all stores
Multi-Company Structure (within an organization)
End customers who operate internationally or manage multiple legal entities under one unified organization. Company identifiers and country-specific configurations per Company, while overall management and API access for this tenant is centralized at the organization level. (→ Alternative: Multi-Organization for strict separation)
API Key at organization level
Company Identifier at Company level, applying to all stores
Multi-Organization Structure (within a distributor)
End customers who need strict separation between different business areas, brands, or regions. Each area is managed as a separate organization with its own API access. (→ Compare: Multi-Company for centralized management)
Separate API Keys per organization
Company Identifier at Organization and Company level
Decision Guide
| Requirement | Recommended Structure | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| One country, one Company Identification | Simple Structure | Lowest complexity, centralized management |
| Multiple countries/companies, centralized API management | Multi-Company | Separate Company Identification per country, one API key |
| Managing multiple independent end customers | Multi-Organization | Strict data separation, separate API keys |
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