A label can fail when a business rule maps a long value (for example a customer PO Number) into a Reference field that is too short for it. Business rules cannot shorten a value, so map it to a longer field like CO Number, or do not print it.

Problem

A label will not create because a value a business rule maps into a Reference field (for example a long customer PO Number mapped to Reference 2 or Reference 3) is longer than that field allows.

Cause

Reference fields have a maximum length. A business rule can only map a whole value into a field; it cannot shorten (truncate) the value. When the mapped value is longer than the field allows, the label cannot be created.

Fix

  1. Find the business rule and the field the long value maps to (for example a References rule mapping the PO Number to Reference 2 or Reference 3).
  2. Decide whether the value must print on the label, or is only needed for reporting.
  3. If it does not need to print for this customer, add a child rule scoped to that customer so the value is not mapped to the printed Reference field.
  4. If the value is still needed, map it to a different or longer field that is not already used for this customer, such as the CO Number field.
  5. Reprocess and confirm the label creates.

What you should see

  • The label creates without the field-length failure.
  • The value shows in the field you chose, or is left off the label as intended.

Also good to know

An order can also fail to process ("order not flowing") when a Reference value is longer than the carrier's own reference-field limit (about 40 characters on a FedEx parcel shipment). A business rule still cannot shorten it, so shorten the value at the source or map it to the CO Number field.