Migrate from Cetec ERP to Mailchimp

Cetec Customer records map to Mailchimp Contacts within a single configured Audience. The Customer email address becomes the Mailchimp email_address field, which is the required primary identifier; without a valid email, the record is quarantined. Customer name maps to FNAME and LNAME merge fields. Customer status (active, inactive, prospect) maps to a custom status_text merge field, and any customer type field maps to a TEXT merge field. We validate every email address against RFC 5322 format and domain MX records before import, flagging invalid entries for customer admin review. The migration runs via Mailchimp's API with batch chunking to respect rate limits.

The company name stored on the Cetec Customer record maps to Mailchimp's built-in COMPANY merge field for standard use. We also create a 'company_name' tag on each Contact so that Mailchimp's native company handling and any custom company-based segment conditions are both satisfied. Industry and company size from Cetec custom fields map to industry_text and company_size_text merge fields respectively. If multiple Contacts share the same company name (e.g., a buyer and an engineer at the same customer), each Contact receives the same tag value, enabling company-level segmentation.

Phone numbers from Cetec Customer or Contact records map to Mailchimp PHONE merge field. Street, city, state, and postal code map to Mailchimp's structured address merge field (ADDRESS). Website from Cetec custom fields maps to Mailchimp WEBSITE merge field. All fields are optional at migration time; if the source field is empty, the merge field is omitted from the import rather than submitted as blank, which avoids Mailchimp validation warnings. Email remains the only mandatory field for a successful import.

Cetec Lead records with email addresses map to Mailchimp Contacts with a 'source_lead' tag applied. Mailchimp requires double opt-in confirmation for API-imported contacts without an existing email confirmation path, which we configure as the audience's default opt-in setting before migration. Any Lead records without valid email addresses are held in a separate quarantine queue and reported for manual customer admin review. Lead score or qualification status from Cetec custom fields maps to a lead_score_text merge field.

Open Sales Orders map to active Mailchimp tags following the pattern 'order_OPEN_{order_number}_{amount}_{date}' so that open-order segmentation conditions evaluate true. Completed historical orders map to archived tags using the pattern 'order_HIST_{order_number}_{amount}_{date}' to preserve the engagement history without cluttering active segmentation. The full order history migrates as tags rather than a structured order object because Mailchimp does not have a native orders/line items model. Customers without any orders receive a 'prospect' tag for segmentation targeting.

Cetec Quote records map to three Mailchimp TEXT merge fields: QUOTE_NUM, QUOTE_AMT, and QUOTE_STAT. QUOTE_STAT captures the current quote status (draft, sent, approved, rejected, expired). QUOTE_AMT is submitted as a plain numeric text value; if Mailchimp adds native currency-formatted number fields in the future, this can be re-typed without data loss. Approval threshold type (dollar, percentage, LBV) from Cetec is stored in a QUOTE_THRESH_TXT field as a text annotation for the customer's admin. We do not migrate quote line items; they are documented as a separate handoff item if the customer requires a product-interest segment strategy.

Cetec ERP allows user-defined custom fields on Customer and Contact records with types including text, number, date, and picklist. Mailchimp supports TEXT, NUMBER, DATE, PHONE, IMAGE, WEBSITE, and ADDRESS merge field types. Picklist-type custom fields from Cetec have no direct Mailchimp equivalent; we convert them to comma-separated TEXT merge fields and document the original picklist values for the customer's admin to validate post-migration. Number and date fields migrate as Mailchimp NUMBER and DATE types respectively. We pre-create all merge fields in the destination Mailchimp audience before the first import batch runs, matching Cetec field labels to Mailchimp-compatible merge tag names (uppercase, alphanumeric only, max 10 characters).

Customer attributes from Cetec (account status, customer type, industry, assigned sales rep) map to Mailchimp Segments rather than direct field values. We create one Segment per distinct attribute combination that the customer identifies as a marketing audience during scoping. Common examples include 'active_customers_in_automotive_industry', 'open_quotes_over_10k', and 'leads_without_orders'. Segment definitions are written as structured criteria documents so the customer's Mailchimp admin can maintain them post-migration. Any segment requiring behavioral data (e.g., email engagement history) is documented as a Mailchimp Automations rebuild task rather than a data migration item.

The Cetec User assigned as owner or sales rep on a Customer or Contact record maps to a Mailchimp tag using the pattern 'sales_rep_{first_initial}{last_name}' for consistent naming. The full owner name and email are preserved in a TEXT merge field sales_rep_detail for admin reference. Owner reconciliation follows the same pattern as other migrations: any Cetec Owner email without a matching Contact in the destination is reported to the customer's admin before the final import batch. This field enables territory-based segmenting if the customer uses rep-aligned email campaigns.