Multi-Source Binding
Setup Guide — Loading the Same Data From Several Sites and Systems
Module: Data Update › Config | Last updated: August 2026
Contents
- Overview
- Key Concept: Locations, Sources, and the Identifier
- Finding Your Way Around
- Creating a Location
- The Location Identifier
- Binding a Source to a Location
- Statuses and What They Mean
- Editing and Deleting
- Quick Reference
1. Overview
Many organisations run the same kind of data in more than one place — the same material or customer records living in a different ERP system at each plant, subsidiary, or region. Multi-Source Binding is where an administrator sets this up: you describe each physical location once, then bind the ERP source (and its connection) that location's data comes from. After that, operators can load data from any location without OnCoor ever mixing one site's records up with another's.
This is a one-time, admin-only setup page. It doesn't load any data itself — it defines the map of which source feeds which location. The actual loading happens later on the Execute page, which operators use day to day.
What you can do here
- Define locations — one per plant, subsidiary, or site.
- Bind an ERP source and connection to each location, so OnCoor knows where that location's data comes from.
- Give each location a unique identifier that gets stamped onto its data, keeping every site's records cleanly separated.
- Control which bindings are live so operators only run the ones that are ready.
WHERE TO FIND IT — This page lives under Data Update → Config → Multi-Source Binding. It's marked Administrator — a badge next to the title signals that this is setup work, not a day-to-day operator task.
2. Key Concept: Locations, Sources, and the Identifier
Three ideas make this page work. Understanding how they fit together makes the rest straightforward.
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| Location | A physical site the data belongs to — a plant, subsidiary, or division (for example, "Saint Louis"). You create one location per site. |
| Source binding | A link that says this location's data comes from that ERP source, using this connection. A location can have several bindings if it reads from more than one system. |
| Identifier | A short, unique code given to each location (for example, ONCR-STL-001). OnCoor stamps this code onto every row it loads for the location, so records from different sites never get confused with one another. |
Rule of thumb: a location is the "where", a binding is the "from where", and the identifier is the invisible label that keeps everyone's data apart once it's loaded.
The relationship is one-to-many: one location can have many source bindings, but each source can be bound only once per location — you can't accidentally bind the same ERP to the same site twice.
WHY THIS MATTERS — Without it, loading "the Material table" from three plants would pile all three plants' rows together with no way to tell them apart. Binding gives each plant its own identifier, so the same table can be loaded from all three and stay cleanly separated.
3. Finding Your Way Around
The page is a master-detail layout — a list on the left, details on the right.
- Left — Locations. A searchable list of every location you've defined, each showing its abbreviation, region, and how many sources are bound to it. A small coloured dot summarises binding health (green = all bindings active, amber = some not yet active, grey = none yet). Use Add to create a location, or the search box to find one.
- Right — the selected location. Its identifier and details across the top, and below them the source bindings for that location, one card per source. This is where you add, edit, or remove bindings.
Select a location on the left to load its bindings on the right. If you haven't created any locations yet, the list invites you to add your first one.
4. Creating a Location
Click Add above the locations list to open the location panel, fill in the fields, and save.
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Location name | A plain-language label for the site — a plant, subsidiary, or division (for example, "Saint Louis"). Required. |
| Location abbreviation | A short code of 3–6 letters (for example, STL). Required. It forms the middle part of the identifier, so choose something recognisable. |
| Identifier | The location's unique code — explained in the next section. Mostly filled in for you. |
| Region (optional) | The region the site sits in, chosen from a list (such as North America, EMEA, APAC, or LATAM). |
| Type (optional) | A free-text label for what kind of site it is (for example, "Plant · Manufacturing"). |
| Description (optional) | Any extra notes about the location. |
Click Save location to create it. The new location is selected automatically so you can go straight on to binding its sources.
STATUS COMES LATER — A new location is Active to begin with. The Status field (Active / Inactive) only appears once the location exists, when you edit it — see Statuses.
5. The Location Identifier
The identifier is the unique code stamped onto every row loaded for a location, and it's built from three parts:
<organisation> - <location abbreviation> - <number>
For example, ONCR-STL-001 is organisation ONCR, location STL, sequence 001.
- The organisation part is fixed for your OnCoor environment — you don't set it.
- The location abbreviation part mirrors the abbreviation you typed above, and updates as you type it.
- The number at the end is a sequence. OnCoor pre-fills it with the next available number for that organisation-and-abbreviation combination, but you can type a different one — useful if you're matching an identifier from a legacy system.
If you happen to choose a number that's already in use, OnCoor won't save a duplicate. Instead it tells you and suggests the next free number, which you can accept and save.
THE IDENTIFIER IS PERMANENT — Once a location is created, its identifier can't be changed. Every row already loaded for that location carries this code, and changing it would break the link back to that history. When you edit a location later, the identifier is shown but locked. Choose it carefully at creation time.
6. Binding a Source to a Location
With a location selected, use Add source binding in the right-hand pane to open the binding panel. The panel's header reminds you which location (and identifier) you're binding to, so you can't add it to the wrong one.
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Source | The ERP source this location's data comes from. The list shows only sources that have been enabled for multi-source use. |
| Connection | The specific connection OnCoor uses to reach that source. You pick the source first; the connection list then shows only connections that match the source's type. |
| Status | Whether the binding is Active, Pending, or Inactive — see the next section. |
| Description (optional) | Any notes about this particular binding. |
Click Save binding to add it. Repeat for each ERP source the location reads from.
If the source or connection you need doesn't exist yet, you don't have to leave this page:
- The + button on the Source field lets you create a new source on the spot; OnCoor enables it for multi-source use automatically and selects it for you.
- The + button on the Connection field lets you create a new connection of the right type.
- Promote existing source to multi-source (a link under the Source field) takes a source that already exists but isn't yet enabled for multi-source use, and enables it — handy when the source was set up for something else first.
ONE BINDING PER SOURCE, PER LOCATION — Each source can be bound to a location only once. If you try to add a source that's already bound there, OnCoor asks you to edit the existing binding or pick a different source instead.
7. Statuses and What They Mean
Statuses control what operators can actually run from the Execute page. There are two kinds — one on the location, one on each binding.
Location status
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Active | The location is available to operators on the Execute page. |
| Inactive | The location is hidden from the Execute page — useful for a site you're still setting up or have retired, without deleting it. |
Binding status
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Active | Ready to run. Operators can load data through this binding. |
| Pending | Still being set up. It stays visible to operators but they can't run it yet — a good choice while you finish configuring or wait for sign-off. |
| Inactive | Switched off. Operators can't run it. |
ACTIVE IS THE ONLY RUNNABLE STATE — Operators can only load data through Active bindings on Active locations. Pending and Inactive are both ways to keep a binding in place while stopping it from being run, without having to delete and recreate it.
8. Editing and Deleting
To edit a location, select it and click Edit location. You can change the name, abbreviation, region, type, description, and status. Remember the identifier is locked and can't be changed.
To edit a binding, click the pencil icon on its card. You can change the source, connection, status, and description.
To delete a location, use the delete (trash) icon in its detail header. Because a location owns its bindings, deleting a location also removes all of its bindings — OnCoor asks you to confirm, and tells you how many bindings will go.
To delete a single binding, use the trash icon on its card and confirm.
PERMISSIONS — Adding, editing, and deleting each depend on your OnCoor account's rights. If you don't see an Add, Edit, or delete control, your account doesn't have that permission — an administrator can grant it.
9. Quick Reference
A fast lookup for the most common actions.
| I want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Add a new site | Add (above the locations list) → fill in name + abbreviation → Save location |
| See a location's sources | Select it on the left; its bindings show on the right |
| Bind an ERP source to a location | Select the location → Add source binding → pick Source + Connection → Save binding |
| Add a source that isn't in the list | Use the + on the Source field, or Promote existing source to multi-source |
| Match a legacy identifier number | Type the number into the last segment of the identifier before saving the location |
| Stop operators running a binding, but keep it | Set the binding's status to Pending or Inactive |
| Hide a whole site from operators | Edit the location → set Status to Inactive |
| Change a location's identifier | Not possible — identifiers are permanent once created |
| Remove a site and everything under it | Delete the location (its bindings are removed too) |
| Actually load the data | Not here — operators do that on the Execute page |
Source: OnCoor Data Update product documentation, written for end users. For the latest screens and options, always refer to the in-app interface.