Anonymising Closed Supplier Records
Please ensure you read the implications at the end at the article
If an individual requests that you remove their personal data from your database or if you wish to anonymise closed supplier data where you have not carried out any transactions with the supplier for a number of years it is easy to do so without affecting the referential integrity of your database.
1. Go to the Supplier record in question. You can do this by either going to the Supplier List and selecting ‘Closed’ on the ‘Status From’ filter or, if you know the alpha code of the Supplier simply type it into the Supplier account filter on the left. This will bring up a list of closed Suppliers or just the one in question if you have filtered by alpha code.
2. Simply double-click the Supplier record in the list to proceed to the Supplier Detail screen.
3. To anonymise the data:
a. Overtype the entry in the Name field to ‘ANON’
b. Remove the entry in Street 1 with the backspace key
c. Remove the entry in Street 2 with the backspace key
d. Remove the entry in Town/City with the backspace key
e. Remove the entry in County with the backspace key
f. Remove the entry in Post Code with the backspace key
g. Remove the entry in Phone with the backspace key
h. Remove the entry in Fax with the backspace key
i. Remove the entry in Email with the backspace key
j. Remove the entry in Website with the backspace key
4. Click on the ‘Accounts’ tab.
5. Remove the entry in Email To from the Purchase Orders section with the backspace key.
6. This will anonymise the Supplier record. We are aware that Protean is a flexible tool and can be used in a number of different ways. Therefore, if you have stored personal data in other fields, for example but not limited to, the Memo tab, then you need to decide whether this too needs removing from the database. For further advice on what constitutes personal data please consult the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/
7. When you have finished, click the ‘Close’ button to save your changes and return you to the closed Supplier List screen.
Implications
Anonymising the Supplier Record in the manner described above has implications for the rest of the Protean database where Supplier information is displayed.
For example, following anonymization, if you view a Purchase Order where this Supplier was the selected vendor then instead of seeing their name on the order you will see ANON instead.
If you wish to discuss these implications further then please contact the support desk.