SAP Marketing Cloud – Contact Best Record Email Address not taken from most reliable Source

Symptom

When importing/retrieving data, the email address of the contact’s best record is not coming from the ID origin data that is defined with highest priority, but is replaced by another email address.

Please check the following steps:

1. Import contact origin data from at least 2 different sources to SAP Marketing
2. Observe that in some cases the email address for the contact’s best record is not taken from the ID origin data defined with the highest priority

   

Cause

Usually the best record creation follows the ID origin priorities, the best record is considering the data from the ID origin defined with the highest priority. In case 2 different ID origins are defined with the same priority, the latest import will be considered (technically identified via the latest ‘OriginDataLastChgUTCDateTime’). Communication data, such as email, mobile or phone IDs, however, consider marketing permissions as well. Any explicit opt-in given for a email, mobile or phone ID overrules the priority of the contact ID origin – an email ID with an explicit opt-in will be considered for the contact’s best record although it is coming from the origin data defined with a lower priority.

In addition the design might be influenced from BAdI CUAN_UPDATE_IC_ROOT ‘Update interaction contact (Best Record)’.

Resolution

To understand how the communication data was merged into the contact’s best record, check the Inspect Contact app as a first step. If the communication details are not coming from the origin data with the highest priority, also use the Contact Profile app to check the marketing permissions, using the ‘Permission Marketing’ tab.

In this case the opted-in email address will be considered for the contact’s best record.

Please refer to the online help to understand the Contact’s Best Records concept in SAP Marketing Cloud in the context of Data Stewardship.