how is the shipping item field value on a customer record tied to the parent customer record?

AI generated answer (using internal Slack threads):

In NetSuite, the shipping item field value on a customer record is not directly tied to the parent customer record. Instead, it is determined by the default shipping method set for the customer. This default shipping method carries over to sales orders and can be updated on the customer record if the customer wants to change the shipping method permanently. If they want to change the shipping method per transaction or only for a particular transaction, it can be changed on sales orders or while doing item fulfillment. The default shipping methods are set up under Setup --> Accounting --> Setup Tasks --> Shipping. This is most likely what is driving the shipping method you mention. In a workflow, you can set the "Shipping Item" which corresponds to the Customer UI "Shipping Method". When setting that Shipping Item field, NetSuite then sets both the Shipping Method and the Shipping Carrier. Please note that custom fields cannot be added directly to the Shipping Item record. If it's essential to see a custom field with a value on a Shipping Item, you can deploy a User Event against Shipping Items. This could potentially use a beforeLoad to add a field and a before/afterSubmit to get that field's value, then store it in an associated custom record. ****** Disclaimer: This response was generated by an artificial intelligence assistant based on previous conversations from multiple Slack channels, and may contain inaccuracies or mistakes. ******