1. One Way

[VBA]
Option Explicit
Sub drv()
Dim s As String
Dim v As Variant
Dim i As Long

s = "CUSTOMER: 9997|9998|9999. DEPARTMENT: 15|01|03."
s = Replace(s, " ", "|")
s = Replace(s, "||", "|")
s = Replace(s, " ", vbNullString)
s = Replace(s, ".", vbNullString)

v = Split(s, "|")
i = LBound(v)

While v(i) <> "CUSTOMER:"
i = i + 1
Wend

i = i + 1
While v(i) <> "DEPARTMENT:"
MsgBox "Customer = " & v(i)
i = i + 1
Wend

i = i + 1
While i <= UBound(v)
MsgBox "Department = " & v(i)
i = i + 1
Wend
End Sub
[/VBA]

2. Similar, but use DateSerial to combine the Year/month/day pieces

Paul