Understanding Substitute, Associated, and Promotional Items

If only part of the quantity for an item is available, you can use a substitute item to provide the quantity that you must complete an order. For example, a customer orders a standard bike chain, but you find that bike chains are backordered. You can specify a substitute item, such as an equivalent bike chain from another manufacturer, to fill the order.

Substituting an item on a sales order cancels any quantities that are backordered for the original item. After you add a substitute item, the original order line displays a Canceled by Substitution status, and the new order line displays a Sold as a Substitute status. Order lines display the split between the original and the substituted items. Use substitutions to replace obsolete items on a sales order if the item and a replacement are set up within the Item Cross Reference File table (F4104).

You can use associated items to sell additional items to the customer that complement what the customer originally ordered. If the company sells items in association with each other, you can set up the system to prompt you before adding the associated items to the order. For example, you can associate a tire pump with a tire repair kit. When you enter the item number for tire pump on a sales order, the system displays a check mark in the row header and column to indicate that associated items exist. If you want to add the associated item, such as the tire repair kit, the system adds the order detail line to the sales order.

You can use promotional items to market a new item, reduce inventory, or increase sales. Examples of promotional items include:

• A regular item with a coupon.

• A larger item, such as ten percent additional quantity for free.

• An item with an additional item in the same package.

You specify prices for new items according to the price indicators that you assign using cross-reference information. You can establish only one promotional item for an item at a time. For promotional items, the system automatically replaces the original item with the promotional item and cancels the original item order line.

You activate the system to check for substitutions, and for associated, replacement, and promotional items in the cross-reference processing options for the P4210 program.

You can set up substitute or complimentary items during sales order entry by selecting Item XRef from the Form menu in the Substitute/Complimentary Items program (P42260). You can specify that the system offer the best or lowest price. This price is the lowest price after applicable promotions or discounts. The best price can also be the price of the original item or the price of the substitute item.

After you enter a detail line, the system indicates additional information processing. For substitute and complimentary items, the system displays a check mark in the row header and column and displays a warning. For promotional items, the replacement is automatic.