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Building Sub-SKUs

Sub SKUs are used to track inventory based on product options. A Sub SKU is comprised of a Parent SKU a SKU that describes a general product, such as a shirt, which may have a wide range of attributes, such as size and color. The Order Manager can create "sub-SKU" inventory records for each combination of attributes that are available for each parent SKU. For example, CottonTShirt might be the parent sku and CottonTShirt-XL-GRN would be a possible sub-sku indicating that the shirt is size XL and the color is green. Sub-SKUs allow the program to track the inventory QOH more accurately., a delimiter, and the option one of the possible choices for a product's attribute; for example, blue is an option for the product attribute of color or options in which the product is offered. For example, a merchant sells numerous types of T-shirts on their Website. The T-shirt product itself is identified by a Parent SKU of 1234. Any option that the customer can select to mouse "left-click" on an object, usually a row in a table, in the context of Order Manager documentation, such as color or size, is added to the Parent SKU. The Parent SKU and various options are separated by a delimiter, typically a dash (-). This produces a unique SKU, e.g. 1234-Red-Large.

For those shopping carts that support order options, you can import your inventory with those options and create the appropriate Sub SKUs. Once the Sub SKUs are set up in the Order Manager, the program can convert Parent SKUs with order options on incoming orders into Sub SKUs, making it easier to process orders and track inventory.

Instructions for creating Sub SKUs are detailed below:

Critical Concepts

System Parameters for Sub SKUs

How to Build Sub SKU’s for a Single Inventory Item

How to Build Sub SKU’s for all Inventory Items Containing Options

Building Sub SKU’s using all Options without Delimiter present

Building Sub SKU’s using Selected Options with Delimiter

Building Sub SKU’s using all Options with Delimiter present

Fields that are copied from the parent when building subSKUs

Critical Concepts

• Backup your data file before building Sub SKUs.  If you are not satisfied with the way they are built, it is easier to restore your backup then to delete all of the newly created Sub SKUs.

• All inventory items must be present and identical in both the shopping cart an e-commerce software system that allows a merchant to sell products on the Web. In the context of the Order Manager, it refers to the settings that describe a merchants web store to the program, allowing it communicate with the online shopping cart and import orders, and other information etc. and the Order Manager.

• After you create Sub SKUs, they become unique inventory items with their own attributes Product attributes are color, size, or style etc. An attribute can have various options or variants from which the customer can choose, such as Large or Extra Large for the size attribute, or Blue or Green for the color attribute. The base product SKU combined with each of the possible options for each attribute create a sub-SKU record in the Order Manager's inventory. Sub-SKUs are important for tracking the accurate quantity on hand for a particular item rather than the general product.. 

• After you create Sub SKUs, the System Parameters settings in the Order Manager that enable users to configure the program integrate with their business operations. The Order Manager includes hundreds of System Parameters to do just that. To change a system parameter, go to the Maintenance Menu> Set System Parameters. used to create them must remain unchanged in order for the Parent SKU to be replaced by the Sub SKU on incoming orders.

System Parameters for Sub SKUs

Go to the Main Menu>Maintenance Menu>Maintenance tab>Set System Parameters. Click on the Order Options parameter group. Set the following parameters as outlined below:

1. BuildSubSKUs

• If TRUE, the program checks imported orders for products marked "Parent SKU" at View Inventory that include order options. The program uses the Parent SKU, the SKU Delimiter and the order options to build a Sub SKU, and then replaces the Parent SKU in the order with the Sub SKU, which is also used for inventory tracking.

2. BuildSubSKUDelimiter

• This is the character the Order Manager uses to create Sub SKUs in the program.

• Example: Where "-" is the Delimiter without quotes

• • Parent SKU   1234ABC with options XL and Black

  • Sub SKU 1234ABC-XL-Black

3.  WebOptionCodeDelimiter

• The program takes what is to the left of this delimiter and adds it to the Sub SKU, ignoring what is to the right.

• For example, the web options might be XL:Extra Large, L:Large, Fast:Add(+$20), Slow:Add(+$10), where ":" is the web option code delimiter.

• • Parent SKU 1234ABC with options XL and Regular Shipping

  • Sub SKU 1234ABC-XL-Slow

4. WebOptionPriceDelimiter

• This delimiter tells the program to change the price of the item if the option is selected.

• For example, the web options might be XL:Extra Large, L:Large, Fast:Add(+$20), Slow:Add(+$10), where "(+" is the web option price delimiter.

• • Parent SKU 1234ABC with options XL and Regular Shipping

  • Sub SKU 1234ABC-XL-Slow, price = [regular price] + $10

• For Yahoo, the price delimiter is "(+ " (without quotes).

5. WebOptionNameDelimiter

• The character that designates the end of an option name

• Example: Size = Large, where size is the option name

6. AddToSubSKUIfNoCodeDelimiter

• If this parameter is set to False and if a selected order option does not contain the WebOptionCodeDelimiter (or no WebOptionCodeDelimiter defined in the program) and BuildSubSKUs is True, the option's value will not be added to the built SubSKU. The option will be added to the option fields (or as line item individual items listed on an order if OptionDestination is set to "line items"). This is done to accommodate shopping carts that have Text fields (or areas) where customers can enter their option details. A WebOptionCodeDelimiter cannot be added to these option values and most users would not want customer text added to the SKU.

• If this parameter is set to True and if a selected order option does not contain the WebOptionCodeDelimiter (or no WebOptionCodeDelimiter defined in the program) and BuildSubSKUs is True, the option's entire selected value will be added to the built SubSKU.

How to Build Sub SKU’s for a Single Inventory Item

Go to the Main Menu>Maintenance Menu>Inventory & Suppliers tab>Inventory button. Navigate to the appropriate inventory record. Click on the Attributes/Options tab. Click the Build Sub-SKUs for this Item button.

How to Build Sub SKU’s for all Inventory Items Containing Options

Once you have created inventory items in your shopping cart, imported them into the Order Manager, and configured the system parameters to create Sub SKUs as you wish, go to the Main Menu>Maintenance Menu>Inventory & Suppliers tab>Build Sub SKUs button. Make the appropriate selections and click Build Sub SKU's.

Building Sub SKU’s using all Options without Delimiter present

The most basic way to create Sub SKUs is to base them on all of the options available for an individual product.  This method uses the entire option text to create a Sub SKU.

Configure these system parameters accordingly:

1. AddToSubSKUIfNoCodeDelimiter = TRUE

2. BuildSubSKUDelimiter = - (dash)

3. BuildSubSKUs = TRUE

Example Item:

Item Name= Tshirt  SKU=1234 

Options:

Color: Blue, Red, White

Size: Large, Medium, Small

The resulting Sub SKUs would be:

• 1234-Red-Large

• 1234-Red-Medium

• 1234-Red-Small

• 1234-White-Large

• 1234-White-Medium

• 1234-White-Small

• 1234-Blue-Large

• 1234-Blue-Medium

• 1234-Blue-Small

Building Sub SKU’s using Selected Options with Delimiter 

Another way to create Sub SKU’s is to use what is called a WebOptionCodeDelimiter.  A WebOptionCodeDelimiter allows you to specify which Option and what part of the Option text is used to create Sub SKU’s.  The WebOptionCodeDelimiter can be set to a character of your choice.  In the example below it is set to use a colon (:).  Anything to the Left of the colon will be used for Sub SKU creation. 

Configure these system parameters accordingly:

1. AddToSubSKUIfNoCodeDelimiter = False

2. BuildSubSKUDelimiter = - (dash)

3. BuildSubSKUs = TRUE

4. WebOptionCodeDelimiter = : (colon)

Example Item:

Item Name= Tshirt  SKU=1234 

Options:

Color:  B:Blue, R:Red, W:White

Size: L:Large, M:Medium, S:Small

The resulting Sub SKUs would be:

• 1234-B-L

• 1234-B-M

• 1234-B-S

• 1234-R-L

• 1234-R-M

• 1234-R-S

• 1234-W-L

• 1234-W-M

• 1234-W-S

Building Sub SKU’s using all Options with Delimiter present

This method of creating Sub SKU’s is useful for building Sub SKUs that include both an option name and an option code.

Configure these system parameters accordingly:

1. 1. AddToSubSKUIfNoCodeDelimiter = TRUE

   2. BuildSubSKUDelimiter = - (dash)

   3. BuildSubSKUs = TRUE

   4. WebOptionCodeDelimiter = : (colon)

Example Item:

Item Name= Tshirt  SKU=1234 

Options:

Color:  Blue, Red, White

Size: L:Large, M:Medium, S:Small

The resulting Sub SKUs would be:

• 1234-Blue-L

• 1234-Blue-M

• 1234-Blue-S

• 1234-Red-L

• 1234-Red-M

• 1234-Red-S

• 1234-White-L

• 1234-White-M

• 1234-White-S

Fields that are copied from the parent when building subSKUs

• SKU is set to the new SubSKU, of course.
• Item Name
• Reorder Point
• Reorder Quantity
• Description
• Cost
• Price
• Taxable
• Weight
• Drop Ship an order placed with a supplier for an item or items that are not normally stocked by the merchant; the supplier then ships the merchandise directly to the merchant's customer. The merchant does not take ownership of any of the supplier's inventory.
• Parent SKU
• Barcode may be set to a new barcode, if system parameter AutoGenerateBarcodes=True

Created: 1/19/12

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