Alternate SKUs

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Concept

• Normally, each product to be sold is assigned a unique SKU the abbreviation for Stock Keeping Unit; a unique identifier used to track product inventory or Stock Keeping Unit, for inventory tracking purposes. However, merchants may sell the same product in several Web stores and may want to use a different SKU in each one.

• Beginning with OMS 7.011, SubSKUs can have Alternate SKUs assigned to them.

• OMS accommodates that need through the Alternate SKU feature. Refer to the Knowledge Base topic for the Alternate Barcodes & SKUs tab of the Inventory screen synonymous with the Microsoft Access Form object or graphical user interface (GUI) for instructions to create an Alternate SKU.

• Stone Edge only synchronizes the QOH of Alternate SKUs with Monsoon Pro at this time.

• To access the Alternate SKU screen, go to:

Main Menu > Manage My Inventory > View and Manage My Inventory > Alternate Barcodes & SKUs > Add button  

Usage

• Alternate SKUs on incoming orders are translated into their Primary SKUs in the line item individual products listed on an order details of the order. The SKU used at the Web site is stored in the WebID field of the line item.  

• OMS can exchange accurate QOH information of an Alternate SKU with Monsoon Pro if real-time inventory synchronization is enabled. The Primary SKU and the Alternate SKU fields will both show the same QOH.

• It is possible to assign an Alternate SKU to a particular shopping cart an e-commerce software system that allows a retailer to sell products on the Web. In the context of Monsoon OMS, it refers to the settings that describe a merchant's web store to the program, allowing it communicate with the online shopping cart and import orders and other information (Web store). Even though at least one cart must be assigned to each Alternate SKU when it is created, cart assignments only apply to outgoing functions, not incoming functions. It is recommended to assign all carts to every Alternate SKU.

• At this time, only the Monsoon Pro integration supports the ability to send multiple Alternate SKUs for a given product.

• Alternate SKUs can override information that is specified in the Primary SKU, such as Item Name, Description, ASIN Amazon Standard Indentification Number, Category, or UPC Universal Product Code, to name a few.

Requirements

• Alternate SKUs must be unique throughout the entire inventory, in other words, the same Alternate SKU cannot be used for more than one product.

Internal Logic

• The program has a new table that houses all of the information related to Alternate SKUs going forward. This information was previously stored in the Lists table, but is now in the AliasSKUs table.

• If the CartID field contains zero (0), it means that the Alternate SKU is enabled for all carts that have inventory synchronization enabled. If the CartID field contains negative one (-1), the Alternate SKU is not assigned to any of the carts that have inventory synchronization enabled. Otherwise, the field should contain the ID of the shopping cart to which it is assigned.

• When V5.929 is initially launched, any Alternate SKUs that were previous defined are copied into the brand new table. Obviously, the user has to manually provide the Cart Assignment information.

• While the Alternate SKU form is open, the Product Data Override data is kept in a temp table and is not written to the permanent table until the Save button is clicked.

• Each Primary SKU and all of its Alternate SKUs will have QOH information sent to Monsoon. If the QOH of the primary SKU is changed, the QOH of all associated Alternate SKUs are also changed to the same value.

Description of the Screen

Primary SKU Field

• the main, or primary SKU by which the product is known

Alternate SKU Field

• the secondary, or alternate SKU by which the product is referenced  

Cart Assignment Section

• choose which shopping cart systems should be aware of the Alternate SKU by double-clicking the appropriate row or rows

Select All Button

• click this button to assign the Alternate SKU to all shopping cart systems defined in the store data file the MS Access or SQL database that contains the users order information and program preferences. It does not contain Reports, which are housed in the Monsoon OMS program file (MS Access database). (recommended)

• the value of the Assigned Column changes from NO to YES

Clear All Button

• click this button to disassociate the Alternate SKU from all shopping cart systems

• the value of the Assigned Column changes from YES to NO

Product Data Override Section

• the fields in this section override the values in the fields of the same name in the Primary SKU inventory record

• it is acceptable to leave them all blank

Item Name Field

• enter a different name for the Alternate SKU

Category Drop-down List

• select to "left-click" the mouse on an object, usually a row in a table, in the context of Monsoon OMS documentation a different category for the Alternate SKU

Path Field

• enter the path to a different image file for the Alternate SKU

Image Field

• enter the name of a different image file for the Alternate SKU

Thumbnail Field

• enter the name of a different thumbnail file for the Alternate SKU

ASIN Field

• enter a different Amazon Standard Identification Number for the Alternate SKU

ISBN Field

• enter a different International Standard Book Number for the Alternate SKU

UPC Field

• enter a different Universal Product Code for the Alternate SKU

EAN Field

• enter a different  International Article Number (formerly European Article Number)  for the Alternate SKU

Description Field

• enter a different description for the Alternate SKU

Save Button

• click this button to save the changes made on the Alternate SKUs screen

Cancel Button

• click this button to exit from the Alternate SKU screen

How to Add an Alternate SKU to a Product Inventory Record

1. Go to Main Menu > Manage My Inventory > View and Manage My Inventory.
2. Navigate to the product inventory record.
3. Select the Alternate Barcode & SKUs tab.
4. Select Add next to the Alternate SKUs list box.
5. Enter a value in the Alternate SKU field.
6. Click Select All to indicate the carts to which the Alternate SKU applies. While it is recommended to assign all alternates to all shopping carts, it is possible to double-click the row on an individual shopping cart in the Cart Assignment list.
7. Optional: If it is desirable use different values in certain fields for the Alternate SKU than those of the Primary SKU, enter that information in the Product Data Override section of the screen.
8. Click Save.

Additional Information

Created: 1/10/12

Revised: 11/5/13

Published: 04/14/16