Alternate SKUs

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Concept

Normally, each product to be sold is assigned a unique SKU 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 Monsoon OMS 7.011, sub-SKUs can have Alternate SKUs assigned to them.

Monsoon 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 for instructions to create an Alternate SKU.

The previous releases of Monsoon OMS are able to recognize Alternate SKUs when importing orders, however beginning in V5.929, this feature is enhanced to support the inventory synchronization of Alternate SKUs (QOH).  

Monsoon OMS only synchronizes the QOH of Alternate SKUs with Monsoon Marketplace 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  

Usage

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

Monsoon OMS can exchange accurate QOH information of an Alternate SKU with Monsoon Marketplace 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 (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 Marketplace 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, Category, or UPC, 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.

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 selected.

QOH information for each Primary SKU and all of its Alternate SKUs are sent to Monsoon Marketplace. 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

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

Alternate SKU

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

Cart Assignment

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

Select All

• select this to assign the Alternate SKU to all shopping cart systems defined in the store data file (recommended)

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

Clear All

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

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

Product Data Override

• 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 if you do not want to change any information for the Alternate SKU

Item Name 

• enter a unique, different name for the Alternate SKU

Category 

• select a different category for the Alternate SKU

Path 

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

Image 

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

Thumbnail 

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

ASIN 

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

ISBN 

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

UPC 

• enter a different Universal Product Code for the Alternate SKU

EAN 

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

Description

• enter a different description for the Alternate SKU

Save

• select this to save the changes made on the Alternate SKUs screen

Cancel

• select this to exit the Alternate SKU screen without making any changes

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. Choose Select All to associate all carts with the Alternate SKU. 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 rather than those of the Primary SKU, enter that information in the Product Data Override section of the screen.
8. Select Save.

Additional information

Created: 1/10/12

Revised: 6/29/15

Published: 08/19/15