Product codes for options

[Donna Kempster]

Hi

We have a number of options per product (based on size) which for stock purposes (not controlled in actinic) need separate codes. Is it possible to give each option a product code that could be output ? I wondered if I created variables that were entered but then I couldn't see how to link them to what had been ordered etc.

Thanks
Donna

[guccij]

Do you mean how to create hidden products? You create products, hide them, then using components and permutations for your options you have stock monitoring available.
In the KB here.

[Donna Kempster]

Thanks for this, it might help me on another site where I want to be able to put certain options in and out of stock.

But for the coding issue my problem lies with the output. (We run a daily batch out of one stop which we match to the credit card batch and then input into our accounts software which controls the stock and gives us detailed management accounts info.)

The original product and option would show in the output to one stop (without individual codes) and either this info would be duplicated with the hidden products or the hidden products wouldn't output as part of the order? (Clear as mud I'm sure!)

[leehack]

If you have hidden products, each with their own product reference, when purchased as the option, the physical product purchased will show as ordered. I'm sure there is a "show as separate orderline option", so it also exists in its own right on invoices etc. Setup a dummy section, add a product and some choices and try a test purchase is usually best i find, there's a number of things in the mix in your situation, i'm pretty sure you can get the option chosen to correlate with a physical product though.

[Donna Kempster]

Thanks Lee, I'll have a good look at it over the Xmas break I think and see what it all does. It will have the benefit of being able to put options out of stock which will be cool. We've so many products though it will be a lot of work, I think I might trial it on one of our smaller sites first like you say and test how it all pans out. In the meantime I'm going to have to blow my tiny mind and write a mega macro to work the output in VB and produce a report for now! Contagenate anyone?!!

[leehack]

The number of products that need creating is usually the deciding factor as you say, 10 shirts in 7 colours, means 70 products, although it is much quicker to setup that you think and the actinic wizard in this area helps. It's associating those products via the permutations that's the real PITA.

If you do it, like you say you can then stock control each option and there's some code where you can even get "out of stock" to show against the options in the list. Have you thought about a matrix type solution also, i've seen Norman do some great versions of that idea, with color coded stock control (red, amber, green etc.) which was fab.

[Donna Kempster]

After Gucci's post I read the Knowledge base article on the out of stock feature which will make life easier! I think the whole hidden product thing will be a bit of a project as we have some many products each with upto 6 options! Lets hope V10 address giving product codes to the options - i'll put my name down now!!

I'll have a look at Normans website as we use his lightbox feature on our bunting site and it was such an easy install etc.

Have a great Christmas all.

D x

[Darren B]

Donna

I do it this way, the same/similar as mentioned but you can see it here http://kitesrus.co.uk/acatalog/Sport_Kites.html the second product (rebel) is the one with the choices , the drop down list is linked to the main product.

The main products are spp's one is here http://kitesrus.co.uk/acatalog/Rebel...te_YELLOW.html when these go out of stock they do not appear in the drop down list. This allows me to use sage for my stock control and importing the sage line 50 updates all the stock quatities for the spp's

Darren

[Donna Kempster]

Darren the fact that when you add to the basket it puts the yellow code in instead of the basic code is perfect. I'm going to investigate it further and see if I can get it to work on a simple set of products on our smaller site first. I think we'll have to run witht he hidden version otherwise there will be too many products but seeing that in action on your site has helped me get my head round it a bit I think.

If you update prices etc do you need to update both products or deos the hidden one take its feed from the unhidden? I'm off to do sonme reading I think!

Thanks all much help as always.

D x

[leehack]

I don't think the matrix solution is listed on his site Donna, you'd need to email him.

[NormanRouxel]

There's another simpler route that may be worth considering.

If your size codes aren't needed for Actinic stock purposes but for another reason, then you can simply put them in the Name field of the Choice. E.g. "Small (001)". You can also set the HTML for Name to be just "Small", so the size code isn't shown until you put something in the Cart.

A demo might explain things better. Have a look at http://www.snowlines.co.uk/acatalog/...OR-SHIRTS.html - where each product has a 12 digit bar code. Six for the product, three for the colour and three for the size.

Add something to Cart and you'll see that all 12 digits are now visible on the order, which makes it easy to locate in an external stock system.

This is a site where stock is handled outside Actinic, nearly everything comes in colours and sizes and managing these as zillions of hidden products would be a pain (especially if a price changes and all the hidden items had to be amended).

[Darren B]

Darren the fact that when you add to the basket it puts the yellow code in instead of the basic code is perfect. I'm going to investigate it further and see if I can get it to work on a simple set of products on our smaller site first. I think we'll have to run witht he hidden version otherwise there will be too many products but seeing that in action on your site has helped me get my head round it a bit I think.

If you update prices etc do you need to update both products or deos the hidden one take its feed from the unhidden? I'm off to do sonme reading I think!

Thanks all much help as always.

D x

Sorry donna thats the problem, the product with the options cant be made to use the price of the choices, so when i update the price in sage it updates the spp product but not the main one with the choices, i guess you could add this product reference to sage and it would work.

Darren

[Donna Kempster]

Firstly huge thanks to all. I'd have never thought of doing it this way at all. I thought it was going to be something well complicated !! Whilst time consuming it will give us a solution to a number of problems that we just lived with as well.

Norman - thanks for that - its the way we do it at the moment and is fine for packing etc but make the whole getting it into our accounts page difficult.

Darren - i''ve trialled it on one product one option at the moment and combining the KB article Guccij published plus This KB article. This brilliantly changes the basket to show only the option and does the same on the invoice. However in the actual product record it stores both the main product code (with zero value) and the new option product code (with product value). When I run my orders export from onestop it outputs both the main product and the option as sep lines - I don't want the main one just the option! is there anyway of excluding that orignial product from the export as well. How's does your sageline50 do it?

Thanks Donna x

[Darren B]

hi donna

i dont use onestop i use actinic link to export to sage, this just takes the spp product into sage not the main order line with the permatations. So perhaps you might need to speak to Jan about this.

Darren

[Donna Kempster]

hi donna

i dont use onestop i use actinic link to export to sage, this just takes the spp product into sage not the main order line with the permatations. So perhaps you might need to speak to Jan about this.

Darren

Thanks Darren, will do. Am working through them at the moment about 1/3 of the way there! Think we'll prob have to bite the bullet and go to sage over our beloved quickbooks at some point!
Happy Christmas!
D
PS How's the snow your way - pictures on the news from Chatham the snow looked quite deep!