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ConcourseSuite provides an option to add new products using the New Product option in the Products module. You can add a new product in two ways:
To select a category and add a product:
The Products Editor page for the selected category is displayed, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Adding a Product Within a Category
Note: To create a stand-alone product, click New Product, shown in Figure 2 (Adding a Category).
The Add Product page is displayed, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 Adding a New Product Note: The Product Editor page contains more details, and a truncated form of the page is shown in Figure 2.
You can enter the following information:
Entering all possible information helps you track products. If the number of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) is large, tracking products with wrong or incomplete product details will be time-consuming. The Product Details page is displayed, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3 Viewing the Product Details The Product Details page enables you to perform the following tasks:
Providing Pricing Details ConcourseSuite enables you to store multiple dimensions of pricing information, including:
Figure 4 Accessing Product Price Click the Price sub-tab on the Product Details page, shown in Figure 3. The Price page with product price information is displayed, as shown in Figure 4. You can specify the pricing details by following the steps listed below:
The Add Price page is displayed, as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5 Adding Pricing Details
The Price Page is displayed, as shown in Figure 4. You can fix multiple prices for a given product. Among these, one is fixed as the active price. This is the current price at which the product is sold. The remaining are inactive prices which are used for reference. A product can have an active price and one or more inactive prices. You can set an inactive price as the active price, if required. For example, if there is a marked increase in demand for a product, you can activate an inactive higher price and disable the lower but currently active price. To disable an active price and enable an inactive price:
The disabled price is set as an inactive price, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 6 Deactivating the Active Price
The inactive price is set as an active price.
Figure 7 Activating an Inactive Price Specifying Product Options ConcourseSuite enables you to define extra options for your products. For example, if you sell computer hardware and are defining the pricing for a particular laptop model, you get the base configuration and price for this model. Customers can choose additional features or upgraded specifications at an extra price per feature. Your default configuration may be 1 GB of RAM on the laptop, but the customer can purchase the laptop with 2 GB of RAM, for an additional price. For this purpose, you can add an option for the laptop as Additional RAM. Another example is when the manufacturer normally offers a year’s warranty on the laptop, but allows the warranty to be extended to 2 or 3 years, for an additional payment at the time of purchase. ConcourseSuite provides you with different types of fields which you can use to define the options available with a given product. All of these result in an addition to the base price, of a value that you define, but they behave differently. The field types available are text, check box, number, and lookup list. Addition of options using each of these field types is described below. Accessing the Options Page Selecting the Options sub-tab on the Product Details page displays the Options page, as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 8 Viewing the Options Page Clicking the Add Product Option link displays the Add Option page, as shown in Figure 9.
Figure 9 Choosing a Field Type for the New Option The field types available for creating a new option, as shown in Figure 9, are listed below:
End-users can enter text in this field
End-users can select the check box to select Yes, or leave it blank for No.
End-users can select a specific option from the list.
End-users can enter a numeric value in this field.
Figure 10 Product Options For an existing product option, you can perform the following tasks, shown in Figure 10:
Click the Name option and the properties are displayed, as shown in Figure 11. In this example, the field type of the option is text.
Figure 11 Option Details Options have prices associated with them. The option price is generally determined by a specific formula that is specified by the configuration of the options. Options also have start and expiration dates, and can be enabled or disabled. Adding a Text Option The Text option configurator enables you to add options with text characteristics. For example, you can have a product that can be customized with engraving. To add a product option of the text type:
Figure 12 Selecting the Text Type of Options The Add Option page is displayed, as shown in Figure 13.
Figure 13 Adding Text Option Configurators
Note: The final price of the product, based on what you have entered, is determined by the formula: Product Price = Product Base Price + (Number of characters the user enters X price adjustment amount of the option).
The Option Details page showing the created text option is displayed, as shown in Figure 14. This page also provides options to modify or delete the option.
Figure 14 Viewing the Option Details Page Adding a Check Box Option The Check Box option configurator enables you to add options with the check box characteristics. This type of option could be used for optional add-on components for a product. Continuing with the earlier example of the laptop, suppose that the base configuration for the laptop does not include an external mouse rather than the touch pad on the laptop. You could define a check box type option for a standard USB mouse which you sell, which will work with this laptop. While an order is being placed, if the customer requests the mouse option, the salesperson has to select this check box to add the cost of the mouse to the base price of the laptop. To add a product option of type check box follow the steps listed below:
Figure 15 Selecting the Check Box Option The Add Option page is displayed, as shown in Figure 16.
Figure 16 Adding a Check Box Configurator
Note: The final price of the product, based on what you have entered, is determined by the formula: Product Price = Product Base Price + check box price adjustment amount option.
The Option Details page showing the created check box option is displayed, as shown in Figure 17. This page also provides options to modify or delete the option.
Figure 17 Viewing the Option Details Page of Check Box Option Type Adding a Lookup List Configurator The Lookup List option configurator enables you to add options that have a list of items out of which one may be chosen. Each item has a different price associated with it. Suppose you offer additional RAM pre-installed on the laptop we have been using as an example so far. You have three choices to offer to the customer: 1 GB, 2 GB, or 3 GB extra (the laptop comes with 1 GB of RAM in its base configuration, and the maximum memory it can take is 4 GB). You can create a lookup list type of option for this scenario, listing the three RAM sizes, and the corresponding prices. To add an option of this type:
Figure 18 Selecting the Lookup List Option The Add Option page is displayed, as shown in Figure 19.
Figure 19 Adding a Lookup List Option
If you need to add more than five items, click More Items to display five more list items. You can add any number of items for display. Note: The final price of the product is determined by the formula: Product Price = Product Base Price + price adjustment amount of the selection.
The Option Details page showing the created lookup list option is displayed, as shown in Figure 20. This page also provides options to modify or delete the option.
Figure 20 Viewing Lookup List Type of Option Adding Number Type Configurator The Number option configurator enables you to add numerical value options. For example, suppose the laptop you are selling has one year warranty in its base configuration, but the customer can purchase additional warranty years at a fixed amount per year, up to a maximum of five years. In such a case, you can create a number option with a minimum value of zero and a maximum value of five, and assign an amount for each year of additional warranty. When taking an order, a salesperson enters zero or more for this option, and the corresponding extra price is added to the price of the laptop. To add an option of this type:
Figure 21 Selecting the Number Option The Add Option page is displayed, as shown in Figure 22.
Figure 22 Adding a Number Option Configurator
Note: The final price of the product, based on what you have entered, is determined by the formula: Product Price = Product Base Price + (number specified X price adjustment amount).
The Option Details page showing the number type option is displayed, as shown in Figure 23. This page also provides options to modify or delete the option.
Figure 23 Viewing Option Details of Number Type Adding Product Images ConcourseSuite provides an option to upload images related to the product. You can upload the Thumbnail Image, Small Image, and Large Image for the product. To upload images:
The Images page is displayed, as shown in Figure 25.
Figure 24 Selecting the Images Option
The page to upload images is displayed, as shown in Figure 26.
Figure 25 Viewing the Images Page
The details of the uploaded image are displayed, as shown Figure 28.
Figure 26 Selecting an Image to Upload
Figure 27 Uploading an Image You can also upload small and large images by following the same method.
Figure 28 Viewing the Image Details You can use the Categories sub-tab to re-categorize products after having entered them into the products catalog. Clicking the Categories sub-tab on the Product Details page displays the Categories page, as shown in Figure 29.
Figure 29 Categorizing Products This page enables you to manage category associations. To assign a category to a product:
Figure 30 Selecting the Category
The Categories page with the assigned category is displayed, as shown in Figure 31.
Figure 31 Viewing the Categories Page |