Adding a Product

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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:

Select a category and add a product within this category
Add a stand-alone product

To select a category and add a product:

1.Select the category name, as shown in Figure 2 (Adding a Category).

The Products Editor page for the selected category is displayed, as shown in Figure 1.

 

product_addusingcategory

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).

2.Click New Product, shown in Figure 1.

The Add Product page is displayed, as shown in Figure 2.

 

product_addnewproduct

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.

3.Enter the product related details and click Insert.

You can enter the following information:

Product Name
Abbreviation
SKU
Product Type
Product Ship Time
Product Shipping
Product Format
Start and expiration dates related to the availability of the product
Description
Categories
Price

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.

 

product_detailspage

Figure 3 Viewing the Product Details

The Product Details page enables you to perform the following tasks:

Modify the product details - using the Modify option.
Duplicate the product details - using the Clone option.
Delete the product details - using the Delete option.

Providing Pricing Details

ConcourseSuite enables you to store multiple dimensions of pricing information, including:

MSRP
Price
Cost

 

Admin_productprice

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:

1.Click the Add Product Price link, shown in Figure 4.

The Add Price page is displayed, as shown in Figure 5.

 

Admin_addprodprice

Figure 5 Adding Pricing Details

2.Enter all the pricing details for the product and click Insert.

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:

1.Click action_icon and select Disable from the context menu to deactivate the active price shown in Figure 6.

The disabled price is set as an inactive price, as shown in Figure 7.

 

pricingdetails

Figure 6 Deactivating the Active Price

2.Click action_icon for the inactive price that you wish to activate, and select Enable from the context menu to set the inactive price as the active price, as shown in Figure 7.

The inactive price is set as an active price.

 

product_inactiveprice

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 years 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.

 

product_options

Figure 8 Viewing the Options Page

Clicking the Add Product Option link displays the Add Option page, as shown in Figure 9.

 

Admin_optionsconfigurators

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:

Text - This field type enables you to add a text option.

End-users can enter text in this field

Check Box - This field type enables you to add a check box option.

End-users can select the check box to select Yes, or leave it blank for No.

Lookup Lists - This field type enables you to add a lookup list option.

End-users can select a specific option from the list.

Number - This field type enables you to add a number option.

End-users can enter a numeric value in this field.

 

Admin_productoptions

Figure 10 Product Options

For an existing product option, you can perform the following tasks, shown in Figure 10:

View option details
Modify option details
Delete an option

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.

 

Admin_textoption_properties

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:

1.Click the Text link, shown in Figure 12.

 

Admin_optionsconfigurators

Figure 12 Selecting the Text Type of Options

The Add Option page is displayed, as shown in Figure 13.

 

Admin_textoption_properties

Figure 13 Adding Text Option Configurators

2.Enter the following details:
Label to display - as it will appear to end-users.
Minimum Chars Allowed - specifies the minimum number of characters end-users need to enter in the text box.
Maximum Chars Allowed - specifies the maximum number of characters end-users can enter in the text box.
Default Text - specifies the default contents of the text box.
Option Price Adjustment - specifies the adjusted price for the product based on the number of characters.
Start and Expiration dates

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).

3.Click Save.

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.

 

textoptionresultpage

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:

1.Click the Check Box link, shown in Figure 15.

 

Admin_optionsconfigurators

Figure 15 Selecting the Check Box Option

The Add Option page is displayed, as shown in Figure 16.

 

Admin_optionsdetails

Figure 16 Adding a Check Box Configurator

2.Enter the following details:
Label to display - specifies the label of the check box.
Start and Expiration date - specifies the start and expiration dates.

 

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.

3.Click Save.

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.

 

checkboxadded

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:

1. Click the Lookup List link, shown in Figure 18.

 

Admin_optionsconfigurators

Figure 18 Selecting the Lookup List Option

The Add Option page is displayed, as shown in Figure 19.

 

Admin_lookuplist_optionprop

Figure 19 Adding a Lookup List Option

2.Enter the following details:
Label to display - displays the label for the lookup list.
Lookup List Items - the items that appear in the list, and the additional price associated with each item.

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.

3.Click Save.

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.

 

lookuplistcreated

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:

1. Click the Number link, shown in Figure 21.

 

Admin_optionsconfigurators

Figure 21 Selecting the Number Option

The Add Option page is displayed, as shown in Figure 22.

 

Admin_numberoptions_prop

Figure 22 Adding a Number Option Configurator

2.Enter the following details:
Minimum Number Allowed - specifies the minimum number the end-user can enter in the text box.
Maximum Number Allowed - specifies the maximum number the end-user can enter in the text box.
Default Value - displays the default value displayed in the text box for this option.
Allow Fractions - specifies that you can enter fractional values with a decimal.

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).

3.Click Save.

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.

 

numberadded

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:

1.Click the Images sub-tab on the Product Details page, shown in Figure 24.

The Images page is displayed, as shown in Figure 25.

 

product_detailspage

Figure 24 Selecting the Images Option

2.To upload a thumbnail image, click the Upload link, shown in Figure 25.

The page to upload images is displayed, as shown in Figure 26.

 

products_imageadding

Figure 25 Viewing the Images Page

3.Click Browse, shown in Figure 26. Select the image to be uploaded, and click Open. The name of the selected image is displayed in the text box beside Browse. Click Upload File, shown in Figure 27.

The details of the uploaded image are displayed, as shown Figure 28.

 

productuploadimage

Figure 26 Selecting an Image to Upload

 

product_uploadimage

Figure 27 Uploading an Image

You can also upload small and large images by following the same method.

 

product_uploadedthumnailimage

Figure 28 Viewing the Image Details

Managing Category Association

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.

 

product_categories

Figure 29 Categorizing Products

This page enables you to manage category associations.

To assign a category to a product:

1.Click the Manage Category Association link. A pop-up window is displayed, as shown in Figure 30.

 

managecategoryassociation

Figure 30 Selecting the Category

2.Assign a category to the product, as shown in Figure 31 and click Save.

The Categories page with the assigned category is displayed, as shown in Figure 31.

 

prod_assignedcategory

Figure 31 Viewing the Categories Page