Item substitutions are available within ColdTrack Live for clients to use if they want one or more backup SKU to replace an item if it goes out of stock. You can have more than one substitution plan on an item and can even add query filters to the plans to only substitute if a certain criteria is met! Every substitution plan contains one or more Substitution Plan Options allowing for a hierarchy of alternate items when the primary item is out of stock.
Note: Substitutions are view-only in ColdTrack Live - to create or change Substitutions, please contact your ColdTrack representative to help set these up for you.
- For Example: You have a kit that typically contains SKU CHICKEN-LEG. If CHICKEN-LEG is out of stock, you can opt to have it replaced with another kind of meat. We can create a substitution plan and assign the option CHICKEN-THIGH to Sequence No. 1. We can assign the option CHICKEN-BREAST to Sequence No 2. Now when CHICKEN-LEG is out of stock, it will be replaced with CHICKEN-THIGH. If CHICKEN-THIGH is also out of stock, it will be replaced with CHICKEN-BREAST.
- For Example: You want to add vegan and non-vegan substitution options for your clients. You can add an order query filter to your substitution plan to check if the vegan substitution plan is selected (based on the order’s Extrinsic Order Data: Value field set equal to “Vegan”). If the order is listed as vegan and the original item is out of stock, the client will receive the vegan substitution item. If the order is not listed as vegan, the client will receive the non-vegan substitution option.
Where are Substitutions Located?
In the left-hand navigation menu, under the “Inventory” dropdown, select “Items”:
Within the “Substitutions” and “Data” section. There are two tables within this section that you can navigate to: Item Substitution Plan Table or Item Substitution Plan Option Table.
- Select “Item Substitution Plan” to navigate to an Item Substitution Plan Table. This table will show all of your substitution plans available.
- Select “Item Substitution Plan Option” to navigate to an Item Substitution Plan Option Table. This table will show all of the substitution plan options available to use within a substitution plan.
You can also navigate to this section by using the Quick Navigation Menu and searching “Substitution”:
Item Substitution Plan Table
This table includes the following fields:
- Id: The ID of the item substitution plan
- Create Date: The date the plan was created
- Is Active: If the plan is currently active
- Item: The original item (the item that will be replaced in the plan)
- Modify Date: The last date the plan was edited
- Name: The name of the plan
- Order Query Filter: Any filters that need to be met for the plan to be applied to an order
- Sequence No: The order the replacement items will replace the original item
- Substitution Failure Rule: The rule we want to take place if the plan fails
Interacting with the Item Substitution Plan Table
Each row represents a single Item Substitution Plan. You can select the Id to navigate you to an Item Substitution Plan Record. You can add filters to narrow down the data within the table. You can also sort the table by any of the plan fields.
Item Substitution Plan Record
The Item Substitution Plan Record is a record view of a specific Item Substitution Plan. This Record includes all of the information included in the table as well as Substitution Options available within the plan. This is a good reference if you want to know all of the details on a specific substitution plan.
Item Substitution Plan Option Table
This table can be used to quickly reference all Item Substitution Plan Options available to you within ColdTrack Live. Each item substitution plan option includes the fields:
- Id: The ID of the Item Substitution Plan Option
- Create Date: The date the option was created
- Item: The item that will be replacing the original item listed within the substitution plan
- Item Substitution Plan: The plan this option will be applied to
- Modify Date: The last date the option was edited
- Quantity: The quantity of the item that will be replacing the original item
- Sequence No: The order in which the options will replace the original item
Interacting with the Item Substitution Plan Option Table
Each row represents a single item substitution plan option. You can select the Id value to navigate you to an Item Substitution Plan Option Record. You can select the Item value to navigate you to the Item Record for the original item (The item that will be replaced with a substitution). You can select the Item Substitution Plan field to navigate to the Item Substitution Plan Record related to that Item Substitution Plan Option. You can add filters to narrow down the data within the table. You can also sort the table by any of the option fields.
Item Substitution Plan Option Record
The Item Substitution Plan Option Record contains the same information included within a row of the Item Substitution Plan Option Table, but only displays information for the single Substitution Option selected. You can reference this for a quick view of a specific substitution option.
How do I Add Substitution Plans?
If you would like to add a substitution plan, contact ColdTrack Support at support@coldtrack.com. Within the email, please include all of the following required information for both the Item Substitution Plan and at least one Item Substitution Option:
Creating A New Item Substitution Plan:
- Item: The Item SKU that you want to be replaced when the substitution plan is applied
- Name: The name you would like to give the substitution plan (be descriptive if possible)
Properties:
- Is Active: If you want the plan to be active upon creation list “Yes”, otherwise list “No”
- Sequence No: The order in which you want the substitution options to apply
- Substitution Failure Rule: What you want to happen when the substitution fails (“Delete Line Item” OR “Fail Release”)
Order Filters:
- Query Filter: Can be added to only add the substitution when the order meets specific criteria
Creating A New Item Substitution Plan Option:
- Item Substitution Plan: The Item Substitution Plan that you want this option added to
- Item: The item that will be replacing the item within the item substitution plan
Properties:
- Sequence No: The order in which you would like the item substitution plan options to replace the original item
- Quantity: The quantity of the item that will be replacing the original item