Variant Framework

Variants let you handle retail items that have up to 6 different variant dimensions. By assigning a unique barcode for each variant combination, you can scan in the barcode at the POS terminal and let the program find which variant of the item is being sold. You can therefore collect and view statistics of variant sales.

Variant Framework codes

Variant Framework combinations

Variant Framework base values

Using Variant Weight

Assigning the Variant Framework

Creating Variants

To disable automatic Variant suggestions

To manually load Variant suggestions

To view Retail Availability by Variant

Using stock keeping units

When you have assigned barcode masks to Retail Product Groups or items the program uses the barcode mask to generate barcodes automatically for each variant combination. This can be extremely useful if there are many variant dimensions possible as the combination increase greatly with added variant codes. Otherwise, the combinations will have to be manually assigned to each barcode representing a variant.

When you have assigned a variant framework code to an Retail Product Group you can create variants for the retail items in the Retail Product Group. You can also assign a variant framework code to retail items and then create variants for retail items.

Variant Framework Base Values can have attributes.

Variant Framework codes

Before you set up variant dimensions, variant framework codes must be set up.

To set up Variant Framework codes

  1. Click the icon, enter Variant Framework Codes Setup, and select the relevant link.
  2. Click New. The Variant Framework Codes Card window appears.
  3. Insert a Framework Code, and fill in the description.
  4. Fill in the Barcode Mask field, in case you would like to use the barcode mask.
  5. Fill in the other fields as needed.

Repeat steps 2 to 5 for each Variant Framework Code you want to set up.

Variant Framework combinations

In Variant Framework Combinations you can define the combinations of the Variant Framework Base Values you wish to use for the specific Variant Framework Codes.

To set up the Variant Framework combinations

  1. Click the icon, enter Variant Framework Codes Setup, and select the relevant link.
  2. Click the Combinations action. The Variant Framework page appears.
  3. In the Code field, select the Dimension Setups you wish to include in the combination.
  4. Click the Get Variant Values action. The Variant Values Suggestion page appears.
  5. From the Variant Values Suggestion page, you can select a combination of Variant Values to be assigned with the dimension that you chose in the Code field.
  6. You can filter the variant values based on the Dimension Group and the Attributes. For more details refer to the Variant Dimension Group and Attributes page. Click the Select/Deselect All action to either select or deselect all values that have been filtered on the page.
  7. Click the Create Variant Values action once you have chosen all the variant values that you want to be assigned to the dimension.

Variant Framework base values

Base values for the variant framework can be values for size, color, style and others.

To set up the Variant Framework base values

  1. Click the icon, enter Variant Framework Base Values, and select the relevant link.
  2. In the Code field, define the Base Value Code, such as COLOR, SIZE or STYLE.
  3. In the Variant Base Values sub-page, specify the Values like different colors, sizes and styles.
  4. By default, the value in the Value field is automatically copied to the Value Description field. Change the Value Description if needed. If you are using codes (001, 002, etc.) for the Value field, you can utilize the Value Description field to better describe the variant values, such as Red, Blue, etc. The Variant Description will then be used as part of the item variant's description, for example Red/Large.
  5. The logical order allows re-sorting of the values.

Using Variant Weight

Variant Weights are used to set up a distribution pattern for the Variant Values of a Variant Dimension. This pattern can describe how different sizes, like XS, S, M, L, and XL, are usually bought by customers, and how the quantities are distributed between the sizes. This information can be used in Allocation Plans for buying decisions, for example which sizes to buy.

A Variant Weight can be set up manually by entering a value in the Default Variant Weight field under the Variant Base Values FastTab, or in the Variant Framework Combination. Alternatively, the Default Variant Weight can also be populated from the calculated Variant Weight Curves.

For more information see Variant Weight Curve.

Assigning the Variant Framework

Before creating variants for retail items you must either assign a variant framework code to the Product Group the retail item belongs to, or assign the variant group combination to the item itself. If you want to create item variants for all items in a Product Group, you should assign variants to the Product Group. When assigning the Product Group to the retail item, the item will inherit the variant group combination, which you can change if needed.

To assign a Variant Framework code to Retail Product Groups

  1. Click the icon, enter Retail Product Groups, and select the relevant link.
  2. Browse to the Retail Product Groups to which you wish to assign a variant framework code.
  3. Click the Edit action to open the Retail Product Group card in edit mode.
  4. Select the relevant Variant Framework Code.

To assign a Variant Framework code to Retail Items

  1. Click the icon, enter Retail Item List, and select the relevant link.
  2. Browse to the retail item to which you wish to assign a variant framework code, and select it to open the Retail Item Card.
  3. Under the General FastTab, select the relevant Variant Framework Code.

Creating Variants

A Variant combination is created for each item. Before creating variants you must either assign a Variant Framework Code to the Retail Product Group to which the retail item belongs, or assign the variant group combination to the item itself.

To create Variants

  1. When you assign a Variant Framework Code with Registration Type Automatic Selection to a retail item, the Variant Suggestions page will appear, displaying all possible combinations of variants that can be created.
  2. The list of variant combinations can be filtered based on individual Dimensions, or Variant Dimension Groups.
  3. To continue creating variants, just select the variants you wish to create, and click the Create Variants action. 
  4. The variants that have been created will disappear from the Variant Suggestions page. You can then proceed to create more variants within the page, or close the page by clicking the Close button.
  5. You can review the newly created variants in the Variant Worksheet page. You can use the Add a New Variant action there to open the Variant Suggestions page and add more variants.

To disable automatic Variant suggestions

When you choose the Registration Type as Automatic Selection for a Variant Framework Code, the system uses the Variant Framework combinations to auto create the variant suggestions for you. The time taken to calculate the variant suggestion depends on the number of combinations available, that is, the larger the number, the more time the process will take. If you want to avoid the long wait and instead load the variant suggestions manually, based only on the filters you choose, then you can opt for disabling the automatic variant suggestions in the Variant Framework Setup card:

  1. Click the icon, enter Variant Framework Codes Setup, and select the relevant link.
  2. Click New to create a new Variant Framework, or select the relevant code to edit. The Variant Framework Codes Card page appears.
  3. Check Disable Auto. Variant Suggestion field.

Note: If the Disable Auto. Variant Suggestion is active for a Variant Framework, whenever you open the related Variant Suggestion page, you will get notified to load the variant suggestions manually. If you want the system to stop prompting this message, you can check the Disable Notification (Load Variant Suggestion) field. Alternatively, you can also click the Do not show this message again in the notification itself.

To manually load Variant suggestions

  1. When you assign a Variant Framework Code with Registration Type Automatic Selection to a retail item with automatic variant suggestion disabled, the Variant Suggestions page will appear without any automatic variant suggestion.
  2. Add your desired filters on Dimensions, or Variant Dimension Groups.
  3. Click the Load Suggestions action to load all the possible variant combinations based on your selected filters.
  4. To continue creating variants, just select the variants you wish to create, and click the Create Variants action. 
  5. The variants that have been created will disappear from the Variant Suggestions page. You can then proceed to create more variants within the page, or close the page by clicking the Close button.
  6. You can review the newly created variants in the Variant Worksheet page. You can use the Add a New Variant action there to open the Variant Suggestions page and add more variants.

To view Retail Availability by Variant

  1. Click the icon, enter Retail Item List, and select the relevant link.
  2. On the Retail Item Card, under the Related action menu, click Availability - Retail Availability by - Variant. This will bring up the Retail Item - Variant Availability card for the selected item.
  3. The Retail Availability information is displayed in matrix form. The value setup as Dimension 1 in the Variant Framework will be displayed as the horizontal-axis (header), and if the item consists of two dimensions, the Dimension 2 will be displayed as the vertical-axis.

Using stock keeping units

Stock keeping units let you differentiate information about an item for a specific location or a specific variant of the same item. It is used when setting up the inventory or distribution system.

When creating a new variant, you can choose to set the Usage of Stock Keeping Units to either None, On Item, or On Stores. Choosing the option On Item or On Stores will automatically create an entry in the Stock keeping Unit table for any items associated with the Framework Code.