Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies An Oracle White Paper April 2004
Superior Product Variants Software for Multi- Attribute Product Companies Streamlining Management of Multi-Attribute Products... 3 Parent Item Definition and Child Item Generation... 4 Establishing the Parent Template and Segment Values... 4 Generating the Child Items... 6 Matrix Order Entry and Product Availability... 7 Inventory Visibility by Product Hierarchy or Attribute Groups... 8 Integration and Language Support... 10 Flexible Order and Inventory Management Tools for Multi-Attribute Products... 10 Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies Page 2
Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies STREAMLINING MANAGEMENT OF MULTI-ATTRIBUTE PRODUCTS For many manufacturing companies, including those in the apparel, footwear, food, beverage, paper, and steel industries, similar products are differentiated by physical attributes such as color, style, size, and length. Such variety is needed to satisfy a wide range of market demands, but handling the item setup, order, and inventory aspects of these multi-attribute products is complex and often cumbersome when those companies use typical inventory and order management systems. Historically, IT systems were designed to treat each combination of product attributes as a unique entity when in reality, similar products are usually ordered as a group. For example, shirts made from the same fabric are ordered as a mix of sizes and colors for a given style. A seemingly simple long-sleeve shirt can have color, neck size, sleeve length, fabric, cut, collar style, and cuff variations in the product line. When placing orders, customers need the flexibility to specify any or all combinations of these attributes. And treating each combination as a separate entity makes order entry laborious and prone to errors. The very nature of the product structure for multi-attribute products is a hierarchy of attributes that stem from a base product type. Most inventory and order management systems do not recognize or manage products based on this parent/child hierarchy. This deficiency results in lengthy setup times; limits the flexibility to apply business rules to the group, subsets of the group, or specific child items; and leads to errors being made during the inventory setup process. This system inadequacy also hampers the ability to look up alternative products quickly when taking customer orders and makes the process of checking inventory availability by attribute extremely time consuming. Customer service is negatively impacted, time is wasted, and revenue opportunities are lost. Oracle s JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Product Variants helps companies better manage the ordering and inventory aspects of their multi-attribute products to save time, increase sales, and improve customer service. Multi-attribute products can be managed as flexible groups or as combinations of attributes from orders through inventory. With EnterpriseOne Product Variants, companies can define parent products with up to 10 attributes and can automatically generate unique child item numbers from Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies Page 3
this parent base, thereby saving significant setup time. A single matrix order entry and product availability view accelerates order entry and reduces lost orders due to stockouts by allowing a quick view of alternatives. Because inventory can be queried at any level of the product hierarchy or any combination of defined attributes, manufacturers can group items by specific attribute combinations and view the desired inventory group. Product availability inquiries are quickly turned into closed orders, and better information is provided for inventory management. This white paper describes specific aspects and benefits of EnterpriseOne Product Variants that help companies manage the complexity of multi-attribute products to save time, eliminate errors, increase revenue, and improve customer service. Four key features of the module are: Parent item definition and child item generation. Matrix order entry and product availability. Inventory visibility by product hierarchy or attribute groups. Integration and language support. PARENT ITEM DEFINITION AND CHILD ITEM GENERATION Most companies with multi-attribute or size/color/style items find it onerous to set up each item variant or attribute combination individually. Often, the same core information or business rules such as price and cost must be entered separately for each item. Companies need the ability to automatically generate child items that have the same business rules beneath an overarching parent item. Although organizations need to be able to make universal changes to the rules as a group, they must also have the flexibility to change business rules at the child-item level. For example, long-sleeve shirts that require more fabric may warrant a higher standard price than short-sleeve shirts in the same parent grouping. With EnterpriseOne Product Variants, parent items can be defined in a template with up to 10 attributes. There is no limit to the number of templates that can be created or parent items that can be defined within a template. Based on a parent item, child items can be automatically generated to inherit the same business rules. Business rules can be maintained at either the parent or the individual child-item level. Establishing the Parent Template and Segment Values Suppose a manufacturer wanted to create a parent template for its line of shirts. Figure 1 shows the template setup for shirts, where the segments or attributes of style, color, and size are defined. A segmented item number can contain up to 25 characters. In this example, Segment 2-Color uses 10 characters while Segment 3-Size uses three. As more segments are defined, the system keeps a running total of the characters in the Length Used field near the top of the screen. The use of separators between Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies Page 4
segments (such as a dash or blank space) is optional, and each separator is counted as a character. At the bottom of the screen, the Horizontal Matrix Segment field defines which attribute or segment will be used for the column headings that appear across the top of the matrix order entry screen. In this case, size is the selected attribute. Optional category codes can also be assigned to any segment to drive pricing and enable sales analysis. Because the category code is assigned in the parent item template, all the child items created will also inherit the assigned category codes. Figure 1: A maximum of 10 segments or attributes can be defined for a parent item. Segment values (such as small, medium, and large for the size segment) can be populated from data stored in a user-defined table. This capability means that there is no need to enter the values each time a new template is created. The values can simply be brought in from the user-defined table. In this example, the values for size will be based on an existing user-defined table for size, named SZ. The Edit Rule column in Figure 1 helps to eliminate errors in setting up segment information. It enables users to define how each segment value will be validated or checked when it is set up. For example, edit rule 2 indicates that Segment 3-Size will be checked against the information in the size table. An error message will be generated if a segment does not correspond to a value in the size table. Leaving the Edit Rule cell blank means validation will take not place. Figure 2 shows the values for size SM, MED, and LRG that have been brought in from the user-defined size table. Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies Page 5
Figure 2: These segment values for size have been brought in from data stored in the size (SZ) user-defined table. Generating the Child Items Figure 3 shows the matrix of all variants that are ready for automatic creation of child items from the parent item. If certain variants do not require a child item, they can be removed from the matrix prior to child-item creation by changing the value for the variant from a 1 to a blank. Figure 3: This matrix shows all the child items that will automatically be created in the item generation process. Cells for child items that are not needed should be changed to blank. Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies Page 6
Once the template has been set up and segment values defined, the child item generation process can be run immediately or later as a batch process (see Figure 4). The items can be generated in one or more branches or divisions of a company. Figure 4: Users can run the item generation process immediately after setting up the parent definitions or as a batch process. The items can be generated in one or more branches or divisions of a company. Ease of attribute definition and automatic child-item number generation reduces setup time significantly. EnterpriseOne Product Variants also provides the flexibility to maintain and change item attributes at the parent level (which would be inherited by all child items) or maintain attributes at the child level to affect a specific child item or group of child items. MATRIX ORDER ENTRY AND PRODUCT AVAILABILITY Customer service representatives or purchasing managers who enter orders for multi-attribute items in systems without attribute management find the process slow, cumbersome, and error prone. In these systems, it is necessary to locate each unique item or variant individually and then enter the appropriate quantity for each. For example, in an order that contains 150 T-shirts of varying styles, sizes, and colors, it is difficult to keep track of the total quantities entered, making under- or over-order errors more likely. In addition, if one item is out of stock, there is no easy method for viewing other variants to suggest alternatives, because each variant or combination of attributes must be looked up as a separate item. Product Variants addresses each of these problems. When a Product Variants parent item is entered in the standard order entry form, a matrix order entry screen automatically appears (see Figure 5). From a single screen, representatives or purchasing managers can view all product variants. On-hand and/or available inventory can also be displayed, which makes it easy for a customer service representative to explain, We have no more small blue shirts, but there are some still available in green. Would you like those instead? Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies Page 7
Figure 5 illustrates how the total parent item quantity originally entered on the sales order form is automatically transferred to the matrix order entry screen in the Control Quantity field in this example, the quantity is 100. As the order for the different variants (child items) is being taken, a running total of the child item quantities is kept and compared to the control quantity. What s more, if an order is over or under the control quantity, a warning message is generated. If the customer decides, however, to order more than the original 100 planned, the original order quantity can be overridden. Figure 5: The Matrix Order Entry screen shows all the product variants and can show avail-able and on-hand inventory for easy selling across the complete line of child items/products. As illustrated in Figure 6, when the user has completed entering the order into the matrix, the system populates the standard order form with each child product ordered as a separate line item. Nonmatrix items can also be added to this same order. The Matrix Order Entry screen greatly speeds the order entry process, eliminates errors from under- and over-orders, and improves customer service by providing alternative choices quickly. Note: EnterpriseOne Order Promising can be used to deliver real-time, capable-topromise information during order entry. For example, if no inventory were available for certain variants, Order Promising could evaluate an accurate promise date based on manufacturing or supplier lead times. Profitable-to-promise dates can also be assessed, taking into account factors that affect the profit margin, such as rush shipment costs. INVENTORY VISIBILITY BY PRODUCT HIERARCHY OR ATTRIBUTE GROUPS It is common to need a summary of on-hand or available inventory of a specific product to assess availability for a potential order, for promotion planning purposes, or to make inventory adjustments. Typical questions might be, What is Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies Page 8
the current on-hand balance for all large size shirts, in any style or color? How many short-sleeve shirts do I have? Figure 6: Child items ordered on the Matrix Order Entry screen automatically populate the sales order form as individual lines on the order. With Product Variants, users can rapidly summarize inquiries on item availability at different levels within a product hierarchy. This capability is enabled by the filter fields for color, style, and size shown in Figure 7. This functionality gives immediate information on product avail-ability to fill potential orders and provides flexible inventory views by attribute to improve decisions about shifting inventories. Figure 7: Item availability can be viewed at any level of the product hierarchy. This example shows inventory for all blue, green, and orange shirts, with the ability to drill down into the tree structure for more specific product variant inventory information. Filter fields can also be used. For example, users can use this screen to view inventory for all shirts in the size large. Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies Page 9
INTEGRATION AND LANGUAGE SUPPORT Product Variants integrates with EnterpriseOne Inventory Management, Sales Order Management, Order Promising, Procurement Management, and Advanced Pricing modules. Because these modules share the same data and are designed to work together, they provide an effective, streamlined business process flow for companies that need to manage multi-attribute items. For companies that take or place orders in a number of countries, alternative language support for Product Variants allows template names and segment descriptions to be entered in a number of languages, enabling users to view the order matrix in the language of their preference. Figure 8: The parent item template and segments can be set up in multiple languages. FLEXIBLE ORDER AND INVENTORY MANAGEMENT TOOLS FOR MULTI-ATTRIBUTE PRODUCTS Managing multi-attribute products and using order entry and inventory management systems without attribute management capabilities results in wasted time, lost sales, and incomplete information to support inventory decisions. EnterpriseOne Product Variants reduces item setup time by automatically generating child items, improves order processing capabilities with matrix order entry, and provides flexible views of inventory to quickly turn order inquiries into closed sales. When fully integrated with other JD Edwards EnterpriseOne solutions, the attribute management functionality provided by Product Variants enables companies to grow by processing orders more efficiently, making better inventory decisions, and better serving customers. Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies Page 10
Superior Product Variants Software for Multi-Attribute Product Companies April 2004 Oracle Corporation World Headquarters 500 Oracle Parkway Redwood Shores, CA 94065 U.S.A. Worldwide Inquiries: Phone: +1.650.506.7000 Fax: +1.650.506.7200 oracle.com Copyright 2004, 2005, Oracle. All rights reserved. This document is provided for information purposes only and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law, including implied warranties and conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We specifically disclaim any liability with respect to this document and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document. This document may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without our prior written permission. Oracle, JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, and Retek are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.