Substituting Products on Purchase Orders

When you need to replenish products in your warehouse, sometimes the product is not readily available from the vendor. You can substitute products in your warehouse with a similar item. Also, if you are procuring directly for a customer, you can substitute an item and fill the need for the order more quickly.

For example, you have a 40-gallon State water heater that you can use as a substitute for a 40-gallon AO Smith water heater, or you can use the 40-gallon AO Smith water heater as a substitute for the 40-gallon State water heater. You must indicate this reciprocal relationship in both product records.

To substitute products on a purchase order:

  1. Display the order which requires a product substitution.

  2. In the Qty/Unit field and Product Description field, enter the product information for the parent product you want to add to the order.

  3. Do one the following:

  1. On the Substitute Items screen, select the substitute which you or the customer would like to use to replace the product which is unavailable.

  2. Use the Substitute Item hot key to add the item to the order.

  3. If prompted, indicate if you want to keep the original description on the order or use the one from the substitute product.

  4. Yes –  The system uses the description from the parent product even though it is substituting a different product for it. This is the default.

  5. No – The system uses the description from the substitute product and adds a note that reads "* Sub for <original product>" beneath the description.

If the item already on the order has related or required items on the order, you must delete the parent product and start the substitution process again.

Note: Use the Prompt For Original Description On Substitutes control maintenance record to make this selection automatic.

  1. Use the Inquiry hot key to investigate product history or product file details, if needed.

  2. Use the Notes hot key to check for details from the product file, as needed

  3. Press Esc to exit this screen.

If there are related or required items on this order, then the Related Products screen displays.

  1. Add related or required items, as needed, and press Esc to exit the screen.

  2. Complete and exit the order.