How to Test the Pricing Rules process before applying the updated prices

 

Before applying pricing rules to your inventory,  TEST that the rules will do what you expect and that their execution order are functioning the way you intended.  

 

The Pricing Rule Manager offers two options* to verify the effects of applying inventory pricing rules

 

1) Verify for a single item

2) Verify for a selected group of items

* there is no verification option available when using the Calculate for All the Items option, the Calculate for Specific Items Based on Search Criteria option provides a verification option.

 

 

1) Verify rule for a single item

 

Each rule affecting an inventory item can be individually tested/applied by going to the Inventory Pricing tab for the inventory item and opening the Office Pricing Information screen for the item. Before testing the rules, record all entries displayed in the office pricing information screen.  If the rule results are not what you expect you will be able to re-enter the original/saved values and return the item to the original state it was before you applied/tested the rules.

 

By selecting the Calculate Retail Price button of the item,  the retail price for the selected item will be calculated based on the applicable pricing rule giving you the opportunity to verify that the rule and the sequence of the rules are correct.  If the price calculated is correct, your rule and the order of the rules will meet your expectations.  If not you can enter the saved values to return to the original pricing values.

 

If the retail price is incorrect first take a look at the sequence since another rule may be triggered before the rule that provides the result you anticipated.  Also look at the rule itself to make certain the rule falls within the time period being tested and that it properly identify the test item. You must do the same for each rule being executed before to make certain that those rules are not affecting your test item. Confirm that your rule is triggered for the item as you intended. You may need to change the sequence or the rule to be more specific as to what the rule affects.

 

 

The more common errors are:

 

1) The rule is in "effect period" is outside of the test or applied date (today).  

 

 

2) The rule is not active. Non-active rules are ignored.

 

3) The rule is too vague and applies to more than the item selected for testing. Therefore a rule which is more specific is first being applied causing your rule not to be triggered.

 

4) The rule is very specific and does not apply to the item selected.

 

5) The sequence order of the rules are such that another rule is first being applied.

 

6) The Retail Pricing option chosen is not the pricing strategy you wanted

 

7) The Charm Pricing rules is not the ones you wanted.

 

 

2) Verify rules for a group of items

 

The Calculate the Items Pricing using the Pricing rules button located in the Inventory Manager screen displays two options for applying Pricing rules:

 

•Calculate For Specific Items Based on Search Criteria (Recommended)

•Calculate For All the Items (for advance users ONLY)

 

 

 

 

Calculate for Specific Items Based on Search Criteria option (Recommended)

 

Choosing the Calculate for Specific Items Based on Search Criteria option will displays a pricing confirmation grid that list all items that are going to be affected by your pre-defined pricing rules.  For each item displayed the current price, the price calculated and resulting markup using your rules is displayed for verification before the user confirms (6) that the changes are to be applied to the inventory items selected. See Run / Apply Pricing Rules for how to configure the selection criteria.

 

 

1) Select the Selection Criteria options to locate the inventory items to be updated by your pricing rules. Multiple Selection Criteria can be combined to locate inventory items. The New Pricing Effective Date field identifies when the new prices will become effective. Verify that it is set to the date you want the prices to start being use. Make certain you select an office (by Office field) for multi-office installations or the new prices will be calculated for all offices.

 

2) Press the Calculate button to apply your selection criteria. The Clear button removes the selected search criteria.

 

3) Once the Calculate button is applied the number of Inventory items that will be affected by the pricing rules is displayed.

 

4) The grid displays key information on each item that will be affected by the pricing rules. The Purchase Price is use (unless using the MSRP rule) to calculate the New Retail Price and Markup(%) for the items.  The values are based on the user defined pricing rules.

 

 

5) The grid displays the new pricing values that will be applied to the inventory item when applied by the user.  The new Markup(%) field may display a value that is different from the expected value. This is due to the application of Charm Rule applied to the New Retail Price.

 

Review the displayed list and verify that all items are assigned the intended values.  Make any necessary changes to the pricing rules and re-test before selecting the Apply New Price Calculation button.  

 

 

 

 

6) The Apply New Price Calculation button, when selected, applies/saves the values calculated and displayed in the grid to the inventory items displayed. Once the update process is started the process cannot be canceled / stopped and is not reversible.  Confirmation is required before the retail prices are updated.

 

 

If the calculated pricing values are applied by error, a user can correct the pricing rules in error and re-run the corrected rules which will expire the retail price record created in error and apply the corrected pricing.

 

The Print List button provides the user with tools able to print and customize the report layout for review.

 

 

 

Calculate For All the Items (for advance users ONLY)

 

This option is designed for users that have previously tested the Pricing Rules and are confident that no further verification is required. This option is a one-click option that immediately applies ALL Pricing Rules to ALL inventory items. This process is run on the server and cannot be canceled or reversed. If the calculated pricing values are applied by error, a user can correct the pricing rules in error and re-run the corrected rules which will expire the retail price record created in error and apply the corrected pricing.