Associate an alternative service to a service

For a service, you can set up an alternative service so that you have the option to select a service that is similar to the original if the original is not available.

About this task

For example, if a customer places an order for the original service and that service is not available, the customer is then provided an option to select an alternative service.

You can associate an alternative service to a service from the Service Associations screen.

Note: A parent bundle item type cannot have an individual item as an alternate item.

To associate an alternative service to a service:

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the Service Associations screen. To navigate to the Service Associations screen, perform the following steps:
    1. Log in to Sterling Business Center as an Item Administrator.
    2. The application home page is displayed. Click the Products tab.
    3. From the Products home page, click Find Service in the Catalog dashlet.
    4. In the Service Search screen, click Search to view a list of all the available services. Alternatively, use either the Basic Search or the Advanced Search option to narrow down the list of services displayed.
    5. The Service Search screen is displayed. In the Services panel that is displayed, click the Service ID hyperlink.
    6. The Primary Information screen is displayed. In the Related Tasks panel, click Manage Alternative.

      The Service Associations screen is displayed.

  2. In the Services area, click Add.
  3. The Add Association Service dialog box is displayed. Perform the following steps:
    1. In the Service ID* text box, click the Search icon to search for a Service ID. The Basic Service Search dialog box is displayed. Click Search to view the list of available items. You can use either the Basic Search or Advanced Search option to narrow down the list of services displayed.
    2. In the search results list that is displayed, select the service that must be associated as an alternative service, and click Select.
    3. Select an Effective Start Date*. Click the Calendar icon to view the calendar, and select a date. The effective start date is the date from which the alternative item is associated with the service.
    4. Select an Effective End Date*. Click the Calendar icon to view the calendar, and select a date. The effective end date is the date until which the alternative item is associated with the service.
    5. In the Associated Quantity* text box, enter the quantity of the associated service.
    6. In the Priority field, enter the priority of the associated service. Services with the highest priority are considered first when the service is automatically substituted during scheduling. An association with the highest priority is displayed first in the list of associations displayed in the Web channel application.
    7. Click Save to save the details, and close the dialog box.
      Note: * indicates that the field is mandatory.
  4. Click Save.

    The alternative service is associated to the service.