Create an item quantity pricing rule based on item category

An item quantity pricing rule that is based on the item category allows the administrator to create pricing rule that takes item category into consideration.

About this task

The pricing rule summary screen allows the administrator to select multiple categories that can be associated with the pricing rule. The pricing rule summary screen also has an advanced criteria and exclusion criteria. In the advanced criteria, you can associate attribute groups to the pricing rule for selected categories. In the exclusion criteria, you can add the item list, item categories, or the item attribute groups that can be excluded during applying pricing rule adjustments.

Only users who belong to a pricing organization or selling organization can create an item quantity pricing rule.

To create an item quantity pricing rule that takes item category into consideration:

Procedure

  1. Navigate to the Create Pricing Rule screen. To navigate to the Create Pricing Rule screen, perform the following steps:
    1. Log in to Sterling Business Center as Pricing Administrator.
    2. The application home page is displayed. Click the Pricing tab.
    3. From the Pricing home page, click New Pricing Rule in the Pricing dashlet.

      The Create Pricing Rule screen is displayed.

  2. Select the Item Quantity option.
  3. From the Item Quantity option, select Category
    .
    Note: By default, Category is selected.
  4. In the Pricing Rule ID* box, enter a unique identifier for the pricing rule. The Pricing Rule ID, which is used to identify the pricing rule, must be unique for the pricing organization.
    Note: Pricing rules and coupons cannot share identifier.
    For example, if you enter XYZ in the Pricing Rule ID* box, and if a coupon with XYZ as the Coupon ID exists, an error message is displayed.
  5. Click Submit.
  6. The Pricing Rule Summary screen is displayed. In the Primary Information panel, the Pricing Rule type you selected and the Pricing Rule ID you entered are displayed. In the Pricing Rule Description* box, enter a brief description of the pricing rule.
  7. In the Effective Start Date* field, select the start date by clicking the Calendar icon, and select the start time. The start date and start time indicate the date and time from which the pricing rule becomes effective.
  8. In the Effective End Date* field, select the end date by clicking the Calendar icon, and select the end time. The end date and the end time indicate the date and time until which the pricing rule is effective.
  9. In the Conditions tab, enter the appropriate information.
    Table 1. The following table describes the fields in the conditions tab of the summary screen:
    Field Header
    Apply to order that meets the following criteria Perform the following steps:
    1. Select one of the following Order Currency:* options.
      • From the Order Currency:* list, select the currency that is used in the order, for example, Euro.
      • Select the Any Currency option if the currency used in the order can be any currency. This option is not displayed if there is only one currency that is defined for the pricing organization.
        Note: If you select the Any Currency option, you can use the pricing rule to apply only a percentage discount or a percentage surcharge, and not an absolute discount or an absolute surcharge on the price that is applied to the order.
    2. Select one the payment types that are available for the selected enterprise from the Payment Type menu. This field enables the user to create rules, which are triggered based on the payment type that is used for purchase. For example, to promote sales, a store might want to give extra discount on purchases if the payments are done only through the Credit Card. In such scenarios the users have the flexibility to use a particular type of payment method.
    3. Perform the following steps to add categories to the item quantity pricing rule in the Inclusion Conditions panel:
      1. Click Add Category.
      2. Click the Search icon to search for the category. The Category dialog box is displayed.
      3. Select the category or the subcategories and click Select.
      4. In the Enter Quantity box, enter the appropriate quantity of the item.

      For example, if you select the category as Audio and Video>Television, from the Category dialog box, you can create a pricing rule with 10% discount on the items that belongs to category television.

      To remove a category from the criteria, click the Remove icon corresponding to the category you want to remove.

      Select Set up advanced criteria check box, if you want to create combinational pricing rule by adding the attributes to the trigger condition:
      Note:
      • By default, Set up advanced criteria check box is not selected.
      • If you select Set up advanced criteria check box, Add Attribute Group link is displayed which is used to set up the advanced criteria for the pricing rule trigger options.
      • Add Attribute Group link is displayed on selecting Set up advanced criteria check box.
      In the Attributes section, complete the following steps:
      1. Click Add Attribute Group.
      2. Click Add Attribute.
      3. Click the Search icon to search for the attribute. The Select Attribute dialog box is displayed.
      4. Select the attribute for the Pricing Rule, specify the value for the selected attribute and click Select.
        • To add more attributes to the Attribute Group panel, click Add Attribute.
        • To add a Attribute Group, click Add Attribute Group.
        • To remove an attribute from the criteria, click the Remove icon corresponding to the attribute you want to remove.
          Note: Attributes present in Attribute Group panel are grouped into distinct attribute groups.
          For example, you can create 10% discount on orders that contains items that belong to the category “Television" and attribute groups that belong to "Aspect Ratio: 16:9" and "Brand: Omega" OR Aspect Ratio: 16:9 and Brand: Alpha.
    4. From the Exclusion Conditions panel, you can exclude items, categories, or attribute groups from the applicable pricing rule. For example, you can create a pricing rule with 10% discount on all orders that contains items, which belong to the category television and items not having the attribute that is specified as Aspect Ratio: 16:9.
      Perform the following steps to exclude items from the pricing rule:
      1. Click Add Item to add items to the items list.
      2. Click Add.
      3. The Item Search dialog box is displayed. Search for the item with the basic search or the advanced search option.
      4. Select the item and click Save.

        For example, if you select Plasma Television and Advanced Universal remote from the Item Search dialog box, the items are excluded from the pricing rule during adjustments.

        To remove an item, select the item that you want to remove and click Remove.

        If you add more than 15 items to the Items list, an Enlarge link is displayed. Use the Enlarge link to get an expanded view of the list of items. The list of items is displayed in a new window.

        For example, if you select the Attribute as Display Specifications> Aspect Ratio from the Select Attribute dialog box, and select the value for Aspect Ratio 16:9 all the items, which are specified as Aspect Ratio 16:9, are excluded from the pricing rule during adjustments.
      Perform the following steps to exclude item categories from the pricing rule:
      1. Click Add Category.
      2. Click the Search icon to search for the category. The Category dialog box is displayed.
      3. Select the category and click Select.

      For example, if you select the category as Audio and Video>Television, from the Category dialog box, all the items, which belong to the Television category are excluded from the pricing rule during adjustments.

      To remove a category from the exclusion condition, click the Remove icon corresponding to the category you want to remove.

      Perform the following steps to exclude item attribute groups from the pricing rule:
      1. Click Add Attribute Group.
      2. Click Add Attribute.
      3. Click the Search icon to search for the attribute. The Select Attribute dialog box is displayed.
      4. Select the attribute for the Pricing Rule, specify the value for the selected attribute and click Select.
        • To add a Attribute Group, click Add Attribute Group.
        • To add an attribute, click Add Attribute.
        • To remove an attribute from the criteria, click the Remove icon corresponding to the attribute you want to remove.
          Note: Attributes present in Attribute Group panel are grouped into distinct attribute groups.
    5. Perform the following steps to specify the price types for the corresponding pricing rule:
      1. Select the Specify price types checkbox.
      2. Click Add.
      3. The Price Type Search dialog box is displayed. Search for the price type using the basic search.
      4. Select the price types for the pricing rule, and click Select.
      To remove a price type, select the price type that you want to remove and click Remove.
    Set up qualifying condition for adjustment Perform the following steps:
    1. Select Specify qualifying amount check box, if you want to specify a minimum amount qualifier to trigger pricing rule.
    2. From the Qualifier Type:* menu, select the qualifier type to trigger the pricing rule.
    3. In the Qualifier Amount:* box, enter the minimum amount qualifier to trigger pricing rule.
    Adjustment Criteria Perform the following steps:
    1. Enter the minimum Item Quantity :* of the item that the order must contain for the pricing rule to apply. For example, if you enter 200, one of the conditions under which the pricing rule is applied is that the quantity of the items with the specified attributes or Item IDs in the order must be greater than 200.
    2. Select one of the following Adjustment Type* options:
      • Absolute discount: Select this option to apply an absolute discount on the item if the specified conditions are met. This option is disabled, if the currency used for the price of the items in the order can be any currency.
      • Absolute surcharge: Select this option to apply an absolute surcharge on the item if the specified conditions are met. This option is disabled, if the currency used for the price of the items in the order can be any currency.
      • Fixed Price: Select this option to apply a fixed price on the item if the specified conditions are met.
      • Percentage discount: Select this option to apply a percentage discount on the item if the specified conditions are met.
      • Percentage surcharge: Select this option to apply a percentage surcharge on the item if the specified conditions are met.
    3. Based on selection that is made in the Adjustment Type* menu, the adjustments are populated dynamically.
      1. Enter the Adjustment in:* amount to be either discounted from the price or charged as surcharge. For example, if you enter an absolute discount of $25, the amount of $25 is discounted from the price if the specified conditions are met. This field is populated if Absolute discount or Absolute surcharge is selected in the Adjustment Type:* menu.
      2. Enter the Fixed Price in: * amount. This field is populated if Fixed Price is selected in the Adjustment Type:* menu.
      3. Enter the Adjustment in %: * percentage to be either discounted from the price or charged as surcharge. This field is populated if Percentage discount or Percentage surcharge is selected in the Adjustment Type:* menu.
      4. Enter the Maximum Adjustment in: amount that cannot be exceeded when overriding the amount to be either discounted from the price or charged as surcharge. This field is populated if Percentage discount or Percentage surcharge is selected in the Adjustment Type:* menu.
      Note: The currency that is displayed for the Adjustment in:*, Fixed Price in: * and Maximum Adjustment in:* is populated based on the selection that is made in the Order Currency* field. For example, If you have selected EURO in the Order Currency*, then Maximum Adjustment in ¿: * is displayed.
    4. Select Apply adjustment only to values above the qualifying quantity, if you want the pricing rule adjustment to be applied only on the remainder of the item quantity. This condition indicates that the adjustment is applied only to the remainder of the transaction. For example, you can create a pricing rule as follows: “Buy 3 binders and get 20% off on remaining binders in the transaction". In such scenarios, adjustments are applied only to the remainder of the transaction. If in case, a customer buys 5 binders, 20% discount is applied only on 2 binders.

    To add a condition to an item quantity pricing rule, click Add Condition. A new row for specifying the condition is displayed. Enter the appropriate information and continue defining the conditions and effects.

    To delete a condition for an item quantity pricing rule, under the Conditions tab of the Pricing Rule Summary screen, click the Delete icon corresponding to the condition you want to delete. The condition is no longer displayed.

    Note: The Delete icon is displayed only if there is more than a condition is defined.
    Note: For fixed price rules, the Discount charge details are captured from Sterling Business Center. If there is a scenario in which the pricing rule results in an increase in amount, then the appropriate charge category must be associated by using the managePricingRule API.
    Apply Adjustments to Perform the following steps:
    1. Select one of the Apply Adjustments to options:
      • Same/Low Priced Item for each of the combination: Select this option to apply the discount or surcharge on same or low price item for each combination of the items.

        When you select the Same/Low Priced Item for each of the combination option, the Discountable Quantity per Combination* text box is displayed. You can enter the number of items to be discounted for each combination in the text box. By default, the value displayed in the text box is 1.

        For example, if you want to set up promotion for 1 speaker and to avail 20% discount on one headphone of same or less price than speaker, you must specify 1 in the Discountable Quantity per Combination text box and provide 20% discount for each combination.

      • Single Occurrence of Highest Priced Item: Select this option to apply the discount or surcharge on a single unit of the highest priced item.
      • Single Occurrence of Lowest Priced Item: Select this option to apply the discount or surcharge on a single unit of the lowest priced item.
      • Single Occurrence of Each Qualifying Item: Select this option to apply the discount or surcharge on a single unit of the item you specified.
      • All Occurrences of Each Qualifying Item: Select this option to apply the discount or surcharge on all the units of the items specified.
      • Specific Occurrences of Each Qualifying Item: Select this option if you want the pricing rule adjustment to be applied on each of the item in the order.
        Note: If you select Specific Occurrences of Each Qualifying Item from the Apply Adjustments to section, Number of Occurrences text box is displayed. Enter the number of occurrences you want the pricing rule adjustment to be applied on each of the item in the order.
    2. Perform the following steps to specify the price types for the corresponding pricing rule:
      1. Select the Specify price types checkbox.
      2. Click Add.
      3. The Price Type Search dialog box is displayed. Search for the price type using the basic search.
      4. Select the price types for the pricing rule, and click Select.
      To remove a price type, select the price type that you want to remove and click Remove.
    Analytics The charge name is used to track the amount of discount or surcharge that is applied to the order.
    Perform the following steps:
    • If at least one of the conditions applies discount to the order, then select the appropriate charge name from the Discount Charge Name list.
    Note: When you add charges to orders, you typically use charge categories; however, if you are adding negative charges to orders, use discount charge categories.
  10. In the Properties tab, enter the appropriate information.
    Table 2. The following table describes the fields in the properties tab of the summary screen:
    Field Header
    Rule Application Select the following values:
    • Select Apply only if the line does not have a manual pricing rule applied check box to apply the pricing rule only if a manual pricing rule has not be applied to the line.
    • Select the Distribute Adjustments among all the eligible lines check box to distribute the pricing rule adjustments among the qualifying items of an order.
    • Select the Apply even if the item price has been manually overridden check box to apply the pricing rule even after the item's price rule is manually overridden.
    • Select Combine Item Quantities if you want the pricing rule to have adjustments that can be applied in the scenarios where the combinations are not satisfied by single item, but can be satisfied by including Items, which belongs to same category or having same attribute values that are defined in the rule.

      For example, a store can offer a promotion, which is defined as follows: Save 25% on any 3 R/W DVD purchase. If a customer buys two of Sony R/W DVD and one of Philips R/W DVD, then, in the general scenario, the customer is not eligible for availing the discount. To avail the promotion, customer must either buy three of Sony R/W DVDs or three of Philips R/W DVDs. But, by selecting the Combine Item Quantities, users have the flexibility to consider the total R/W DVDs bought is three and provide discount to the customer.

    • Select Do not apply discount immediately to the order, if you do not want to apply discounts from this rule while calculating the order total for the order total rules. For example, if the customer purchases two items and the total cost of the order is 100$. Assume that one of the items in the order has a line item rule and the customer gets 10$ off on one of the line items and the order total after the line item adjustment comes up to 90$. Also, assume that there is an order total pricing rule, which is as follows: "Spend at least $100 and get 10% OFF on the entire purchase". In such scenarios, if you select this rule, then, the order total rule would not be considered, else the order total rule is considered.
      Note: This check box is enabled only if Enable non-billable pricing rules is selected in the pricing organization rules.
    Exclusivity Perform the following steps:
    • From the Exclusivity Type menu, select the exclusivity type on pricing rules. Depending on exclusivity type, one or more applicable rules is applied on an item or an order.
      • Can combine with any other Pricing Rule - Choosing this option would mean that the pricing rule can be combined with any other pricing rule.
      • Cannot combine with any other rule - Choosing these options means that a pricing rule cannot be combined with any other pricing rule, regardless of Exclusivity ID.
      • Exclusive for same Exclusivity Group - Choosing this option means that a pricing rule cannot be combined with any other pricing rule that has the same Exclusivity ID.
      • Exclusive for same Rule Type for Item - Choosing this option means:
        • An item group rule cannot be combined with another item group rule, if they are targeting the same item and are associated with same Exclusivity ID. If the same item is targeted by multiple item rules, then the rule with highest priority is applied. If rules are not assigned any priority, then the rule that results in highest discount is applied.
        • A shipping group item surcharge rule cannot be combined with another shipping group item surcharge rule, if they are targeting the same item and are associated with same Exclusivity ID. If the same item is targeted by multiple shipping surcharge rules, then the rule with highest priority is applied. If Rules are not assigned any priority, then the rule that results in lowest surcharge is applied.
        • For order group and shipping group rules, if you select this option, the behavior would be the same as described in the option, "Cannot combine with pricing rules of the same rule group for the same order."
      • Exclusive for same Rule Type for Order - Choosing this option means:
        • An item group rule cannot be combined with another item group rule associated with the same Exclusivity ID, even if they are targeting different items. The rule with the highest priority is applied. If rules are not assigned any priority, then the rule with the highest discount is applied.
        • A shipping group item surcharge rule cannot be combined with another shipping group item surcharge rule associated with the same Exclusivity ID, even if they are targeting different items. The rule with the highest priority is applied. If rules are not assigned any priority, then the rule that results in the lowest surcharge is applied.
        • An order group rule cannot be combined with another order group rule associated with the same Exclusivity ID. A shipping group rule cannot be combined with another shipping group rule associated with the same Exclusivity ID.
    • From the Exclusivity Group menu, select the exclusivity group. You can group the pricing rules by assigning an Exclusivity ID to the pricing rule. By default, all the pricing rules are assigned to the Default Exclusivity Group.
    • In the Priority box, assign a value that sets the priority to the pricing rule. The higher the value that is associated with the rule, the higher is the priority.
  11. In the Schedule tab, enter the appropriate information.
    Table 3. The following table describes the fields in the schedule tab of the summary screen:
    Field Header
    Pricing Rule will be valid on days which are selected below

    A store might like to offer promotion, which is applicable only on a certain day or on specific days. A pricing administrator has the flexibility to offer a promotion only for those days in the week.

    Select the following values:
    • Select All Days if you want the pricing rule to be effective on all the days.
    • Select the specific day or days you want the pricing rule to be effective.

      For example, Select Valid on Sunday if you want the pricing rule to be effective only on Sunday, or select Valid on Sunday and Valid on Monday if you want the pricing rule to be effective on both Sunday and Monday.

    Note: If you do not select any of the options, by default the rule is effective on all the days.
    Time of day when the Pricing Rule will be active

    A store might like to offer promotion, which is applicable only at certain time of the day. A pricing administrator has the flexibility to offer a promotion only for that specific time of the day.

    Select the following values:
    • From the Start Time, select the time from when the pricing rule becomes effective.
    • From the End Time, select the time until which the pricing rule is effective.

      For example, if you select the Start Time as 10 AM and the end time as 4 PM, the pricing rule is applicable only in that specified time range of the day.

  12. Click Save.
    Note: * indicates that the field is mandatory.