Multi-Item Promotions (Part 2)

Tip: How to create a mix-and-match promotion and send it to your POS system.

Last month we showed you how to set up, build and send a combo promotion using CDBWin's multi-item promotions feature. This month we will show you how to do the same for a mix-and-match promotion.

Before we begin, here's a quick reminder of the differences between these two types of multi-item promotions:

• Combo — A group consisting of a dissimilar items (for example, a soda, a sandwich and a bag of chips) offered at a special "combo" price when sold together.
• Mix & Match — A promotion consisting of a group of similar items offered at a discount, for example, three $5.00 packs of cigarettes from the same tobacco company offered for $10.00.

This month we'll describe how to set up, build and send a mix-and-match promotion to the POS.

Step A: Determine the details of the promotion.

Our sample mix-and-match promotion is a discount on selected Marlboro "Special Blend" cigarette box packs when three are purchased together. The combined promotion list will be $13.77, a significant savings for the consumer because individually each pack retails at $5.38 ($5.38 x 3 =$16.14).

Step B: Create an Item Group for the promotion using the Item Adjustment window.

Multi-item promotions are built with Item Groups. Item Groups are made up of inventory items that satisfy the requirements of the promotion. In our example, we'll be creating an Item Group consisting only of Marlboro Special Blend cigarette packs:

On the Setup menu, click Inventory > Item Adjustment to display the Item Adjustment window:




2. Use the Criteria options in the window to define the items included in the Item Group (the following bullets apply to the above illustration):
   
   
   • (1) We selected pack size 1 to narrow down the included items because this promotion applies only to packs, not cartons;
   • (2) then we greatly narrowed the item sample by limiting it to items with the words marl spcl blnd in their description. Typing in these words assures we are including all single packs of Marlboro Special Blend cigarettes, but only because we took great care to be consistent in describing our products, a practice SSCS strongly recommends.
      
3. Select the Item Group ID option button (3).
    
4. Type a name for the Item Group in the New Value combo box (4) so we can recall it when building the promotion.
In our example, we're calling it MARLB SPCL BLND.

5. Click Update Setup Values.
    
6. Select all included items in the bottom of the window  by clicking on the first and last item while holding down the SHIFT key.
    
7. Click Apply. The Item Group is now stored in CDBWin and can be recalled.

Step C: Build the promotion.

Build the mix-and-match promotion using the above Item Group.

1. On the Setup menu, click Inventory > Promotions.
    
2. In the Promotion ID box, type a name for the promotion (in our example this is 3PK MARLB SPCL B—the ID is limited to 16 characters maximum) and click Edit. The Promotion Maintenance window appears:
   
   
   
   
3. In the above window:
   • (1) Type a Description for the promotion, a Date Range corresponding to the duration of the promotion, and a Promotion Price which is the discounted sum of the included items.
   • (2) Select the option button corresponding to the way you want the discount to be distributed across the promotion's Item Groups. Since this promotion will contain only one Item Group, distribution of the discount across Item Groups is not an issue. (Consult last month's tip to see how Discount Allocation works when there is more than one Item Group.)
      
Use the Item Group ID combo boxes in the bottom of the window to select the Item Group you want included in the promotion. For this mix and match promotion we only need to include the Item Group we created in Step B. We also must type 3 in the Quantity box since this multi-item promotion is designed to kick in when three items are scanned at the POS.

Once you have selected Item Group IDs and Quantities, the display-only Avg. Ea. List and Avg. Ex List boxes populate. The Avg. Ea List is the average list price of the items in the Item Group, easy to determine in our case because each item lists for the same value.
 
5. Click Close.

Step D: Import promotion information to interface and send to the POS.

1. On the CDBWin Interface menu, click Import Modified to Interface.
    
2. When prompted, Are you ready to send the imported items to the POS Now? click Yes.
    
3. With the mix and match promotion now at the POS you can ring up items that meet the conditions of the multi-item promotion and expect the correct discounts to be applied without any extra effort on the part of the cashier.

The following diagram illustrates this month's tip:

For more information...

in the CDBWin User's Guide, consult the sections, "Overview of Multi-Item Promotions," "Item Groups," and "Promotions" in Chapter 1. Setup.

For Past Tips of the Month...

Consult the Tip of the Month Library now sorted by subject and by date.