Multi-Item Promotions

Tip: How to create a combo promotion and send it to your POS system.

CDBWin Versions 7.4.1 and later allow you to create, modify and send multi-item promotions—and the conditions under which they are applied—to the POS. The appropriate discounts are then applied automatically when the item is rung up.

CDBWin handles both 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 combo promotion to the POS in four steps.

Step A: Determine the details of the promotion.

Our sample combo promotion is a discount on the combined purchase price of one 20 oz. Coke product, one 99 cent bag of chips and one deli sandwich retailing for $3.19.

Step B: Create Item Groups 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. Each product in the promotion has a corresponding Item Group. In our example, we are creating three:

• COKE 20 OZ — Includes selected 20 ounce Coke products
• 99CH — Includes selected chips retailing for $0.99.
• DELI319 — Includes selected deli sandwiches that retail for $3.19.

Given the above, here's what you would do to create an Item Group in CDBWin:

1. 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 first Item Group. The above example shows the Item Group for Coke 20 OZ:
   
   
   • (1) We selected the Soda department (4.00) as a first step to narrow down the items we wanted to include in this Item Group;
   • (2) then we greatly narrowed the item sample by limiting it to items with the words COKE 20 OZ in their description. This assures us all 20 ounce Coke products will be included, but only because we took great care to be consistent in naming 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.
We're calling it COKE 20 OZ.

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.
 
8. Repeat steps 1–7 to create Item Groups for 99CHIP and DELI319. Sample Item Adjustment windows for each are shown below:
   
   
   
   
   

Step C: Build the promotion.

Build the combo promotion using the above Item Groups.

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 Four Dollar Sandwich Meal) 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 three items (one from each Item Group).
      
   • (2) Select the option button corresponding to the way you want the discount to be distributed across the Item Groups. (Please note that any entry required in the examples below actually takes place in step 5.)
      
     • Weigh Discount on Price of Items — Distributes the discount across the Item Groups weighted by average extended list price. Manual discount entry is not required (that's why the Amount boxes are grayed out). In the example we are using the savings of $1.67 ($5.67 - $4.00) would be split as follows:
       • 99CHIP (18% of total price) 1.67 x 18% = $0.30
         New Retail: 0.99 - .030 = $0.69
       • COKE 20 OZ (26.3% of total price) 1.67 x 26.3% = $0.43
         New Retail 1.49 - .0.43 = $1.06
       • DELI319 (56.2% of total price) 1.67 x 56.2% = $0.94
         New Retail 3.19 - 0.94 = $2.25
         0.43 + 0.30 + 0.94 = $1.67 (total discount)
         
     • Specify % of Discount Allocation — Allows the setting of a manual discount percentage for each item as long as they add up to 100%.
       
       
       
       In the above example, the discounts would be applied as follows:
       • 99CHIP (40% of total discount) 1.67 x 40.0% = $0.43
         New Retail 1.49 - .43 = 1.06
       • COKE 20 OZ (18 % of total price) 1.67 x 18% = $0.30
         New Retail .99 - .30 = .69
       • DELI319 (56.2% of total price) 1.67 x 56.2% = $0.94
         New Retail 3.19 - .94 = 2.25
         0.43 + 0.30 + 0.94 = $1.67 (total discount)
         
     • Specify Each Item Group Price — Allows you to type in the promotional price of each item in the Item Group. The prices should add up to the total in the Promotion Price box.
     
     
     
     
     In the above example, promotional prices have been typed in for each of the Item Groups. These add up to the collective Promotion Price set in the upper part of the window (0.75 + 0.90 + 2.35 = $4.00).
      
4. Use the Item Group ID combo boxes in the bottom of the window to select the Item Groups to be included in the promotion. You also have the opportunity to type a Quantity for each, in case the promotion bundles, for example, 2 sodas with a bag of chips and a sandwich. 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 and takes into account the fact that items with varying list prices may be bundled within the same Item Group. The Avg. Ext List is simply the average list multiplied by the Quantity.
 
5. Once you have selected Item Groups and Quantities, type the desired discount/percentages—if applicable—in the Amount column. as described in step 3 above.
    
6. 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 combo promotions now at the POS you can ring up items that meet the conditions of the promotion and expect the correct discounts to be applied without any extra effort on the part of the cashier.

The following diagram illustrates a high level view of the procedure we just reviewed:

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.