Product Catalog Entries Overview¶

The Quote wizard makes use of a virtual product catalog, which can be configured via different tables in the CRM application. Read the following topics to learn more about the key components of the product catalog.

Products

These are the items that will be available for sale. Importantly a product denotes the Item to sell, its price, and other data that allows us to calculate maintenance prices and NCA among others. A product can also be linked to other products to normally denote options or suggested products (see Product Options below). The product’s Base Price should be specified in USD. The Base Price will get converted later using the price factor specified for the shipping zone and business unit of the quote.

You can also define Product Bundles which allow you to package several products together, whose price could automatically provide an approved discount for all the linked products. For example, you can create academic packages or provide volume discounts using Product Bundles.

Learn how to add main products in the Adding the ROCK IMAGER as the Main Product section.

Products in the Quote Wizard

Product Options

You can associate main products with other products to represent configuration options (for example, Rock Imager light paths, Tempest control modules, etc) or suggested products that can promote additional items related to the main product (for example, tips for NT8). This helps the salesperson offer a product that is as complete as possible. A product option can override the price of its associated product, making it either higher or lower. These can be added to the Quote wizard via the Quote - Product Options table. During the quote process, the blue thumb icon marks suggested products, while the regular options will appear without the icon. Product Bundles are similar, but the children options will be kept invisible from the Quote and only affect the sales order.

Learn how to create product options and suggested products in the Adding the ROCK IMAGER as the Main Product section.

Fields and Options for Creating a Product Catalog¶

There are several fields and options in the Quote-Products window that can be used for creating a product catalog. Once the product catalog is available, you can add it to the Quote wizard and E-store. However, for the current FORMULATRIX E-store integration, you must pay attention to several mandatory fields and options. See the second table in the Quote-Products Window Fields and Options section below.

Quote-Products Window Fields and Options

Fields and Options	Description-Action
Product #	A unique product number or text that identifies the product. Enter the product number or text in the corresponding field. When you select an existing item, the Product # will be automatically filled in. You can change it to match your needs.
Item	The item ID number. You can create a new ID number via the Add command in the Items Record menu, or load the registered ID number from the Item ID list.
Base Price (Keep Currency EMPTY)	By default, the Base Price used is in USD. Enter the product base price in the corresponding field.
Controlling Software	Select the Controlling Software from the corresponding list. The selected software should match the product that you have defined. If you cannot find the option that you want to add, you can create a new Controlling Software option by following these steps: Click the Blue ellipsis button. Click Record, click the Plus button, then enter the desired information that you want to include into the available fields in the window. Click Create. The new Controlling Software option that you’ve just created will be available in the Items table.
Sellable Type	Sales—This option is used for Sales quotes. Service—This option is used for Service Estimate quotes. Maintenance—This option is used for Maintenance quotes.
Product Family	All registered Products Family are available from the corresponding list. You can also create a new Product Family via the Add command in the Product Family Record menu.
Product Type	Product—This option is used for Instrument quotes. Consumable—This option is used for Consumable quotes. Bundle—This option is used if you want to combine several products for sale into one bundle category. Custom Hardware—This option is used if you want to use custom hardware in your quotes. Custom Software—This option is used if you want to use custom software in your quotes. Custom Service—This option is used for the support team to include certain service information in the Service quotes. Service—This option is used for regular Service quotes. Part—This option is used for spare parts of certain products.
Business Unit	Select the business unit for the selected product. LH—Liquid Handling business unit. Some products that are under LH: MANTIS, TEMPEST, F.A.S.T., 𝝻PULSE, and FLO. PC—Protein Crystallography business unit. Some products that are under PC: ROCK MAKER, ROCK IMAGER, SONICC, FRAP, FORMULATOR, and NT8.
Product Description	Type a description of the product.
Maintenance Description	Type a description of the items included in the maintenance contract.
Maintenance Item	Select the maintenance item ID from the corresponding list.
Hardware Maintenance %	The hardware maintenance fee as a percentage of the total hardware price.
Hardware Maintenance Price	Enter the hardware maintenance price into this field.
Software Maintenance	Type a description of the software maintenance.
Software Price	Type the selected software price in the corresponding field.
Package Type	Academic Only—Select this option if the selected product is for academics. Commercial Only—Select this option if the selected product is for commercial use. Any—Select this option if the selected product does not belong to the two options above.
Product Option	Suggested Product—Select this option if you want to make the selected items/products appear as a suggested product. Product Option—Select this option if you want to make the selected items/products appear as a product option. Option Group—Select this option if you want to make the selected products as a group option.
Category	Select the desired product category from the corresponding list.
Travel Chance	The expected number of trips for the support team during the selected product maintenance.
Ship Chance	The expected number of shipments for the selected product during the maintenance period.
Ship Weight	Ship Weight is used to calculate NCA/STC on Instrument quotes. The E-Store product type is mostly “Consumable” and it doesn’t have NCA/STC, that’s why we set it as “0”. If you’re shipping E-store products, you must specify the E-store Ship Weight field instead.

Note

If you need the product to be available on the E-store, then the following must be configured.

Mandatory Fields and Options for E-store Products	Description-Action
Available on E-store	Marks this option to mark the product as an E-store product. Selecting this option marks this product to be available on the FORMULATRIX E-store. It will be pushed via the Sync all e-store products command in the Actions menu.
E-store Ship Weight	Leave this field blank if you’re shipping non E-store products. Use this field for adding the selected E-store product’s weight. Type the details of the package weight for shipment in Kilogram. Unlike the Ship Weight field, a weight in here will not affect the NCA of the item. The E-store Ship Weight field is used to calculate the shipping price.
Height (cm)	Type the details of the package height for shipment.
Width (cm)	Type the details of the package width for shipment.
Length (cm)	Type the details of the package length for shipment.

Sales Zone Table Fields and Options

Fields and Options	Description-Action
Zone Name	Enter the desired Sales Zone where you want to ship the products.
Transit Time	Enter the estimated time for a shipment to be delivered at its final destination.
Zone #	Sales Zone identification number.
Zone Price Currency	The currency type that will be used for pricing the products.

Shipping Cost Table Fields and Options

Fields and Options	Description (All prices should be listed in USD)
Business Unit (BU)	The Business Unit that the product belongs to. Together with the Sales Zone, this dictates the Shipping and Travel costs, as well as the Price Factor.
Travel Cost	The cost of a support person traveling to this Sales Zone.
Cost for 1 Round Trip Shipment	The cost for a round trip shipment of a product to this Sales Zone.
Cost per Kg for Round Trip Shipment	The cost, per kilogram, of shipping an instrument to this Sales Zone round trip.
Price Factor	Enter the desired price factor for the corresponding product. As you can see, the price factor is set up on a per business unit basis. Depending on the Sales Zone, these two business units can have different price factors.

Sales Terms/Checklist Table Fields and Options

Fields and Options	Description (To create a Sales Term)
Type	Select the Term option from the Type drop-down list.
Term	Type the description of the term that you want to display in the Quote wizard.
Option Type	This determines how the term will be displayed in the Quote wizard. True/False—Select this option if you want to display the term as a checkbox format. Dropdown—Select this option if you want to display the term as a drop-down list. Fixed—Select this option if you want to display the term as a note.
Options	Type the description of the options that you want to include in the Quote.
Order	The Order field determines the term’s order in the Quote Wizard. For example, if you type 1 into this field, the term will be set as the first on the list in the Edit Terms section of the Quote wizard. You can fill in this field with any number from 1-∞.
Zone Name	Select the desired Sale Zone to which the term will be applied.
Quote Type	Select one of the available Quote types (Instrument, Consumable, Maintenance, or Service Estimate) in the Quote Type list.

Fields and Options	Description (To create a Checklist
Type	Select the Checklist option from the Type drop-down list.
Term	Type the Checklist description that you want to display in the Quote wizard.
Option Type	This determines how the term will be displayed in the Quote wizard. True/False—Select this option if you want to display the checklist as a checkbox format. Dropdown—Select this option if you want to display the checklist as a drop-down list. Fixed—Select this option if you want to display the checklist as a note.
Options	Type the description of the options that you want to include in the Quote.
Order	Determines the checklist’s order in the Quote Wizard. For example, if you type 1 in this field, the term will be set as the first on the list in the Checklists section of the Quote wizard. You can fill in the field with any number from 1-∞.
Zone Name	Select the desired Sale Zone to which the checklist will be applied.
Quote Type	Select one of the available Quote types (Instrument, Consumable, Maintenance, or Service Estimate) in the Quote Type list.

Quote-Products Options Window Fields and Options

Fields and Options	Description-Action
Parent Product	The main product that you want to include in your quotes. Select the desired parent product from the corresponding list. The product that you’ve previously defined in the Quotes - Products table will be available in the list.
Name Override	A name that overrides the original product name. This allows you to customize the name of the “option product” so that it makes sense in the parent’s context. Leave the field blank if you don’t want to override.
Override Price	Select this option if you want to override the current price of a product option for discounts.
Price Override (USD)	A price that is applied to items linked to the main product. This field is used to change the price for the override item. For example, when you’re selling a ROCK IMAGER, it will always include a free controlling computer, so the customer doesn’t need to pay for the controlling computer as a separate item.
Minimum Required	Determines the minimum number of the suggested products that you want to include.
Maximum Possible	Determines the maximum number of the suggested products that you can select. If there are several products to select from, then the limit is set to the whole group.
Default Order	Used to sort the product options within its group. The smaller the number, the higher it will be. This value can be any number from 1-∞.
Single Product
Product	The product that you want to include as a suggested option to the Parent/main product. Select the desired product option from the corresponding list. The selected item in this field will be indicated by the Blue thumb icon in the Configure Quote window.
Option Type	The category of the Product. This is filled in automatically after the Product has been selected. This field is read-only. The different categories available are: Suggested Product, Option Group, Product Option. To learn more about Products, click here.
Product Price	The set price of the product.
Dropdown Options
Product Option	Options that are related to the selected Product. You can select the available product option type in the corresponding list. The selected item in this field will be displayed as the suggested drop-down option (indicated by the Blue thumb icon) in the Configure Quote window.
Product Option Type	The category of the Product Option. This is filled in automatically after the Product Option has been selected. This field is read-only. The different categories available are: Suggested Product, Option Group, Product Option. To learn more about Product Options, click here.

Related Topics: