Stock Maintenance - Break-out Item Examples

The break-out item in M.O.M. can be used to handle several different types of stock item for you. Here are three examples.

Example #1: A Simple Pre-Configured Continuity Plan (Video-of-the-Month Club):

This is a classic continuity program where you know in advance what items a customer will receive over a specified period of time. In this case the Break-out Item itself will be the Membership Fee for the club. We'll name it VIDMEM. You would probably have a small price established for this item. The incentive to join is the fact that you get a 20% discount on each video. Only credit card orders will be accepted, because the customer will be billed automatically each time their video is shipped.

Here's how the program would be set up on the break-out table screen. There will be six part items (this is a six-month program). Each item has already been set up as a Stock Item in Maintain Stock Items. For the sake of this example, we'll call the six videos JanVideo, FebVideo, MarVideo, AprVideo, MayVideo, JunVideo. In the break-out item parts list, we'll enter each video with a quantity of 1. For each video, a scheduled shipment DATE will also be entered corresponding to the video to be shipped. For instance, for the JanVideo, we'll enter a scheduled shipment date of 01/01/XX, for the FebVideo, wel'll enter a scheduled shipment date of 02/01/XX, etc. We'll also enter the price for each video and a 20% discount for each.

When a customer joins the club, and the order entry operator enters the Stock Number, VIDMEM, M.O.M. will automatically list each video on the screen with its scheduled bill/ship date.

Note: For continuity plans where items are not known in advance or in situations where there is no defined end to the program, you should use the Continuity Plans function on the Order pull-down menu on the main M.O.M. screen.

Example # 2: Payment Plan for a Home Gym Set

In this case, we'll use the Break-out item to manage a payment plan on an expensive Home Gym Set that sells for $450. We want to offer our customers a three-payment plan over 90 days for $150 each for this product.

We'll set up a break-out item called PP-HGYM (Payment Plan for the Home Gym). The price on PP-HGYM will be $-450. Why a negative amount? In this case, when someone orders the gym, the operator will put in the stock code for the gym itself, E-GYM. It will show a price of $450. If the customer wants the special payment plan for the item, we'll have to have M.O.M. cancel out the amount of the gym and then bill it in three installments. The stock code PP-HGYM with a $-450 cost will do this on the order entry screen.

As for the three payments, they will be entered as three "part" items in the break-out item parts list for PP-HGYM. First we need to set up a stock code called PAYMENT. PAYMENT will be a service type item with no pre-defined cost. Once PAYMENT has been set up, we're ready to create our payment plan called PP-HYGM.

In the break-out item parts list for PP-HYGM, we'll enter the stock code PAYMENT as three separate part items each with a QTY of 1 and a PRICE of $150. We'll use the # OF DAYS field to schedule the three payments at 30 day intervals. The first payment will be due at the time the order is entered. It will have a 0 in the # OF DAYS field. The second payment is due at 30 days from the date of the order It will have 30 in the # OF DAYS field. The third and final payment is due at 60 days from the date of the order. It will have 60 in the # OF DAYS field.

When a customer calls and orders the gym and wants the payment plan, the order entry operator will enter the gym's stock code first (E-GYM), and then the payment plan's stock code (PP-HYGM). The gym's cost is $450. The payment plan's cost is $-450, but the three part items of the plan (PAYMENT) each have a cost of $150, so the total on the order screen will still be $450.

Hint: If you don't want to create a pre-established payment plan, you can also schedule payments for a customer by using the Multi-Pay payment option in the Order Total tab of Order Entry.

Example # 3: Hot Key Item for a Set of Tools- A Kit with Interchangeable Items

In this last example, we are selling a "customizable" kit of 15 tools. The customer can substitute certain tools from the kit with other tools not in the kit. Because it is a customizable kit, we cannot set it up as a Composite Item If we were to set up the set of tools as composite item, we would not be able to change any one part of the kit because it would not be displayed as its parts on the order entry screen. We need a way to enter a single stock code for the "kit," but also need to show each part item on the order entry screen in order to "customize" the components in the kit. The break-out item does this for us nicely!

The stock item code for our Break-out item will be TOOLSET and there are 15 "standard" part items in the break-out item parts list, each with a QTY = 1. There is no scheduling date and no special price. The price for each part item is its regular selling price set up for that item in Maintain Stock Items.

When our order entry operator types in TOOLSET, all 15 tools that are a part of the kit will automatically be entered on the order entry screen as line items themselves. If the customer wants to substitute one item for another, the order entry operator only has to delete the unwanted items and add the substitute items on the order entry screen.