Chapter 18. Price Manager
Prism 1.14.7 User's Guide Chapter 18. Price Manager PDF
Prism 2.2 User's Guide Chapter 18. Price Manager PDF
Prism Manager enables you to adjust prices (up or down) for any or all items. This is especially useful for marking down merchandise for sales events, or to increase sales for slow-moving merchandise.
Price Manager enables users to easily implement markdowns on a filtered subset of Inventory by adjusting Price by a certain amount or percentage. Markdowns with Price Manger can be planned or immediate.
Immediate markdowns [UPDATE NOW option]: All price changes are replicated and take effect as they are received, effectively updating the prices throughout the enterprise at the same time, regardless of local time.
Planned markdowns [SCHEDULE UPDATE option]: All price changes will take effect at the stores local time based on the "Update on:" Date/Time set when the Markdown was scheduled.
When scheduling, if the RESTORE MARKDOWN option was selected the prices will be restored at the store's local time.
Whether immediate or planned, when the price change takes effect, all price updates occur at the same time throughout the enterprise. Example: If a user schedules a markdown for 5 a.m. at the HQ server in New York, it will update New York stores at 5am (EST) and Hawaii stores at 11pm (HST) on the night before. There is a preference in Admin Console > Node Preferences > Merchandise > Price Manager: Default Update Time for Planned Markdowns. The preference is ONLY used to suggest the default time of day that will appear when trying to schedule a markdown; users can change the time if needed. For example, it may be desired to always have updates occur at 3 am. Setting the desired default update time helps to ensure any scheduled price changes occur at the desired time but does not guarantee it because the user can still change the time when scheduling the markdown.
Once price markdowns have occurred at the location, the items in the markdown are deleted and only the Markdown and details about the markdown are visible.
You can calculate markdown prices in a variety of ways (percentage, amount, or specific price) from the current price or cost. As part of the process, you can print markdown tags that show both the original price and the markdown price. Although the term "markdown" is used, Price Manager can adjust prices upward or downward. Each markdown is subsidiary-specific; there are no multi-subsidiary markdowns. When creating a markdown, first filter inventory (e.g. by DCS) for the items that will be included in the markdown.
Price Manager Security Permissions
| Permission | Description |
|---|---|
| Price Manager - Access | To access the Price Manager area, assign this permission to groups. If not selected, the Price Manager button is disabled. |
| Price Manager- Change Subsidiary | Allow group members to change the Subsidiary in Price Manager (by default, the Subsidiary is set to the subsidiary of the current logged-in user.) |
| Price Manager - Create/Edit Markdowns | This permission enables group members to create a new markdown or edit an existing markdown. |
| Price Manager - Delete Markdowns | This permission enables group members to delete an existing markdown. |
| Price Manager - Perform Updates | This permission enables group members to update markdowns. Without this permission, group members are prevented from updating markdowns. |
Price Manager Preferences
| Preference | Description |
|---|---|
| Default Update Time for Planned Markdowns | This preference determines the time that is suggested when a user is creating a planned markdown using Price Manager. The default time is 00:00. If the user creating the markdown leaves the default, Planned Markdowns will be updated at 12:00 a.m. on the markdown's Start Date. Click the button to select a different default time for the update. It is important to note that the preference is ONLY used to suggest the default time of day that will appear when trying to schedule a markdown. Users can modify the time if needed. All price updates occur at the same time throughout the enterprise. Example: If a markdown is scheduled to occur at 5 a.m., it will update New York stores at 5 a.m. (EST) and Hawaii stores at 11pm (HST) on the night before. |
| Price Plan Authority | This preference enables retailers to specify which installation within the Prism enterprise is the authority for scheduled price changes. A price plan is a set of markdowns of prices made with Price Manager that is scheduled to take effect on a certain date. The Price Plan Authority preference helps ensure that adjustment memos are created by the correct installation. This setting does not apply when the ‘Update Now' option is used. Any installation which receives adjustments via replication profiles can reverse an adjustment memo. If a non-Price Plan Authority manually reverses a markdown a request is sent to the PPA to actually reverse the adjustment memos. Inventory prices will only be adjusted by the PPA. If the Adjustment memos themselves are reversed, they will affect inventory through the normal Adjustment replication process. |
Price Plan Authority Terms
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Price Plan | A set of predefined price changes for a particular price level. |
| Owner | An installation responsible for creating transactional history (memos) when a scheduled Price Plan is updated. Only an owner can reverse adjustment memos generated from Price Plan updates. |
| Non-owner | An installation that can update prices, per a Price Plan, without creating transactional history. If a non-owner installation wants to reverse an adjustment memo, a request is sent to the owner installation and the owner does the reversal. |
Sample Node Preferences > Merchandise > Price Manager:
Basic Steps for Marking down Prices
Go into Store Operations > Merchandise > Price Manager area.
Click the New button on the bottom menu.
Enter a name for the markdown. Click OK.
In the Filters area, filter inventory to display the items whose prices you want to change. If you want to mark down all items, click Search without filtering. The Results pane will display the items to be included in the markdown.
Click the Adjust Price button and select how to adjust prices. You can adjust prices for the items by a percentage, an amount, or adjust to a specific price.
Review the markdown prices. Modify the Mkdn Price if necessary. Click Options - Update Now if you are ready to update, Options - Schedule Update to schedule a date/time, or click Done to save the markdown prices.
If scheduling the update, you have the option of restoring the pre-markdown prices on a specific date. If updating now, select a Reason from the drop-down. Confirm the price level is correct. Click Continue. A final confirmation is displayed. Review the price level and number of items, and then click Yes to proceed.
Adjustment memos are automatically created to record the change to inventory values.
(Optional) Print markdown tags that show the new prices.
Filtering Inventory
You can filter inventory by parameters such as DCS, Vendor Code, and Description 1. The items that match the filter are displayed (on multiple pages, if necessary). Review the items. Verify that the list is correct. You can modify the search criteria, if necessary. If you are unsure if an item or style should be included in a markdown, you can click the Item Details button to view detailed info for the selected item.
Sample Inventory list filtered by Vendor Code:
Markdown prices are automatically calculated for the items included in the filter.
Adjust Prices Options
Refer to the following table for information about the options on the Adjust Prices screen:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Adjust Price From | You can adjust prices by using either Price or Cost as the starting point. By default, the new markdown prices are calculated from item Price. If you want to ensure items have a certain margin, you can adjust prices from cost. |
| Adjust Price by | This drop-down enables you to select the method to use for adjusting prices. As is: Copy prices unchanged to another price level or round/adjust existing prices Adding: Add a percent or amount to existing price Subtracting: Subtract a percent or amount from the existing price Multiply: Multiply existing price by a number Divide: Divide existing price by a number Amount: Enter a specific markdown amount |
| Price Levels | Each price adjustment made with Price Manager affects a single price level. Select the price level that will have prices updated. Prices for other price levels will be unaffected. |
| Seasons | If using seasonal pricing, select the season to which the markdown will be applied |
| Cost Options | Price Manager is typically used to adjust prices; however, you can use it to adjust costs as well. Adding: Add a percent or amount to existing cost. Coefficient: Enter a number that will be multiplied by the item cost. |
Update a Markdown
Updating a markdown writes the MkDn Price to the Price field, updating inventory. In the initial release of the Price Manager feature, only immediate updates are allowed. In future versions, users will be able to schedule updates for a later date. Updating, reversing, or restoring a markdown will automatically generate memos.
Reversing a Markdown
Only the workstation that applied the markdown has the adjustment references for that markdown and therefore is the only workstation that can reverse the markdown. Reversing a markdown undoes the effect of the original markdown by reversing the adjustment memos that were created for the original markdown. If the markdown has a restoration date set, you cannot reverse it.
To reverse a markdown:
Go to the list of markdowns. Select an updated markdown and click the Options button. Click Reverse.
A confirmation is displayed. Click Yes.
The memos associated with the markdown are reverse. The status of the markdown is set to Reversed.
Manually Enter Markdown Prices
Instead of using the Adjust Prices dialog, you can manually enter the markdown prices.
Start a new markdown and filter inventory.
You can filter inventory by parameters such as DCS, Vendor Code, and Description 1.
A list of items matching the filter criteria are displayed. Depending on the size of the list, it may span several pages. Review the items.
In the MkDn Price column, enter the desired markdown price for each item. (In VAT environments, enter MkDn Price with Tax.)
When finished, update the markdown, or click Done to save the Markdown prices for later update.
Schedule Update
If you click the Schedule Update button, you can set the date when the markdown will take effect. The time that is entered by default is the time set in Admin Console > Node Preferences > Merchandise > Price Manager: Default Update Time for Planned Markdowns. The end user can modify the update time when creating the markdown.
Select the Markdown in the list.
Click the Options button and select Schedule Update.
Select a Price Level and Reason. Click the date button to select the date. By default, the date/time is set to 12:00:00 a.m. for the next day. If you want to restore the markdown, click the check box and then select the date for the restoration of the pre-markdown prices. Click Continue when you are ready to proceed.
A confirmation explains the details of the markdown. Be sure to check the number of items affected. If you need to make changes, click No. Otherwise, click Yes. The Markdown's Status is set to "Pending."
Printing Tags for Markdown Items
After markdown down prices, the retailer will typically need to print new price tags to reflect the changed price. Print markdown tags after adjusting prices, but before updating inventory. A special Markdown tag design is available that includes both the pre-markdown and the post-markdown price. This enables customers to see a clear comparison of the prices.
Select an item in the list.
Click the Print Tags button.
Select a print design and printer, or accept the defaults. You can either print a specific number of tags (Copies), or print as many tags as there are units in inventory (On Hand Quantity). If printing a specific number of tags, enter the desired number.
Click Print.
Edit a Markdown
You can make changes to a markdown before the markdown is updated. You cannot edit markdowns that have been updated (or reversed). Select a markdown in the list and click the Edit button. Make any needed changes and then save.
Deactivate/Delete a Markdown
(Pending or Scheduled Status markdowns only) Select a markdown in the list and click the Deactivate button on the bottom menu.
Once the markdown has been deactivated, it can be deleted. Search for the deactivated markdown and select it.
Click the Delete button. (You can search for Active markdowns, Inactivate markdowns, or both).
Clear a Markdown
Clearing a Markdown removes the Markdown prices from the markdown. After clearing the markdown, you can readjust prices or enter markdown prices manually. To clear a markdown, click the Clear Markdown button on the bottom menu.
Markdown Status
The Markdown status can have one of the following values:
Pending: Scheduled updates will have the status set to Pending.
Updated: After the markdown has updated inventory prices, the status is set to Updated.
Reversed: Indicates the markdown has been reversed.