How to Create a Product Variant Substitution Order Rule [Step-By-Step guide]

Modified on Mon, 4 Aug at 4:23 PM

By default, techOMS allocates orders using the original Product Variant or its alternates as defined in the Product Variant SKU file. The Product Variant Substitution Order Rule lets you bulk-replace a product variant in scenarios where:

No alternates are configured.
The product and its alternates are out of stock.
You want to define different substitutions based on specific conditions (e.g., ship-to state).

WARNING: The substitution rule overrides the alternate product library defined in the SKU file.

This rule should be applied on demand only and disabled when not in use. Follow the steps carefully, and make sure to turn the rule off afterward.

The substitution process has the following main stages:

Create the Sales Order Rule
Define the Rule parameters and logic
Run the Rule to apply substitutions
Verify the logs to confirm results

NOTE: Make sure that you are operating at the right Vendor/Warehouse beforehand.

I. CREATE THE SALES ORDER RULE

Create the Sales Order Rule as detailed in How to Create Sales/Purchase Order Rules [Step-by-step guide].

NOTE: For Product Variant Substitution rules, the most common trigger is Allocate & Fulfill Sales Order UI. This allows you to run the substitution manually when needed, instead of applying it automatically to all incoming orders. If the rule's trigger is set to Create Sales Order API, it will automatically apply substitutions to all incoming orders matching the SKU condition.

II. DEFINE THE RULE PARAMETERS AND LOGIC

Follow How to Edit Sales/Purchase Order Rules [Step-by-step guide] to configure the rule logic.

When adding actions, insert the Add Product Variant Substitution action in the desired position of the workflow, and configure it as described in Add Product Variant Substitution action within the Rules Conditions and Actions Guide [Information].

WARNING: techOMS creates a single Sales Order context for all rules. Configure only one Product Variant Substitution table across all rules, or within a single rule, to avoid conflicts.

For example, if you need to replace SKU123 with the following logic:

If SKU123 is out of stock, substitute it with SKU456 (priority 1).
If SKU456 is also out of stock, use SKU789 instead (priority 2).

Configure the Product Variant Substitution action as follows:

WARNING: For this scenario, Backorders must be managed in techOMS. To learn more, refer to: Understanding Backorders in techOMS [Information].

If you always need to replace SKU123 with SKU456, regardless of stock, configure the Product Variant Substitution action as follows:

III. RUN THE RULE TO APPLY SUBSTITUTIONS

1. Click Sales Orders from the left menu under the Sales section.

2. Click the Advanced Filter icon.

3. Enter the SKU for the affected product.

4. Press Apply to display relevant orders.

5. Select applicable orders:

Orders in Draft status (must be moved to Approved before processing).
Orders in Approved status that do not contain shipments.

6. Press Actions.

7. Select Allocate & Fulfill Orders.

This triggers the substitution rule.

IV. VERIFY THE LOGS TO CONFIRM RESULTS

1. Click Logs from the left menu under the Sales section.

2. Locate and click on the entry for the rule run.

3. Review the results to confirm substitutions were applied correctly.

Repeat this process for any additional Product Variants that require substitution. Once finished, disable the Sales Order Rule as detailed in How to Enable/Disable a Sales/Purchase Order Rule [Step-by-step guide] to prevent unintended substitutions in future orders.