Originally written by John Hardwick, last updated Aug 16, 2023, on the Swan Retail knowledge base (FRS).

Part of: Implementation Guide

Suppliers

Any product or service which is to be processed within SwanFRS requires a supplier creating, this tells SwanFRS who to purchase goods / services from as part of its purchase ordering system.

When linking to a third-party accounting system, it is imperative that the Suppliers listed in SwanFRS can be referenced / linked to those used in the accounting system. It is therefore recommended that a supplier export list is obtained from the accounting system and used as an import into SwanFRS.

SwanFRS doesn’t need to know about your utility providers, for example, only suppliers where goods and or services are to be purchased.

Product Ranges

The next step is to gather all your supplier catalogues and price books, and all collate all the services you provide.

A key feature of SwanFRS is the support of multiple level product options.  This means that you do not have to build long lists of products for every possible combination of options.  Instead, you simply create base products for each product under a range and then build option lists for each supplier.  Then simply link the option lists to the correct product.  This process can significantly reduce the number of products to maintain and therefore the time required to construct your catalogue and price lists.  It is well worth spending some time to work out the best way to build your product ranges and options (one option list per supplier).  This will save you time when ordering goods and avoid unnecessary ordering errors.

Alternatively, you can create ‘Special order’ items, perhaps one for each supplier or one general for the entire system to allow you to type in product descriptions and options at the time of creating the sales order.  This will save you initial product set up times but since it relies on the user to enter the product descriptions, it may lead to ambiguity and errors.  You can only use a single base selling price and cost price using this method and you could lose valuable analysis information.

Many suppliers offer catalogues in electronic format which, subject to adherence to load file formats, can be loaded into SwanFRS.

Swan offer an Office 365 Excel based product creator spreadsheet which has the option if importing supplier data thus reducing the effort in creating products, if this option is to be used it recommended the suppliers catalogues be obtained in editble form or a PDF converter application be purchased to reduce re-keying.

For each product, you sell you will need to know:

• Supplier

• Range (collection, brand or style)

• Suppliers model number / reference - not essential but helps when communicating with the supplier.

• Product Description

• Cost Price

• MRP (MSRP) and / or selling price

• Lead times

• Other data such as colour choices, dimensions

SKU Codes

SwanFRS uses a unique SKU code for each product. 

The SKU can be composed of any unique combination of characters; however, it is suggested that a coding convention like the following is considered.

<Supplier number>-<Range Code>-<item number>

For example: 12-20-234

• 12 relates to the 12^th supplier built within FRS

• 20 is the 20^th range within the supplier

• 234 is the 234^th item within the range.

This document (and the majority of the knowledgebase guides) use this coding structure however as previously stated this is not mandatory.  SwanFRS will work with and SKU code of ABC1234 as it will with 99-99-99 structures, The key is that the SKU is a one code per product concept.

The SKU code itself caters for codes of up to 30 characters the only stipulation is that each code must be unique.

Lead Times

Each SKU has a default lead time; however, these can be affected by the choice of option.  Lead times are used to provide the customer with a realistic delivery time frame. Lead times are recorded in days for each SKU (product) and converted to weeks on screen.

Stock Types

There are four main stock types within SwanFRS, each one controlling how the item is handled within the application.

Unqiue Goods

This is the main type of product and is sometimes referred to as the ‘big ticket’ code. For this type each product has its own tracking number (stock code or barcode) which does not change for the entire life of the item (and remains the same for however long you may offer service against the item).

Unique items may be large or small, they are generally the more expensive item where the retailer wishes to track it’s journey from demand through to delivery.

Typical useage are special order items, high value product

Accessory Goods

This is a slightly misleading title, it is effective lot or batch managed goods and used wherever more than one of an item are purchased as a batch and tracked as a group. All the same features as unique tracked goods apply with the expcetion of a batch or group cost.

As the batch is distributed or sold the batch is split ultimately resolving down to unique items.

Typical usage for accessory goods are - pictures, mirrores, mattresses, cutlery, door bars, grippers, bags of underlay

Measured Goods

If you sell goods by length, then you must decide on the unit of measurement to be used.  (E.g. Metres).  If you sell products that have a fixed width (E.g. carpet rolls), then you must record the width of each for each item that you sell in the Width column.  If you allow custom widths, then enter -1 in the ‘Width’ field.  The user will then be prompted to specify a width when placing a sales order in SwanFRS. 

Measured goods are sold by the running length but priced by the square unit.

Service Items

Service items such as assembly charges and delivery charges are also catered for.  Service items must be assigned a SwanFRS product group that belongs to the service class.  This ensures that SwanFRS handles these products as none stock affecting items and does not raise a purchase order or place ordered services in stock, write on’s, write off’s, return to suppliers and transfers are not possible.  It is suggested that a special supplier is created called ‘Services’ or something similar for these SKUs.  Within this supplier, it is then possible to create a series of ranges and add items and options just like any other supplier’s products.  You must also set selling and cost (optional) prices before sending the items to SwanFRS.

when Ancilary costs are switched on it is possible to map invoices to service items and therefore ensure the correct costs are applied to the sales orders they link to.

SwanFRS Special Codes (Allowance Codes)

SwanFRS reserves the zero supplier for internal use. The system controlled allowance codes (0-0-x where X is an ineger number) are used by SwanFRS to ensure the system is kept in balance. These codes are service classed and therefore will not impact on stock.

SwanFRS has a generic ‘Allowance’ item which is assigned to an ‘Allowance’ product group and VAT code.  If a single ‘Allowance’ item is sufficient for your needs, then you do not need to set up any more allowances.  However, if you require more allowance groups, for example to cover different VAT codes or product groups or if you want to offset allowances against specific accounting nominal codes in your accounting system, then you can create them as SwanFRS product groups.  The allowance product groups must be flagged as a ‘Service’ class.  Associate the product group with an item in a special ‘Allowance’ range you have created within your ‘Service’ supplier.

You will need to decide how many allowance groups you will need and to which service item each allowance will belong.

You can set up allowance items with a zero-selling cost and then use the ‘Advanced’ option to enter an allowance amount against a sales order as a sales order line.  Alternatively, you can set up an allowance item with a zero-selling price and add a text option to accept an input selling price.  This will prompt the user to enter an allowance when it is added as a line to the sales order.

When operating with ‘Taxware’ the ALLOWANCENON product group must also exist (this is primarily for the US operator)

Taxware is a third-party application called by FRS at time of order creation and delivery which calculates the taxes charged for goods and services.

• Taxable transactions use the ALLOWANCE product group which must exist within FRS and be appropriately linked within Taxware.

• Taxable allowances create a 0-0-0 SKU against the sales order.

• Non-taxable transactions use the ALLOWANCENON product group which must exist within FRS and be appropriately linked within Taxware.

• Non-taxable allowances create a 0-0-2 SKU against the sales order.

• The 0-0-0 and 0-0-2 SKU are system generated and maintained.

• Tax is calculated using the process date, delivery methodology in partnership with the orders’ delivery address and whether the credit has been identified as taxable or not.

Product Options

SwanFRS can create options within options.  This allows the sales process to be intuitive asking the relevant question dependent upon the answer to a previous question.

For existing users of SwanFRS please ensure you have fully understood the impact this modification has had on the system prior to upgrading.

If a product which has un-selected options is attempted to be added to a sales order / internal order or write on note the screen will display a ‘You must select an option’ against all lines pending definition.

If a question is ‘optional’ it is suggested that one of the answers is set to ‘not applicable’ or ‘not required’ as the system will force a selection for each option or question offered.

If multiple level options are required, it is suggested that the structure is mapped out the product prior to building the item.

It is possible to set several options at any level from any question, in the example above the product has initial questions of, ‘Colour’ and ‘Feet Type’. 

It is possible within SwanFRS to set a 2nd level question. A second level question is a question asked dependant upon the answer to a question at higher level. It is possible to ask any number of 2nd level questions which are triggered by the answer given to the question a level above.

in the example below as the operator has chosen the ‘2 extra’ scatter cushions the system is now asking for the grade of the cushion cover.

it is posisble to repeat this question and answer layering a maximum of 20 times. There are no restrictions on the number of questions from a previous answer.

second and subsequent level questions are identifiable by the indentation of the question and answer element on screen.

In the exmaple below the red dots indicate the question level. If the operator chooses the ‘2 extra’ scatter cushions, the sytem asks for ‘Scatter Cover’ choosing the Grade offers a list of ‘colours’, if the operator chooses ‘white’ there is a further clarification of the type of white.

Second and sub sequent levels only appear when required.

As the product definition is completed the system applies any selling price and / or lead time changes.  Option choices remain available and can be changed up to the point of confirming the ‘build’.  Changing an option choice may result in questions linked to the choice changing also (lower level questions).

 Options (questions) and choices (answers) are optional. Not every product will require them. The skill is when to use them and when not to. Options may be used on all classifications of product and therefore are universal, for example it is possible to use options as a form on questionnaire used when selling carpets to ensure all the nuances of carpet fitting have been discussed.

The following diagram shows how options can be applied to a product to guide the salesperson through the choices applicable to the item

• Products do not have to have options.

• Options allow further clarification of the item when ordering.

• Options can be single level or multitiered with many questions for any tier.

• Options may be pick lists or type in fields

  • Type in fields are not verified - any narrative is accepted

  • type in fields cannot ask subsequent questions.

• Options can request a quantity - this doesn’t affect the number of units ordered - it simply multiplies the option price by the quantity stipulated.

• Options can affect the price (either cost and or selling price) either by a fixed amount or as a percentage of the main SKU price.

• Options can affect the lead time of the item either increasing or decreasing the overall number of days to supply the item.

• Recursive options are not permitted.  I.e. option 1 links to option 2 which links to 3 which links back to 2.

• It is possible to use the same option several times per product with the previso that the option structure doesn’t become recursive.

• It is possible to set defaults for option choices at product level.

• Option answers can be blocked for specific products thus enabling a single question to be used with restricted options for different products - thsi reduces the data overhead and maintenance of the product portoflio.

Product Group Structure

An important part of building your product ranges is to decide how you are going to group your products together.  Grouping products helps to simplify searches and helps you analyse your sales and stock.

It is recommended that product groups are completed before embarking on product creation.

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