Specials Maintenance

Specials (often referred to as promotions) are groups of items administrators want to feature to customers when they visit a QAD CSS site. Specials are an optional feature of QAD CSS and implemented in the Order Entry 2 process. Specials can be selectively offered to specific marketing groups and have specific start and end dates.

Note: Specials—as well as the items they reference—are . You must indicate which data source (domain) each special is associated with.

Due to the highly custom business nature of promotions, it is likely the business rules that control the specials display are customized.

This function is an important part of customizing QAD CSS to promote revenue growth.

The menu location of Specials Maintenance is Home Menu|Administration Menu|Specials Maintenance.

Clicking the Specials Maintenance menu option displays the screen in Specials Maintenance.

Specials Maintenance

Specials Maintenance Navigation summarizes the contents of the Specials Maintenance navigation screen.

Specials Maintenance Navigation

 

Column	Search	Search Type	Sort	Description	Link
Special ID	Y	Greater than or equal to	Y	Unique identifier for this promotion.	Y
Promo Name	Y	Begins	Y	Name of the promotion.	N
Marketing Group	Y	Begins	Y	The marketing group ID to which the promotion is targeted. Users assigned to this marketing group can be presented items for this promotion. Leave this field blank to allow all users to participate in this promotion.	N
Data Source	Y	Begins	Y	The source domain for the items associated with this special.
View Items	N	n/a	N	Hyperlink to the Special Detail Maintenance function.	Y

Related QAD CSS functions:

•	Order Entry 2

•	User Maintenance

Adding a Specials Entry

The Add function of Specials Maintenance lets an administrator add custom specials documents and associate them with specific QAD CSS pages. The following information is required to complete this process:

•	The name and number of the new promotion

•	The data source that identifies the domain with the items on the special

•	The type of promotion and the valid target marketing group

•	The dates and times to run the promotion

To create a new entry:

1	Click Add in the navigation window to display the edit screen in Add mode.

2	Enter data into the appropriate fields.

3	Click Add in the edit window to save the record.

Detail Special Master Edit

Promotion ID

Enter a unique identifier for this promotion.

Data Source

Choose the domain that this special is associated with.

Promotion Name

Enter the descriptive name of the promotion.

Type of Promotion

Enter a brief description that helps identify the promotion.

Target Marketing Group

Optionally, enter the ID of a marketing group to which the promotion is targeted. Users assigned to this marketing group can be presented items for this promotion. Leave this field blank to allow all users to participate in this promotion. Marketing groups should be previously set up in User Maintenance.

This Promotion should run from/To

The date range of the promotion. Promotions can be scheduled to appear at a future date. Click the Calendar icon to select dates.

. . during these times of day

Use the selection lists to enter the times of day the promotion should run. For instance, promotions can be scheduled to appear only in the morning.

Clicking a command button executes one of the following actions:

•	Add saves the new record to the database. All required fields—indicated by alternate field color—must be populated prior to saving a record. Before saving, the system verifies that the record is unique and displays an error if it is not.

•	Cancel closes the window without adding the record.

Modifying a Specials Entry

The Modify function of Specials Maintenance lets an administrator modify existing specials entries. Requirements for adding a record are the same as for editing a record.

To modify an entry:

1	Display the record to modify.

2	Click the Special ID link in the row of the record to be modified. Clicking the link displays the edit screen.

3	Enter data into the appropriate fields. Fields that do not allow change are indicated by a second alternate color.

4	Click Save to commit the changes.

Special Detail Maintenance

Special Detail Maintenance is an extension of Specials Maintenance. This function lets administrators set up which items they want to feature to customers.

While in Specials Maintenance, you can click a View link to display items associated with the corresponding specials row.

Viewing Promotional Items Through Specials Maintenance

Clicking a View link displays the screen in Special Detail Maintenance.

Special Detail Maintenance

Special Detail Maintenance Navigation summarizes the contents of the Special Detail Maintenance navigation screen.

Special Detail Maintenance Navigation

 

Column	Search	Search Type	Sort	Description	Link
Order	Y	Greater than or equal to	Y	Positive or negative integer that determines the order in which the item displays relative to other special detail items.	Y
Part Number	Y	Contains	Y	Item number associated with this special.	N
Description	N	n/a	N	Brief description of the featured item.	N

Adding a Special Detail Entry

The Add function of Special Detail Maintenance lets an administrator add selected items and associate them with a specific special.

To create a new entry:

1	Click Add in the navigation window to display the edit screen in Add mode.

2	Enter data into the appropriate fields.

3	Click Add in the edit window to save the record.

Detail Special Detail Maint

Special ID

A read-only field, which displays a unique identifier for this promotion.

Part Number

Specify the item number as defined in QAD EA.

Group Order

Enter a positive or negative integer that determines the order in which this item displays relative to other special detail items.

Short Description

Specify a brief description of this item. This description displays in bold to the right of the image associated with the item in the specials page area.

Long Description

Specify a longer text description of the item being promoted. This text wraps around the image. The price as determined by QAD EA and shopping cart icon display below the long description.

Image Name

Enter the relative path and file name of the item detail image file as displayed to the user.

Product Group

Specify the item category that determines where in the catalog this promotion displays. The product group corresponds to Code 0–5 as specified in Item Types Maintenance. These codes define the major product categories in the catalog layout.

Clicking a command button executes one of the following actions:

•	Add saves the new record to the database. All required fields—indicated by alternate field color—must be populated prior to saving a record. Before saving, the system verifies that the record is unique and displays an error if it is not.

•	Cancel closes the window without adding the record.

Modifying a Special Detail Entry

The Modify function of Special Detail Maintenance lets an administrator modify existing special detail entries. Requirements for adding a record are the same as for editing a record.

1	Display the record to modify.

2	Click the Order link in the row of the record to be modified. Clicking the link displays the edit screen.

3	Enter data into the appropriate fields. Fields that do not allow change are indicated by a second alternate color.

4	Click Save to commit the changes.