Chain Pricing Rules

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Chain pricing rules can be created to offer customers discounts on high demand Products when they also order less popular Products. These rules help companies sell generic versions of drugs, extend cross product rebates while minimizing the number of rules needed, and cross-sell less popular Products by offering a discount on high-demand Products.

Sarah Jones takes an order from a pharmacist for 10 boxes of Cholecap 10mg, 5 boxes of Restolar 5ml, and 5 boxes of Labrinone Cough Drop. A discount on Cholecap 10mg is triggered by two conditions, or products: Restolar 5ml and Labrinone Cough Drops. By ordering both the Restolar 5ml and Labrinone Cough Drops, the pharmacist receives a 10% discount on the Cholecap 10mg.

Chain Pricing rules are not supported on total orders.

Chain Pricing rules operate at multiple levels at the same time and are not restricted by the hierarchy model of the pricing engine. For example, if two identical chain rules are created, one pointing to a Contract, and the other pointing to something else, both rules are applied and the hierarchy from the contract is ignored.

Configuring Chain Pricing Rules

Prerequisites

Initial configuration is complete
General pricing rules are configured
Product Catalog items are configured

To enable Chain Pricing Rules:

Grant admins the following permissions:
Object OLS Record Types Fields FLS
Pricing_Subrule_vod CRUD n/a All Edit
Pricing_Rule_vod
n/a
n/a
Chain_Rule_vod
Chain_Rule_Operator_vod
Edit

Object	OLS	Record Types	Fields	FLS
Pricing_Subrule_vod	CRUD	n/a	All	Edit
Pricing_Rule_vod	n/a	n/a	Chain_Rule_vod Chain_Rule_Operator_vod	Edit

Grant users the following permissions:

Object	OLS	Record Types	Fields	FLS
Pricing_Subrule_vod	R	n/a	Pricing Subrule ID Pricing_Rule_vod Product_vod Comparison_Type_vod Min_Quantity_vod Max_Quantity_vod	Edit
Pricing_Rule_vod	n/a	n/a	Chain_Rule_vod Chain_Rule_Operator_vod	Edit

Ensure users have access to the following values in the Comparison_Type_vod picklist on the Pricing_Rule_vod object:

Product Quantity
List Value
Net Value
SKU Count

Add the Pricing Subrules related list to the following Pricing_Rule_vod page layouts:

Discount
Free Goods
Free Goods Percentage
Brand Level
Group Level

Expose the following fields in the Pricing Sub Rules Related List:
1. Comparison Product
2. Comparison Type
3. Minimum Quantity
4. Maximum Quantity
Add the Chain_Rule_vod and Chain_Rule_Operator_vod fields to the Pricing_Rule_vod page layout for each Pricing Rule type you want to create a chain pricing rule.
Select the desired Chain Rule Operator picklist values for each Pricing_Rules_vod object Record Type used. Available values are AND_vod and OR_vod.
Select the Include Related Objects check box on the Pricing_Rule_vod object VMOC to activate the Pricing Subrule VMOC.

Using Chain Pricing Rules

Only the combinations listed in the following table are supported. Any other combinations are considered misconfiguration and produce unexpected results. The Product_vod field value cannot be set to <blank>.

Pricing Rule Type	Product	Comparison Product
Discount Rule	Order	Order
	Order	Detail
	Order	Product Group
	Order	<blank>
	Order	Fixed Kit (header)
Free Goods Rule Percentage Free Goods Rule	Order	Order
	Order	Detail
	Order	Product Group
	Order	<blank>
	Order	Fixed Kit (header)
Brand Rule	Detail	Order
	Detail	Detail
	Detail	Product Group
	Detail	<blank>
	Detail	Fixed Kit (header)
Product Group Rule	Product Group	Order
	Product Group	Detail
	Product Group	Product Group
	Product Group	<blank>
	Product Group	Fixed Kit (header)

When a chain pricing rule is applied to a product, an information icon displays next to that Product on the order line. Select the icon to view information about the discount. If multiple chain pricing rules exist for the same Product, all information values display.

Users can override the discount or free goods quantity after a chain rule is applied. If a user’s override triggers another rule, the new rule takes precedence over the user override. If different Override Max values are defined for a set of rules, the highest maximum override is applied.

If a user deletes a Product after a chain pricing rule is applied, any discounts or free Products added by the chain pricing rule are also removed from the order.

To create a Chain Pricing rule:

Navigate to the Pricing Rules tab.
Select New.
Select a Pricing Rule Record Type. Admins can create chain rules for the following types:

Brand_Level_Rule_vod
Discount_Rule_vod
Free_Goods_Rule_vod
Product_Groups_Level_Rule_vod

Select Continue.
Enter a Pricing Rule Name.
Select a Product from the product lookup:
- For Free_Goods_Rule_vod or Discount_Rule_vod - Product Type must be Order
- For Brand_Level_Rule_vod - Product Type must be Detail
- For Product_Groups_Level_Rule_vod - Product Type must be Product Group
Enter a Start Date and End Date, indicating the time frame the rule is valid.
Select a currency if multi-currency organizations are enabled.
Complete required fields in the Rule Definition section in addition to those based on the Record Type selected:
- Brand_Level_Rule_vod - Discount Override field
- Discount_Rule_vod - Discount Override or Net Price fields
- Free_Goods_Rule_vod - Free Goods field
- Product_Groups_Level_Rule_vod - Discount Override field
Enter a meaningful description as the Suggestion Text. This text informs the user about the specific discount for the chain rule.
Select the Chain Rule check box.
Select a Chain Rule Operator (AND or OR).
Select Save.

To define pricing sub-rules:

Open the Pricing Rule you created in the last section.
Select New Pricing Subrule in the Pricing Subrules section.
Select a Comparison Product using the picklist.
Select a Comparison Type.
Enter the Minimum Quantity needed for the rule to take effect.
Select Save.
Repeat steps 3-6 as needed to complete the chain pricing rule.

Example Chain Pricing Rule

To create a Chain Pricing Rule for the example scenario included in this topic, configure the following items:

Pricing Rule

Brand Level Rule

Product = Cholecap 10mg (Detail)

Comparison Type = Product Quantity

Minimum Quantity = 1

Discount Override = 10%

Chain Rule Operator = AND

Subrule #1

Product = Restolar 5ml (Order)

Comparison Type = Quantity

Minimum Quantity = 1

Subrule #2

Product = Labrione Cough Drop (None)

Comparison Type = Quantity

Minimum Quantity = 1

Notes on Creating Chain Pricing Rules

SKU Count Comparison Type:
Admins can create chain pricing rules with an SKU Count Comparison Type. This comparison type defines the number of SKUs (stock keeping units) that must be included in the order from a given Product Group or brand to receive a discount. Admins can define the SKU Count as a range with a minimum and maximum value (for example, 1-3) or as an open-ended value (for example, at least 2), but the value must be greater than 0.
While the system allows a value of 0 in the Min_Quantity_vod field, it is a misconfiguration to set that value
To set no maximum value, leave the Max_Quantity_vod field blank
Free Goods and Products with a quantity of 0 do not count toward the SKU Count; only paid Products count
Pricing Subrules (different conditions) in the same chain rule can have different comparison types. For example, buy 10 boxes of Cholecap (quantity) and $100 Restolar (list amount) to receive 10 percent off Labrinone Cream.
Product Kits:
In chain rules, a Product can be a Fixed Kit
If a Comparison Product is a Kit, the only valid Comparison Type is “Quantity,” because Kit Headers do not have list prices
When the SKU Comparison Type is used in a Sub-rule on a Kit, only the pricing bound kit items are counted towards the SKU count
Chain rules with Comparison Product = Kit Item are not supported
Chain rules with Product = Kit Item are not supported
Chain rules on Non-Fixed Kits are not supported. Order lines are not created for Non-Fixed Kit Headers, so the rules do not apply

Chain rules are not supported for the following rule types:
Delivery Period
Limit
List Price
Payment Terms
The limit-bound field is not applicable or supported on chain rules
Kit items cannot trigger chain pricing rules
Only AND and OR operators are supported in chain pricing rules. Both operators cannot exist in the same chain rule.
Chain Rule warnings and error messages display next to the Product receiving the rule (not next to Comparison Products)
Chain rules do not automatically add free goods to the order lines. If a Product receives free goods, the user must add the Product first. If chain rule conditions are met, free goods are added next to the Product.
If a comparison Product in a pricing subrule is not in the user’s My Setup, the entire rule is ignored and is not applied to the order
All Products defined in the chain pricing rule must be in the user’s My Setup to use the rule
Suggestion Text on the chain pricing rule should have a clear description informing the end user what the rule is
On a subrule, the SKU Count Comparison Type’s Minimum Quantity must be set to at least 1