- About Automatically Substituting Products
- Enabling or Disabling Auto-Substitution for a Cart or Open PO
- Auto-Substitution in Action
- Reviewing Substitutions via the Item Substitutions Screen
- Replacing the Auto-Substituted Product with Another Verified Product
- Reselecting the Original Product after an Auto-Substitution
- Auto-Substitute Replacement Logic
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FAQs
- When does the Cart/PO update?
- What happens if the newly substituted product becomes unavailable?
- What happens if the original product that got replaced becomes available again?
- Why is a product that is an unavailable status or insufficient quantity not being substituted?
- Is auto-substitution available for corporate accounts?
About Automatically Substituting a Product
On a shopping cart or open PO (i.e., a PO that has not yet been submitted) there is the Auto-Substitute function (screenshot below).
When Auto-Substitute is enabled, then if a product is in a permanently unavailable status (dropped, deleted, discontinued, etc.) or a temporarily unavailable status (i.e., insufficient quantity, currently out-of-stock), then the system will automatically select the next best product for that item, based on the verified vendor product for that food item and the quantity available to meet the quantity needed amount.
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Benefits of Auto-Substitution
With auto-substitution, you avoid the manual process of monitoring out-of-stock products and products of insufficient quantity, and then subsequently having to either adjust order quantities, remove products, or replace products.
Does my Account Support Auto-Substitution?
Auto-substitution is available for facility accounts only. And at this time, the auto-substitution function is only available for certain accounts. Please reach out to MealSuite Support to see if auto-substitution is supported by your account.
Enabling or Disabling Auto-Substitution for a Cart or Open PO
The Auto-Substitute feature is specific to each shopping cart or open PO. In other words, it is not enabled or disabled at your account level.
In addition, depending on your account, the Auto-Substitute feature may either be enabled by default for each cart/open PO, or may be disabled by default for each cart/open PO.
If the Auto-Substitute feature is disabled, and then you enable it, the following message appears:
Auto-Substitution in Action
With Auto-Substitute enabled, the system will begin to run through the product replacement logic for each product that is unavailable or has insufficient quantity. When one or more products have been automatically substituted, the following message appears.
Clicking the Refresh button refreshes the screen with items whose products were substituted.
Swap Icon Descriptions
Icon | Description |
The red swap icon indicates the original product was in a permanent unavailable status (dropped, deleted, discontinued, etc.) and therefore was substituted. Hovering your cursor over the swap icon for an item displays a message as to why the product for the item was substituted: |
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The orange swap icon indicates the original product was in a temporary unavailable status (i.e., insufficient quantity, currently out-of-stock), and therefore was substituted. Hovering your cursor over the swap icon for an item displays a message as to why the product for the item was substituted: |
Reviewing Substitutions via the Item Substitutions Screen
For an item whose product has been replaced, you can click the item and its Item Substitutions screen appears, which is organized via the following sections:
Original Item Section
If the original product was in a permanently unavailable status (), the Original Item section displays the food item, the original vendor product and details, and its quantity needed amount. The Availability column indicates the type of unavailable status (dropped, deleted, discontinued, etc.).
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If the original product was in a temporarily unavailable status (), the Original Item section displays:
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- Food item
- Original product and details
- Insufficient Quantity label
- Quantity needed
- Available quantity
- Expected restock date
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Auto-Substituted Item Section
The Auto-Substituted Item section displays the food item, the auto-substituted product, and its order quantity, which is calculated based on the quantity needed amount in the Original Item section.
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Other Items Section
A product in the Other Items section can be manually selected to replace the auto-substituted product (see Replacing the Auto-Substituted Product with Another Verified Product below). The Other Items section shows the following products:
- At the top of the list the other vendor products for the food item are displayed.
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For the food item of the original product being replaced, if that food item belongs to a food variation group, then the vendor products for each food item in that food variation group are displayed.
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The diagram below illustrates how vendor products linked to food items in a food variation group are made available in the Other Items section of the Item Substitutions screen.
Replacing the Auto-Substituted Product with Another Verified Product
You can replace an auto-substituted product with another verified vendor product. To do so:
- Click the item that has an auto-substituted product. The Item Substitutions window appears.
- Scroll to the Other Items section and locate the product you want to replace.
- Enter the quantity needed in the product's Order Quantity field.
- Click its Replace button.
- If the product is not linked to the food item of the original product being replaced, but rather is linked to a different food item in the food variation group (see above for explanation and diagram), then the system identifies the recipes in which the original food item is used as an ingredient and gives you the opportunity to swap the original food item with the new food item via the following message:
We've identified X recipes on active menus that reference [Original Food Item]. Would you like to update these recipes to use [New Food Item].
- Clicking Yes displays the Linked Recipes window, which lists the recipes that have the original food item as an ingredient. From this window, select the recipes for which you want to swap the food item. You also have the ability to do the swap immediately or schedule it for a later date by selecting the later date from the Effective From field.
For more on swapping food items as an ingredient in a recipe, see Recipe Variations: Swapping a Similar Food for an Ingredient in a Master Recipe.
- Click the Confirm button to apply the changes and close the window. A success message appears at the top of the screen.
Note: If replacing a vendor product of the original food item (and not replacing a vendor product of a different food item in the associated food variation group), the success message features an Undo link for you to undo the replacement if needed, such as would be the case if you accidentally selected an unintended product or entered the wrong order quantity.
- You are returned to the cart/open PO, where the newly-replaced product is now listed for the item. Note that because the item no longer has an auto-substituted product, it does not present with a link and swap icon.
Why is a Replace Button Deactivated (i.e., greyed out)?
In the Item Substitutions window, an item that cannot be replaced has its Replace button deactivated (i.e., greyed out). Examples of why an item cannot be replace are as follows:
- Cannot replace a standard order item with a special order item, and vice versa
- Cannot replace a product from a different vendor.
- Cannot replace a product that already exists in cart or PO.
Reselecting the Original Product After an Auto-Substitution
There may be scenarios where you want reselect the original product after an auto-substitution has been done by the system. For example, assume for the original product your quantity needed was nine cases, and it was replaced because of insufficient quantity. You open the Item Substitutions window and see that the available quantity of the original product is eight cases, and then decide that eight cases is sufficient.
Note: The Auto-Substituted Item section displays the substituted product. Do not click the Remove button to remove this product and think the original product will be reselected. Clicking the Remove button will simply remove the item and its product altogether from the cart/PO.
To search for an reselect the original product, complete the following steps:
- Click the item that has an auto-substituted product. The Item Substitutions window appears.
- In the Search field, enter the product you are searching for (either by description, product ID, or brand; the original product details are in the Original Item section for you to use in your search) and click the magnifying glass. The screen refreshes with the Search Results section with products that match your search criteria.
- Via the Filters tool, you can filter the search results via brand, vendor, and availability. After selecting a filter, click GO to refresh the screen with the results.
- For the original product in the Search Results section, enter the quantity needed in the Order Quantity field and click its Replace button. The button turns blue and a success message appears.
Note: The success message features an Undo link for you to undo the replacement if needed, such as would be the case if you accidentally selected an unintended product or entered the wrong order quantity.
- You are returned to the cart/open PO, where the original product is now listed again for the item. Note that because the item no longer has an auto-substituted product, it does not present with a link and swap icon.
Auto-Substitute Replacement Logic
The logic of how a vendor product is substituted is the same logic that is used by the system to select a verified vendor product for a food item (see Verified Vendor Products and the Selected Product for a Food Item). The auto-substitute logic is as follows:
1 - System Checks for a Favourite
For multiple verified vendor products for a food item, the product that is favoured by a facility account is selected.
2 - System Checks a Priority APL
For multiple verified vendor products for a food item, the product that is on a priority APL takes precedence.
3 - System Checks the Vendor Priority
For multiple verified vendor products for a food item, the product that belongs to the vendor with the highest priority takes precedence.
4 - System Checks the Vendor Priority
For multiple verified vendor products for a food item, the product that belongs to the vendor with the highest priority takes precedence.
5 - System Checks the Order Guide (if supported by vendor)
For multiple verified vendor products for a food item, a product on the order guide (an order guide is specific to the client) takes precedence over a product on the product catalog (a product catalog is specific to the distribution centre).
6 - System Checks for a GPO Contract Product (if supported by vendor)
For multiple verified vendor products for a food item, a product that is on a group purchasing organization (GPO) contract takes precedence (for example, Vizient and Premier).
7 - System Checks if Product is Standard (i.e., not a direct-shipped product or special order product)
For multiple verified vendor products for a food item, a standard product takes precedence over a demand/direct product (i.e., product shipped directly from manufacturer). A demand/direct product takes precedence over a special order product.
8 - System Checks for Highest Availability Across Distribution Centres (parent account only)
For a parent account, a product with the highest availability across distribution centres (DCs) is preferred. This ensures a preferred overall product across regions can be selected.
For example, if product A is available in two out of three DCs, and product B is available in one out of three DCs, then product A is selected.
For products that have equal availability in the DCs, the product with the lowest average cost across the DCs is preferred. For example:
Product A:
- Cost in DC 1: $1.00 per serving
- Cost in DC 2: $2.00 per serving
- Cost in DC 3: $3.00 per serving
= Average cost per serving is $2.00 per serving
Product C:
- Cost in DC 1: $1.00 per serving
- Cost in DC 2: $1.50 per serving
- Cost in DC 3: $2.00 per serving
= Average cost per serving is $1.50 per serving
Therefore, product C is chosen because it has a lowest average cost per serving.
9 - Product with Least Expensive Cost per Serving
For multiple verified vendor products for a food item, the product with the best value cost per serving takes precedence. If no product has a minimum cost of 0.01/serving, then any verified vendor product without a cost is selected.
Note: Because each vendor can handle the product selection logic differently, there may be exceptions to the information documented above. You can reach out to MealSuite Support or your CSM (customer service representative) to learn if there are exceptions. If you are a MealSuite Support or a CSM, see the following internal articles for vendor-specific logic: Vendor Product Interfaces.
FAQs
When does the Cart/PO update?
It updates when the user is active in the cart/PO. For example:
- Accessing different pages of cart/PO.
- Adding, editing, remove items
- Updating quantity, etc.
What happens if the newly substituted product becomes unavailable?
The auto-substitution process is triggered, and the existing product will be replaced again.
What happens if the original product that got replaced becomes available again?
Nothing happens; the auto-substitution process is only triggered when the current vendor product in a cart/PO becomes unavailable.
What happens auto-substitution is switched off, but some products have been previously replaced?
When auto-substitution is switched off, there will be no new substitutions performed. However, all items with previously-replaced products continue to display with the swap icon and a link to the Item Substitution window.
Why is a product that is an unavailable status or insufficient quantity not being substituted?
If the item has no other verified vendor products, then the system cannot do the auto-substitution.
If a product is on the cart/PO and that product is not linked to a food item, then the system does not consider that product for auto-substitution.
Is auto-substitution available for corporate accounts?
Auto-substitution is not available to corporate accounts. Corporate accounts typically do not make purchases and only use the cart/PO to review the purchasing of their child accounts.