Corporate Account: Suggesting a Food Item be Linked to a Vendor Product

• About Suggesting a Food Item be Linked to a Vendor Product
• Locating Food Items without a Matching Vendor Product
• Suggesting a Food Item be Linked to Vendor Product
  • Turnaround Time for MealSuite Nutrition Services
• Understanding Pack Size Fields (with Examples)
  • Soda cans: 24 cans; 355 ml each can
  • Soda cans: 24 cans; 12 oz each
  • Flour: One 25 lb bag
  • Flour: 25 one lb bags
  • Watermelon: Two each; one lb each
• FAQs
  • If a vendor product is carried in multiple distribution centres and is then linked to a food item, does the link apply across all distribution centres the vendor product is in? 

About Suggesting a Food Item be Linked to a Vendor Product

For food items that are used in menus across your child accounts, you can confirm if an item does not have a matching vendor product. This indicates that there is no appropriate vendor product in your vendor products list(s) for your distribution centres. 

If an item does not have a matching vendor product, you can submit a "Suggest Link" request to have the item linked to an available vendor product that is in the distribution centre (DC) that the child account uses. 

The "Suggest Link" request is sent to MealSuite Nutrition Services to verify and create the link. Once the vendor product is linked to the food item by MealSuite Nutrition Services, then that vendor product is available to be selected for the food item. 

Locating Food Items without a Matching Vendor Product

To display food items without a matching vendor product across your child accounts, complete the following steps:

1. Open the Vendor Product Selection screen (aka Buying Preferences screen).
    
2. Ensure the following columns are displayed on the Vendor Product Selection screen (see Setting Preferred Columns on Vendor Product Selection Screen):
   • The Available In column shows the distribution centers (DC's) carrying the vendor products. 
   • The Not Available In column shows the DC's that do not carry the product.
   • The Pack Price columns shows the price range from lowest-priced product to highest-priced product.
   • The Cost/Serving column shows the cost/serving range of the lowest-priced product to the highest-priced product. 
      

3. Click the View As button (first screenshot below). The View As pop-up appears, listing the child accounts (second screenshot below). 

   
   
   
    

4. Select the check box of the child account you want to view. 
5. Click the Save button to apply your changes and return to the Vendor Product Selection screen. 
   
   
   
   The Item column lists the food items. The Generated Products column lists the vendor products currently selected for the food item across the different accounts. If the No Matching Vendor Product label is displayed for a food item, it indicates that the food item in one or more child accounts is not linked to a vendor product. 
   
   
   
   The Available In column lists the distribution centres a product is available in. The Not Available In column lists the distribution centres a product is not available in. 
   
    
6. Note that you can use the available filters to display the desired food item list. In addition, by selecting the Items Without Vendor Product Only filter (no. 2 in screenshot below) then only food items with the No Matching Vendor Product label appear. 
   
   
    
7. If searching for a specific food, then in the Search field enter the name of the food item and click the magnifying glass to return results (note that entering the food item ID in the Search field does not return results). 
   
   

Suggesting a Food Item be Linked to a Vendor Product

For a child account with a food item that has the No Matching Vendor Product label, you can suggest that it be linked to a vendor product that is in the distribution centre (DC) that the child account uses. To do so, complete the following steps:

1. For the food item you want to link a vendor product to, click its gear icon in the Actions column and select Edit (first screenshot below). The Similar Vendor Products window appears (second screenshot below), listing the verified vendor products currently linked to the food item. Note that a product row that is highlighted yellow indicates it is a product currently selected for the food item in either your corporate account or a child account. 
   
   
   
    
2. Select the All Vendor Products filter, and in the Search field enter the name or ID of the product to be linked and click Go. The screen refreshes with a list of vendor products that match your search. 
   
   
   
   Note: If the product you are searching for is not being returned, it most likely indicates it is not available in your vendor product list. If so, see What If a Vendor Product is Not On a Vendor Product List for options. 
    
3. For the product to be linked to the food item, the following conditions must be met:
   • The Suggest Link text must be displayed in the Linking Action column.
   • The product must be carried in the distribution centre that the child account uses. The distribution centres carrying the product are listed in the Available In column.
     
     
     
     Note: If a product has the Linking Not Available text in the Linking Action column, it means it is currently linked to an existing food item, and therefore cannot be suggested as a link. 
      
4. For the product you want to link to the food item. click its Suggest Link link. The Specify Pack Size pop-up appears. 
   
   
    
5. Enter the pack size fields. For an understanding of how to complete these fields, see Understanding Pack Size Fields (with Examples) below. 
6. Click the Submit Suggestion button to submit the suggestion to the MealSuite Nutrition Services team to implement; the Linking Action now states Link Pending to indicate the request has been received by MealSuite Nutrition Services.

Turnaround Time for MealSuite Nutrition Services

The turnaround time for MealSuite Nutrition Services to verify and create the link is within 24 hours. 

Understanding Pack Size Fields (with Examples)

The vendor pack size fields are explained as follows*:  

• Stock Units Per Pack (level 1) - the number of packs in a pack/carton/box.

• Qty of Single Stock Unit (level 2) - the number of individual stock units in a pack.

• Stock Unit Amount (level 3) and Stock Unit - the weight of a single stock unit and the unit of measure (e.g., oz, g). 

*Note that these fields are industry nomenclature and as such it is recommended not to attempt to take the nomenclature literally, and instead rely on the level association (level 1, level 2, level 3) to understand the vendor pack size.

For the Stock Unit field, you can create a custom unit of measurement, such as Each or CT (count). To do so, select Custom, which refreshes the pop-up with the following fields:

• Name Other Unit of Measure - enter the custom unit of measure name, such as "Each" or "CT". 
• Weight or Volume of 1 - enter the weight or volume amount of the stock unit along with the appropriate unit of measure (e.g., oz, g). 

Soda cans: 24 cans; 355 ml each can

Soda cans: 24 cans; 12 oz each

Flour: One 25 lb bag

Flour: 25 one lb bags 

Watermelon: Two each; one lb each

Confirming the Vendor Product Has Been Linked to Food Item

To confirm if the vendor product has been linked to the desired food item by MealSuite Nutrition services, open the verified vendor products of that food item to see if the vendor product is listed. To do so, see Viewing Verified Vendor Products for a Food Item. 

If the vendor product could not be linked to the desired food item by MealSuite Nutrition Services, then it most likely would have been linked to another appropriate food item. By searching for the vendor product you can see what food item the product is linked to via the Parent Food column (screenshot below). To set columns on a Vendor Product list screen, see Setting Preferred Columns on a Vendor Product List Screen.

FAQs

If a vendor product is carried in multiple distribution centres and is then linked to a food item, does that food item-product link apply across all distribution centres the vendor product is in? 

Yes. If a product is carried in multiple distribution centres and is linked to a food item, then that link between the food item and the product exists regardless of distribution centres.