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Verified Vendor Products and the Selected Product for a Food Item: Overview

Kevin U
  • Updated

Verified Vendor Products and the Selected Vendor Product for a Food Item: Overview

In the MealSuite system, a food item (i.e., an ingredient or prepared food used in a recipe) is linked with one or more verified vendor products. A verified vendor product is one that matches the food item. 

From a food item's verified vendor products, one will be selected to be used for that food item via the system product-item selection logic. The product that is selected determines the nutrient data and price for the food item. 

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Note: Allergens associated with a manufacturer product (which in turn is sold by the vendor to become a vendor product) is not transferred to its associated food item (i.e., ingredient) in the system. Instead, the association of allergens to food items are maintained directly in the system and are managed by the MealSuite Nutrition Services team. 

How Does a Vendor Product Become Verified for a Food Item?

A vendor product becomes verified for a food item when it is linked to the food item at the MealSuite database level either automatically by the MealSuite AI tool or manually by the MealSuite Nutrition Services team. The link can be the result of MealSuite Nutrition Services receiving a request from a MealSuite account user to link the product to the food item; see Suggesting a Food Item be linked to a Vendor Product for more information.  

In addition, depending on the vendor and the vendor product, a vendor product can be considered verified for a specific food item if the following two conditions are met: 

  • The vendor product is linked to another food item at the MealSuite database level. 
    and
  • Key words are shared between the vendor product name and the food item name.

Viewing Verified Vendor Products for a Food Item

The verified vendor products for a food item can be viewed from the Vendor Product Selection screen. See the following instructions to do so: Viewing Verified Vendor Products for a Food Item. 

System Logic for How a Verified Vendor Product is Selected for a Food Item

A food item can have multiple verified vendor products available to be selected for a food item. The logic that can be applied via the components below determine what vendor product is selected for the food item:

1 - System Checks a Locked APL

If the parent account has published a locked APL to the account, then products on that APL are considered for selection. If a food item has no verified vendor products on the APL, then the system returns a No Matching Vendor Product label for the food item on the Vendor Product Selection screen. 

2 - 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. 

3 - System Checks a Priority APL

For multiple verified vendor products for a food item, the product that is on a priority APL 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 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.

6 - 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.

7 - 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 to learn if there are exceptions. 

Viewing the Logic of How a Vendor Product is Selected for a Food Item 

The logic that the system utilizes to select a vendor product for a food item can be viewed from the Vendor Product Selection screen. See the following instructions to do so: Viewing the Logic of How a Vendor Product is Selected for a Food Item.