There are many cases where businesses deal with different variations of the same product. For example, an apparel brand can have multiple versions of the same shirt due to differences in color, size, etc. Or think of gadgets like mobile phones, where the same model comes in different colors and designs. In all such cases, Dynamics 365 Business Central allows users to manage variants of the same product instead of creating product masters for every variation. However, the process of managing item variants in Business Central is still quite time-consuming if done manually. And that’s where APPSeCONNECT can help, by streamlining the process through data-mapping.
In this quick guide, you will learn how to manage product variants in Business Central, and then we will show you how to make the process even more efficient and simpler with APPSeCONNECT.
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Managing Item Variants in Business Central
Here’s an overview of the various steps involved in creating and maintaining item variants of any product master in Business Central.
Define Variant Attributes
Before managing variants, you must identify the relevant attributes that differentiate the variants of the main product. For example, in the case of clothing, relevant attributes would be size, color, or material; food and consumables like cereals can have different flavors as attributes; accessories like smartwatches or wristwatches can have variations in strap material, dial, and movement.
Similarly, all kinds of products can have varying relevant attributes and in Business Central, you can define them as “Item Attributes” in the system.
Create Item Templates
Next up, you must create item templates that represent your base product or product group. These templates will serve as a blueprint for your variants. Assign the relevant item attributes to these templates. For example, if you’re selling shirts, you might create an item template for “Shirt” and assign attributes like “Size” and “Color.”
Creating Item Variants in Business Central
Based on your item templates, you must now create individual product variants that differ in attributes. Continuing our previous example, if you have a “Shirt” template with attributes “Size” and “Color,” you can create variants like “Shirt – Small, Red” and “Shirt – Medium, Blue.”
Configure Variant Pricing and Inventory
If your product variants also differ in cost, you can configure the prices for each variant. Inventory quantities of every variant can also be managed individually. Make sure to clearly define pricing rules if your variants have different price points based on attributes.
Track Sales and Inventory
Finally, you can use Business Central’s inventory management features to track sales and inventory levels for each variant. Generate reports to analyze sales performance and identify popular variants.
Benefits of Managing Item Variants in Business Central with APPSeCONNECT
There’s no doubt that being able to manage item variants in Business Central is an extremely useful feature. But as you have seen, it is still a manual process where users have to create and configure the attributes for every variant.
Streamline Item Variants in Business Central with Data Mapping
With the assistance of APPSeCONNECT, maintaining product variants in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central becomes a streamlined process facilitated by well-defined process flows. This means that there is no need for manual intervention within the Business Central platform to create and manage product variants.
So how does APPSeCONNECT simplify the management of item variants in Business Central? It does so by enabling the configuration of these variants through data mapping, making it a hassle-free and automated procedure. This eliminates the necessity of developing custom extensions or making extensive manual entries within Business Central.
The power of data mapping allows for the efficient handling of variant-related information, multiple attributes, and any other product differentiators that are crucial for the business.
By mapping these attributes to specific product templates or items, APPSeCONNECT ensures that variants are generated and maintained consistently.
Through this approach, you can effortlessly keep your product catalog up-to-date, introduce new variants quickly as and when needed, and manage pricing and inventory for each variant without the complexity of manual data entry in Business Central.
Integrate Business Central with Your eCommerce Platform
To make things even better, APPSeCONNECT’s integration capabilities also enable seamless communication between your e-commerce platform and Business Central. So all your product variant data also gets automatically synchronized across your systems.
This automation not only saves time and effort but also reduces the risk of errors associated with manual data entry. It allows your team to focus on more strategic tasks, such as analyzing variant performance and making data-driven decisions to optimize your product offerings.
Conclusion
As one of the leading integration platforms, APPSeCONNECT can help you effectively handle and maintain product variants in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central without the need for extensive manual interventions or expensive custom extensions. This automation streamlines your variant management processes, enhances accuracy, and improves overall efficiency in your e-commerce operations.
Furthermore, you can easily integrate Business Central with other core applications through our various Dynamics 365 Business Central integration packages and automate your business processes. Manage item variants, streamline sales and purchases, and monitor every aspect of your business by integrating your enterprise applications with APPSeCONNECT.
