WebSphere Commerce Enterprise

B2B direct extended site: Creating and assigning initial price rules

You must decide which of your existing contracts (store default contracts, base contracts, and customer contracts) to switch to price rules. To make price rule maintenance easier, you might also want to create a new base contract, called a storefront asset store base for default contract. All price rules must be assigned to their appropriate contract.

If you plan to use price rules for all new customer contracts going forward, but you do not want to switch over any existing store, base, or customer contracts to use price rules, you can skip this entire procedure. Your store is ready to use price rules for new contracts. If you do want to switch over certain contracts to price rules, be aware of the following rules:
  • You can leave any contract to use its existing pricing term if you do not want to switch that contract to use price rules. An existing pricing term is one that existed before WebSphere Commerce Version 7 Feature Pack 2 (that is, any pricing term other than a price rule).
  • If you do assign a price rule to a contract, the price rule overrides any existing pricing term that the contract has. For example, if the contract used the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator catalog filter to adjust prices by a percentage, the price rule you assign will override that pricing term. Note that in this case, the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator catalog filter will continue to filter the catalog for this contract.

    Management Center offers a catalog filtering function that you can use as an alternative to the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator catalog filter. For more information, see Catalog filtering

  • If a contract is not assigned a price rule, but the contract refers to a base contract that is assigned a price rule, then the base contract's price rule overrides any existing pricing terms, in either contract.

Before you begin

Read the following topics and refer to them throughout this procedure, paying particular attention to the contract modelling examples in the second link:

Step 1: Decide whether to add a storefront asset store base for default contract

If you have two or more extended site stores that have the same pricing terms for their default contract, consider creating a storefront asset store base for default contract. You can assign a price rule to this base contract. The price rule can then be inherited by any extended site stores that do not have their own price rule assigned to their base for default contract or default contract. This makes pricing terms for extended site store contracts easier to manage because you can manage the price rule assignment in the storefront asset store, rather than for each extended site store.

If you do not need a storefront asset store base for default contract, skip to Step 3a: Create price rules for extended site store contracts (not customer contracts).

Step 2a: Create a price rule for the storefront asset store base for default contract

This price rule must set prices for catalog entries available to guest and unregistered customers, and customers with no other contract. Extended site store contracts can inherit this price rule. Use Management Center to create price rules.

Procedure

Create a price rule using the following tasks as reference:

Step 2b: Create a catalog filter for the storefront asset store base for default contract

Create a catalog filter for product entitlement that extended site stores can inherit. For example, this catalog filter can entitle customers to purchase every catalog entry in the master catalog, or just a subset. Use Management Center to create this catalog filter. Note that this catalog filter does not support price adjustments like the catalog filter in WebSphere Commerce Accelerator.

Procedure

Create a catalog filter using the information in Managing catalog filters

Step 2c: Create the storefront asset store base for default contract

In WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, create this new contract in the storefront asset store. You must assign the new price rule and new catalog filter to the contract as extended terms and conditions.

Procedure

  1. Open the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, and select the storefront asset store.
  2. Click Sales > Accounts.
  3. Select the check box to the left of the base account, and then click New Contract.
  4. In the Contract name field, type a name for the contract using this recommended wording:

    storeIdentifier Base for Default Contract, for example, EliteStorefrontAssetStore Base for Default Contract.

  5. Optional: Using the contract notebook tabs, add terms and conditions to this base contract that extended site store contracts can inherit.
  6. Click Extended TC.
  7. On the Catalog Filter tab, in the Property Value column, select the catalog filter you created for this contract.
  8. Click the Price Rule tab.
  9. In the Property Value column, select the price rule you created for this contract.
  10. To save the contract, click OK.
  11. In the contract list view, select the new contract and click Submit to deploy it.
  12. For each extended site store that must refer to your new storefront asset store base for default contract, complete these steps:
    1. In WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, switch to the extended site store.
    2. Click Sales > Accounts.
    3. Select the check box to the left of the business account, and then click Contracts.
    4. Select the check box to the left of the base for default contract for the extended site store, and then click New version.
    5. In the Contract General Information page, in the Refer to contract list, select the name of the storefront asset store base for default contract you created earlier in this procedure.
    6. To save the contract, click OK.
    7. In the contract list view, select the new contract and click Submit to deploy it.

Step 3a: Create price rules for extended site store contracts (not customer contracts)

For each extended site store, the purpose of this price rule is to set prices for guest and unregistered customers, and customer who are not shopping under any other contract. You must create this price rule if either of the following are true:
  • You did not create a storefront asset store base for default contract ; however, you want to use price rules for the extended site store contract rather than the existing pricing term.
  • You created astorefront asset store base for default contract with a price rule in the previous step; however, you do not want the extended site store to inherit that price rule. For example, if a certain extended site store uses a different price list, or if the store must mark up base costs differently, then that store needs its own price rule.

Procedure

Create a price rule using the following tasks as reference:

Step 3b: Assign the price rule to the base for default contract of the extended site store

For an illustration of how price rule inheritance from a base for default contract works, see Price rule assignment and contracts

Note: This step explains how to assign the price rule to the base for default contract, which the default contract refers to. Alternatively, you can assign the price rule directly to the default contract instead. The disadvantage is that other contracts in the extended site store cannot inherit from the default contract because it is not a base contract.

Procedure

  1. Open WebSphere Commerce Accelerator. Select the store that contains the target contract.
  2. Click Sales > Accounts.
  3. Select the check box to the left of the business account that has the contract you want to assign the price rule to, and then click Contracts.
  4. Select the check box to the left of the target contract, and then click Update Extended TC.
  5. Click the Price Rule tab.
  6. In the Property Value column, select the price rule to assign to the contract.
  7. Click Save.

Step 4a: Create price rules for any existing base or customer contracts that you want to switch to price rules

For each individual base and customer contract, decide whether you want to use a price rule or continue using the existing pricing terms. Then create the price rules you need. You can use the same price rule for more than one contract.

Procedure

Create a price rule using the following tasks as reference:

Step 4b: Assign price rules to existing base or customer contracts

Using WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, you must open each contract and then select the price rule to assign as an extended term and condition. After you assign the price rule to the contract, customers shopping under the contract are entitled to prices set by the price rule.

Procedure

  1. Open WebSphere Commerce Accelerator. Select the store that contains the target contract.
  2. Click Sales > Accounts.
  3. Select the check box to the left of the business account that has the contract you want to assign the price rule to, and then click Contracts.
  4. Select the check box to the left of the target contract, and then click Update Extended TC.
  5. Click the Price Rule tab.
  6. In the Property Value column, select the price rule to assign to the contract.
  7. Click Save.

Step 5: Test your results

Procedure

  1. For each extended site store, log on to the store as a customer entitled to each contract that you switched to price rules, and check that the prices you see are valid.
    This ensures that the new price rules are working as expected.
  2. If you are satisfied with the results of each new price rule, consider removing the existing pricing terms from the contract.
    A price rule always overrides an existing pricing term; however, if you do not plan to revert back to the existing pricing term in the future, remove it as part of your clean-up activities.
  3. For each extended site store, log on to the store as a customer entitled to each contract that you did not switch to price rules, and check that the prices you see are valid.
    This ensures that the existing pricing terms are still working as expected.