Supersede products

Like substitute products, supersede products are not 100 percent interchangeable. They supersede the existing products and are interchangeable in most situations. Superseding generally occurs when a product becomes obsolete, or is no longer manufactured, and is replaced with a better product. After an existing product is superseded, the Product Setup record is flagged as superseded. Additionally, the status on the Product Warehouse Product Setup record is changed to Do Not Reorder. If the product being superseded is already an Order as Needed product, it is not changed to Do Not Reorder.

New Product Warehouse Product Setup records are created wherever the superseded product records existed. For example, if a product is superseded by a catalog product or a product with a Product Setup record, the Product Warehouse Product Setup record is created.

When a product is superseded, the status of the new product is the same as the superseded product. For example, a stocked product is superseded by a product with a Do Not Reorder status. The new product record has a Stock status.  

Usage for the superseded product is recorded on the new Product Warehouse Product Setup record, and the usage is zero on the superseded product records for the first supersede record that is created.

Note:  The usage that is copied to the replacement product is in the stocking unit of the superseded product. If the stocking units of the products are different, the usage that is copied to the replacement product is inaccurate because no unit conversion is made.

Override usage information is also transferred. If all supersedes are deleted for a product, the flag is removed.

When you specify a supersede product in Sales Order Entry, the net available quantity of the superseded product is checked in warehouses throughout your company and is displayed in the Supersedes window. To sell the supersede product, you can return to the line entry view and add the supersede product to the order. To deplete the stock of the superseded product before you sell the supersede products, you can specify the quantity you want to order from a warehouse that has quantity available.

If the product is from another warehouse, you can create a warehouse transfer tied to the sales order or a warehouse transfer Direct Order to ship the superseded product directly to your customer. If the Sell Superseded First setting on the supersede cross-reference record has a value, the value is displayed in the Supersedes window and you might be required to sell the superseded product.

Note:  DNR items that are superseded and tied to a warehouse transfer (WT) line do not move to the next WT suffix. This could result in the order not being filled. Check the Back Order Fill Exception Report in Transfer Receipt of Inventory Entry and the Sales Exceptions Report to ensure that there are no outstanding transfers.

To ensure that the supersede DNR orders are fulfilled, you can place the stock order (SO) order on hold and wait for the warehouse transfer to be shipped and received before the SO is shipped. You can also set the SO to ship complete to ensure the WT is shipped and received before the SO is shipped. If the SO has already been shipped, you can unship the order, and force ship the line that was tied to the WT after the WT has been shipped and received.

When you replenish supersede products with the Purchase Entry Recommended Replenishment Action Report or Transfer Entry Recommended Replenishment Action Report, you are notified of any superseded products with purchase net available. Based on the information provided for the superseded product, you can reduce the order quantity and use some of the quantity on hand for the old superseded item. You can also transfer supersedes from another warehouse to fulfill your order.

Hierarchy when creating a supersede

When you create a supersede product in Product Extended Product Cross Reference Setup, the default values that are used for the supersede are obtained from the superseded product record that is based on this hierarchy:

  1. If the product already exists for the supersede, no changes are made to it.
  2. If a product is superseded by another product that does not exist in any warehouse or in the catalog, all levels of product data are copied from the superseded product’s Product Warehouse Product Setup record.
  3. If the product is superseded by a product that only exists as a catalog item, then level 1 record data is copied from the superseded product’s Product Catalog Setup record.
  4. If a product is superseded by a product that only exists in one warehouse, the level 1 record data is copied from the superseded product’s Product Warehouse Product Setup record.
  5. If the superseding product exists in one or more warehouses, level 1 data from the first Product Warehouse Product Setup record is used.

The hierarchy uses these levels of product data:

  1. Base Price, List Price, Vendor Product, Average Cost, Replacement Cost, Standard Cost, and Last Cost
  2. ARP Type, ARP Vendor #, Product Line, and ARP Warehouse
  3. Ordering Units-Buying, Standard Pack, and Transfer; Class, Usage Months, Order Point, Line Point, and Order Quantity
    Note: When you create a supersede, if you select Use ICSL Defaults on the Confirm Creating window, the Product Line Setup record of the superseded product is used for the level 2 and 3 data. If you do not select Use ICSL Defaults, level 2 and 3 data is always pulled from the superseded record.
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