Minimum Version Required: 22.08
Steps
The 99 Bottles Pricing API, 99Bottles_GetPricePostingData, provides a method for 99 Bottles to query Encompass for the most recent pricing for a pre-arranged set of Chains or Customers. It is designed to replace the manual generation and upload of pricing data to the 99 Bottles website. To get started, users must first download the Application in the App Library and begin to setup their Price Posting Templates.
General Setup:
1. Install the Application from the App Library
2. Create Price Positng Templates
3. Provide EncompassID and CustomerID set on the price posting template to 99Bottles (Note: EncompassID can be found by expanding the side menu and viewing the EncompassID under your username)
4. Pull data from 99 Bottles
Price Posting Template Setup Steps:
1. The Price Posting Template field must contain “99B” somewhere in the name. For examples, “Walmart 99B East Area”.
Posting Interval = Weekly
Pricing Days in the Future = 12 Weeks Out
Best Price = False
Refresh Posting = True
5. Fields such as Customer and Next Run Date must be filled in accordingly.
Let 99 Bottles know the initial Next Run Date value so that they can schedule their API calls to match when the data is generated.
6. Product Group is optional and could be used to filter the set of products that might appear in the data sent to 99 Bottles via the API
Note: Do not use the same customer twice in Price Posting Templates created for 99 Bottles as this will generate duplicate data records for the API
Fields And Definitions
Troubleshooting:
99 Bottles uses the information from Encompass to generate pricing information. If information is not correct, or you are not seeing all the expected products, you will want to check your encompass system to make sure the customer is qualified for the correct promotions and is able to purchase the product.
Pricing Issues:
Check the most recent price posting for the product in question on your 99 bottles price posting template. Filter to the product in Price Posting Trans to see if the pricing/promotion is being posted. If it is not posted, you will want to make sure the customer is tied to the correct promotion zones and location to ensure they qualify for the pricing.
Product Issues:
Check the most recent price posting for the product in question on your 99 bottles price posting template. Filter to the product in Price Posting Trans to see if the product is being posted. If it is not posted, you will want to make sure the customer is able to purchase this product by looking through the standard product controls such as: Product group, Brand family areas, supplier family areas, product authorizations, allocations, product status and seasonality. For more detailed information on product controls please view the help resources under 'Product Controls' in the order management section.
If you are continuing to find issues in different customers under the same chain with different product sets and authorizations, you can set up a 99 bottles customer for the chain or pricing group that is not tied to any of the related product controls so you can post pricing for all products. This can be done by copying a similar customer and including the customers promotions zones when the customer is copied. Steps are included below:
Steps to create a pricing customer:
Go to the Customers table
Find a customer that is receiving the pricing you would like to post to 99 Bottles
Copy the customer and rename it to something relevant to your business such as 99Bottles Pricing Only *note ensure the customers promotions zones subtable is selected when copying the customer
Check to make sure the customer was copied and the promotion zones are correct
Update the distribution area on the customer to a distribution area with no supplier or brand family restrictions. This could be done by creating a new distribution area.
Ensure the product group set on the customer contains all the product types you would like to post
Finally, set the customer on the respective price posting template
Products/Pricing not coming over entirely?:
Go to the App Library
Go to Installed Apps
Click on 99 Bottles Pricing Automation
Click on 99B Price Posting Application Report
Type in the Customer ID
Click Create Report
If the report is generating data, contact 99 bottles to make sure they are using the correct customerID and EncompassID.
If the report is not generating any data, Please confirm you are using the correct customerID, Confirm the template has 99B in the name, and confirm the price posting template has generated a price posting export (Go to price posting templates and click subtables to select price posting exports).
Best Practices
Selecting a reference Customer:
The 99Bottles_GetPricePostingData API utilizes data generated from Price Posting Trans records belonging to Price Posting Templates set up in a specific manner and for a set of chain(s)/customer(s) that is fully controlled by the distributor. Each Price Posting Template is associated with a single Customer that represents a pricing area. A separate Price Posting Template is needed for each pricing area. For example, If there are multiple pricing areas within a single chain, you will need a separate Pricing Posting Template setup for each pricing area within that chain. If you send pricing to 99 Bottles for both Walmart and ABC Liquors, and both of these chains receive the same pricing, then you will only need a single Price Posting Template.
Other Best Practices:
Always set Next Price Posting Date in future so the system can generate pricing on the next posting date
Ensure the customer on the price posting template can purchase all the products you would like to post. If this product list needs to be further refined, you can add a product group on the price posting template to further limit the products being posted
After setup, I would recommend reviewing the price posting template to ensure the next posting date is updated accordingly the day after the next posting date manually set on the template.
Price posting will generate data overnight, so you will be able to post pricing in 99 Bottles the day after the posting.
*Note: Promotions in Encompass that are setup with no min purchase will show in 99 bottles as a min purchase of 1 to better match retailer requirements