Configure Product Hierarchies

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Explain product hierarchy levels.
• Set up a product group.
• Set up a parent product.
• Set up a flexible product hierarchy level.

Explore Product Hierarchy

Product groups and products are both part of the Product object in CG Cloud. While creating a product record, an admin can define whether to create an individual product or a product group. A product group must be assigned to a product template.

Product hierarchy defines the relationship between products. A relationship record can be created between two or more product groups, or a product group and one or more products. Product hierarchy represents how the products of a manufacturer are organized. Each product or product group can only have one parent product, but each product group can contain multiple subgroups or, on the lowest level, multiple individual products.

The different levels of product hierarchy that are available in CG Cloud are Category, Sub Category, Brand, Flavor, Package, and Product (SKU). For example, Alpine Beverages is a category, Alpine Energy Drinks is a sub category, Alpine Mint Summer Cooler is a brand, and Alpine Mint Summer Cooler 1.5 liter pet bottle is a product SKU.

Higher levels in the product hierarchy can be used as filter criteria to identify and search for products, group product lists or assign pricing conditions.

Within a product hierarchy you can define child and parent products. CG Cloud uses the dynamic parent-child product hierarchy and the fixed criterion attribute hierarchy. Both these hierarchies must be in sync. System integration ensures consistent product hierarchies are maintained across the org.

Set Up a Product Group

A product group must be assigned to a product template with a record type Product Group. The right product level must be selected when creating a product group, otherwise the product can’t be assigned to the criterion attribute hierarchy. 

Let’s see how Fatima creates a product group for the Alpine Mint Summer Cooler Energy Drink.

1. From the App Launcher, find and select Products.
2. Click New.
3. Select Product Group.
4. Click Next.
5. Enter the name of the product. Fatima enters Alpine Summer Special Energy Drinks.
6. Select the product template. Fatima selects Alpine Energy Drinks.
7. Select the category of the product. Fatima selects Beverages.
8. Enter the CG product code or the unique identifier of the product imported from an ERP system. Fatima enters 0002.
9. Select the product state. Fatima selects Active.
10. Select the product level or hierarchy. Fatima selects Product.
11. Enter the product description in the languages configured for the sales org. Fatima enters Alpine Summer Special Energy Drinks.
12. Enter other details to create the product record. For information related to the different fields, see Create Products.
13. Click Save.

Set Up a Parent Product

Although product master data is imported from an ERP system, a sales manager or field rep can use the Products app to create additional product records. 

When you create a parent product for a product, you assign the product to the lowest level in the dynamic parent-child product hierarchy. Alpine Group is planning to launch more flavors for summer, and wants to group them as child products under the parent product Alpine Summer Special Energy Drinks.

Fatima sets up the parent product for the Alpine Group summer drinks, such as Alpine Mint Summer Cooler.

1. From the App Launcher, find and select Products.
2. Select the name of a product. Fatima selects Alpine Mint Summer Cooler.
3. Click the Related tab.
4. In the Parent Products list, click New.
5. Enter the name for the parent product. Fatima enters Alpine Summer Special Energy Drinks. Alpine Mint Summer Cooler is displayed as the child product by default.
6. Enter the start date for the parent-child product hierarchy. Fatima enters 9/19/2022.
7. Enter the end date for the parent-child product hierarchy. Fatima enters 12/31/2099.
8. Select the product hierarchy structure type. Fatima selects Sales.
9. Click Save.

To view a product in the CG Cloud mobile app, you must set up its parent product.

Set Up a Flexible Product Hierarchy Level

While creating Alpine products and product groups in CG Cloud, Fatima defines product hierarchy levels or parent-child product relations. Based on the business scenario, these hierarchy levels are flexible or dynamic. For example, Alpine Mint Summer Cooler is a child product that’s mapped to its parent product, Alpine Summer Special Energy Drinks. 

Now, Alpine Summer Special Energy Drinks is again related to its parent product Alpine Beverages. So here, Alpine Summer Special Energy Drinks is a child product of the parent Alpine Beverages. Also, Alpine Mint Summer Cooler and Alpine Beverages can have a direct relationship, wherein Alpine Beverages is listed as the Sub Category for Alpine Mint Summer Cooler.

Based on the product level selected, appropriate product groups must be mapped in the Criterion Information section. For example, while creating a Brand product group record, the relevant Category and Sub Category product groups must be mapped in Criterion Information.

Fatima has created the product group Alpine Summer Special Energy Drinks and defined the product level as Product. The next step is to define the criterion information. Let’s see how she does this.

1. From the App Launcher, find and select Products.
2. Select the name of a product. Fatima selects Alpine Summer Special Energy Drinks.
3. Click Edit.
4. In the Criterion Information section, select the category, subcategory, brand, flavor, and package corresponding to the selected product level. Fatima selects the following values as per the selected product level Product:
   • Category: Category
   • Sub Category: SubCategory
   • Brand: Brand
   • Flavor: SubBrand
   • Package: Package
5. Click Save.

In this unit, Fatima set up the parent product, product group, and product hierarchy for Alpine Summer Special Energy Drinks. Follow along, as she sets up units of measure for the product in the next unit. 

Resources

• Salesforce Help: Product Management