Creating Individual Matrix Cells

The matrix cell defines parameters that determine how your products are priced. Matrix cells contain an x and a y axis, where x represents customer or vendor information, and y represents product information. Matrix cells can also be three-dimensional and contain an additional z axis that represents branch or territory information.

When you want detailed pricing setups, such as quantity breaks, fixed sale price quantities, and rebate pricing, use Sell Matrix Maintenance or Buy Matrix Maintenance to create individual matrix cells. Use Sell Matrix Maintenance to create pricing rules and discounts for your customers, and use Buy Matrix Maintenance to define the discounts and purchase prices you have negotiated with your vendors. The Sell Matrix Maintenance and Buy Matrix Maintenance windows display one matrix cell at a time, so you can apply special pricing rules, or edit individual matrix cell details.

When no special pricing arrangements are required, use Quick Sell Matrix Maintenance or Quick Buy Matrix Maintenance to quickly create a list of simple matrix cells, or to display a list of matrix cells that you can edit at the same time.

The system requires you set up a Class All / Group All sell matrix cell to avoid pricing errors. This matrix cell acts as a default for pricing items with no specific pricing criteria. Typically the formula in the All/All matrix cell is List Price * 1.

You must be assigned the SMATRIX.MAINT and the SMATRIX.MAINT.CUS.CLASS authorization keys to view or edit the Sell Matrix Maintenance window.

You must be assigned the BMATRIX.MAINT and the SMATRIX.MAINT.CUS.CLASS authorization keys to view or edit the Buy Matrix Maintenance window

Note: In Sales Order Entry Inquiry, you can run the Sell Price/Cost Overrides Report on a line item to verify how the system determined the selling price of that item.

This topic includes the following procedures:

Creating a matrix cell.
Entering quantity breaks.

To create an individual matrix cell:

From the Maintenance > Price Maintenance menu, select Sell Matrix or Buy Matrix to display the Initial Matrix Information dialog box.

Enter customer/vendor, product/group, and branch information in the fields to determine which matrix cells to display.

Field	Description
Vendor	Enter a vendor's name to set up pricing rules and discounts you negotiate with this vendor.
Class	Enter a customer price class to assign pricing rules to customers in a class defined in the Valid Customer Price Classescontrol maintenance record. Generally, Class/Group matrix cells are used for most pricing combinations.
Cust size/ Category	If you are using the Strategic Pricing companion product, select a customer size and category combination to assign pricing rules to customers that fall into that size and category.
Customer	Enter a customer's name to assign pricing rules to this customer.
Type/Quote	Enter a customer type or quotation to assign pricing rules to promotional or quotation pricing. The customer type is similar to the customer price class in that it also represents a column in the pricing matrix, but it is generally used for promotional pricing. The customer type is defined in the Valid Customer Typecontrol maintenance record, and assigned to each customer on the Customer Pricing/Printing screen.
Group	Enter a sell or buy group ID for matrix cells that are not product specific. Enter All to include all sell groups in the matrix cell. You cannot create a Group = All matrix cell in Quick Matrix Maintenance. Buy and sell groups identify groups of products that share the same pricing rules. Create buy and sell groups in Buy/Sell Group Maintenance. Note: If you use All, you can use only global basis names in the Basis field because All is not a sell group in a price line to which local basis names have been assigned.
Product	a product's name or ID to create a product-specific sell matrix cell.
Branch/Territory	Enter one of the following to define which pricing branches or territories the matrix cell includes: A branch or territory ID - Assigns costing or pricing rules specific to this branch or territory. DFLT - Includes costing or pricing for branches and territories that do not require individual costing or pricing rules. When you enter an item on an order, and the system does not find a matrix cell with branch-specific costing or pricing, it uses this matrix cell. If the system matches a matrix cell to the information you entered, select an effective date to display the matrix cell, or select New to create a new matrix cell.

Complete remaining the fields as needed:

Field	Description
Effective Date	Enter one of the following to define the date that the matrix cell is effective: To create a new matrix cell, enter the date the system can begin using the matrix cell for calculating prices. To display an existing matrix cell, enter the effective date for that cell.
Expire Date	Enter the date the matrix cell will expire. Consider the following information when creating matrix cells: If the matrix cell is in effect for a quantity, the cell expires if the quantity of the item reaches zero before the expire date arrives. If a matrix cell expires and there is not a new one to take its place, the system searches the pricing matrix hierarchy when pricing a product until it finds a matrix cell to use. In Quick Sell Matrix Maintenance, you can use the Expire option to apply a date to all matrix cells in the list.
Matrix Type	Enter a matrix type to define how the system will read pricing information on the matrix cell: C - Combo Qty Break D - Different Matrix - Entering D requires that you complete the fields in the Different Matrix area. G - Group Qty Break M - Matrix Qty Break N - No Qty Break O - Override Cost Only (sell matrix only) P - Product Level Quantity Break
Price Date	Enter a price date to override the matrix cell's effective date. A price date applies an earlier price sheet to the matrix cell. Use this option when you have negotiated pricing with your vendor using an old price sheet, or if your customer has done the same with you. For more information about determining what price is selected for an item, see Understanding the Pricing Matrix Hierarchy and Understanding Required Dates and Shipping Dates.
Currency	Displays a currency indicator, such as US$, if the system finds a formula or cost formula that contains a net price or net cost. The currency is editable, if needed. If no formulas are found to contain a $, then the system disables this field and displays "Not Applicable."
Expire Quantities	Enter a value to expire this matrix cell after a quantity of product is sold. The quantity entered can be a dollar amount, the product's unit of measure, weight, or load factor.

Select the Best Price Check check box to search all matrix cells from most specific to least specific for the best available cost.

If left unchecked, the system selects the most specific matrix cell for pricing. The system does not search for promotional matrix cells. Searches all matrix cells from most specific to least specific for the best available price. Leave this option unchecked if the matrix cell is for a negotiated price for a product for a time period for which there is a signed contract.

Keep in mind the following guidelines:

If the...	Is set to...	Then...
Default Best Price Check In Sell Matrix Maint To No control maintenance record	Yes	the Best Price Check field defaults to N, and the best price check function is disabled.
sell group is not the same as the price line, and the Include Price Lines With Sell Groups For Pricingcontrol maintenance record	Yes	the system searches both the price line and sell group for the best price.

Use the Disable Price Cube Factors check box if you are using Strategic Pricing at the Strategic Costing Service Level and do not want to apply price cube factors to this matrix.
In the Best Cost Check area, select one of the following:
Yes - The system continues to check for cost overrides to find the best cost.
No - The system checks no further in the pricing matrix hierarchy than the current matrix cell for the cost. This is the default.
ALL - The system compares the cost on the current matrix cell to the ALL/ALL matrix cell and uses the better of the two costs.

Note: Best cost check is disabled for direct transactions.

Keep in mind the following guidelines:

If the...	Is set to...	Then...
Best Cost Through All Matrix Cells For Sales Orderscontrol maintenance record	Yes	the system checks the entire pricing matrix hierarchy, regardless of the setting in this field.
Best Cost Check check box	Yes or ALL	the system compares the cost override on the current matrix cell to the cost override on the ALL/ALL matrix cell if the ALL/ALL matrix cell is the next valid matrix cell found in the pricing matrix hierarchy.

Save your changes and exit the window, or include the following in the matrix cell:

In the Splt Quantity Pricing area, select one of the following to determine how the system handles split quantity pricing:

Yes - Enables split quantity pricing. This option encourages the purchase of package quantities. If a customer orders quantity to reach and exceed the first quantity break, but does not order enough to reach the second quantity break, all items ordered beyond the first quantity break receive standard pricing, not quantity break pricing. Setting this option splits the quantity break into two different pricing types if quantities ordered fall between quantity breaks.
No - The quantity break does not split. If you order quantity to reach and exceed the first quantity break, but do not order enough to reach the second quantity break, all items ordered beyond the first break receive the first quantity break pricing.
Extendable - The system informs you when an item's quantity on a sales order is more than the remaining quantity available at the price associated with this matrix cell. To approve the extension of the split pricing quantities in order entry, a user must have Level 3 of the SOE.SPLIT.PRICING authorization key.

In the Quantity Breaks area, complete the following, as needed:

In the...	Do the following...
Restrict Quantity Breaks to Multiples of Quantity Break 1 check box	Check the check box to enforce that quantity breaks are multiples of the first quantity break listed in the Quantity Breaks column. For example, if you enter 10 for the first break, for each break after enter a quantity into which you can divide 10, such as, 20, 50, 100, and so on. If not checked, quantity breaks can be any number greater than the previous quantity break.
Quantity Breaks column	Enter the number or amount, and unit of measure at which each quantity break starts. You must first enter the basis and formula for the < Break 1 row before defining quantity breaks.
Basis column	Enter the price or cost basis to which the formula applies. Keep in mind the following guidelines: If you use All as the group, you can use only global basis names in the Basis field because All is not a sell group in a price line to which local basis names have been assigned. To create a new matrix cell, enter a price basis name for the cell. If the entry in the Formula field is a dollar sign ($) and a dollar amount or a gross profit percent (GP%), the system ignores the entry in the Basis field. If you use Order COGS as the price basis, the matrix cell uses the COGS override on the order to calculate the gross profit. Entering a dollar value ($) in the Formula field for this basis name overrides Product Velocity Pricing.
Formula column	Enter the formula that applies to the basis to determine the price for the product or products associated with this matrix cell.

Save your changes and exit the window.

More Options for Creating Sell Matrix Cells

To...	Do the following...
add a cost override to a matrix cell for contracts and rebates	Click the Cost Override tab, and then enter the date, basis name, and formula for the cost override. By entering a cost override in a matrix cell, the price sheet cost remains in tact, but the order reflects the cost override.
enter rebate information in a sell matrix cell	click the Rebates tab (sell matrix only).
attach a commission plan to a sell matrix cell	click the Additional tab, and enter the commission plan you want to use for this matrix cell (sell matrix only).
attach a comment to a sell matrix cell that displays in Sales Order Entry or Purchase Order Entry	click the Additional tab, select the comment type, and enter the text (sell matrix only).
define dollar amounts by which to round product prices for price ranges	click the Additional tab, and select the Enable Rounding Rules check box (sell matrix only).
keep users from changing prices affected by this matrix cell in Sales Order Entry	click the Restrict Overrides tab, and select the Restrict Price Change In Order Entry check box (sell matrix only). Use the Authorization Key and Level columns to define what authorizations you want the user to have in order to override price changes. If you do not assign an authorization key, but select this check box, the user must have the PRICE.CHANGE.OVRD authorization key to override the restriction in order entry. If you enter an authorization key, that authorization takes precedence to the PRICE.CHANGE.OVRD authorization key. If this is not set, and a user attempts to change the selling price of an item that uses that matrix cell, the system warns that products on the order belong to a restricted matrix cell, and no changes are allowed.
exclude items using this matrix cell from the demand calculation	click the Additional tab, and select the Exclude Items Using this Matrix check box (sell matrix only). If you set this option to Y, and the Enable Exclusion Of Matrix Cells From Demand Calculationscontrol maintenance record is not activated, a prompt asks if you want to activate it.
set up a sell matrix to update pricing to reflect changes in a customer's rank	select File > Velocity Pricing (sell matrix only).
define dollar amounts by which to round product prices	select Maintenance > Price Maintenance > Sell Matrix Rounding Rules Note: If prompted, log on to the character-based system (sell matrix only).
assign a commission plan to a sell matrix cell	click the Additional tab, and enter a commission plan ID in the Commission Plan field (sell matrix only).
delete this matrix cell.	select File > Delete. The system prompts for confirmation.
view all changes to the matrix cell.	select File > Change Log.

See Also:

Pricing Matrix Hierarchy Details

Creating Buy and Sell Groups

Assigning Branches to Matrix Cells

Quantity Break Guidelines

Creating Matrix Cells in Quick Matrix Maintenance