This setting will sum the sales information of the superseding item with that of the superseded item. When left unticked, only the superseding item’s information will be used.

Refer to the article Supersession: What are they and how can they help you for information on supersessions.

By creating a supersession of an item, the superseding (new) item will copy the sales history of the superseded (old) item so that forecasts can be based on this copied history rather than no history. If the new item had any sales of its own, the new item’s sales history will now be the sum of its own history and that of the old item(s). The Product master file and Supersession file being imported during the daily update schedule will specify the superseding item (new), superseded item (old) and the factor (quantity of new products that represent 1 unit of the old product).

NOTE: Consolidating stock information will also consolidate any purchase orders, sales orders and transfers to the new product.

The parameters “Consolidate stock information” and “Consolidate sales information” specify how the data from these files should behave in the app.

Suppose a new item (plain white t-shirt with simple stitch) is replacing an old item (plain white t-shirt with cross stitch) because it yields a higher margin. To the general consumer, these two items are exactly the same. In this scenario, you may choose to consolidate their sales information and base the forecast of the new item off this consolidated sales history. You may also consolidate the stock and open transaction information, because whether the stock is that of the old item or the new item makes no difference to the consumer. This will ensure you run down the stock of the old item before ordering more of the new item.

Suppose a new item (new iPhone) is replacing an old item (old iPhone). These items are not the same. In this scenario, you may choose not to consolidate the stock information, as having stock available of the older model may still result in a stock out of the new model. You may, however, consolidate the sales information, because a sale is a sale and can be used to forecast the new item. Unless, of course, the new item is defective and isn’t selling as great as the previous model.

Question: I notice the supersession factor (quantity of new products that represent 1 unit of the old product) can be specified in the Product master file as well as the Supersession file. If these values differ, which one will be used?

Answer: We will normally advise that the data only be updated in the Supersession file. It is the preferred way to drive supersessions.

Question: These parameters are global settings. What if I wish to have the stock or sales information consolidated for only certain products and not others?

Answer: Leave these parameters unticked and consolidate the information for those items manually in the data file provided. This will make the supersession functionality redundant within Netstock, but will ultimately lead to better forecasting.

Question: Suppose I wish to mimic the sales of an item (flashlight) to the sales of a completely unrelated item (hair ties) because it has a similar forecast shape. Can I achieve this using the supersession functionality and keep the old item active?

Answer: No, creating a supersession will make the old product obsolete, so it’s only appropriate to use for true replacements or if the old product is otherwise already obsolete.