What you’ll learn
How alternative items let an operator pick a substitute when the main item is out of stock, and how the Phase in status controls when those substitutes become pickable.
Substitutes at a glance
| Alternative items only | Alternatives with phasing in | |
| Item status | All items Released | Substitutes in Phase in |
| Shown in the pick list | Yes, all of them | No – only as related items of the main item |
| Can be picked directly | Yes, any of them | Only once the item before it is out of stock |
| Use it when | Any of the items is an acceptable choice | The main item should be used up first |
Alternative items explained
Each item can have one alternative item selected, which can be picked instead once the main item is out of stock. Set the alternative up as described in Related items.
If that alternative has an alternative of its own, it also becomes available for the main item. This builds a chain of substitutes that can be offered to the operator when the main item runs out.
To pick a substitute, select the item that is out of stock. The quantity of every alternative available to be picked instead is shown in the list for out-of-stock items (1). You can also show the related items of an item in the list (2).
Alternatives are offered where the main item is out of stock.
All alternatives are listed – the one set on the main item and every inherited one. If an alternative has quantity available, select it to continue the pick flow with that item.
Item 1 has item 2 as alternative, and item 2 has item 3, so item 3 is inherited by item 1.
In that example all three items are in status Released, so all three appear during picking and the operator can pick any of them directly, as long as it is in stock.
Phasing in alternative items
Phasing in gives you more control over when an alternative is used. An alternative in status Phase in – see item statuses – cannot be picked while its main item is in stock.
A typical chain looks like this:
- Item 1 in Released (or Phase out), with item 2 as its alternative.
- Item 2 in Phase in, with item 3 as its alternative.
- Item 3 in Phase in.
Items 2 and 3 are then not shown in the pick list and cannot be picked directly. While item 1 is in stock they appear as its Related items but stay unpickable, even though they are physically in the device. The available quantity is shown as 0/x (1).
A phased-in item is present but not pickable.
Once item 1 is out of stock in the device, the next item in the chain becomes available, so item 2 can be picked as a substitute for item 1.
Item 2 becomes available once item 1 is out of stock.
Item 3 stays unavailable. It becomes a substitute for item 1 only when both item 1 and item 2 are out of stock.
Important: Restocking item 1 makes items 2 and 3 unpickable again as substitutes for it.
When item 1 is phased out for good – it is replaced by item 2 and will not be supplied any more – change item 2 to Released to make it available to operators in its own right.
Common confusion
| People often think… | But actually… |
| Setting an alternative stops operators picking it directly. | While it is Released it is a normal item in the pick list. Use Phase in to restrict it. |
| Only the alternative set on the item can be substituted. | Alternatives are inherited along the chain, so an alternative’s alternative is offered too. |
| An available quantity of 0/x means the device is empty. | The stock is there but blocked because the item is phased in and its main item is still available. |
| Once a substitute is unlocked it stays unlocked. | Restocking the main item locks the substitutes again. |
Take action
Ready to set this up? Add the alternative on the item as described in Related items, then set the substitute’s status to Phase in if it should only be used once the main item runs out.
Related articles
- Related items – where an alternative item is selected.
- Understanding item statuses – what Released, Phase in and Phase out mean.
- How to pick an item – the pick flow where substitutes are offered.