Create Product Associations

Product associations are a feature that allows us to track different products that are closely linked together. For example, if a depot is out of stock of Isoflurane, 250mL bottle, they can instead provide Isoflurane, 100mL bottle to the requestor. OpenBoxes makes it easy to link a product as a potential substitute for another. Similarly, a product can be added as a corrective spare part for another product. The is a range of product associations available in OpenBoxes. Please click here for more information on each of the association types.

Currently, product associations are visible on the electronic stock card or exportable in an excel list. Substitutions in particular have special functionality within the stock movement workflow that suggests an alternate product to the user. Read more about outbound stock movements to see the substitution function in action.

This document talks about creating product associations one at a time. If you want to create multiple product associations, you can use the Import Product Associations feature. 

Create a Product Association

Associations created are global and apply to all PIH locations. There are two ways that we can create product associations: Edit Product page and Product Associations page. 

Edit Product Page

We can create a product association for a specific product through the product's electronic stock card. 

1. On the electronic stock card of a product, click on "Edit product."

   

2. On the Edit page, go to the "Product Associations" tab. On the Product Associations tab, we can see the existing associations for the product.

   

3.  To create a new association, click on "Create Product Association."
4. On the Create pop-up box, enter the following information.
   1. Type: Select the type of association you wish to create. 
   2. Associated Product: Enter the product code or name for the product you wish to associate. 
   3. Conversion: This indicates to the conversion factor for substitutions, but it is not currently taken into account in the substitution workflow
   4. Comment: Enter any comments related to the association. 

   5. Two-way Association: We can check this box to also add this association to the associated product. This can be especially helpful for Substitutions since either product can be substituted for the other. 

      

5. Click on Save. 

Product Associations Page

Another way to create product associations is through the Product Associations page. 

1. Hover over Products > Click on Associations.

   

2. This will direct us to the Product Associations List. This list consists of all the product associations. We can even download an excel file containing all the existing associations. 

   

3. Click on Add Product Association.
4. On the Create page, enter the following fields:
   1. Type: Select the type of association you wish to create. 
   2. Product: Enter the product code or product name that you want to create an association for.
   3. Association Product: Enter the product code or product name you wish to associate with. 
   4. Conversion: This indicates to conversion factor for substitutions, but it is not currently taken into account in the substitution workflow
   5. Comment: Enter any comments related to the association. 

   6. Two-way Association: We can check this box to also add this association to the associated product. This can be especially helpful for Substitutions since either product can be substituted as the other. 

      

5. Click on Create. 

Now, the product association should be visible on the product associations list page.