Alternate Stock Items were added to core Acumatica as of the 2021 R2 build.

For Acumatica versions 2021 R2 and above, this feature can be found via Stock Items > Related Items tab > Substitute.

The following Alternate Stock Item page is only applicable if you are running an Acumatica build prior to 2021 R2.

See this Acumatica help document for working with Alternate Stock Items for 2021 R2 and beyond.

[Legacy] Alternate Stock Items

Retailers can avoid lost revenue due to products or parts being out of stock.  A similar item can be suggested during the sales order process or shipped by configuring an Alternate Stock Item.

Enable this Feature

  1. Go to the Inventory workspace.

  2. Click Inventory Preferences, under the Preferences menu.

  3. Go to the Alternate Items section.

  4. Select the Enable Alternate Items checkbox.

  5. Select the Replace Automatically checkbox, if applicable.  This is for auto-replacing a stock item when quantities are low.

  6. Click Save.

How to Add Alternate Items

  1. Go to the Inventory workspace.

  2. Open an existing Stock or Non-Stock Item.

  3. Click the Additional Features tab.

  4. Go to the Alternate Items data table.

  5. Select an Inventory ID to assign to the stock item.

  6. Enter a Priority number (e.g. a sequential number from 1 – 100).

  7. Select a Reason Code for assigning an alternate item.

  8. Select the Use When No Stock checkbox.

    1. Based on the business need, users may select the Use on SO checkbox to allow the alternate item to be assigned during the sales order process, or the Use on Create Shipment checkbox to allow the alternate items to be assigned from the warehouse during the shipment process. 

      1. Alternate item fulfillment processes can be enabled for any of these process settings simultaneously.

  9. Click Save.

How to Apply

  1. Create a Sales Order.

  2. Add stock or non-stock item with an alternate item assigned.

  3. Ensure the primary stock item has 0 available quantities, then enter a Quantity to purchase. 

    1. The Alternate Items pop-up window will appear.

  4. Select Yes or No to confirm to use the Alternate Item.

    1. Click Yes

      1. This will auto-populate the alternate item into the sales order table.

    2. Click No

      1. This will allow the customer service representative user to place the primary item on backorder.

    3. To view the full list of available alternate items, click the Alternate Items button.

  5. Select the checkbox for the alternate items you want to use.

  6. Click Save.

Troubleshooting Tips

When a stock item is added to the Free Item table, the system displays the available quantities in the Avail Qty column. This allows you to define the number of items to give away per primary stock item.

Some system exceptions apply when the following Sales Order conditions exist:

Exception 1: If the alternate item has “0” quantities available on the sales order, the base item will display a warning message that an alternate item exists, but it will not display a popup.

Exception 2: The base item Qty entered in Sales Order might be 5, but the Alternate item may have 2 available quantities (which is not enough to replace the item).  Therefore, the system will not display a popup to replace the Alternate item.

Exception 3: If a base item and an alternate item have different warehouses, with available quantities, the system will not display a popup. A message icon will display to indicate an alternate item exists.