Inheritance

Fallback configuration

Administration parameter sets are selected for use based on a combination of:

• Automatic inheritance based on level (environment, location, or workstation)
• Temporary or permanent overrides that you set up in the InStore Center

Inheritance and overrides

Your InStore environment contains a hidden set of default parameter values. If you don't set up any administration parameter sets of your own, InStore uses the default values.

To specify different values for some or all administration parameters, you can create a fallback parameter set and assign it to an environment. Assigning a set at the environment level applies its values to all workstations across all locations.

You can also set up temporary or permanent overrides to those values.

You can create overrides of environment-level values at one or more locations—for example, let's imagine there is a location that is prone to fraud, and you want to specify a lower unreceipted returns limit in the Max_Unreceipted_Cash_Refund parameter. You can create a set that contains only that parameter and assign it to that location. Only the parameters that you included in the new set will differ from the current environment-level parameters and the location will continue to inherit all the other values from the environment.

You can set up a specialized workstation at a location, such as a register, that is dedicated to returns or to cash management. You can assign an override set to the workstation that supersedes the values at the environment and the location levels.

The following diagram shows how parameter inheritance works:

The colored blocks represent parameters that have been defined within three sets called Environment, Location, and Workstation. A full set of fallback parameters were configured at the environment level. Sets containing only two parameters each have been configured for the location and for a workstation at that location.

• In Pattern 1, no overrides have been defined for Parameter A at the location and workstation levels, so their values for that parameter fall back to the environment values.

• In Pattern 2, an override has been defined at the location level for Parameter B, so its value does not fall back to the environment. The workstation has no override defined, so its value falls back to the location values.

• In Pattern 3, an override has been defined for Parameter C and assigned to the workstation. No override was defined for the location, so other workstations at this location will fall back to the environment values.

• In Pattern 4, different values have been defined for Parameter D at every level.

Receipt templates

Receipt templates are similar to parameters. We provide a default set that uses information from the setup data on the Company and Location records. If you don't create any receipt template sets, InStore uses the default values.

As with parameters, if you assign a fallback template set at the environment level, those templates are used to generate receipts at all locations. You can create new template sets to override environment-level templates at one or more locations.

The data included on each receipt conforms to the template that you assigned to the location.

Unlike parameters, receipt templates cannot be assigned at the workstation level.

Timed changes

You can set up a sequence of semi-automated, timed changes to parameters or receipt templates—for example, the retailer's business may follow a holiday-centered marketing schedule that requires special receipt text and changes to cash-on-hand and return policies.

To achieve this cascading effect, create a series of parameter sets and give them the same name but various start dates to indicate when each set should take effect. Do the same with any relevant receipt templates.

The application evaluates available sets at each location and prioritizes the set that has:

• The same name as the currently implemented set
• The latest start date that is not in the future

If a parameter set or receipt set has a start date of today, that set takes precedence even if the previously active set with the same name has not yet reached its end date. In other words, the end date value is only taken into account if a series has ended and it is time for the fallback set to resume.

You can leave the Start Date and End Date fields empty to create a set that is used indefinitely.

Immutable parameters

You can lock down a parameter by setting the Immutable flag at any level.

The following applies:

• When set as immutable at the environment level, a parameter value cannot be overridden at the location or workstation levels.
• When set as immutable at the location level, a parameter value cannot be overridden at the workstation level.

Although InStore Center allows you to include immutable parameters in sets, the InStore colleague app ignores them.