Variants, Composite Items, and... Configurable Items with Ad Ons?

Variants, Composite Items, and... Configurable Items with Ad Ons?

So I had to review a few of these concepts, and felt like there may need to be some clearer distinction made between the abstractions that we use to create associations between multiple items in inventory - sometimes with selections available to the customer, sometimes bundling multiple items into a single SKU, either because something's been manufactured or discounted at a bundled price, or simply for marketing purposes and how we'd like to group associated items on our product pages..

In this regard, I think there's a lot of room for confusion and that it may be helpful to others if I share my personal understanding of these concepts, and invite others to enhance or correct as necessary.

Hopefully this will help provide a better understanding as to how and when these features can or should be used in order to achieve both better inventory management and product presentation within your store.

As such, the following are how I've come to understand define the following concepts that can easily be confused.  These are - Item Variants, Composite Items, and Configurable Items / Add Ons (the last is not currently a Commerce feature, but one that I would propose should be, and is functionality within several other ecommerce systems.  More on that below...):

Variants
A Variant generally should be in item that comes prepackaged from a supplier, usually with its own dedicated UPC or SKUs. It's a variant because it may be conceptually grouped along-side with other very similar items with variations that pivot on one or more specific attributes. Some of these attributes might be size, color, flavor, etc. Each one of these attributes will multiply the number of SKUs by the number of new options within that attribute. (It's worth mentioning that you don't need to keep all of possible the variants SKUs if, for example, all colors are not being ordered for all sizes of a particular item - in which case the automatically generated SKUs can simply be deleted).

The inventory for any variant is increased when it's received and decreased when it's sold.  

Presentation at the point of sale is such that all variants are presented on a single product page.  Selecting the appropriate attribute options on a product page allows the customer to ultimately arrive at the specific product variant they wish to order.  

It's important to emphasize that selecting a variant on the product page is a "deductive" process during the point of sale, whereby each attribute option that is selected further hones in and reduces the number of remaining variants until the last attribute is selected.  This makes it much easier for your customer to quickly and specifically identify one variant among perhaps hundreds of other similar items without having to wade through pages of items.

Composite Items
A Composite Item is a pre-bundled "composite" of multiple SKUs. (Note the word "PRE-bundled"). This feature is really meant for those who bring in various pieces, parts, and components (which may or may not also be sold individually), but are assembled into AND presented as a single bigger product - hense the name "Composite Item".

As such, from a presentation standpoint, the Composite Item is a single SKU that you sell to your customer.  Behind the scenes, a composite item comprises of the pieces and parts initially received and inventoried as other SKUs.  The magic here is in the bundling.  Once bundled into a composite item, the inventory quantities are automatically reallocated reducing the on-hand counts all of those parts that are used to manufacture the Composite Items.

Composite Items are quite useful to you if you are a manufacturer in order to help you maintain and track your on-hand parts, make adjustments, and see if you're running short on this part or that for one product or another.

Generally, Composite Items are planned for in advance, and are usually bundled, allocated, and typically prepackaged well before the sale.

Composite Items are meant to define in your inventory a finished product from the parts that it's made from. This provides a means for automatic parts allocation for the purpose of assembling components into finished goods with the needed visibility and reporting that you otherwise would have to deal with manually in other painstaking ways (e.g. maintaining multiple inventories, one for manufacturing, and one for sales, etc.).

As such, the Composite Items feature allow manufacturers to have both the parts and the finished products coexist happily in one place and allocate the former into the latter as needed. It's inclusion into Inventory (and now into Commerce) has likely been a big deal for many, and a pretty significant accomplishment on Zoho's part.  Considering that that EDI can also available be integrated with Zoho Inventory, this is a pretty serious level of functionality for manufacturers that would otherwise be difficult to rival at Zoho's price point.
  
Configurable Items / Add Ons
There is however a third concept however, which I believe is very much desired, but is not yet included as part of Commerce, and oddly I think it's the arguably a feature that would probably be fairly east for the Commerce group to implement, being that it shouldn't be contingent on the changes to the Inventory Schema shared by the other Zoho apps.

I also think that it's something that is one of the more desired features, but not identified as such because it gets confused for and/or grouped in with certain other features when it's really quite a separate feature all together, for example... by that I mean that Variants and Composite Items are often being mistaken by users for what should really be considered as an entirely different and separate feature - that being the "Configurable Item with Add Ons".

The feature I'm describing here is used and implemented frequently on websites selling computers.  You sell the "bare-bones" system, which might be the enclosure and the motherboard, then you have a dropdown box to select what CPU, another dropdown box allows you to select the RAM, and another for the power supply.

It's important to understand that this is not a deductive selection (like it is with variants) in that each of the selections under each of these drop-downs is not honing down to a singular SKU.  Nor is it a Composite Item in which a single SKU is the composite of many that were preallocated into a final product.

Rather, this is an additive process at the point of sale, enabling the customer to configure their own system by selecting from multiple SKUs that are simply associated to a base "Configurable Item".  It's a function of presentation, and requires no preallocation of inventory.

It's important to understand that the base Configurable Item can be sold by itself, but is presented with optional "Add Ons".  When Add Ons are selected, pressing the "Add to Cart" button ads the base Configurable Item, along with the SKUs (and relevant Quantities, which should also be optionally presentable) of the other associated "Add On" items.

So in this way, there is never any sort of preallocation required for Add Ons within a Configurable Item.  It's only the relationship between the Configurable Item and its available Add Ons that needs to be established (e.g. perhaps within the Configurable Item's product page editor) that determines that such "Add Ons" be presented within the product page. 

Since this is only a function of presentation, the SKUs for the individual items (the base Configurable Item plus the Add On items) are still maintained within the cart, with no need to package them for the purpose of how they're seen from the perspective of the customer.

One other important distinction in this regard might be with respect to discounting.  Composite Items (not Configurable Items) can also be presented with package discounts.  Applying package discounts to Configurable Items might not be so straight forward if desired.

Anyhow, hopefully this will provide better understanding for those who are trying to strategize how to setup their inventory, and also serve as a proposed implementation that Zoho might consider in order to add in some sort of "Configurable Item / Add Ons" capability within the product page templates and be manageable on the back end via the product page editor.

This can theoretically be accomplished using custom fields and some modification to the Face product template files, but it would be nice if this functionality was part of Commerce itself without needing to hack it in.

Thanks,
Bryan

    • Recent Topics

    • Sub-Form Fields as Filters for Reports

      Hi, I would like to use the Sub-Form Fields as Filters in Reports just like we do for Main Page Fields. Thanks Dan

    • Zoho CRM Formula - Current Time minus Date/Time field

      Hello, I am trying to prevent duplicate emails going to clients when more than 1 deal is being updated. To do this, I would like to create a formula to identify if a date/time field is >= 2 hours ago. Can someone please help me write this formula? Example:

    • Per Level Approval for admins

      We need Process admins like Zoho CRM in Zoho Books for per stage approval Currently in books, admins only have the option for Final Approval But for example, in cases like when an employee is on leave, we can't just approval one level we only have option

    • Billing Management: #7 Usage Billing in Telecom & Internet Service Provider

      Telecom and Internet Service Providers operate in markets where usage varies drastically from one customer to another. While flexible, usage-based models align revenue directly with consumption, they also introduce operational challenges like real-time

    • Zoho Sprints - Q3 updates for 2025

      The updates for the third quarter of 2025 are out. A few significant features and enhancements have been rolled out to improve user experience and product capabilities. The following are the updates: Manage tags and cluster tags Record and maintain project

    • Kaizen #208 - Answering your Questions | Functions, AI and Extensions

      Hello Developers! Welcome back to a fresh week of Kaizen! We are grateful for your active participation in sharing feedback and queries for our 200th milestone. This week, we will answer the queries related to Functions and Extensions in Zoho CRM. 1.

    • Zoho CRM still doesn't let you manage timezones (yearly reminder)

      This is something I have asked repeatedly. I'll ask once again. Suppose that you work in France. Next month you have a trip to Guatemala. You call a contact there, close a meeting, record that meeting in CRM. On the phone, your contact said: "meet me

    • Creating Restaurant Inventory Management on Zoho

      Hi,  We run a small cloud kitchen and are interested to use Zoho for Inventory and Composite Item tracking for our food served and supplied procured to make food items.  Our model is basically like subway where the customer can choose breads, veggies,

    • To Zoho customers and partners: how do you use Linked Workspaces?

      Hello, I'm exploring how we can set up and use Linked Workspaces and would like to hear from customers and partners about your use cases and experience with them. I have a Zoho ticket open, because my workspace creation fails. In the meantime, how is

    • Zoho Forms to Zoho CRM : First/Last Name to just Name ?

      When integrating a Zoho Form into the Accounts menu of the CRM I'm having trouble with how names are formatted ; In Forms the data is available as First Name or Last Name In the CRM there is only one field called Name How can I ensure that "John" "Smith"

    • Enhancements to the formula field in Zoho CRM: Auto-refresh formulas with the "Now" function, stop formula executions based on criteria, and include formulas within formulas

      Dear Customers, We hope you're well! By their nature, modern businesses rely every day on computations, whether it's to calculate the price of a product, assess ROI, evaluate the lifetime value of a customer, or even determine the age of a record. With

    • This festive season, offer discounts with coupon code support in Stripe Checkout

      Hello form builders! It’s the festive season, the perfect time to spread joy and great deals! Now, with Zoho Forms’ latest enhancement for Stripe Checkout, you can do exactly that with coupon codes! Your payment forms integrated with Stripe Checkout can

    • Cómo creo una factura negativa o de abono?

      NEcesito anular una factura y crear una nueva igual pero en negativo. El sistema no me lo permite

    • Power of Automation::Streamline log hours to work hours upon task completion.

      Hello Everyone, A Custom Function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as to when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:-

    • Is CRM On Premise available

      Hi Zoho team, Can you please let me know that CRM Zoho is available for On Premise as well? Thanks, Devashish

    • Last activity time is acting like last modified time

      When i edit the description or any field in the potential, account, contact and lead, the Last Activity Time is being updated like the Modified Time. This is messing all workflows and reports and we are unable to track real last time of activities like

    • CRM : Function to add user name to text field

      I have a lookup field in a module that is linked to the CRM users so we can assign a Project Lead to the customer. Sadly Zoho Marketing Automation doesn't sync Lookup fields so I need to extract information from the lookup to text fields: Lookup field

    • Zoho CRM - Restrict Login based on work hours

      Hi there, I'm wondering if we can restrict users to login during works - For example the users would be able to login from 8am to 5pm. I have seen the IP address restriction - the only downfall is what if the customer has dynamic IP. thanks Jiri

    • Tips and Tricks #46: Customize themes and templates using Show's Master View

      Hi All!  Let's say you want to revamp your presentation and make changes to its visual design. You can do this easily using the Master Slide and its associated layouts. The Master Slide stores information about all the layouts used in the presentation.

    • Sheet View in CRM portal

      Hi, When will it be possible for my CRM portal users to edit/add records with Sheet View? George

    • What's New in Zoho Invoice | July - September 2025

      Hello everyone! We’re back with the latest updates and enhancements we’ve rolled out in Zoho Invoice from July to September 2025. Here’s what’s new this quarter: Introducing the Singapore Edition in Zoho Invoice Share Invoices through WhatsApp GST 2.0

    • Alert: Audio Call Support to be discontinued for Old Live Chat Widget from December 31, 2025

      Action Required: Upgrade to the New SalesIQ Live Chat Widget We're reaching out with an important update regarding the SalesIQ Live Chat Widget that requires your immediate attention. Effective December 31, 2025, audio call functionality will no longer

    • multiple contacts for one account

      We currently use Zoho CRM where each Account represents a club or organization, and each Contact represents a manager or owner. However, some of our managers own or manage multiple clubs, and Zoho only allows a contact to be linked to one account at a

    • Rich text Merge field - Not using font specified in HTML

      I have a rich text merge field in a writer template which is creating a table. I have chosen to use this method instead of a repeat region because I need to specify specific cell background colours which change every time the document is created. The

    • Can't change form's original name in URL

      Hi all, I have been duplicating + editing forms for jobs regarding the same department to maintain formatting + styling. The issue I've not run into is because I've duplicated it from an existing form, the URL doesn't seem to want to update with the new

    • ヒートマップ詳細設定について

      はじめまして マーケティング担当の浅田です。 PageSenceのヒートマップ設定について質問です。 単一ページ毎の設定は上手くできるのですが 詳細設定にて、トップページのURLを含ませ全体のヒートマップを計測できないか試したところ お知らせ：データを受信していません。と表示されてしまいます。 トップページURLで始まるページの条件も試しております。 全頁を反映させたいと思い、詳細設定を上手く設定できたらと考えております。 どなたか詳しい方がいらっしゃいましたら、教えて頂けませんでしょうか 宜

    • Automatic category assignment

      Hi, I’d like to ask if there is a way to automatically assign an expense category based on the recognized Merchant. What would be the simplest way to set up automatic category assignment? Alternatively, is there an option to first choose the category

    • Experience with Zoho Vertical Studio

      I'm considering Zoho Vertical and would love to hear from some devs who've been using it. The Zoho ecosystem is pretty solid, so I assume the experience has been pretty good, but sometimes Zoho has its quirks. Overall, has your experience been positive?

    • LinkedIn Chrome Extension

      Hello - I believe it is a known issue that the LinkedIn extension Resume Extractor has stopped working and they are working on potential fixes. Wondering how others users are finding this issue and if there are any better workarounds for this issue? It

    • Advance PDF creation from CRM data

      I'm trying to create a PDF export of data in the CRM. My problem is I want a pretty complicated format for the data. I'm trying to export multiple modules worth of data, with nested one-to-many relationships between the modules. Along with that, I want

    • Where does this report come from in the Zoho One ecosystems?

      Is this directly from MA, Analytics or ??? ???

    • Sub-Form Padding in CSV Export

      Hi, When you use the Sub-Form, and for example you have a Date Field on the Main Page, then Option 1 and Option 2 fields on the Subform, when you export this to CSV the Date column will only have the Date in 1 row, the first row, it would be nice to pad

    • More Formula Functions

      Hi, I would like for example to be able to have a Date Field and Formula Fields, and then in the Formula Fields I would like to grab just the Month of the above Date Field or the Week Number of the above Date Field. So more "Functions" than the current

    • File upload size limits

      I am designing a contact form in Zoho Creator with File upload facility. I am not sure where and how to set the following properties for the same: Allowed File Types Maximum Size of the Attachment Number of Attachments

    • Composite Services and Account Tracking

      I am looking to garner support/request the ability to make composite services. A quick search in the forums brings up multiple requests for this feature. I fail to see why an item is mandatory while services are optional. I also would like to see the

    • All operation codes getting Not applied in WO-TT22J1025WOR0471, SR-TT22J1025PRE0423,FOR VIN-W1K6G2AB2SL005130.

      Dear Support Team, Please refer attached screenshot. All operation codes getting not applied in work order. Request you to please check and update ASAP.

    • Bank Receipt Catagorization

      Hi, how can I match a bank deposit to multiple customer's invoices ? For e.g. A single person paid to us on behalf of different five customers. I need to keep the separated invoices for each customer

    • "Performed changes in the query is not allowed due to following reason" when adding columns or reordering data

      I'm trying to make changes to a query but every time i try to save it i get this error message.  I'm not touching the data it's flagging.  All I've tried to do is reorder a couple of fields and add a new one.  Why won't it let me do this?  It's a core

    • Exclude Segment from Campaign Recipients

      I've created two Segments in order to separate Non-Marketing Contacts from Marketing Contacts. I'd like to send an Eblast to all Marketing contacts in my lists, but when I go to select Recipients, I have two options: 1. To Choose Lists to Send to; 2.

    • Reschedule Multiple/Mass Calls at Once

      When we go into a Call record, we have the option to "Reschedule Call." How can we select multiple Calls at once from the Activities tab and Reschedule them? The big use case for us: We have many leads that our reps are supposed to call on a daily basis.

    • Next Page