Metric Conversion can be performed on a Product Rate charge to assist Consignly in determining the right unit to match a break and therefore a rate to.

Product Unit Conversions are used to tell Consignly how many of a stocked unit make up another unit.

You can chain your units together, to configure different pack sizes for the product.

When building a charge on a rate card, you can choose a Metric Conversion option for the rate.

The Metric Conversion you choose will instruct Consignly how to calculate the available metrics for that product when calculating the charge.

There are three choices:

1. None
2. Cascade Metric Resolution
3. Compound Metric Resolution

Metric Resolution options

None

If you do not need to support any metric resolution, then you may choose none.  The quantity metric supplied will be used in each break.  No unit conversions will be possible.

Cascade Metric Resolution

If this option is selected, Consignly will work out the product's unit conversion chain from largest unit to smallest unit and offer up that information when resolving a rate charge.

Different breaks can be configured that target different units - allowing you to set up charges for virtual pallets, with another charge for remaining outers, and then remaining cartons (for example).

The key here is to understand that the metric data cascades down the unit conversion chain in whole units.

Consider a product with the following unit conversions:

• Stocked Unit: Cartons
• Conversion: 6 cartons to a tray
• Conversion: 6 trays to an outer
• Conversion: 16 outers to a pallet

Suppose you create an outwards consignment of 584 cartons.

If you build a rate with a Cascade Metric Resolution, then this will break the metrics down from largest unit to smallest unit, so the metrics passed into the rate for evaluation will look like this:

• 1 pallet
• 1 tray
• 2 cartons

Your rate's breaks can be designed to target these units, delivering a price in the break for that particular unit.

Using cascade metric resolution

Cascade metric resolution becomes useful when creating a charge with breaks that target different unit types.  For example, using the example above, we might like to create a break for charging full pallets, and then a subsequent break for charging any remaining loose items.

Cascade metric resolution will ensure that whole units of each will become available to target in our rate.

Using the example above and the screenshot below, if we had created a charge targeting pallets and cartons (but not trays or outers), then Consignly will raise a charge for 1 pallet, and the remaining items would be converted into a carton charge.  So whilst the remaining items work out to be a tray and 2 cartons, Consignly knows that there is only a break for cartons, and so will consolidate the remaining items (1 tray and 2 cartons) into a carton equivalent (8 cartons).

A charge using Cascade Metric Resolution with breaks targeting different unit types.

Compound Metric Resolution

If this option is selected, Consignly will work out how much of each Unit Conversion metric there is, and offer up that information when resolving a rate charge.

Different breaks can be configured that target different units - allowing you to set up a charge combination for total virtual pallets, as well as the outers involved in that pallet, and the cartons that were involved in those outers - for example.

The key here is to understand that the metric data is evaluated for each unit type, resulting in a metric that covers potentially parts of a unit.

Consider a product with the following unit conversions:

• Stocked Unit: Cartons
• Conversion: 6 cartons to a tray
• Conversion: 6 trays to an outer
• Conversion: 16 outers to a pallet

Suppose you create an outwards consignment of 584 cartons.

If you build a rate with a Compound Metric Resolution, then this will work out a unit metric at each unit type that is available for the product.

Following on from the example above, the metrics passed into the rate for evaluation will look like this:

• 1.014 pallets
• 16.222 outers
• 97.333 trays
• 584 cartons

Your rate's breaks can be designed to target these units, delivering a price in that break for that particular unit.

Using compound metric resolution

Compound metric resolution becomes useful when creating a charge to target a specific unit.  For example, pallets.

By using compound metric resolution, we can assess the pallets of a product and raise a charge based on this single unit type.  The unit type may be a decimal, and so it is often useful to use the rounding options to ensure the charge is calculated appropriately.

Using the example above and the screenshot below, if we had created a charge targeting pallets then Consignly would calculate 1.014 pallets.  Creating a charge to ensure that pallets are calculated and rounded up allows us to raise a charge for 2 pallets.

A charge using Compound Metric Resolution with a single charge targeting pallets, rounded up to the nearest whole pallet.