Min/Max Strategies

What is this?

A Min/Max strategy sets price guardrails -- a minimum floor or maximum ceiling -- that constrain the future price calculated by your pricing strategy. For example, you might say "the future price should be the maximum of the calculated price and Level 1 plus 5%" to ensure no item is priced below a certain threshold.

Min/Max strategies are referenced from individual pricing strategy steps.

Opening the Min/Max Manager

1. Min/Max Strategies list · 2. New · 3. Strategy Settings

Menu: Strategy > Manage Min/Max Strategies

The window (500x475) has two panels:

• Left -- List of saved Min/Max strategies
• Right -- Settings editor for the selected strategy

Creating a Min/Max Strategy

1. Click the "New" button below the strategy list
2. Enter a name in the dialog (title: "Enter Min/Max Model Name", placeholder: "enter min/max model name")
3. Click Save

If the name already exists, you'll see a red "Name Exists!" error.

Configuring a Strategy

Name

The Name field at the top allows you to rename the strategy.

Minimum/Maximum Of

Choose the base price level:

• Min or Max radio buttons -- determines whether this is a floor (minimum) or ceiling (maximum)

• Price Level dropdown -- which price to compare against. Common options include:

  • Retail, Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5 -- standard vendor price levels
  • Current Price, Future Price, Store Cost -- store-level pricing
  • Zone-based levels (RetailZone, Level1Zone, etc.) -- zone-specific pricing
  • Ace MAP Price, Ace IMAP Price, Ace MSU Retail -- Ace Hardware specific (visible only for Ace stores)
  • Comp 1-5 -- competitor price levels (visible when configured)

  The available options depend on your vendor type, POS system, and which columns are visible in the main data grid.

Example: "Maximum of Level 1" means the future price will be at least the Level 1 price.

Plus or Minus

Enable the checkbox to add an offset to the base price:

Note: "Rounding Points" is only available when a rounding scheme is applied to the strategy step.

Example: "Maximum of Level 1 Plus 5 Percent" means the future price must be at least Level 1 price + 5%.

Apply Rounding Scheme

• Enable the checkbox to round the min/max result
• Select a rounding scheme from the dropdown

Metadata

At the bottom, the strategy shows:

• Created: date
• Updated: date
• An "Unsaved Changes" warning (yellow border with warning icon) when modifications exist

Import / Export

Min/Max strategies can be shared via JSON files:

Export (Hamburger Menu > Export)

When exporting, you're asked:

• Yes -- Export all strategies
• No -- Export only the selected strategy
• Cancel -- Abort

Success message: "Successfully exported strategy(ies) to: "

Import (Hamburger Menu > Import)

When importing, if duplicate names are found:

• Yes -- Replace existing strategies with imported versions
• No -- Skip duplicates
• Cancel -- Abort

Import summary: "Import completed: Imported: , Replaced: , Skipped: "

Preview SQL (Hamburger Menu > Copy SQL to Clipboard)

Generates a SQL preview of the min/max calculation and copies it to your clipboard. Useful for support diagnostics.

Saving and Deleting

Note: Switching between strategies in the list also prompts to save if the current strategy has unsaved changes.

Common Questions

Q: When does Min/Max apply in the pricing process? A: After the future price is calculated by the strategy step, the Min/Max constraint is applied as a final check. If the future price violates the min/max rule, it is adjusted. The execution engine captures prices before Min/Max is applied and then analyzes the impact (SKUs affected, increased, decreased, average adjustment).

Q: Can I use both Min and Max on the same step? A: Not in a single Min/Max strategy. Each strategy is either a min or a max. However, you could create two separate strategies and apply them in different steps.

Q: What's the difference between "Percent" and "Rounding Points"? A: Percent adds a percentage of the base price (e.g., 5% of $10.00 = $0.50). Rounding Points offsets by the rounding scheme's point increments, which varies by price range.