# Product Types

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### Create Product Sets to group related Stock Items

Use a **Product Set** to group variations of Stock Items and manage them collectively.

Venditan Commerce uses a Master, Member, and Stock structure for Product Sets. For example:

* **Master**: The T-Shirt that you are selling.
  * **Member**: The colours your T-Shirt is available in.
    * **Stock**: The sizes your T-Shirt is available in, across the range of colours available.

Product information can be managed at the Master, Member or Stock level depending upon your requirements.

This data model is incredibly flexible and can support anything you need to do with your products.

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### Create a Standalone Item

Use a **Standalone Item** to list a product that contains no other variations, like Colours and Sizes, e.g. A ball of string.

These products exist separately from other products and are not a part of any Product Set.

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### Create Product Bundles to sell combinations of products together 

Use a **Product Bundle** to combine two or more products at a Member level.

Customers can then select from their associated variations on the PDP page (such as Colour and Size) and purchase their chosen combination as one, bundled product.

When a purchase is made, the quantities of the respective Stock Items are adjusted.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Example of a Product Bundle**

A sports brand may offer a Running Top, Shorts and Socks Bundle, allowing customers to select their sizes for each option and checkout as one bundled product.
{% endhint %}

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### Create a Bill of Materials (BOM) to sell Components together

Use a BOM to create a product composed of multiple Components (Stock Items) and sell them together. 

This is displayed as a unique product on your website and can be merchandised with unique product information, like Images and Descriptions.

When a sale is made, Stock Levels are automatically adjusted across each Component within the BOM.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Example of a Bill of Materials (BOM)**

An arts and crafts website sells a variety of paints, brushes, and canvases. It may use a BOM to group specific Components into one ‘Paint-at-Home Set’ while retaining the ability to sell those components individually.
{% endhint %}

#### Create a Phantom Bill of Materials / Multi-Tier Bill of Materials

Create a Bill of Materials (BOM) with another BOM nested within it—sometimes referred to as a **Phantom BOM** or **Multi-Tier BOM**.

Select a BOM as a component within a parent BOM. The phantom BOM acts as a grouping mechanism for the components needed to build that subassembly when fulfilling the parent BOM.

{% hint style="info" %}
**Example of a Phantom/Multi-Tier Bill of Materials**

A hardware store sells a power tool that comes with a servicing kit containing multiple individual items, such as replacement blades, lubricant, and a wrench. The servicing kit can be set up as a BOM to act as a subassembly, which is then included within the parent BOM alongside the power tool itself.
{% endhint %}

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### Sell the same product in different bulk quantities 

Sell a product in various quantity tiers, e.g. Individually, by the box, by the crate and by the pallet–all from one master stock record.

For example:

<table><thead><tr><th width="179">Level</th><th>Summary</th><th>Example</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Individual Items</strong></td><td>Sell one component as a single, Standalone Product.</td><td>A chocolate bar.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Box</strong></td><td>Sell multiple components in a quantified box or package.</td><td>A box of 20 chocolate bars.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Crate</strong></td><td>Sell multiple boxes together.<br><br>Crates are often used for bulk shipping or storage, but Venditan Commerce can support the sale of crates.</td><td>50 boxes of chocolate bars.</td></tr></tbody></table>

This allows you to break your stock into Components and offer tiered options without ring-fencing stock for those different quantity purposes.

{% hint style="success" %}
This functionality is flexible and can support various uses. It can also be combined with a [**Volume Pricing**](/docs/product-information-management-pim/product-pricing.md#set-up-volume-pricing-for-your-products) strategy to offer a discount incentive on larger purchases.
{% endhint %}

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### Offer products on Pre-Order

Venditan Commerce can support **Pre-Order** for any of the above Product Types.

#### Pre-Order Payments

Payments for Pre-Orders can be taken in two ways:

* **Pre-Authorisation**: a pre-authorisation of funds through one of our Level 1 PCI-DSS compliant [Payment Gateway](/docs/hosting-security-and-compliance/payment-security.md#our-payment-gateway-integrations) integrations.&#x20;
* **Pay-by-Link:** Accept pre-orders in good faith and email customers with an automated payment link when the product is ready.

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### Serialise your products

Uniquely identify individual products by adding a specific **Serial Number** or Code.

Product serialisation plays a vital role in supply chain management by enabling product traceability, authentication, and enhanced control.

They allow for precise tracking of warranty information, helping you to identify when a specific unit was sold and its warranty status, making it more straightforward to manage warranty claims, provide after-sales service and prevent fraud.

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### Sell digital files

Upload a digital file to Venditan Commerce and sell it as a product on your website.

Customers receive a link to download the file via email when they purchase a product with a digital file.

Venditan Commerce can support any digital file format.

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### Sell in-store services

Market and sell your in-store services through your website by creating them as a product within Venditan Commerce.

This functionality is often used for gift wrapping and in-store appointments, like fittings and style consultations.


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