PLU Management & Configuration
- Yildirim, Semih
- Benet, Anton
PLU configurations play a key role in our systems, as they are the bridge between the digital platform and the POS (point-of-sale) system. Vendor Configs is the section in Sanity that allows us to configure the PLU (price look-up code) for the different products.
You can learn more about PLUs and how they tie to pricing and availability here: Menu - Pricing & Availability Management.
Without setting Vendor Configs, you won’t be able to send orders to your POS.
Principles
Our PLU architecture is based on the following principles:
The PLU must be unique by service mode (Delivery and Pick Up). This means that a “Pick Up Whopper” will have a different PLU than a “Delivery Whopper".
The in-store menu must use the same PLUs as the Pick Up menu. This means that a “Pick Up Whopper” uses the same PLU as a Whopper that you order in-store.
Vendor Configurations in Sanity
The following menu documents need a unique PLU: Offers, rewards, items, combos, modifiers and modifier multipliers.
Service Mode Groups (Pickup and Delivery) and POS used are listed under the Vendor Config section of these Sanity documents as seen below:
Note that we have different PLU fields for Pick Up and Delivery. For example, in the screenshot above, “NCR” refers to the NCR Pick up PLU, while “NCR Delivery” refers to the NCR delivery PLU. This allows us to configure different prices for delivery vs the rest of service modes (pick up, drive-thru, curbside, etc).
For each Service Mode (Pickup and Delivery) and POS, you will need to configure the correct PLU under Ver Configs section for a given Sanity page (e.g. an item, a combo).
PLU Types
In the screenshot above you can see an PLU Type dropdown.
There are four different types of PLUs in Sanity. We use these to match the structure at the POS and ensure successful injection. 4 of those types involve assigning PLU codes/numbers, whereas 2 types doesn’t.
PLU Type | Description/Notes | Example |
|---|---|---|
Constant |
| PLU for medium fries or a large Whopper® meal. |
Size Based | Used specifically for the POS vendor NCR as an exception to manage different pricing and availability for combos when they only have one PLU for all sizes. | PLU: The PLU for the general combo (e.g.
|
Ignore | Used where a structure is needed, yet the PLU lives on a different (lower or higher) level, mainly used for the comboslots and main items of combos. | The combo will have a constant PLU, whereas the comboslots and main item of the combo will have the Ignore PLU type. |
Empty | Used when a POS vendor doesn’t require or have a PLU for a given item, but the vendor config is needed to fulfill certain other use cases. | A reward that is not sold as a standalone item in the regular menu. In that case, the item is still needed because it’s linked in the reward, but the item itself would have an Empty PLU as it’s not sold in the menu. |
Vendor Guide
The following is a generic guide. POS configurations can vary by brand and/or market depending on the integration. Please make sure to consult with your POS provider what the exact PLU configuration should be.
POS | Combo structure | Combo PLU | Main Item PLU | Comboslot PLU | Comboslot item PLU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NCR ATO | The combo document is structured as follow:
 | The combo document uses a size based PLU, which consists of a combo PLU (13) and a combo size (Large).
| The main item in the combo is an item document, which uses a constant PLU. 
| This combo has 3 comboslots, which all use the Ignore PLU:
| As explained here, comboslots have a list of available items linked. Since these comboslot options are items, they will have its own Constant PLU.
 |
NCR SDM | The combo document is structured as follow:
| The combo document uses a size based PLU, which consists of a combo PLU (13) and a combo size (Large).
| The marker item in the combo is an item document, which uses a constant PLU. 
|
| As explained here, comboslots have a list of available items linked. Since these comboslot options are items, they will have their own Constant PLU.
|
SICOM | The combo document is structured as follow:
| The combo document uses a constant PLU.
| The main item in the combo is an item document, which uses a separate constant PLU.
|
| As explained here, comboslots have a list of available items linked. Since these comboslot options are items, they will have their own Constant PLU.
|
Simply Delivery
| For Simply Delivery, all PLUs match the document Sanity ID. The combo document is structured as follow:
| The combo document uses a constant PLU.
| The main item in the combo is an item document, which uses a separate constant PLU.
|
| As explained here, comboslots have a list of available items linked. Since these comboslot options are items, they will have their own Constant PLU.
|
Oracle | The combo document is structured as follow:
| The combo document uses a constant PLU.
| The main item in the combo is an item document, which uses a separate constant PLU.
|
| As explained here, comboslots have a list of available items linked. Since these comboslot options are items, they will have their own Constant PLU.
|
For NCR ATO and SICOM custom integrations (e.g. BK CH, PLK CH, BK UK & BK NZ), different pickup and delivery PLUs should be defined for each applicable menu item in order to be able to manage different pricing & availability per service mode.
| Item | Offer | Modifier | Modifier Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
SICOM | Constant PLU | Constant PLU | Ignore | Constant PLU |
NCR Aloha Takeout (ATO) | Constant PLU | Constant PLU | Ignore | Constant PLU |
NCR Scalable Deposit Module (SDM) | Constant PLU | Constant PLU | Ignore | Constant PLU |
Simply Delivery For Simply Delivery, all PLUs match the document Sanity ID. | Constant PLU | Constant PLU | Constant PLU | Constant PLU |
Oracle | Constant PLU | Constant PLU | Ignore (TBD) | Constant PLU |
Vendor Configs for Combo Slots are always meant to be set to ignore.
Let’s now see some examples of combo configuration for a couple POSs.
| Picker | Combo Item | Plu Type | Plu Input | Plu Price | Sides | Drinks | Modifiers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SICOM | Whopper | Whopper with Cheese Meal Large | Constant PLU | 3020202 | $7.59 | Fries: Constant Small: 50001 Medium: 50002 Large: 50003 | Coke: Constant Small: 80101 Medium: 80102 Large: 80103 | Ex. Light Mayo PLU: 9011300 |
SICOM Delivery | Whopper | Whopper with Cheese Meal Large | Constant PLU | 83020202 | $7.59 | Fries: Constant Medium: 80049999 Large: 80050000 | Coke: Constant Medium: 80080102 Large: 80080103 | Ex. Light Mayo PLU: 9011300 |
NCR ATO | Whopper | Whopper with Cheese Meal Large | Sizebased PLU  | Combo Plu: 101 Combo Size: Large | Small: 7:49 Medium: 7:49 Large: 7:49 | Fries: Size Based Plu Size Based Small: 710 Medium: 715 Large: 720 | Coke: Constant Item: 5620 | Ex. Light Mayo PLU: 29052 |
NCR ATO Delivery | Whopper | Whopper with Cheese Meal Large | Sizebased PLU | Combo Plu: 4501 Combo Size: Large | Small: 5:39 Medium: 5:39 Large: 5:39 | Fries: Constant Size Based Small: 45101 Medium: 45102 Large: 45103 | Coke: Constant Item: 5620 | Ex. Light Mayo PLU: 29052 |
Meals (Combo & Comboslot)
Vendor Configs for Combo Slots are always meant to be set to ignore (except for NCR ATO market comboslots).
The reason is that the POS vendor won't have a PLU for Medium Sides, they would have a PLU for Medium Fries. To ensure the POS reads the correct information, setting the vendor config to ignore will tell the system that it needs to read the PLU of the item the user has chosen in the combo slot.
Marker Items for Combos
Combo Sides - If your POS vendor is NCR, you might need to create a marker item, which is an additional PLU NCR needs in order to successfully inject the order. In order to set this up correctly, you will need to create an item in MDM called combo item. Once created the sync will bring the item to Sanity and you will need to configure it with a PLU given to you by NCR. From there, the item will need to be added in a comboslot to be able to inject it with the combo.
The Distinction Between Bundles and Combos
Combos only have 1 main item.
Bundles (e.g. X2 Whopper Meals, Family Party with multiple burgers and sides, etc.) are a group of different items.
For bundles, main item is not configured and the PLU is set to Ignore. All items are configured as comboslots (combo options, or sides). Sanity doesn't allow configuring two main items for a single combo. In case of a bundle offer, the offer references a combo which does not have a main item (it’s set to Ignore). The combo options contain all the items — 2 whoppers, 2 fries, 2 medium drinks.
Modifier
Modifiers mostly don’t have a PLU associated to them whereas modifier multipliers mostly do, but there might be POS exceptions - please confirm with your POS vendor.
If your POS uses PLU for modifiers
You will need to configure each modifier under vendor configs.
If your POS does not use a PLU for modifiers
You will still need to make some simple configurations under vendor configs by expanding the designated Vendor Config and selecting PLU Type = Ignore.
With this, we are telling the system, which is configured to check the PLU of the modifier, to skip that step and keep injecting the guest’s order.
NCR and Sicom are two famous POS examples that do not include PLUs for modifiers.
Modifier Multiplier
Your POS will have a different PLU for all the different options. You will need to add to each modifier multiplier its PLU, the same way you have done for Items or Combos.
For P&A management via the Digital Operations Portal, refer to Pricing & Availability Management via the Digital Operations Portal.