Picture of Aggregate Basket Quantities for Accurate Shared Pricing in Connect: CERM

Aggregate Basket Quantities for Accurate Shared Pricing in Connect: CERM

 

Overview

This article relates to the Connect: CERM integration only.

When several basket lines share the same External ID (for example, multiple versions of the same print job), you often want to price them as a single bulk quantity instead of line-by-line.
The Aggregate quantities mode setting in the Connect: CERM plug-in lets you do exactly that:

  • All lines with the same identifier are grouped.

  • A single “get price” call is sent to CERM for the total quantity/number of versions.

  • The returned unit price is cached and reused for every grouped item, so there is no performance penalty.

Heads-up:
• If Always retrieve price from calculation is enabled, the calculation ID (not the product ID) is used as the grouping key.
• A follow-up enhancement is planned for baskets that mix versioned and non-versioned products sharing the same External ID. For now, only items of the same type (all versioned or all non-versioned) are aggregated.


Key Settings

Setting Location What it does When to change it
Aggregate quantities mode • No aggregate (default) • Same Connect ID Admin ➜ Configuration ➜ Plugins ➜ Connect: CERM [Configure] No aggregate: keeps legacy behaviour—each basket line is priced separately.• Same Connect ID: groups lines that share an External ID (or calculation ID) and prices them once for their combined quantity. Enable Same Connect ID when you need bulk pricing across multiple basket lines of the same job or SKU.
Always Use Calculation Price Admin ➜ Configuration ➜ Plugins ➜ Connect: CERM [Configure] Tells the plug-in to use the calculation-level price. When on, aggregation groups by calculation ID instead of product ID. Turn on if your pricing logic lives in CERM calculations rather than product records.

 

 


Use Cases

  1. Versioned print jobs
    An order contains four versions of a leaflet (same External ID, different artwork). With aggregation, the system sends one request for the total quantity and receives a single unit price that applies to all four lines.

  2. Bulk re-orders split into lines
    A buyer duplicates last month’s order, creating separate basket lines for each colour way but keeping the same SKU. Aggregation ensures the customer gets the correct bulk discount.

  3. Performance with large baskets
    High-volume web-to-print storefronts often exceed 100 basket lines. Aggregating identical External IDs reduces the number of MIS calls and keeps page load times low.


Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

  • Open CERM plug-in settings
    Admin ➜ Configuration ➜ Plugins ➜ Connect: CERM [Configure]

  • Locate Aggregate quantities mode

    • You will see a dropdown with No aggregate and Same Connect ID.

  • Select “Same Connect ID”
    • Click Save.
    • If you rely on calculation-based pricing, also enable Always Use Calculation Price.

  • Verify the result
    Recommended test sequence

    1. Add two (or more) products that share the same External ID to the basket—ensure their combined quantity is obvious (e.g., 3 × 225 = 675).

    2. Check the unit price returned on the basket page and at checkout; it should reflect the total quantity, not each line’s quantity.


By enabling Aggregate quantities mode, you guarantee accurate bulk pricing, reduce API traffic, and offer a smoother checkout experience—especially for complex, version-heavy orders.

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