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No Substitution Found Report Documentation

Menu Location: Reports > Products > No Substitution Found

Access Level: Manager and above

Last Updated: 2026-03-01

Overview

The No Substitution Found Report tracks instances where customers' selected products were unavailable and the system could not automatically find an acceptable substitute. This report is critical for identifying product availability issues, improving substitution rules, and enhancing customer satisfaction.

Primary Functions:

  • Track failed automatic substitution attempts
  • Identify products frequently out of stock
  • Review manual intervention requirements
  • Improve substitution logic and rules
  • Reduce customer service workload
  • Analyze inventory planning gaps

Page Layout

Header Section

  • Date Range Selector: Filter by order delivery date range
  • Product Filter: Filter by specific products that were unavailable
  • Route Filter: Filter by delivery route
  • Export Button: Download detailed report data

Main Content Area

Scrollable table showing all instances where automatic substitution failed, including customer details, requested product, date, and resolution status.

Summary Statistics

  • Total substitution failures in period
  • Most frequently unavailable products
  • Percentage requiring manual intervention
  • Average resolution time

Report Data & Columns

Column Description Calculation/Source
Order ID Unique order identifier Order tracking number
Customer Name Customer who ordered unavailable product Customer account
Requested Product Original product customer selected Order line item
Delivery Date Scheduled delivery date Order schedule
Route Delivery route assignment Route planner
Resolution Status How issue was handled Manual/Auto/Pending
Resolution Time Time from detection to resolution Timestamp difference
Resolved By Admin who handled manually Staff name
Substitute Given Product ultimately substituted (if any) Final order contents
Customer Notified Whether customer was informed Communication log

Filters & Search Options

Date Filters

  • Delivery Date Range: Filter by when order was scheduled for delivery
  • Resolution Date: Filter by when issue was resolved
  • Quick Periods: This Week, Last Week, This Month, Last Month

Product Filters

  • Requested Product: Search for specific unavailable products
  • Product Category: Filter by product category (Produce, Meat, Dairy, etc.)
  • Substitute Category: What category was substituted

Status Filters

  • Resolution Status:
  • Pending (not yet resolved)
  • Manually Resolved
  • Auto-Resolved
  • Cancelled (customer cancelled order)
  • No Substitution Given
  • Customer Notification Status: Notified, Not Notified, Notification Pending

Route & Operational Filters

  • Route: Filter by specific delivery route
  • Pack Day: Day when order was packed
  • Priority: Customer priority level (VIP, Regular, etc.)

Sorting & Display Options

Sort Options:

  • Date (newest first or oldest first)
  • Customer Name (alphabetical)
  • Product Name (alphabetical)
  • Resolution Time (fastest to slowest)
  • Route Number

Display Options:

  • Show resolution notes
  • Show customer communication history
  • Compact view (more rows)
  • Detailed view (full information)

Export & Download Options

Export Formats:

  • Full Report CSV: All columns and filters applied
  • Summary by Product: Aggregated failures per product
  • Summary by Route: Failures grouped by route
  • Unresolved Only: Pending items requiring attention

Export Process:

  1. Apply desired filters (date range, status, etc.)
  2. Click "Export" button
  3. Select export format
  4. Download CSV file
  5. Open in Excel or import to analysis tool

Actions & Operations

Review Pending Substitutions

Purpose: Address substitution failures requiring manual intervention

Steps:

  1. Set status filter to "Pending"
  2. Sort by delivery date (earliest first)
  3. Review each pending item
  4. Click order ID to open order details
  5. Manually select appropriate substitute or contact customer
  6. Update resolution status
  7. Mark as resolved

Requirements:

  • Order must not yet be packed
  • Access to inventory availability information
  • Authority to make substitution decisions

Analyze Product Availability Problems

Purpose: Identify which products are frequently unavailable

Steps:

  1. Set date range to last 30-90 days
  2. Export "Summary by Product" report
  3. Sort by frequency (most failures first)
  4. Identify top 10-20 problematic products
  5. Cross-reference with inventory planning
  6. Adjust order quantities or vendor relationships
  7. Consider removing unreliable products from catalog

Improve Substitution Rules

Purpose: Update automatic substitution logic to reduce failures

Steps:

  1. Filter to "No Substitution Given" status
  2. Review what product was requested
  3. Identify what would have been good substitutes
  4. Document patterns of good substitute options
  5. Update substitution rules in product settings
  6. Test new rules with upcoming orders
  7. Monitor future reports for improvement

Track Resolution Performance

Purpose: Measure how quickly team handles substitution issues

Steps:

  1. Set date range to last week or month
  2. Review "Average Resolution Time" statistic
  3. Sort by resolution time (slowest first)
  4. Identify bottlenecks or delays
  5. Review which staff are resolving most efficiently
  6. Adjust workflows or training as needed

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Daily Operations Review

Goal: Handle all pending substitution issues before packing

Steps:

  1. Open report at start of each business day
  2. Set delivery date filter to next 2-3 days
  3. Filter status to "Pending"
  4. Sort by delivery date (earliest first)
  5. Work through each pending item:
    • Open order details
    • Check current inventory
    • Select best available substitute
    • Update order
    • Mark resolved and save
  6. Verify all resolved before packing begins

Example: Tuesday morning: 8 pending substitutions for Thursday deliveries. Customer ordered "Organic Strawberries" (unavailable). Check inventory: have organic blueberries and raspberries. Based on customer's past orders (likes berries), substitute organic raspberries. Update order, mark resolved, add note.

Tips:

  • Handle earliest delivery dates first
  • Check customer's substitution preferences and past orders
  • When in doubt, call or email customer for preference
  • Document unusual substitutions for future reference

Use Case 2: Weekly Product Performance Analysis

Goal: Identify which products cause most substitution problems

Steps:

  1. Set date range to last 7 days
  2. Export "Summary by Product" report
  3. Open in Excel and sort by failure count
  4. Identify products with 3+ failures
  5. For each problem product:
    • Check if it's seasonal availability issue
    • Review vendor reliability
    • Assess if demand exceeds supply capacity
    • Decide: increase order quantity, find new vendor, or remove product
  6. Schedule review meeting with purchasing/inventory manager
  7. Document action plan for each problematic product

Example: "Organic Cherry Tomatoes" had 12 substitution failures last week. Investigation reveals: supplier only delivers 50 units/week but demand is 80+ units. Solution: find second supplier or limit product to first 50 customers each week.

Use Case 3: Customer Satisfaction Recovery

Goal: Proactively reach out to customers affected by substitutions

Steps:

  1. Filter to last 2-3 days
  2. Filter to "Manually Resolved" or "No Substitution Given"
  3. Review customer notification status
  4. For not-yet-notified customers:
    • Send personalized email explaining situation
    • Offer account credit or discount on next order
    • Thank them for understanding
    • Mark as notified
  5. Track credit issued for accounting
  6. Follow up on next order to ensure satisfaction

Example: VIP customer ordered premium grass-fed ribeye (out of stock), manually substituted NY strip. Send email: "We're sorry the ribeye wasn't available. We've substituted our premium NY strip and added $5 credit to your account. Thank you for your understanding!"

Use Case 4: Seasonal Planning

Goal: Prepare for seasonal product availability changes

Steps:

  1. Set date range to same season last year (e.g., June-August 2025)
  2. Export full report
  3. Identify which products had highest failure rates
  4. Create "seasonal risk" product list
  5. For this year's upcoming season:
    • Increase safety stock for at-risk products
    • Line up backup suppliers
    • Pre-define good substitute products
    • Update substitution rules before season starts
  6. Monitor daily during high-risk season

Example: Last summer, watermelon had 45 substitution failures in July. This year: order 25% more watermelon in June-July, define honeydew and cantaloupe as automatic substitutes, alert customers in advance that summer melons may vary.

Use Case 5: Vendor Performance Evaluation

Goal: Assess which suppliers are unreliable

Steps:

  1. Set date range to last quarter (90 days)
  2. Export full report to Excel
  3. Add column for "Vendor" (manual lookup for each product)
  4. Create pivot table by Vendor
  5. Identify vendors with highest failure rates
  6. Calculate percentage: failures / total orders from vendor
  7. Schedule review meeting with unreliable vendors
  8. Consider finding alternative suppliers for problem products

Example: "Local Greens Co." supplies 12 products. Report shows 67 substitution failures in 90 days across their products. This is 18% failure rate (67 failures / 372 total orders). Meet with vendor: issue is over-promising inventory. Solution: reduce standing order quantity by 20% to match their reliable capacity, or find supplemental vendor.

Troubleshooting

Report Shows Too Many Results

Symptoms: Thousands of entries making report unmanageable

Solutions:

  1. Narrow date range to smaller time period (1 week instead of 3 months)
  2. Filter to specific route or pack day
  3. Filter to "Pending" status only if trying to take action
  4. Use export and Excel filtering for large datasets
  5. Focus on specific product category

Common Causes:

  • Date range too wide
  • High-volume operation with many substitutions
  • Recent inventory management issues

Substitution Failures Not Appearing

Symptoms: Know substitutions failed but report shows nothing

Check:

  1. Verify date range includes when failures occurred
  2. Check that you're using delivery date not order date
  3. Ensure status filter isn't excluding the records
  4. Verify substitution system is properly configured
  5. Check if manual substitutions bypass this report

If Problem Persists: May be configuration issue - contact system administrator

Can't Determine Why Substitution Failed

Symptoms: Product seems available but system didn't substitute

Common Causes:

  1. Inventory timing - Product became available after substitution attempt
  2. Substitution rules - No substitute rules defined for this product
  3. Category mismatch - Substitute products in different category not allowed
  4. Price limits - Substitute too expensive for automatic substitution
  5. Customer preferences - Customer opted out of certain substitute categories

To Investigate:

  1. Check product's substitution rule settings
  2. Review inventory log for exact timing
  3. Check customer's substitution preferences
  4. Review automatic substitution price threshold settings

Resolution Status Won't Update

Symptoms: Mark item as resolved but status doesn't change

Solutions:

  1. Ensure order has been actually updated with substitute
  2. Check that you saved order changes before returning to report
  3. Refresh report page to see updates
  4. Verify you have permission to update resolution status
  5. Check if order has been packed already (may lock status)

Requirements:

  • Order must have substitute product selected
  • Changes must be saved in order detail page
  • User must have Manager level access or higher
  • Substitution Popularity Report - Shows which substitutes work well
  • Substitution Unpopularity Report - Shows which substitutes customers reject
  • Product Detail Report - Individual product availability tracking
  • Inventory Management - Current stock levels and ordering
  • Order Management - Individual order editing and resolution

Typical Workflow:

  1. Review No Substitution Found Report daily for pending items
  2. Click order ID to open Order Management page
  3. Select substitute product from inventory
  4. Save order changes
  5. Return to report and mark resolved
  6. Weekly: Export summary to share with inventory planning team

Permissions & Access

Required Access Level: Manager or higher

Access Level Capabilities:

  • Manager: View report, resolve pending items, export data
  • Administrator: All Manager capabilities + modify substitution rules
  • Kiva Admin: All features + access to system logs and debug information

Restricted Features:

  • Modify Substitution Rules: Requires Administrator
  • Bulk Status Updates: Requires Administrator
  • Delete Records: Requires Kiva Admin

Best Practices

Daily Operations

  1. Review report first thing each morning
  2. Prioritize by delivery date (soonest first)
  3. Resolve all pending items before packing starts
  4. Document unusual substitutions in order notes
  5. Notify VIP customers personally about substitutions

Customer Communication

  1. Always notify customers of significant substitutions
  2. Offer credit for downgrades or poor substitutes
  3. Document customer preferences for future
  4. Thank customers for understanding
  5. Follow up if same issue happens repeatedly

Inventory Planning

  1. Export weekly summary every Friday
  2. Share with inventory/purchasing team
  3. Track patterns over 4-8 weeks
  4. Adjust order quantities proactively
  5. Build safety stock for unreliable items

System Optimization

  1. Review "No Substitution Given" items monthly
  2. Create or update substitution rules
  3. Test new rules before deploying broadly
  4. Document rule changes for team training
  5. Monitor improvement in substitution success rate

Things to Avoid

  • Don't ignore pending items (they block efficient packing)
  • Don't substitute without checking customer preferences
  • Don't create substitution rules that allow poor quality substitutes
  • Don't forget to notify customers of major changes
  • Don't rely solely on automatic substitutions (manual review crucial)

Quick Reference Card

Task Action/Location
View today's pending issues Status: Pending, Delivery Date: Today
Find problem products Export Summary by Product, sort by count
Resolve pending substitution Click Order ID, select substitute, save, mark resolved
Check vendor reliability Export report, add vendor column in Excel
See unresolved items Status filter: Pending + No Substitution Given
Daily operations checklist Pending status, next 2-3 days, sort by delivery date
Weekly analysis Last 7 days, export summary by product
Contact affected customers Filter: Not Notified status

FAQs

Why didn't the system automatically substitute?

The system only auto-substitutes when explicit substitution rules exist for a product. If no rule is defined, or if the substitute is also unavailable, it appears in this report for manual handling.

Can I create substitution rules from this page?

No, substitution rules are created in the Product Settings page. However, this report helps identify which products need rules created.

What if customer doesn't want any substitute?

Check customer's account preferences. Some customers opt out of substitutions. If so, remove the item from order and notify customer, or contact them for permission to substitute.

How do I know what substitute to choose?

Check: (1) Customer's past orders for preferences, (2) Product category and type, (3) Similar price point, (4) Current inventory availability, (5) Substitution rules as guidance. When uncertain, contact customer.

Does this report include all substitutions?

No - only FAILED automatic substitutions appear here. Successful automatic substitutions are tracked in the Substitution Popularity Report.

Can customers see this report?

No, this is admin-only. Customers are not aware that substitution automation failed unless you notify them about specific substitutions made.

What's the difference between "Manually Resolved" and "Auto-Resolved"?

"Auto-Resolved" means system later found the originally requested product available and automatically updated the order. "Manually Resolved" means a staff member selected a substitute.

How do I prevent these substitution failures?

Improve inventory management (better forecasting, reliable vendors, safety stock), create comprehensive substitution rules, and consider limiting availability of unreliable products.

Change Log

2026-03-01

  • Initial documentation created
  • All sections completed following template structure

End of Documentation

For additional help, contact your system administrator or Kiva Logic support.