What the difference is and how to discontinue or obsolete products. 


You may wish to discontinue or obsolete products within your WERCSmart account if your company no longer sells a product to retailers or if you simply want to clean up your product registrations so that the product no longer contributes to your subscription. 



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What is the difference between discontinue and obsolete?

When you want to delete a product, you have two options depending on its most recent revision date: Discontinue the product or make it Obsolete.


Discontinuing a Product 

If your product registration has been registered or revised within the last 12 months, you will only be allowed to Discontinue the product in WERCSmart. 

  • This will allow you to delete the product in the future, but only after 12 months of inactivity.
  • While the product is discontinued, it will be in a holding status until it can be marked as Obsolete.


Note: Discontinued products still count toward your subscription until they are made Obsolete.



Making a Product Obsolete

If your product has had no activity for the past 12 months and is no longer being sold to your retailer, you can choose to make the product Obsolete. 

  • This action will permanently delete all data associated with the product and remove it from counting toward your subscription. 
  • Once a product has been made Obsolete, its data cannot be recovered, and it must be re-registered as a new product if you wish to add it back into the system.



Special Note for Walmart Suppliers

If you are a supplier registering products with Walmart/Sam's Club and their subsidiaries, please be aware that the retailer requires the registration to remain in WERCSmart for at least three years after the last date of shipment before it can be made Obsolete. 




How to Discontinue a product

After 12 months of inactivity...

  • Navigate to your Home Page by clicking the Home icon on the left-side navigation bar.
  • Find the specific product in the table.
  • Under the 'Actions' column, select the three dots. 
    • From the dropdown list, select Discontinue.

 

Time Spent in Discontinued Status

Once you select this option, the product will enter a holding period while it is being discontinued. 

  • After 12 months of inactivity, you can designate the product as obsolete. 
  • If the product is edited at any point during these 12 months, the inactivity timer will reset, and you will need to wait another 12 months before it can be discontinued again. 


Reactivating a Discontinued Product   

  • From the same 'Actions' menu, select the Reactivate.



How to Obsolete a product

After 12 months of being discontinued... 

  • Navigate to your Home Page by clicking the Home icon on the left-side navigation bar.
  • Find the specific product in the table or filter. 
    • To filter the table view to just your discontinued products. 
      • Click the grey box More Filters.
      • Select the box next to 'Show Only Discontinued Products'.
  • Under the 'Actions' column, select the three dots. 
    • From the dropdown list, select Make Obsolete.


Obsolete several products at once

  • At the top left side of the table, click on the Bulk Actions button
    • Within the popup, select Delete Products.
  • Check the boxes next to each product you wish to obsolete. 
    • Only eligible products will be displayed.
  • At the bottom left side of the page, click the Make Obsolete button.
    • Verify your decision in the popup. 
    • Click Accept. 
  • Your products will now be marked as obsolete from your account and removed from the system.


Obsolete Status will immediately delete all data

Once you select this option, the product and its associated data will be deleted.

  • Once a product has been made Obsolete, its data cannot be recovered, and it must be re-registered as a new product if you wish to add it back into the system.