What are Mixed Cases?

What are they?

A mixed case is when different types of products are packed together in the same box or display case.
For example, a carton may contain a mix of flavours, sizes, or product types, all grouped into one secondary or tertiary unit, such as a retail ready box (SRP/PDQ). This is commonly used in retail to make it easier to ship and display a range of products together.

In e-halo, mixed cases are important because they affect how quantities are recorded and reported. Even though products are packed together, each product still has its own bill of materials (BOM), and the full case structure must be reflected.
 

How to enter Mixed Cases in e-halo

When working with mixed cases, the most important rule is:

Always enter the total number of items in the case — not just the quantity of your specific product.

You can find this guidance in e halo by clicking the information button on the BOM homepage, next to the Sales Units per Secondary field:
 

Example

A case contains:

• 2 packs of scissors
• 5 packs of glue
• 8 packs of tape

Total items in the case = 15

When completing the BOM for your scissors, you should enter:

15 items per case - not 2

Why does it need to be done this way?

Mixed cases need to show the full number of items in the box, not just one product. 

This is important because retailers expect to see how the case is packed overall. It also ensures that each product correctly accounts for its share of the packaging, which is needed for accurate reporting. Including for legislative compliance such as EPR. 

For example, if a case contains 15 items in total, every product in that case shares the packaging equally.

So, when you sell 1 pack of scissors, it is responsible for 1/15th of the case packaging. The same applies to other items in the case — selling 1 pack of glue also represents 1/15th of that same case packaging. This ensures packaging data is accurately distributed across all products in the mixed case.

System behaviour

In a mixed case each product still has its own BOM, but they all reference the same case structure and use the same total item count. This allows e halo to correctly calculate how the packaging is shared across all products in the case.

It’s also important that the same case component is linked across all related BOMs. You should not create duplicate components for the same case, as this can lead to inconsistencies and incorrect reporting. Reusing the same approved component ensures accuracy and maintains one version of the truth across your products.

Limitations

e-halo currently supports fixed mixed case configurations only. Assorted cases that change from one shipment to another are not supported as the system cannot reliably capture the case structure as the product mix and total number of items in the case is not consistent.

Supported

Cases where the product mix is fixed and consistent. Example: Always 2 scissors, 5 glue, 8 tape

Not Supported 

Cases where the mix is variable or changes regularly Example: “Assorted” cases where contents vary per shipment

Key principle

When entering mixed cases in e‑halo, quantities must always reflect the total number of products in the full case, not just the quantity of the specific product you are working on.

This means:

• Enter the total number of items in the secondary unit (case)
• Do not enter only the quantity of that individual variant

In all cases, the quantity should represent how many products are in the case overall, not how many of that specific product are included.

This ensures that each product correctly represents its share of the full case, supporting accurate reporting.

Quick summary

•    Mixed cases contain multiple products in one case 
•    Each product still requires its own BOM 
•    Enter the total number of items in the case, not just your product quantity 
•    This ensures correct contractual and EPR reporting 
•    Only fixed case configurations are supported in e-halo 
•    Mixed variable cases are not supported