Oracle iStore

Oracle iStore allows businesses from all industries to establish business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) electronic commerce (e-commerce). Oracle iStore provides merchants with an easy-to-use interface for setting up Internet-based sites that capture and process customer orders. In addition, integration with other Oracle applications provides a broad range of e-commerce capabilities.

As a key part of Oracle CRM, Oracle iStore allows companies to build, personalize and manage robust and fully scalable Web commerce sites in both B2B and B2C environments. Customers can increase revenue by using Oracle iStore to run online marketing campaigns, cross-sell and up-sell related products, create targeted catalogs and pricing and manage the entire order and inventory processes.

Oracle iStore also integrates with Oracle Partner Management to enhance collaboration between a company's direct sales force, customers and partners. Using Oracle iStore, partners can work together on sales opportunities, manage accounts, seek assistance, initiate returns and place repeat orders. This functionality is critical as more companies move to a collaborative sales approach, merging activities across multiple channels - direct, indirect and online.

Mandatory DependenciesOracle iStore mandatory dependencies are Oracle products which provide the underlying technology stack, schema, and structure.Oracle iStore mandatory dependencies are:• Oracle CRM Technology Foundation• Oracle E-Business Tax• Oracle General Ledger• Oracle Human Resources• Oracle Inventory• Oracle Order Management

• Oracle Order Capture• Oracle Trading Community Architecture

Important ResponsibilitiesFollowing responsibilities are needed to implement Oracle iStore

iStore Administrator (IBE_ADMINISTRATOR):  Required for Setup content,

section, site, templates etc      Create Unlimited Number of Sites

Setup Pricelists, Shipping Methods etc.

Build Product Catalog using Oracle Inventory

Change site look and Feel by selecting different Section Templates and Product

Display Templates

View and Configure Workflow notifications

View Business and Operational Reports

iStore Concurrent Program Administrator : Required for Executing concurrent

programs for data refresh   

Online shopping and orders processed into Oracle Order Management

Saves and Share Carts, Quotes etc

Track Orders

Cancel Orders

Submit Return Orders

Store and access user addresses and credit card data

IBE_CUSTOMER : Required for Placing Orders using iStore website.

CRM HTML Administrator (with all available ROLES) –

JTF_ADMIN_USER: Required for Setting business users and associate them to

appropriate receivables account, Create Roles.

Application Developer: Required for Setting message codes and message text

Application Developer Common Modules (AK_DEVELOPER): Setup regions,

region items/attributes used for Post Sales (Order Tracking)

Implementation ProcessIn an istore implementation project first we need to install the mandatory dependencies to Oracle iStore, once complete we can begin setting up sites.The steps required are:1. Set up the Site Administration UI.2. Create a basic site.3. Set up the Customer UI.4. Test the site.In addition to the required setup steps, we can customize and add functionality as

desired by performing advanced setup tasks and by implementing other Oracle Applications modules that are optional integrations for Oracle iStore.

Setting up the Site Administration UI

Your initial setup of the Oracle iStore Site Administration UI involves setting required profile options, creating administrative users, and testing the Site Administration UI.Required tasks include:1. Set Initial Profile Options2. Set up Administrators 3. Launch the Site Administration UI4. Set the Concurrent Manager

Set Initial Profile OptionsAll Oracle iStore profile options begin with the prefix IBE.

Set Oracle Applications CRM Profile OptionsThe following Oracle CRM Technology Foundation profile options must be set:FND: Branding SizeJTF_PROFILE_DEFAULT_APPLICATIONJTF_PROFILE_DEFAULT_BLANK_ROWSJTF_PROFILE_DEFAULT_CSSJTF_PROFILE_DEFAULT_CURRENCYJTF_PROFILE_DEFAULT_NUM_ROWSJTF_PROFILE_DEFAULT_RESPONSIBILITY (application level only)

Eg from Avery: 671 is default Application Id: Name: iStore (short Name IBE). 22372 is resp IBE_CUSTOMER. (Screenshot below)

Set iStore Site Administration UI Profile OptionsBefore the Site Administration UI will display, you must set the following Oracle iStore (IBE) profile options at the iStore application level:

IBE: Category Set This profile is used in:Category-based product search in Site Administration UIDetermining the default item display style if no item-level display is mapped in Customer UIDefining product relationship rules between category to product, category to section, or category to categoryIBE: Item Validation Organization Specifies the Inventory Organization where your sites’ products reside. Mandatory profile option. Recommended value: Master Inventory Organization,unless you are implementing multiple organizations.

Set Multi-Org Profile OptionsFor multiple-organization architecture, set and/or verify the setting of the profile option, MO: Operating Unit.

 

Set up AdministratorsYou must create a site administrator (referred to as store manager in previous releases) who will set up and test the sites in the Site Administration UI. Use the following procedure to set up a user account for an Oracle iStore siteadministrator.1. Log in to Oracle Forms with the System Administrator responsibility and select Security > User > Define. The Users window opens.2. In the User Name field, enter the user name that the site manager will use to log in to the Oracle iStore Site Administration UI. An example is IBE_ADMIN.3. In the Password field, enter the site administrator’s password.4. In the Responsibilities block, choose iStore Administrator (key = IBE_ ADMINSTRATOR) from the Responsibility LOV. Save the user record.5. Set the following profile options at the user level for this site administrator:JTF_PROFILE_DEFAULT_APPLICATION - 671JTF_PROFILE_DEFAULT_RESPONSIBILITY - 21819In vision instance seeded user COMMS_ISTORE has all the required profiles for iStore Administrator.

 

Launch the Site Administration UIAll site creation tasks are performed in the Site Administration UI. You can enter the Site Administration UI by logging in to: http://<host>:<port>/OA_   HTML/jtflogin.jsp with a user name that the system administrator has set up as an Oracle iStore site manager user account.

 

Set up Concurrent Program AdministratorConcurrent programs populate database tables with fresh information from Oracle Applications. You must either add the concurrent program responsibility to the iStore administrator created above, or create a new user with the concurrent programs responsibility. Both methods work --- which avenue you take depends upon your business needs.

Set the following profile options at responsibility level to the iStore Concurrent Programs Responsibility and any other Oracle iStore concurrent program manager responsibility being used. Generally, set the same profile option values for the iStore Concurrent Programs Responsibility as for the IBE_CUSTOMER responsibility. In a multiple operating unit environment, the concurrent program manager responsibility’s profile option values should match the customer responsibility’s profile option values for each operating unit.ASO: Default Order Type -- Set to Mixed.ASO: Validate Salesrep -- Set to No.

Site ManagementA cornerstone of online business today is the ability to reach a global customer base. Without this capability, web stores are restricted to selling to a limited audience, thus severely reducing the market for their products. Oracle iStore addresses thisfundamental requirement by providing the ability to create multiple sites which support online business in almost any country, currency, or language.

Site ConceptsIn the context of Oracle iStore, a site is any site that the administrator creates using the Site Administration UI. After you map a site to a customer responsibility and save it, you have created a specialty site. Multiple specialty sites can exist within one site, as each site-responsibility combination is considered a specialty site. All specialty sites within a site utilize the same site parameters. In the Customer UI, specialty sites are listed in the Site Selection Page -- which specialty sites display to users is based on setup parameters, customer responsibility, and any permission checking or access restrictions set up for the sites.Additional Points

You can create as many sites and specialty sites as you wish, all within a

single instance.

You can implement sites which support multiple languages and currencies.

Each site can have multiple payment types and shipping methods enabled.

Each site supports any number of responsibilities. However, you can not use

the same responsibility more than once per site.

Each specialty site (site-responsibility combination) supports only one

customer responsibility

The responsibility which is associated with a specialty site determines the

operating unit against which any orders are placed (this association is made

through the MO: Operating Unit profile option, set at responsibility level).

The default Customer UI landing page is called the Site Selection Page. It

displays all specialty sites that are accessible to the responsibilities of the users

viewing the page, plus all sites that are public and not restricted by

responsibility. If the customer can only access one specialty site, Oracle iStore

automatically forwards the user to the Site Home Page of that specialty site,

and the user does not see the list of specialty sites.

CatalogThe iStore rendering framework translates to the following organization hierarchy:  Catalog -> Sections ->Products. Extensibility is available at all three levels. The ‘Catalog’ refers to the collection of product and service offerings for an enterprise. The catalog is a simple hierarchy that allows enterprises to organize, define and manage their offerings. The catalog contains numerous sections which are logical grouping of product areas. For instance, a computer vendor may want to create product groups – laptops and desktops. In iStore, this is accomplished through ‘Sections’. A section is a group of related items. A section in turn could contain subsections – for instance, the section Desktop could have a subsection for Standard PCs and another for Configurable PCs.The eventual products are defined within sections. Therefore, in the example above, a Standard PC – ‘DesktopPro300’ would appear under the subsection Standard PC.

ContentThe Content Item is the most fundamental unit of content in the iStore world. A Content Item logically wraps an image, message, document, spreadsheet, multimedia or executable file, or any such entity that you may use to present information.

Create a Site

Implementing Catalog

Content Overview

Create a Site1. Begin the site creation process by entering basic information for a site, such as name, description, and default parameters.Note: To remove a site from operation, you must end-date it.

2. Assigning Payment TypesPayment types must first be set up in Oracle Applications before they can be selected in the Site Administration UI. Only the payment types supported by a site will display in the Customer UI. 

 

3. Assigning Shipping MethodsShipping methods must be set up in Oracle Forms’ Shipping menus before they will display in the Site Administration UI. Only the shipping methods supported by a  site will display in the Customer UI.

 

4. Assigning ResponsibilitiesYou must assign at least one customer responsibility to a site. Each iteration of a site plus a responsibility makes a specialty site. The display names you select in this phase of the site building process appear in the Customer UI as the specialty sites’ display names.

A single Customer UI responsibility is seeded for the default customer user; it is IBE_CUSTOMER. This responsibility is associated to all available Oracle iStore user types by default during registration. When you create a site, IBE_CUSTOMER isassigned to the site by default.

Oracle iStore also supports using Oracle iSupport and Oracle Partner Management responsibilities for Customer UI users. If you wish to assign other responsibilities to customers, you must change user types setup, defining new Oracle CRM UserManagement enrollments associated to the user types and mapping the corresponding responsibilities to the appropriate sites.

 

 

4b. Assigning Groups Oracle iStore allows you to organize speciality sites into groups. The Site Selection Page page in the Customer UI will display the specialty sites within a site according to groups that you place them in. You also can assign a single speciality site to multiple groups.

 

5. Organization Access

Access restrictions allow you to control a B2B user’s access to the Customer UI based on his organization. When you use access restrictions, you do one of the following:

Restrict access to a site based on users’ organization(s) affiliation.

Allow only users from a certain organization(s) to access a site.

 

 Select the appropriate radio button: No restriction: Select this radio button to have no organization-related access

restrictions on the site.

Exclude the following organizations: Select this radio button to restrict access

to the site by users associated with the organization(s) you specify.

Include the following organizations: Select this radio button to allow access to

the site only by users associated with the organization(s) you specify.

Implementing Catalog

The catalog you build using Oracle iStore’s sections and products allows you organize your sites into hierarchal sections with products, and to re-use the sections, their products, and any associated content, in one or multiple sites. You also canchoose to exclude specific sections, subsections, or products from sites. In combination with the Display Templates, your site sections --- connected in a parent-child fashion --- help determine the browsing path for the customer in your Customer UI specialty sites. All driven from the main Root section, together the sections, subsections, and products in your sites form a tree-like structure with which you organize and present your product catalog.

The majority of section-product creation and maintenance tasks are performed using the Sections and Products pages accessible within the Catalog tab in the Site Administration UI.

In a typical implementation, Oracle Inventory is the repository of all products sold through the Oracle iStore Customer UI. Products are limited to a single organization and a single default Inventory category set defined in two profile options.

In the Site Administration UI, site administrators can view products, perform limited maintenance on products, assign products to site sections, and assign content to products. In the Customer UI, specialty site customers can view the product data and any related media, as well as search for products within the default category set and product organization.

As a part of maintaining the product database, this includes the ability in the Site Administration UI to:

View item details, such as name, number, and description

Change item description information

Set the Web Status Inventory flag, which is identical functionally to the

Published/Unpublished iStore flag

Assign price lists that contain the products to sites in the Sites > Pricing menu

Search for products

Creating products

Product(ITEM) Properties

Sections

Templates

Creating products

Products can either be created in inventory or from the istore admin UI but its always advisible to create new items from inventory as the istore admin UI has not access to all the item properties.

Create the item in istore

Verify the new item in inventory

 Product (ITEM) Properties1. Products Retrieved From a Single Inventory OrganizationOracle iStore requires one Inventory Organization to be identified, against which the product database is retrieved. This identification is made through the use of the profile option, IBE: Item Validation Organization.Set the IBE: Item Validation Organization profile option to the Inventory Organization from which you wish to retrieve products. In a single-organization implementation, this will be the Master Inventory Organization. If you are implementing a multiple-organization (multi-org) environment, you should set up your Inventory structure and products in the Master Inventory Organization, but create sub-organizations of the master organization. These sub-organizations then can access all of the Master Inventory Organization data, but remain separate entities linked to an Operating Unit through the MO: Operating Unit profile option.The MO: Operating Unit profile option can be set at application, responsibility, or user level. The product search in Oracle iStore’s Site Administration UI will retrieve products based on the setting of this profile option at the lowest level to which it is set, with user level being the lowest.2. Inventory Categories and the iStore Product CatalogIn Oracle Inventory, category sets are used to group products that are alike. Each category set can contain multiple categories. Each category set is assigned to a flexfield structure, and the flexfield structure defines segments for the category set.

Potentially, categories can have a many-to-many relationship with category sets. When you define a product in  Inventory, you define key flexfields that are combinations of the segments defined by the category set flexfield structure.In Oracle Inventory, category sets are used to group products that are alike. Each category set can contain multiple categories. Each category set is assigned to a flexfield structure, and the flexfield structure defines segments for the category set. Potentially, categories can have a many-to-many relationship with category sets. When you define a product in Inventory, you define key flexfields that are combinations of the segments defined by the category set flexfield structure.Set the IBE: Category Set profile option to the Oracle Inventory category set you wish to use as the default category set for your site products. Set this at the iStore application level.3. Using Product AutoplacementOracle iStore’s product autoplacement feature allows products within Oracle Inventory categories to be automatically added and replaced within leaf sections, according to parameters that you set. The autoplacement is achieved through category-section mappings and the use of the concurrent program, iStore Product Autoplacement Concurrent Program.

The autoplacement feature is available only for leaf sections. A leaf section is the last section(s) in a site section hierarchy node. A leaf section may be a Featured or a Navigational section --- what characterizes it as a leaf section is its location in the hierarchy and the fact that it cannot have subsections. Typically, a leaf section will contain only products.Note: If you attempt to use autoplacement with sections that are not leaf sections, the autoplacement will not be effective.

4. Support for Service ItemsOracle iStore supports selling serviceable items and their related services in the Customer UI. In the Site Administration UI, merchants can set up serviceable items and related services (for example, extended warranties) and offer them for sale inthe sites. Oracle iStore also supports adding services to configured items and adding multiple services to a single serviceable item.Service items and serviceable items must be defined in Oracle Inventory before the merchant can include them in site sections using the Site Administration UI. After they have been set up, the products display to web customers in the Customer UI.

5. Required Inventory Flags for Oracle iStore ProductsSeveral Oracle Inventory flags must be set for products that will be sold through the sites. Set these in the Oracle Inventory Master Item form for each product -- including each component in a configured item -- that you plan to sell in a site:

Web Status flag --- Available in the Master Item form’s Web Option tab, this flag specifies whether a product is Published or Unpublished. You can set this flag in the Site Administration UI Product pages as well. Only Published products are available to customers in the Customer UI. The site administrator, using Preview functionality from the Site Administration UI, can see all products assigned to sections, regardless of status. Published and Unpublished products are available for assignment to sections in the Site Administration UI.Note: Oracle Inventory allows users to set a Web Status of Disabled. Products in status Disabled cannot be queried in the Site Administration UI nor assigned to sections. Setting a product’s Web Status to Disabled in Inventory will make products disappear in both the Site Administration and Customer UIs.Orderable on the Web --- Available in the Master Item form’s Web Option tab, this flag enables the Checkout button. You cannot set this flag in the Site Administration UI. If this flag is not enabled, a product will display in the Customer UI, but a customer will be unable to check out with it. Note that this flag is not considered for children of a configured item.Note: If the item is already part of an outstanding transaction (e.g., item is in the cart), but the Web Orderable flag for the item is No, the user should not be allowed to checkout with the cart. User can remove that item and then proceed to checkout.Customer Orders Enabled --- Available in the Master Item form’s Order Management tab, this flag marks a product as orderable by customers. You cannot set this flag in the Site Administration UI. If this flag is not enabled, no one will be able to order the product.

OE Transactable --- The OE Transactable flag needs to be marked Yes in Order Management attributes group, if Order Management and Shipping Execution are implemented. This attribute indicates whether demand can be placed for an item by Oracle Order Management, and whether shipment transactions are communicated to Oracle Inventory. It is mandatory if you want to track theshipment transactions in Inventory. For items you do not ship, you may still want OE Transactable turned on if you use the items in forecasting or planning. A warning is issued if you change the value of this attribute when open sales order lines exist. You cannot turn this attribute off if demand exists.6. Fields Mapping Oracle iStore Product to Oracle Inventory FieldsIn Oracle iStore, product fields do not map identically to the Oracle Inventory fields from which they are derived. The following table shows the field mappings.

 

7. Providing Regular Available to Promise (ATP)Oracle iStore can provide regular available to promise (ATP) information on Inventory items without customization. Oracle iStore checks the ON_HAND_QTY field in the Oracle Inventory ATP columns to determine the availability of products requested in the specialty sites.In the Customer UI, this manifests as the Check Availability link in the Your hopping Cart page.High-Level Steps to Set up Regular ATPFollowing are the high-level steps to set up regular Available to Promise (ATP):1. Set up ATP in Oracle Manufacturing.2. Define ATP sourcing rules in Oracle Inventory.3. Enable products for ATP by setting their ATP and ATP component flags.4. In the Site Administration UI Create/Update Site page, activate the Allow customers to check item availability checkbox.8. Display Options for Units of MeasureFor Oracle iStore products, you can determine whether all or only primary units of measure (UOMs) are displayed in the Customer UI. To determine UOM display, set the profile option, IBE: Retrieve All Units of Measure for an Item, at iStore application

level, to either Yes or No:Yes --- For each product, all UOMs and all prices will be displayed.No --- For each product, only the primary UOM and prices are displayed. In this case, the primary UOM must be defined in a valid price list accessible by the user.The default value is No.Important: If setting IBE: Retrieve All Units of Measure for an Item, set the profile option IBE: Retrieve Price When Displaying Item, to an opposite value.

SectionsSection Types: Featured, Navigational, and LeafSite sections are of two basic types: Featured and Navigational. A third category, Leaf, can be of either main type, depending upon its placement in the hierarchy.Featured section:

Appears on the home page of its parent section

Contains products only i.e  cannot have subsections

Navigational section: Appears as a hyperlink in the browsing map of its parent section -- users must

select the section hyperlink to view the section

Can contain products or subsections, but not both.

Leaf section:Within these two types, a section also can be characterized as a leaf section. Following are the leaf section characteristics:

The leaf section is always the ending section or sections on a hierarchy

branch, and thus never has subsections.

The leaf section can be a Featured or a Navigational type of section.

The leaf section’s main purpose is for usage with Oracle iStore’s Product

Autoplacement feature.

Note that a leaf section is a logical definition, and not a section attribute that you can define in Oracle iStore.

Section Statuses: Published or Unpublished

Before a section is available to customers in the Customer UI, you must flag the section as Published and save the changes. Unpublished sections cannot be seen by customers.

Published section:Section and any published child sections or products are visible in both the Customer UI and Site Administration UI. In the Site Administration UI, the site administrator uses Preview mode to preview a section and its child sections in the context of a specialty site.When publishing a section, the Apply status to all descendant sections checkbox in the Create/Update Section page enables you to publish the current section and all descendant sections (but not products) at the same time.Unpublished section:Unpublished sections and all child sections or products are not visible in the Customer UI, unless being viewed by the site administrator (i.e., a user logged in with the iStore Administrator or equivalent responsibility). Sections and all child sections or products (whether published or unpublished) also are viewable by the administrator through the use of Preview mode (selecting the Preview button in Site Administration UI pages).Product Statuses: Published or UnpublishedWhile working with the product catalog, you can determine whether or not to change the status of an Oracle Inventory product to Published or Unpublished. Only Published products are able to display in the Customer UI, unless the site administrator is using Preview mode.

Setting a product’s Published/Unpublished status in the Oracle iStore Site Administration UI is the same as changing the product’s Web Status setting in Oracle Inventory.

 

Templates

Oracle iStore is supplied with over 800 Display Templates that present the Customer UI pages. In addition, you can create your own templates for use in the sites. Each template has a specific display purpose, depending upon which element of the customer-facing application it displays. The template categories are known as Applicable To categories in the Site Administration UI.

Layout Templates:

Display Templates have the following features:

Display Name -- This is the template’s name, to be used for your internal business purposes. The template name appears in the Site Administration UI, but cannot be seen in the Customer UI.Programmatic access name -- This is a unique code used by template processing pages to determine what to do with the template. The template programmatic access name appears in the Site Administration UI, but cannot be seen in the Customer UI.Keywords -- After you enter them in the system, keywords can be used to search for templates in the Site Administration UI. These keywords cannot be seen by customers.

Description -- This is an internal description, meant for your own business purposes, that provides information about the use of the template. The template description appears in the Site Administration UI, but cannot be seen in the Customer UI.

Applicable To -- The Applicable To designation of a template is a display category that describes its purpose.

Source files -- Each template used in the Customer UI must have a source JSP mapped to it for each site/language mapping for which it will be used. The source JSP determines the content of the page area covered by the template.

Content Overview

Oracle iStore features reusable content tools which allow you to present content in the Customer UI. These content tools let you map content source files which appear in the Customer UI, allowing you to provide more than just the section or product description information. The content you present in the Customer UI can be images, HTML files, or text messages.

The content tools also allow you to set default content based on Oracle Inventory categories.

The following content functionality is available in Oracle iStore:

Content Components --- These are logical placeholders in the Display

Templates for content associated to media objects.

Media Objects --- Media objects are logical bridges that connect content

component placeholders with source files to present images or HTML content in

the Customer UI. Some media objects do not need to be linked to content

components in order to be useful.

Content Repository --- The Content Repository allows you to view and upload

the actual files that provide the content for your specialty site pages.

How the Store Displays MultimediaMultimedia consist of files used to present content on a web page to your customer, such as graphics, text, audio, and video. Your web page can call for multimedia to display in two ways:_ Directly, by using the multimedia name_ Indirectly, by using a multimedia component

Multimedia Called DirectlyYou assign a multimedia name and a programmatic access name to a multimedia object using the Multimedia tab. You then assign one or more physical media files to combinations of specialty stores and languages. The result is that when the customer looks at your page, Oracle iStore 11i looks at the customer’s language and displays the files that are assigned to the customer’s language for the specialty store the customer is in. If no file is specified for the language and specialty store, then the default file for all specialty stores and languages is displayed. See Cataloging Multimedia for information about how to define multimedia relationships to specialty stores and languages.

Multimedia Called IndirectlyYou can show multimedia files associated with a product in or section by APIs to show the multimedia file for a specific multimedia component. See Defining Multimedia Components for information about creating multimedia component names, their related programmatic access names, and assigning a default multimedia name to each multimedia component. Oracle iStore 11i determines what multimedia file to display for a multimedia component. In this case, you associate the multimedia object with a given multimedia component associated for products or sections. Then, when that product section is displayed (using defaulting rules that are described below), Oracle iStore 11i gets the multimedia object that is associated with the multimedia component for the product/section according to the following process.

Example 1: The Product is Displayed1. If you specified a multimedia object for the multimedia component, Oracle iStore 11i retrieves the correct file based on the language of the specialty store.2. If you have not specified or specified that the default is used then Oracle iStore 11i gets the default for the multimedia component at the product’s primary display category.3. If no value is specified, then Oracle iStore 11i gets the setting for the component from the store level. If no setting is at the store level, then Oracle iStore 11i gets the setting from the profile value.Example 2: The Section is Displayed1. If you specified a multimedia object for the multimedia component, Oracle iStore 11i retrieves the correct file based on the language of the specialty store.2. If no value is specified, then Oracle iStore 11i gets the setting for the component from the store level. If no setting is at the store level, then Oracle iStore 11i gets the setting from the profile value.

Cataloging MultimediaMultimedia consist of files used to present content on a web page to your customer,such as graphics, text, audio, and video. Use this procedure to add multimedia names and to catalog available media files mapped to the multimedia name. See How the Store Displays Media for information about how the information you enter here is used by the store.Naming MultimediaThe multimedia name is the catalog name that is easy to communicate and use when planning your page designs. An example is CompanyLogo.Every multimedia name is given a unique programmatic access name that is shorter and less descriptive than the multimedia name. The programmatic access name is used to display that multimedia file in a web page, if you want to refer to it directly. It is not translated. An example is clogo.The multimedia name and programmatic access name represent several source files. You assign each source file to combinations of specialty stores and languages. The following table lists example file names for the example multimedia name CompanyLogo.Sample Media File NamesFile Specialty Store Languageclog1f.gif specialty store 1 Frenchclog1e.gif specialty store 1 Englishclog2f.gif specialty store 2 Frenchclog2e.gif specialty store 2 English

The result is that if a French customer enters specialty store 1, the store displays the French logo file clog1f.gif. If an English customer enters the same specialty store, the store displays English clog1e.gif. You can search for multimedia more easily if you enter keywords for themultimedia.Prerequisites_ The default language must have already been defined._ At least one speciality store must have already been created.Steps1. In the Multimedia tab, conduct a search for media that is already cataloged and available to use in your store. The Multimedia page lists the multimedia that match your search criteria andthe access names assigned to the multimedia, keywords, descriptions, and the default source files to use for all specialty stores and languages.2. Click Create.

The Multimedia Details page appears.3. Enter the media detail information.4. Define the programmatic access name, which is the name by which the mediawill be accessed from the template.5. Define a common name to which the media can be referred.6. Optionally, define a media description.7. Define the default source file which contains the media content. Define the location of the file relative to the OA_Media set up for example, /OA_MEDIA/product.gif. Oracle iStore 11i uses this default source file unless a specific mapping for a speciality store or non-default store language is preferred by the customer. If only one language or specialty store is defined or if no specialty store has been created, use the defaults to continue with the Oracle iStore 11i setup.8. Optionally, click Add to provide files for the same multimedia object indifferent languages and specialty stores.The Source File Details page appears.9. Enter the name of a media source (physical) file, such as a graphic file, that you want to display on a web page for the media name that you are creating, for example, /OA_MEDIA/video.jpg.10. Add each specialty store and language where you want the new source file to appear, then click Update.The relationship between the new media name, source files, specialty stores, and languages is saved.11. Repeat from step 8 for each source file you want to add.12. In the Multimedia tab, choose View All Mappings.The View All Mappings page displays each source file name and its relationship to specialty stores and languages.

Defining Multimedia ComponentsMultimedia components define the types of media objects available to display on a web page, such as a certain size picture, short text description, or audio of a certain length. One multimedia component dynamically displays the correct media file in your store according to the product, category, or section that the customer chooses to view. Use this procedure to define multimedia components that you want to assign to sections, categories, or products. See How the Store Displays Multimedia for more information about how store uses the information that you enter here.PrerequisitesYou can select a default multimedia in step 4 of the following procedure only after you have cataloged multimedia. If the default information for step 4 is unavailable, you may proceed with the setup process and complete step 4 later. However, if a multimedia association is requested for any product or section with that multimedia component, and an association is not specified between the product or section and the multimedia component, Oracle iStore 11i uses the default multimedia defined at the store level (profile value). To avoid the error, you can also use the multimedia components seeded values:

STORE_PRODUCT_LARGE_IMAGE STORE_PRODUCT_SMALL_IMAGE STORE_SECTION_SMALL_IMAGE

Steps1. In the Setup tab, choose Multimedia Components.The Multimedia Components page displays a list of existing media componentsand default source files that the store uses if no file is assigned to the product orcategory.2. Click Create.The Multimedia Component Details page appears.3. Assign names and descriptions to your multimedia component.

4. Optionally, enter a multimedia name that was created in the Multimedia tab inthe Default Source File field or click Go to select a file.5. Click Update.The multimedia component information is saved. The multimedia components appear in the Product and Category tabs where you choose a multimedia name to correspond with the component for the product or category. If no multimedia name is selected for both product and category, then the default source file you entered in step 4 is used on any store web page for that product or category.

Random TopicsDefining Relationship RulesRelationships are used for merchandising, for example, to offer a substitute product for a product that is out of stock. To speed your rule building process, use this procedure to relate products, categories, and sections to other products, categories, and sections. One relationship type can contain either rules created using the rule builder or one SQL rule. It cannot contain both.Using SQL rules to define relationships by querying the database on particular fields is a tactic primarily used by consulting or other highly technical personal. Most store managers will use the mapping rules.The mapping rules define relationships in a from-to form. The type of from and to objects can be Item Categories (defined in Oracle Inventory), Sections or Hierarchies (defined in Oracle Oracle iStore 11i), or Items (defined in Oracle Inventory). For example, if you choose 3 objects in the from list and 2 objects in the to list, a total of six rules are built.The application evaluates each mapping rule and inserts rows in a table maintains the preevaluated relationships. For example, if you have a category - that has two products assigned - in your From list, and have a section - that has four products - in your To list then Oracle Oracle iStore 11i creates a total of eight product relationships.Business needs drive creation of the relationship rules. Oracle iStore 11i ships withthe following seeded relationships:

RELATEDSUBSTITUTECROSS_SELLUP_SELLSERVICEPREREQUISITECOLLATERALSUPERSEDEDCOMPLIMENTARYIMPACTCONFLICTMANDATORY_CHARGEOPTIONAL_CHARGEPROMOTIONAL_UPGRADE

These seeded relationship types are also seeded in Oracle Inventory for Item Relationships. Unlike in Oracle iStore 11i, the user cannot add more relationship types in Inventory. If you use Oracle iStore 11i's Java API to retrieve related items given an item ID and a seeded relationship type, you will get related items defined in Oracle iStore 11i plus the ones defined in Inventory.Relationships1. Go to the Relationship tab; review the seeded relationships (note that only SUBSTITUTE is used by the store now).

2. Click SUBSTITUTE to create a relationship between items (e.g., item B may be a substitute for item A if item A is out of stock).3. Click Create Rule.4. In the middle frame, search for the base product, and click [ß] to add it to the From List.5. Search for the related product, and click the arrow to add it to the To List.6. Click Done to save the relationship.PrerequisitesProducts must exist in Oracle Inventory.Steps1. In the Relationship tab, choose Create. The Create Relationship page appears.2. Enter relationship information, select Create.Relationship detail page appears and you can choose to specify the pairs of related items by SQL query or by mapping rules. Choose an option and select Create Rule.The Create Rules page appears.3. If you chose Create a SQL Rule, go to step 10. If you chose Create Mapping Rules in step 2, conduct a search to view products, categories, or sections in the center table.The search results appear in the table.4. Select the items in your search results that you want to be in the from side of your rule, and click the left arrow. The selected items appear in the From List.5. Conduct a search to view products, categories, or sections in the center table. This text appears only if you choose mapping rules option in step 2.The search results appear in the table.6. Select the items in your search results that you want to be in the to side of your rule, and click the right arrow. The selected items appear in the To List.7. Repeat as needed to complete your from and to lists for this rule.8. Click Done to submit the relationship rule creation. The Relationship Detail page appears. The application generates a rule from every object in the from list to every object in the to list. Or select Preview Rules to validate or exclude the relationship rules to be added. The Preview Rules Page appears. At this point the rules have not yet been added to the system. You may exclude any rules not needed. When finished click Done to see the Relationship Detail page.9. From the Relationship Detail page, you may select a link for each rule to view all of the product to product relationships generated by that rule. Or click View All Results to view all of the product to product relationships generated by all of the rules in this relationship type.From either of the previous two options, the Rule Results page displays the product-level relationship results.If you don’t want to include one or more of the generated rules, then select Exclude and click Update.The excluded product-level relationships can be re-included.10. The following incomplete SQL displays:Select msi.inventory_item_idFrom mtl_system_items msiWhereThe SQL should return only the column inventory_item_id in mtl_system_items table. You can add as many tables as you want in the From list and add any conditions in the Where clause.

Setting Up Credit Card Payments in iStoreUse the following procedure to set up credit card payment functionality in iStore:1. iStore Setupa. Set the IBE: Authorize Payment Offline During Normal Checkout profile option to No: online authorization.

b. Set the Finalize Order On Error in Authorize Payment profile option to the proper value. (This profile will only take effect when authorize payment error is system error.)Yes: submit order even if authorize payment error is system error.No: catch system error and throw error message.2. Order Capture SetupSet the ASO: Credit Card Authorization profile option to No at the iStore application level. (Do not set this profile at responsibility and user level).3. Accounts Receivable SetupMake sure payee id is assigned to receipt method:a. Navigate to Receivables Manager > Setup > Receipt classes.b. Query the receipt method with Name = Credit Card and make sure merchant id field has the payee id.4. iPayment Setupa. Perform the manual post-installation configuration steps described in the latest release of the Oracle iPayment Implementation Guide. You should also be familiar with typical iPayment administration operations which are documented in the iPayment Concepts and Procedures manual. b. In order to integrate iPayment with iStore, the following special steps needto be performed when you create a payee:– Go to the iPayment UI Administration screen.– Click the Payee tab.– Click the Create button.Fill in the form. Pay attention to two important parameters:

Payee Identifier has to be a valid merchant id in AR, otherwise integration will fail. See the Accounts Receivable Setup section of this procedure for details.CyberCash Id: this an Id acquired after setting up an account with CyberCash.5. Click the Credit Card check box.6. Click the Create button at the end of page to submit the form.

Available to Promise

Calculating the Available to Promise (ATP) is a method of checking the projected supply of an item at a given time.

The basic formula for ATP is ATP quantity = on-hand quantity + supply -

demand.

Oracle Inventory lets you define different rules that govern what is considered

supply and demand.

In oracle inventory you can view the earliest available date for a specific

quantity of an item or a group of items and the available quantity of an item for

a specific date.

ATP Rule

To implement available to promise, you begin by defining your ATP rules. ATP rules let you tailor the ATP calculation to suit your business needs. Each rule is a combination of ATP computation options, time fence options, and supply and demand sources to use during an ATP inquiry. You cannot delete an ATP rule, but you can rename or redefine existing rules by updating fields.

You can define multiple ATP rules to reflect the specific needs of your organization, and then use different rules to calculate availability for different items or groups of items. Each time you run an ATP check, the rule determines how existing supply and demand are matched. You can choose one of the ATP rules you define as the default ATP rule for your organization. You can update the item attribute ATP Rule to specify a default ATP rule for each item.

ATP Computation OptionsYou can choose a variety of computation options to suit your business needs. ATP computations use the consumption and accumulate available features. Consumption resolves negative ATP after it is already determined that there is not enough available inventory. Accumulation uses excess inventory from a period to determine where new demand can be placed. You can choose any combination of the following options:Backward consumption onlyATP calculates availability for your item period by period. If the available supply quantity for the period does not meet the existing demand for that period, ATP works backward, period by period, and checks if the available supply within each period is

sufficient to meet the excess demand. ATP does not combine the available quantities from multiple periods to meet an existing demand.

Backward consumption and accumulate availableATP accumulates the excess supply from period to period. When demand in a period exceeds supply, this accumulated quantity is dipped into and reduced. When you perform an availability check, the accumulated quantity is available for your demand.Forward consumption and backward consumptionATP consumes backwards first. If the available supply quantity for a period is not enough to meet the period’s demand, ATPsteps back period by period to try to satisfy demand. If the demand cannot be met, ATP then moves forward into future periods to check on available supply.Keep in mind that the ATP rule applies to existing demand and supply, and determines the quantity available on a period by period basis. Your quantity check is done against the results. ATP does not try to forward consume or backward consume your ATP check quantity.

ATP Time Fence OptionsYou can specify time fences for your ATP rules to restrict the use of both supply and demand. Time fences help you filter the noise out of the ATP calculation. You can implement the following time fence options:

Past Due Demand DaysATP does not include any demand orders with a due date before this time fence. ATP uses the number of manufacturing workdays you enter for this fence to back off from the current system date and determine the past due time fence.Use this time fence if you have sales orders, jobs, repetitive schedules, or other demand outstanding with past due dates that you do not plan to fill from existing or planned supply. If the due dates are before the time fence, ATP does not include these orders as demand.

Past Due Supply DaysATP does not include any supply orders with a due date before this time fence. ATP uses the number of manufacturing workdays you enter for this fence to back off from the current system date and determine the past due supply fence.Use this time fence if you have purchase orders, jobs, repetitive schedules or other supply orders with past due dates that you do not want to rely on as a source of supply for your ATP calculations. If the due dates are before the time fence, ATP does not include these orders as supply.

Infinite Supply Time FenceUse this time fence to specify the end of your ATP horizon. ATP considers any demand that falls beyond this time fence as available. Use this time fence as the practical lead time you need to acquire components and build any quantity that a customer may order. You can choose from the following options to determine the infinite supply time fence:• Cumulative manufacturing lead time• Cumulative total lead time

• Item total lead time (does not include lead time of components)• User–defined time fence (specify the number of supply days for your rule)

Accumulation WindowIf you choose to accumulate expected surplus in one ATP period to the next, you can limit this accumulation to a specific number of workdays. Oracle Inventory does not treat excess supply as available supply beyond this accumulation window. Oracle Inventory also uses this option in backward consumption calculations, preventing excess supply from a period beyond the accumulation window from covering a shortage in a future period.You can use the accumulation window to prevent the commitment of supply to satisfy demand with requirement dates far into the future. This is particularly useful if you have an item with high turnover and would likely be able to sell it quickly.

ATP Supply Source OptionsYou can choose the supply sources for each ATP rule. The ATP rule you use during the ATP inquiry then determines which sources of supply to include in the ATP calculation. Note that supply that falls on a non–manufacturing workday is considered available on the next manufacturing workday. All supply must have a scheduled due date within the ATP rule’s past due supply days window.

Setting Store Price ListsPrice lists must be set up in Oracle Order Management Basic Pricing module or Oracle Advanced Pricing before they can be selected in the Store Administration UI.Steps1. Log into the Store Administration UI and navigate to the Stores tab. Select store and press Update to launch the Update Store: Details page.2. Select Pricing to retrieve the Pricing page showing and allowing update of all currencies, price lists, maximum orderable amounts, and payment thresholds associated with a store.3. For each supported currency, choose the price lists for Walk-in Customers (guest users), Individual Customers (B2C users), and Business Customers (B2B users). Use flashlight icons to search and select price lists in Search and Select: Price Lists page.4. Back in the Pricing page, press Apply to save changes. The currencies and pricelist selections are now saved to the database.

Setting Store Payment TypesSelect the payment types that the store will support. Payment types must first be set up in Oracle Applications before they can be selected in the Store Administration UI.Steps1. Log into the Store Administration UI and navigate to the Stores tab. Select store and press Update to launch the Update Store: Details page.2. Select Payment to retrieve the Payment Types page showing all payment types supported by this store.3. To add payment types: Select Add Payment Type to retrieve the Select: Payment Types page where you can select the payment types this store to support.4. Back in Payment Types page, select Apply to save changes.5. Optionally, enable or disable the following checkboxes:

Ask for Purchase Order --- If checked, users can enter purchase ordernumbers during checkout for this store. This enables the Purchase Ordertextbox in the checkout pages.

Use Purchase Order when Below Payment Threshold --- This enables thepurchase order textbox for orders that are below the payment thresholdspecified. If left unchecked and the order amount is below the paymentthreshold specified, the purchase order textbox will not display, even if the Ask for Purchase Order checkbox is checked.

Setting Store ResponsibilitiesYou must assign at least one Oracle iStore customer responsibility to a store. Inaddition:

The responsibility of the user placing an order --- through the setting of the MO:Operating Unit profile --- determines the operating unit against which the order is placed. Only iStore (IBE) responsibilities are supported for use in your stores.

Each iteration of a store plus a responsibility makes a specialty store in the Customer UI.

As a best practice, use one responsibility per store. Oracle iStore ships with a default responsibility for the Customer UI. This

responsibility is IBE_CUSTOMER. When you create a store, Oracle iStore automatically maps this responsibility to the store; you can use the Responsibilities page to remove the mapping.

Steps1. Log into the Store Administration UI and navigate to the Stores tab. Select store and press Update to launch the Update Store: Details page.2. Select Responsibility to retrieve the Supported Responsibilities page. If you have not removed it, the default customer responsibility, IBE_CUSTOMER, will be mapped to the store.a. To remove the default customer responsibility assignment, select the Remove icon in the table row.b. To use the default customer responsibility but select a new display name for the specialty store, enter the display name in the Store Display Name textbox and press Apply to save the change.3. To map a new responsibility to the store: Select Add Responsibility to retrieve the Search and Select: Responsibility page where you can search for and select responsibilities.Note: You can only use a single responsibility once per store.4. Enter Display Names: In the Responsibilities page, in the Store Display Name field, enter a display name for each specialty store (store-responsibility combination) in the Customer UI.Important: If you do not change the Display Name field for each supported responsibility, then the Customer UI will display the responsibility name (e.g., IBE_CUSTOMER) instead of a store name. However, if you do forget to enter a user-friendly display name here, you can edit it later by returning to this screen.5. Enter Effective Dates: In Start Date and End Date fields, enter dates when the store will support each responsibility you have added. 6. Press Apply to save changes.

Specialty Stores OverviewSpecialty stores are presented on a single web page, the Specialty Stores Page, and customers select a specialty store name to retrieve a specialty store’s catalog pages. From the top level page of a specialty store, customers can browse through sections and their associated products, and ultimately add items to their shopping carts for checkout/purchase.Hundreds of Display Templates that link to JavaServer Pages™ present the Customer UI’s product catalog and section hierarchy. The product catalog and section hierarchy

are built in the Store Administration UI. Oracle iStore installs with a complete set of templates for the Customer UI pages and related process flows.The template structure of Oracle iStore’s Customer UI allows you to map your own JSPs to the templates (using the Store Administration UI) in order to provide a unique web page presentation. The default landing page for the Customer UI, the Specialty Stores Page, can be configured in either a multi-column or single-column layout. The multi-column layout helps facilitate a multi-language and/or multi-operating unit implementation of the stores.The figure below shows an example of the Specialty Stores Page in a multi-columnlayout.

Specialty store names display in alphabetical order, unless manually ordered by the store administrator. In a multi-column layout of the Specialty Stores Page, hyperlinks automatically appear for each installed language. In a single-column implementation, a drop-list of available specialty stores is presented to the customer.