Oracle 11i Upgrade Model Questionnaire

Click on the Excel image below to get a readable view:

Understanding Oracle Bill Of Materials (BOM)

BOM Overview:

A bill of material is a list or Items associated with a parent Item, such as an assembly, and information about how each item relates to the parent item.

# A single level BOM consists of one parent Item and its immediate component Items
# Multilevel BOMs are displayed by linking together single level BOMs stored in the system
# A subassembly is both a parent and a component
# All items in a BOM model, including the parent Item being configured, must be defined in the Item Master and enabled in the Inventory Organization where BOM Model is created
# A BOM Model can be shared among other Inventory Organizations by creating common bills
# After a valid combination of options is selected from BOM Model, a Standard BOM is created to guide manufacturing planning and execution
# Repetitive combinations of option selections can be stored and retrieved as pre-configured Items


BOM Types:

1. Standard Bill
2. Model Bill
3. Option Class
4. Planning Bill


BOM Models:

•Create Model bills to represent products and service that allow user-selected options:
# Option Classes are groups of optional items
# Optional Items
# Required Items
•Model bills and Option Class bills of material can include:
# Stock Items
# Assemble-to-Order Models
# Mandatory and Optional Components

PTO and ATO BOM Models:


•ATO BOM Models:
# Represent product models that require assembly “downstream” in Oracle Work In Process
# Are assembled using manufacturing work orders that can be costed
•PTO BOM Models:
# Represent product Models in which included items appear on pick slips and selected when the order ships
# Are not costed


Configurable PTO and ATO BOM Models:


# The inventory Item that represents the top level in your BOM Model must have the BOM Item Type attribute set to Model
# PTO and ATO BOM Models can contain Standard Items and Option Classes as components
# ATO and PTO BOM Models can also contain other ATO BOM Models as components
# An ATO BOM Model cannot contain a PTO BOM Model
# A PTO BOM Model can contain a PTO BOM Model


Implicit Rules:


•Basic rules are included with Oracle Bills of Material:
# Optional or Required
# Mutually Exclusive
# Maximum and Minimum Quantity
# Quantity Cascade
•These rules provided by Oracle Bills of Material are called Implicit Rules.
•Oracle Configurator honors these rules as well as the rules defined using Oracle Configurator Developer


Option Classes:

Option Class is an element of a Configuration Model.The purpose of Option Classes are to group and prevent viable alternatives. The end user typically selects one or more options from each Option Class during runtime to create a valid configuration.

Option Class Selection Rules:


BOM Model rules for selecting options from an Option Class during order entry:
•Required and Mutually exclusive:You must select one and only one Item in this Option Class
•Required:You must select one or more optional items in this Option Class
•Optional and Mutually Exclusive:You can select only one optional item in this Option Class
•Optional:Select none, some, or all optional items in this Option Class


BOM Example:

Oracle Configurator Fundamentals

Oracle Configurator Introduction:

A configurator is a tool for configuring products and services. The configuration process can include assessing customer needs, selecting product and service components, and viewing configurations. Oracle Configurator can be integrated with the following applications,
•iStore
•Order management
•TeleSales
•Sales Online
•Quoting
•A custom Web Application


Oracle Configurator Supports:

# Configuration for Simple to Complex products and services
# Guided Buying or Selling for non-expert users
# Real-time validation during option selection
# Multiple User Interfaces (Uis) for different types of users accessing the same model
# Batch validation of configuration models
# Custom rule extensions to the configuration model
# APIs for integrating with other hosting applications, including custom Web applications
# BOM Synchronization
# Multiple Instantiation in Solution-based Models
# Model Networks and Connectivity
# Configuring Attributes

Oracle Configurator Architecture:

I. Three-Tier Architecture
• Data tier for Oracle Applications Database Server
• Application Tier for the Oracle Configurator Servlet and Internet or Web Server
• UI Tier for Configurator Thin Client UI
II. Runtime Oracle Configurator and Oracle Configurator Developer use the same data tier architecture .
III. Production Oracle Configurator and the test runtime Configurator. User Interface invoked from Oracle Configurator Developer are thin Client Uis using the same application tier architecture


Oracle Configurator Implementation Overview:

•Setup an Oracle Configurator development or test environment
•Import PTO and ATO BOM Model structures and Item Master data into Oracle Configurator Developer
•Use Oracle Configurator Developer to enhance the configuration model:
# Structure (imported from Oracle BOM or structure you create in Developer)
# Rules
# User Interface
•If required, extend the configuration model by using Functional Companions to:
# Access information outside the configuration model
# Perform engineering calculations
# Integrate with an alternative User Interface
# Write custom rules that cannot be created using OCD
•Test the configuration model and any Functional Companions against defined Test Cases.


Conceptual Overview of Configurator Implementation Flow:

RMA (Return) Order Cycle

RMA Defined:

•Permission for a customer to return lines.
•Oracle Order Management allows you to authorize the return of your sales orders as well as sales made by other dealers or suppliers, as long as the items are part of your item master and price list.

Standard Return Flow:

Typical RMA Business Processes:

•RMA with credit only
–Your company issues a credit without the customer returning the product.
–Accept returns for credit by applying credits to original invoices or creating on account credits.
•RMA with receipt and credit
–Customer returns a product and receives credit.
•RMA with receipt and no credit
–Your customer returns a product you sent to them on a trial basis or at no charge, therefore they receive no credit.

Other RMA Types:

•RMA with repair
–Your customer returns a damaged product. Your company repairs and returns the product to the customer.
•RMA with replacement
–Your customer returns a product and your company sends a replacement product rather than issuing a credit.
•Returned item fails inspection
–Customer returns product, company inspects product and rejects it. Company scraps product or sends product back to customer.
•Trade in
–Return line on the same order as the product that the customer is purchasing.

Accounting Impact:

•During receipt of RMA in Receiving Inventory
Receiving Inventory Dr.
COGS Cr.
•During receipt into Subinventory
Material Dr.
Receiving Inventory Cr.
•During generation of Credit Memo
Revenue a/c Dr. to Receivables a/c Cr.

Tables that get updated:

•OE_ORDER_HEADERS_ALL
•OE_ORDER_LINES_ALL
•RCV_SHIPMENT_HEADERS
•RCV_SHIPMENT_LINES
•RCV_TRANSACTIONS
•RA_INTERFACE_LINES
•RA_CUSTOMER_TRX_LINES_ALL
•RA_CUSTOMER_TRX_ALL

Purchasing and Inventory Accounts commonly defined during Setup

1. Purchasing:
Financial Options
Accounting Information
· Liability Account
· Prepayment Account
· Discount Taken Account
· Rate Variance Gain Account
· Rate Variance Loss Account

Purchasing Options
Accruals
· Expense AP Accrual Account

Receiving Options
Receiving Account (need one account per inventory organization; they can be the same).

2. Inventory:
Define Organization Parameters - All accounts in this section are required for each inventory organization; they can be the same between orgs.
· Inter-Org Transfer Accounts (required for setup)
· Inter-Org Receivable Account
· Inter-Org Payable Account
· Inter-Org Purchase Price Variance Account
· Intransit Inventory Account

Valuation Accounts
· Material Account
· Outside Processing Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)
· Material Overhead Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)
· Overhead Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)
· Resource Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)

Other Default Accounts
· Purchase Price Variance Account
· Invoice Price Variance Account
· Inventory Accrual Account
· Encumbrance Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)
· Expense Account
· Sales Account
· Cost of Goods Sold Account (this is a default; each item can have a COGS account as well)
· Average Cost Variance Account (this probably won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)

Define Subinventory - All accounts in this section are required for each subinventory in each org; they can be the same as the org level, and can be the same between subinventories.

Subinventory Accounts
· Material Account
· Outside Processing Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)
· Material Overhead Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)
· Overhead Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)
· Resource Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)
· Expense Account
· Encumbrance Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)

Define Freight Carriers - Need an account for each carrier defined; they can all be identical, overlapping (Ground account vs. Express account) or unique; freight carriers are optional, and may not be set up.

Define Inter-Org Shipping Information
· Inter-Org Transfer Credit Account
· Inter-Org Receivable Account
· Inter-Org Payable Account
· Inter-Org Purchase Price Variance Account
· Intransit Inventory Account

Define Overhead
· Absorption Account

Define Item - need an account code for each item defined; they can be identical, overlapping, or unique; these accounts are optional since they will default from the subinventory or organization
· Cost of Goods Sold Account
· Encumbrance Account (this won’t be used, so a suspense account is fine)
· Expense Account
· Sales Account

Troubleshooting Guide - Create Release against Blanket PO

You have 3 basic choices for the requisitions created by this process:
1. Release against a blanket PO
2. Autocreate into POs
3. Release as standard PO (but you must have a quotation to use instead of a blanket -- pricing has to come from one or the other).

The general process for release against a blanket (or quotation) is:

1. Create a blanket PO with lines for all parts to be sourced. Enter a price for each line. (Or, enter a quotation).

2. Define a sourcing rule (Purchasing > Supply Base > Sourcing Rules)
Enter a name for the sourcing rule.
Org = your org name
Type = buy from
Supplier = name of supplier on blanket PO or quotation.
Supplier site = name of supplier site on blanket PO or quotation.
Allocation = 100% (must be 100%)

3. Assign the sourcing rule to an Assignment Set (Purchasing > Supply Base > Assign Sourcing Rules)
Enter an Assignment Set Name (for example "MRP Planned Items"
Assigned To (I usually pick Item/Organization)
Org = your inventory org code
Item/Category = part being sourced
Type = sourcing rule
Sourcing Rule = name you created in Step 2

4. You must then enter this Assignment Set Name at the responsibility level for the system profile option MRP: Default Sourcing Assignment Set.

5. Create Approved Supplier List
Upper half of screen:
Type = Item
Enter Item Number
Lower half of screen:
Business = direct
Name = name of blanket PO vendor from step #1
Site = site of vendor from step #1 (must be same site as defined in step #2)
Status - changed to "approved".
Global = no
Owning org = your inventory org name

Click on Attributes button
Enter Purchasing UOM (required)
Select release method:
Automatic release (no review)
Automatic release with review
Release using Autocreate (for greatest control)
Sequence = 1
Type = either Blanket or Quotation
Blanket Number & Line Number
Blanket Status (blanket PO must have been approved).

Support also states that you can also use a quotation to turn a requisition into a standard PO in a similar process, but I have never tested this. Try entering a quotation in the PO module and reference this instead of Blanket in the Approved Supplier List form.

You can also take the approved requisitions and just turn them into POs using the autocreate function. But be sure that you have "Approve Purchase Requisitions" as one of the functions on the Approval Assignments form or the reqs will be "incomplete" instead of "approved" and you cannot then autocreate them onto POs. (That error cost me two whole days to find.......)

Oracle Lease Management Overview

Lease Life Cycle :

a) Credit Checking of the Lessee (Customer)
b) Author a Contract between Lessor and Lessee
c) Bill the Lessee during a Contract Term
d) Receive Payments from Lessee during the term of the contract
e) Lessee interacts with Lessor during the term of contract.
i. May inquire regarding his payments or next invoice
ii. May request for some additional Product information
iii. May dispute an invoice.
iv. On the basis of Lessee’s interaction, Lessor’s agent may initiate certain tasks internally or send some notifications

f) At the end of Contract term, as per T&C of the contract
i. Lessee may return the Asset to Lessor
ii. Lessee may purchase the Asset
iii. Lessee may renew a contract
g) Lessor sends quote to the lessor if there is a purchase option as per T&C
i. May be an early termination Quote
ii. End of Term Quote
h) Asset is returned to the Lessor
i. Asset may become part of inventory which can be re-leased later
ii. Asset may be remarketed

OLM integrates the power of Oracle’s ERP, CRM and Contract Applications for complete leasing solution.

Key Business Flows:
OLM has designed the following Key Business Flows to address all the scenarios of a typical Lease Life Cycle

1. Credit Application to Booking
2. Invoice to Receipt
3. Asset return to Disposal
4. Quote to termination
5. Inquiry to Resolution
6. Period Open/Close - This is purely Accounting setup

Oracle APPS responsibilities for OLM:

All the Key Business Flows except Inquiry to Resolution are performed by
Logging into OLM HTML Version. Lease Super User module is used

OLM has number of concurrent programs for processing data within OLM and transfer of data to other modules like AP, AR, GL etc. All these concurrent Programs are accessed by using Lease Administrator responsibility which is in Oracle Forms Version.

Lease Center Agent Responsibility in Oracle Forms Version is used for the inquiry to Resolution Business Flow.

1. Credit Application to Booking:

Modules involved: AP, FA, GL, Inventory, Contracts Core and Installed Base
A Third party Lease Price modeling software, SUPER TRUMP performs stream generation and Lease Pricing

· Credit Approval
· Authoring a Contract
· Vendor Payment
· Asset Tracking

For some clients, Credit Application of the Lessee( Customer) is processed in a separate system.
Approved contract is entered in OLM. Contract information is available different subsystems. Most of the times, Contract has to be imported by drawing information from those subsystems.
In a few cases, we may be entering a Contract from scratch

2. Invoice to Receipt:
Modules involved: AR, Collections, GL, Contracts for Service

Billing functionality identifies items to be passed onto lessee.
Billable items are as follows

· Cost of the equipment – multiple assets
· Fees incurred like Customer Service Fee, Documentation Fee
· Expenses like Insurance premium, Installation charges
· Taxes like Sales Tax, VAT

Billing amounts may be generated automatically or manually
Lessee may have assets at multiple locations under same lease contract
Various Billing requirements like Usage Based Billing
Payments from Lessee – Receipts to Lessor
Transfer of funds – Lessee or Lessor may initiate
Mode of Payments: Direct Debits, Checks, Wire Transfers or Credit Cards
Notifications to Customers
Collections – missing Payments, delinquent, litigations etc


3. Quote to Termination:

Modules involved: AR, FA, CRM Foundation, Workflow and GL

Alternatives when a Lease Contract expires

· Manage a repurchase
· Restructure a Contract
· Terminate a Contract

OLM processes restructured contracts through Contract authoring and Booking
Request for a renewal or termination quote
Complete termination of Contract
Update Asset records

When termination quote for sale is accepted, assets are retired in Fixed Assets

4. Asset return to Disposal:
Modules involved: iStore, Marketing Online, Advanced Pricing, CRM Foundation

· Asset returns
· Remarketing

Asset evaluation process
Shipping instructions for returned Assets.
Returns may be accounted as scrap, or inventory to be remarketed
Remarketing manages disposition of Assets when a Lease expires.
Sale of Asset to a 3rd Party or internal remarketing efforts


5. Inquiry to Resolution:
Modules involved: CRM Foundation, Telesales, E Business Center

Customer Service representative tracks a customer inquiry through its resolution.
Communicate to appropriate authorities regarding tasks to be performed for resolving a customer query
Define processes to manage specific requests such as:
· Insurance quotes
· Claims
· Contract transfers
· Equipment exchanges
· Asset modifications
· Lease Renewals

Components of CRM Foundation used in OLM

· Resources
· Sales Representatives
· Remarketers
· Assignment Groups
· Interaction History
· Fulfillment

Summary of the modules used in OLM:

Functional
Financials : GL, AP, AR and FA
Contracts: Contracts core, Contracts Service
CRM: CRM Foundation, Installed Base, Telesales, iStores, Marketing Online
Distribution: Inventory, Advanced Pricing
(Telesales – Customer Service and Collections Functionality)

Technical
Workflow – Processes Approvals and Notifications
XML gateway – Integrates with Lease Price Modeling Software
Advanced Inbound and Outbound – Customer Service, Call Center functionality, Universal Workques, Fulfillment Server