Oracle Order Management Setup steps and faq

Step 1: Define Flexfields
Define key and descriptive flexfields to capture additional information about orders and transactions.
This step is required for Key Flexfields, and optional if you plan on using the functionality surrounding Descriptive Flexfields. Several defaulting values are provided.

Step 2: Multiple Organizations
Define multiple organizations in Oracle Inventory. This step is optional.

Step 3: Inventory Organizations
Define inventory organizations (warehouses), parameters, subinventories, and picking rules in Oracle Inventory. You must define at least one item validation organization and at least one organization that acts as an inventory source for orders fulfilled internally.

If you plan to drop ship some orders, you must also define at least one logical organization for receiving purposes. Your item validation organization can be the same as your inventory source or your logical receiving organization, but you cannot use one organization for all three purposes.

This step is required.

Step 4: Profile Options
Define profile options to specify certain implementation parameters, processing options, and system options. This step is required.

Step 5: Parameters
Set your Order Management Parameters to validate items, enable customer relationships, and operating unit defaults. This step is required.

Step 6: Invoicing
Define invoicing information, including payment terms, invoicing and accounting rules, Autoaccounting parameters, territories, and invoice sources.
This step is required if you plan on transferring invoicing information to Oracle Receivables. Several defaulting values are provided.

Step 7: Salespersons
Define information on your sales representatives. This step is optional.

Step 8: Tax
Define tax features, such as codes, rates, exceptions, and exemptions.
This step is required.

Step 9: QuickCodes
Define QuickCodes that provide custom values for many lists of values throughout Order Management. This step is required if you plan on creating user defined Quickcodes for utilization within Order Management. Defaulting values are provided.

Step 10: Workflow
Define order and line processing flows to meet different order and line type requirements. This step is required.

Step 11: Document Sequences (Order Numbering)
Define Document Sequences for automatic or manual numbering of orders. This step is required.

Step 12: Order Import Sources
Define sources for importing orders into Order Management. This step is required if you plan on importing orders or returns into Order Management.

Step 13: Units of Measure
Define the units of measure in which you supply items. This step is required.

Step 14: Item Information
Define item information, including item attribute controls, categories, and statuses. This step is required.

Step 15: Items
Define the items that you sell, as well as container items. This step is required.

Step 16: Configurations
Define the configurations that you sell. This step is required if you plan on generating orders or returns for configured items. Several defaulting values are provided.

Step 17: Pricing
Define price lists for each combination of item and unit of measure that you sell. Optionally, you can define pricing rules and parameters to add flexibility. This step is required.

Step 18: Customer Classes
Define customer profile classes. This step is required if you plan on using the functionality surrounding Customer Profiles. Several defaulting values are provided.

Step 19: Customers
Define information on your customers. This step is required.

Step 20: Item Cross References
Define item cross references for ordering by customer part number, UPC, or any generic item number. This step is required if you plan on using the functionality surrounding item cross referencing. Several defaulting values have been provided.

Step 21: Sourcing
Define your sourcing rules for scheduling supply chain ATP functions. This step is optional.

Step 22: Order Management Transaction Types (Order and Line Types)
Define Order Management transaction types to classify orders and returns. For each order type, you can assign a default price list, defaulting rules, order lines, return lines, line types, workflow assignments, payment terms, and freight terms. This step is required.

Note: Order Management provides NO seeded OM transaction types. For existing Oracle Order Entry customers, Order Management will update existing Order Types to OM transaction type during the upgrade process.

Step 23: Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
Set up your Cost of Goods Sold Accounting Flexfield combination (COGS Account) in Oracle Inventory. This step is required if you plan on utilizing the functionality surrounding COGS.

Step 24: Processing Constraints
Define processing constraints to prevent users from adding updating, deleting,
splitting lines, and cancelling order or return information beyond certain points in your order cycles. Use the constraints Order Management provides, which prevent data integrity violations, or create your own. This step is optional. Several default values for processing constraints have been defined.

Step 25: Defaulting Rules
Define defaulting rules to determine the source and prioritization for defaulting
order information to reduce the amount of information you must enter manually in the Sales Orders window. This step is optional. Several Defaulting rules and corresponding values for have been defined.

Step 26: Credit Checking
Define your credit checking rules. This step is required if you plan on performing any type of order credit checking.

Step 27: Holds
Define automatic holds to apply to orders and returns. This step is required if you plan on performing automatic hold for orders or returns.

Step 28: Attachments
Define standard documents to attach automatically to orders and returns. This step is optional.

Step 29: Freight Charges and Carriers
Define freight charges and freight carriers to specify on orders. This step is required if you plan on charging customers for freight or additional order charges.

Step 30: Shipping
Define shipping parameters in Oracle Shipping Execution. This step is required.

Oracle Order Management Interview Questions

1)      How many types of Purchase Order are there?
Ø  Standard Sales Orders.
Ø  RMA sales Order.
Ø  Back to Back Sales Orders.
Ø  Drop Ship.

2)      What happens when you enter an Order?
After you enter an order, the items on the order are validated in Oracle Inventory; a price is calculated for the items using the pricing engine; the availability of the items are checked and may be reserved; the items are then pick released and shipped to the customer

3)      Explain about Processing Constraints
Processing Constraints are a security framework where you can define rules in Oracle Order Management that validate back-end operations such as Create, Update, Delete and Cancel.
Examples:
You cannot change the Order Type in the order header once the order is Booked.
You cannot delete the line in an order once the Order Status is Closed (if the order is ship confirmed or invoice interfaced).

4)      What are Defaulting Rules?
Defaulting Rules enable you to speed up data entry by passing values in the window based on some key values you have entered.
Examples:
In the order header, Ship-To Address and Bill-To Address values default in the window once you enter the customer name or number.
If you enter an item number, the Unit of Measure and Item Description automatically default on the order line.

5)      When will you create a Drop Ship Order?
Drop shipments are used due to the following reasons:
·         Customer requires an item that is not normally stocked
·         Customer requires a large quantity of the item which is not available with you
·         It is more economical when the supplier ships directly to the customer

6)      What are Modifiers and Qualifiers?
Modifiers are discount, surcharge or special charge that may be applied to the base price and may alter the value of the item. It can be applied either at order level or at the line level.
A qualifier helps you define who is eligible for a price list or modifier. A qualifier can be a customer name, a customer class, an order type, or an order amount that can span orders.

7)      At which stage the item is moved from ware house to staging inventory?
During Pick Confirm

8)      What happens during Ship Confirm?
Ship Confirm indicate that the items are loaded onto the carrier from staging location.

9)      What is Auto invoice?
Auto Invoice is a concurrent program in Oracle Receivables that performs invoice processing at both the order and line levels. Once an order or line or set of lines is eligible for invoicing, the Invoice Interface workflow activity interfaces the data to Receivables. Oracle Order Management inserts records into the following interface tables: RA_INTERFACE_LINES and RA_INTERFACE_SALES_CREDITS.

10)  If the order or lines are On Hold, what happens during Invoice Interface?
The Invoice Interface workflow activity will complete with a status of On Hold and the order details will not be interfaced to Receivables.

11)  What are the Inventory Set ups required for Back to Back Order Processing?
Order Management Tab: Customer Orderable, Assemble to Order (ATO), Purchasing Tab: Purchasable, WIP Tab: Build in WIP, General Planning Tab: Buy

12)  What is a Pick Release?
Pick Release finds and releases eligible delivery lines that meet the release criteria, and creates move orders. You can pick release by order, trip, stop, container, delivery, warehouse, and customer, scheduled or requested dates, shipment priority, or combinations of the above criteria.

13)  What is a Pick Slip?
The Pick Slip Report prints all picking line details in a picking batch. This report is used by warehouse personnel to collect all items included in shipments.

14)  What is Ship Confirming?
Ship Confirming the item removes the existing reservations and performs the sales order issue transaction

15)  What is a trip?
A trip is an instance of a specific freight carrier departing from a particular location containing deliveries. A trip is a carrier specific and contains at least two stops, such as a stop to pick up goods and another stop to drop off goods and may include intermediate stops

16)  What is Bill of Lading?
The Bill of Lading prints all sales orders that have been confirmed from a selected delivery. This document lists the ship date, carrier, bill of lading number, delivery name, shipper, ship-to address, carrier name, waybill number, quantity and description of unpacked items, quantity and total of items packed in containers, total quantity of items, and weight/volume information defined in shipping. Any hipping notes you may have created are also printed.

17)  What are the possible reasons for Interface trip stop to complete with Error?
Few reasons may be Order is on Hold, Tax is not applied properly, On-Hand qty is not available in the Inventory, Inventory Period is not open,  Make sure Schedule Ship Date or Requested Date is within the range of order Date.

18)  Explain Internal Sales Order
Internal Sales Orders are used to transfer material from one inventory organization to other inventory or warehouse organization with the same company.
Flow of Internal Sales Order
Internal requisition in PO/INV à Requisition Approval à Run Create Internal Sales Order Concurrent Program à Run Order Import Concurrent Program in OM à Pick Item in INV thru OM à Ship Confirm à Receive Internal Order in INV / PO
Select Order Source as Internal while importing Orders. Shipping Network (Intransit or Direct) to be defined between two organizations (Source and Destination). Destination (requesting) Organization should be defined as Internal Customer with a Ship to address in Order Management. An Internal Sales Order does not generate Accounts Receivable Invoice

19)  When scheduling, the line got error "ATP Error Scheduling failed". How will you resolve?
This error may be due to Item setup in Inventory & Order Transaction Type Setup Order management. Ensure the Below Setups
Ø  Inventory à Items à Organization Items à Order Management à Check ATP should be none.
Ø  Order Management à Setup à Transaction Types à Define. In 'Shipping' sub-tab uncheck 'Auto Schedule' check box.
Ø  Profile Option 'OM: Auto Schedule' should be 'No'.

20)  What is ASN?
ASN stands for Advanced Shipment Notice. ASN is transmitted via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) from a supplier to let the receiving organization know that a shipment is coming. The ASN contains details including shipment date, time, and identification number, packing slip data, freight information, and item detail including cumulative received quantities, purchase order number, and returnable container information.

Oracle Order Management Interview Questions

What is a Standard Item?
A standard item is a finished good that is not an assembled or configured item, a service or a component.

What happens when you enter an Order?
After you enter an order, the items on the order are validated in Oracle Inventory; a price is calculated for the items using the pricing engine; the availability of the items are checked and may be reserved; the items are then pick released and shipped to the customer.

Explain about Processing Constraints
Processing Constraints are a security framework where you can define rules in Oracle Order Management that validate back-end operations such as Create, Update, Delete and Cancel.
Examples:
You cannot change the Order Type in the order header once the order is Booked.
You cannot delete the line in an order once the Order Status is Closed (if the order is ship confirmed or invoice interfaced).

What are Defaulting Rules?
Defaulting Rules enable you to speed up data entry by passing values in the window based on some key values you have entered.
Examples:
In the order header, Ship-To Address and Bill-To Address values default in the window once you enter the customer name or number.
If you enter an item number, the Unit of Measure and Item Description automatically default on the order line.

How Drop Ship Order is created?
Drop shipments are created as sales orders in Order Management, indicated as drop shipments when their Source Type is entered as External.

When will you create a Drop Ship Order?
Drop shipments are used due to the following reasons:
·         Customer requires an item that is not normally stocked
·         Customer requires a large quantity of the item which is not available with you
·         It is more economical when the supplier ships directly to the customer.

What are the types of Drop Ship Order?
There are three types of drop shipments:
Full Drop Shipment:
The seller sends the purchase order to the supplier for the full quantity that the customer had ordered
Normal Shipments and Full Drop Shipment:
The seller ships some goods from inventory to the customer, and the other goods are always shipped from an external source (supplier)
Normal Shipments and Partial Drop Shipment:
If the seller has only part of the quantity available for shipping to the customer, then that quantity is shipped.
The user looks at the availability for the order qty by using the ATP check and if the whole qty is not available the balance qty is fulfilled using the drop ship process.
A purchase order is created for the remaining quantity which the seller was not able to fulfill.

What is a Sales Agreement?
A Sales Agreement is a supplier’s representation of an agreement with a customer for the supplier to sell and the customer to buy goods or services.

What is ASN?
ASN stands for Advanced Shipment Notice. ASN is transmitted via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) from a supplier to let the receiving organization know that a shipment is coming. The ASN contains details including shipment date, time, and identification number, packing slip data, freight information, and item detail including cumulative received quantities, purchase order number, and returnable container information.

What are Modifiers and Qualifiers?
Modifiers are discount, surcharge or special charge that may be applied to the base price and may alter the value of the item. It can be applied either at order level or at the line level.
A qualifier helps you define who is eligible for a price list or modifier. A qualifier can be a customer name, a customer class, an order type, or an order amount that can span orders.

Explain One Step Pick Release Process:
The one-step process consists of selecting the Auto Allocate box on the Inventory tab and the Auto Pick Confirm box on the Inventory tab when you run Pick Release, which means that the Pick Recommendation is automatically created and Pick Confirmed without any manual intervention.

Explain Two Step Pick Release Process:
The two-step process consists of selecting Auto Allocate (not Auto Pick Confirm), which creates a move order that is automatically detailed.  It enables you to view the Pick Recommendation and provides the opportunity to change quantity, location, and subinventory. You can report a missing quantity at the Pick Confirmation step in the Transact Move Orders window. Once you have made your changes, you can transact the move order to Pick Confirm the inventory.

Explain Three Step Pick Release Process:
The three-step process consists of selecting neither the Auto Allocate or Auto Pick Confirm check boxes. This creates a move order whose details you can enter manually or automatically in the Transact Move Orders window. After the details are entered, you can transact the move order to pick confirm the transaction.
What are various ways you can run Pick Release?
Release Sales Orders Window
Using a Concurrent Program
SRS – Pick Selection List Generation – SRS.
Release Rule Name need to be specified to proceed with the pick release when using the concurrent program or SRS.

At which stage the item is moved from ware house to staging inventory?
During Pick Confirm

What happens during Ship Confirm?
Ship Confirm indicate that the items are loaded onto the carrier from staging location.
At which stage the Oracle Inventory is decremented and Sales Order Line status is updated?
During Ship Confirm

What is Autoinvoice?
AutoInvoice is a concurrent program in Oracle Receivables that performs invoice processing at both the order and line levels. Once an order or line or set of lines is eligible for invoicing, the Invoice Interface workflow activity interfaces the data to Receivables. Oracle Order Management inserts records into the following interface tables: RA_INTERFACE_LINES and RA_INTERFACE_SALES_CREDITS.

If the order or lines are On Hold, what happens during Invoice Interface?
The Invoice Interface workflow activity will complete with a status of On Hold and the order details will not be interfaced to Receivables.

What is Credit Check?
Credit Checking feature is the process by which orders are validated and released against your credit checking business rules.

What are the two Invoicing Rules?
Advance Invoice and Arrears Invoice

Data Flow for Oracle Order-to-Cash (O2C) Cycle

1. Order Entry

This is first stage, When the order is entered in the system, it creates a record in order headers and Order Lines table.

• Enter header details: Once you enter details on the order header and save it or move it to lines, record goes to one table OE_ORDER_HEADERS_ALL FLOW_STATUS_CODE = ENTERED, BOOKED_FLAG = N), Primary key=HEADER_ID

o No record exist in any other table for this order till now.

• Enter Line details for this order: Enter different item numbers, quantity and other details in line tab. When the record gets saved, it goes to one table. Order header details will be linked with line details by order HEADER_ID. OE_ORDER_LINES_ALL (FLOW_STATUS_CODE = ENTERED, BOOKED_FLAG = N, OPEN_FLAG = Y) Primary key= LINE_ID

2.Order Booking

This is next stage, when Order is booked then the Flow status changed from Entered to Booked. At this stage, these below table get affected.

• OE_ORDER_HEADERS_ALL (FLOW_STATUS_CODE as BOOKED, BOOKED_FLAG updated to Y)

• OE_ORDER_LINES_ALL (FLOW_STATUS_CODE as AWAITING_SHIPPING, BOOKED_FLAG updated Y)

• WSH_DELIVERY_DETAILS (DELIVERY_DETAIL_ID is assigned here, RELEASED_STATUS ‘R’ ready to release, LINE_ID comes as SOURCE_LINE_ID)

• WSH_DELIVERY_ASSIGNMENTS (DELIVERY_ASSIGNMENT_ID is assigned for DELIVERY_DETAIL_ID present in WSH_DELIVERY_DETAILS, DELIVERY_ID remains blank till this stage)

*In shipping transaction form order status remains "Ready to Release".

At the same time, Demand interface program runs in background And insert into inventory tables MTL_DEMAND, here LINE_ID come as a reference in DEMAND_SOURCE_LINE

3. Reservation

This step is required for doing reservations SCHEDULE ORDER PROGRAM runs in the background and quantities are reserved. Once this program get successfully get completed, the MTL_DEMAND and MTL_RESERVATIONS table get updated. LINE_ID gets updated in DEMAND_SOURCE_LINE_ID in both the tables.

4. Pick Release

Pick Release is the process of putting reservation on on-hand quantity available in the inventory and pick them for particular sales order.

Pick release can be done from 'Release Sales Order' form or 'Pick release SRS' program can be scheduled in background. In both of these cases all lines of the order gets pick released depending on the Picking rule used. If specific line/s needs to be pick release it can be done from 'Shipping Transaction form. For this case Pick Release is done from 'Release Sales Order' form with Pick Confirm=NO.

Once pick release is done these are the tables get affected:

• If step 3 is not done then MTL_RESERVATIONS gets updated now.

• WSH_NEW_DELIVERIES (one record gets inserted with SOURCE_HEADER_ID= order header ID, STATUS_CODE=OP =>open)

• WSH_DELIVERY_ASSIGNMENTS (DELIVERY_ID gets assigned which comes from WSH_NEW_DELIVERIES)

• WSH_DELIVERY_DETAILS (RELEASED_STATUS ‘S’ ‘submitted for release’)

• MTL_TXN_REQUEST_HEADERS

• MTL_TXN_REQUEST_LINES (LINE_ID goes as TXN_SOURCE_LINE_ID)

• (move order tables. Here request is generated to move item from Source (RM or FG) sub-inventory to staging sub-inventory)

• MTL_MATERIAL_TRANSACTIONS_TEMP (link to above tables through MOVE_ORDER_HEADER_ID/LINE_ID, this table holds the record temporally)

• MTL_SERIAL_NUMBERS_TEMP (if item is serial controlled at receipt then record goes in this table)

• MTL_SERIAL_NUMBERS (enter value in GROUP_MARK_ID )

*In shipping transaction form order status remains "Released to Warehouse" and all the material still remains in source sub-inventory. We need to do Move Order Transaction for this order. Till this no material transaction has been posted to MTL_MATERIAL_TRANSACTIONS

5.Pick Confirm/ Move Order Transaction

Items are transferred from source sub-inventory to staging Sub-inventory. Here material transaction occurs.

Order line status becomes 'Picked' on Sales Order and 'Staged/Pick Confirmed' on Shipping Transaction Form.

• MTL_MATERIAL_TRANSACTIONS_TEMP (Record gets deleted from here and gets posted to MTL_MATERIAL_TRANSACTIONS)

• OE_ORDER_LINES_ALL (FLOW_STATUS_CODE ‘PICKED’ )

• MTL_MATERIAL_TRANSACTIONS (LINE_ID goes as TXN_SOURCE_LINE_ID)

• MTL_TRANSACTION_ACCOUNTS

• WSH_DELIVERY_DETAILS (RELEASED_STATUS becomes ‘Y’ => ‘Released’ )

• WSH_DELIVERY_ASSIGNMENTS

• MTL_ONHAND_QUANTITIES

• MTL_SERIAL_NUMBERS_TEMP (record gets inserted after putting details for the item which are serial controlled at 'Sales order issue')

• MTL_SERIAL_NUMBERS (record gets inserted after putting details for the item which are serial controlled at 'Sales order issue')

* This step can be eliminated if we set Pick Confirm=YES at the time of Pick Release

6.Ship Confirm

Here ship confirm interface program runs in background. Data removed from WSH_NEW_DELIVERIES.

The items on the delivery gets shipped to customer at this stage.

• OE_ORDER_LINES_ALL (FLOW_STATUS_CODE ‘shipped’)

• WSH_DELIVERY_DETAILS (RELEASED_STATUS ‘C’ ‘Shipped’, SERIAL_NUMBER if quantity is ONE)

• WSH_SERIAL_NUMBERS (records gets inserted with the DELIVERY_DETAIL_ID reference, only in case of shipped quantity is two or more)

• MTL_TRANSACTION_INTERFACE

• MTL_MATERIAL_TRANSACTIONS (linked through Transaction source header id)

• MTL_TRANSACTION_ACCOUNTS

• Data deleted from MTL_DEMAND, MTL_RESERVATIONS

• Item deducted from MTL_ONHAND_QUANTITIES

• MTL_SERIAL_NUMBERS_TEMP (records gets deleted from this table)

• MTL_SERIAL_NUMBERS (Serial number stauts gets updated CURRENT_STATUS=4 , 'Issued out of store')

7.Enter Invoice

After shipping the order the order lines gets eligible to get transfered to RA_INTERFACE_LINES_ALL. Workflow background engine picks those records and post it to RA_INTERFACE_LINES_ALL. This is also called Receivables interface, that mean information moved to accounting area for invoicing details. Invoicing workflow activity transfers shipped item information to Oracle Receivables. At the same time records also goes in the table RA_INTERFACE_SALESCREDITS_ALL which hold details of sales credit for the particular order.

RA_INTERFACE_LINES_ALL (interface table into which the data is transferred from order management) Then Autoinvoice program imports data from this table which get affected into this stage are receivables base table. At the same time records goes in

RA_CUSTOMER_TRX_ALL (CUST_TRX_ID is primary key to link it to TRX_LINES table and TRX_NUMBER is the invoice number)

RA_CUSTOMER_TRX_LINES_ALL (LINE_ATTRIBUTE_1 and LINE_ATTRIBUTE_6 are linked to order number and LINE_ID of the orders)

8.Complete Line

In this stage order line level table get updated with Flow status and open flag.

OE_ORDER_LINES_ALL (FLOW_STATUS_CODE ‘shipped’, OPEN_FLAG “N”)

9.Close Order

This is last step of Order Processing. In this stage only OE_ORDER_LINES_ALL table get updated. These are the table get affected in this step.

OE_ORDER_LINES_ALL (FLOW_STATUS_CODE ‘closed’, OPEN_FLAG “N”)

OE_ORDER_HEADERS_ALL