Administering Commerce Services

Using the WebLogic Portal Commerce tools, you can market your products effectively and efficiently. Once a developer has created and verified your product catalog database, you are ready to start administering your catalog for use by visitors. The product catalog administration tools are provided to let you easily manage and modify the presentation of catalog items.

Several types of commerce services are provided with WebLogic Portal: catalog services, order services, customer payment services, and discount services.

This section contains information on the following subjects:

• Creating and Administering a Catalog

• Administering Customer Order Information

• Administering Customer Payment Information

• Administering Discounts

 

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Creating and Administering a Catalog

Through WebLogic Portal's catalog administration tools, you can divide your catalog items into categories for better presentation. These categories in the Product Catalog exist in a hierarchy.

Figure 10-1 Categories and Subcategories

 

A catalog can have the following components:

• The Root directory. In this example, the root is called "Books". This is the parent directory for the entire catalog. The root can have zero to many categories.

• Categories. If the category is already a top-level category in the hierarchy, then the parent category is the catalog's root category. Categories can be parent, children, and sibling categories based on their relationships to each other. Siblings are categories on the same hierarchy levels. Parent and child categories are categories under or above each other in the hierarchy.

  Categories cannot exist outside their hierarchical path. A subcategory of Java Books cannot be a subcategory of Programming Books and Certification Books.

• Catalog items. Catalog items represent a product for sale and can be placed in multiple categories or no category at all.

  In the above example, a Java Certification book could be in the categories "Certification Books" and "Java Books".

  If you delete an item in one category, it remains in any other categories it was already in. If you delete all the categories that an item belongs to, the item is moved to a separate, Uncategorized Items category in the catalog. (Sometimes these uncategorized items are referred to as orphaned items.) These items won't appear under the normal navigation by category; check Uncategorized Items regularly to verify whether items have become orphaned.

Starting the Catalog Management Tools

1. Start the WebLogic Portal Server, then start the WebLogic Portal Administration Tools. Starting and Logging in to the Administration Tools.

2. On the Portal Administration Tools Home page, click the Catalog Management icon.

Add Categories and Items to the Catalog

The following steps describe how to add data to the product catalog. It is assumed that the bulk of your data has been loaded into the catalog by a developer.

• Adding Categories to the Catalog

• Adding Items to the Catalog

Adding Categories to the Catalog

To add a category to the catalog, do the following:

1. Make sure the WebLogic Portal server is running and that the Administration Tools are started. See Starting and Logging in to the Administration Tools.

2. On the Administration Tools Home Page, click the Catalog Management icon. The Catalog Management page appears.

   Figure 10-2 Catalog Management Page

   
    

   
    

3. On the Catalog Management page, click the Create button on the Categories graphic. The Categories page appears.

   Figure 10-3 Categories page

   
    

4. To add a new category at the current level in the hierarchy, click the red and white plus sign icon on the Categories page. Figure  10-4 shows the Create New Subcategory page, after you click the plus-sign icon.

   Figure 10-4 Create New Subcategory page

   
    

5. Enter the necessary information, the required fields are indicated by the asterisk (*).

6. After you enter the field values, click Create to create the new category. A confirmation message appears at the top of the page.

7. Click Back at the bottom of the Create Category page. The Category Hierarchy page displays the new category.

To create subcategories in a existing category:

8. Click the red arrow to the left of the category name. The category expands to list all existing categories.

9. Click the plus-sign icon that appears next to the text: Add a subcategory to category.

10. The Create Category page appears, enter the desired information and click Create.

Repeat the previous steps to create additional categories and subcategories.

Adding Items to the Catalog

To add an item for display in the catalog, do the following:

1. Make sure the WebLogic Portal server is running and that the Administration Tools are started. For more information, see Starting and Logging in to the Administration Tools.

2. On the Portal Administration Tools Home page, click the Catalog Management icon.

3. On the main Catalog Management page, click Create in the Items section. The Create New Item page appears.

   Figure 10-5 Create New Item page

   
    

4. Edit the product item fields. The required fields are indicated with an asterisk (*) next to the field name. SKU is the unique identifier.

5. Click the Create button to create the new item. A confirmation message is displayed on the Item page.

Modify Categories and Items in the Catalog

Once you have created items and categories, you can complete the following tasks:

• Assigning Items to Categories

• Editing the Attributes for Categories and Items

• Deleting Items or Removing Items from One or More Categories

• Deleting an Item from the Catalog

• Removing an Item From One or More Categories

• Removing Categories

• Moving Items from One Category to Another Category

Assigning Items to Categories

1. Make sure the WebLogic Portal server is running and that the Administration Tools are started. For more information, see Starting and Logging in to the Administration Tools.

2. On the Portal Administration Tools Home page, click Catalog Management.

3. On the Catalog Management page, click the Categories link.

4. In the Catalog hierarchy display, make sure the category or subcategory into which you want to add the item is checked. Expand a category and reveal its subcategories by clicking the red arrow to the left of a category name. (Clicking on the current category's underlined name takes you to the Edit Category page.)

5. Click the underlined link for the category or subcategory that you want to add items to. Figure  10-6 shows the top portion of a sample Editing Category: Java Books page.

   Figure 10-6 Editing Category page

   
    

6. Click the link in the text "To modify the items assigned to this category, click here." A page is displayed that is similar to the one shown in Figure  10-7. In this particular page, there are currently no items assigned to the category.

   Figure 10-7 Modify Items Assigned to Category page

   
    

7. The Items Assigned to Category text box shows the items that are already in this category. (In this example so far, there are no items in the Java Books category.) Search for the item you want to add or remove; the search results are displayed on the left-side text box.

   You can do so two ways: keyword or query-based.

   • In the Keyword input box, enter a keyword that you know is associated with the item you need to delete, and then click Search.

   • The following shows a query example:

     price > 100 && price <= 300

     name like 'A*'

     !(price > 100) || (msrpAmount >= 300)

     modifiedDate < now

     Figure 10-8 Sample Keyword Search Results on Modify Items Assigned to Category page

     
      

8. To assign an item to the category, select the item, then click the right arrow to move the item to Items Assigned to Category box.

9. Click the Save button to commit any changes to the category before performing a new search or leaving this page.

   
    

Editing the Attributes for Categories and Items

You can use the Catalog Management Administration Tools to edit the attributes for existing categories and items. This section documents the following tasks:

• Editing Category Attributes

• Editing Product Item Attributes

• Changing the Availability of an Item

Editing Category Attributes

To edit the attributes for a category, follow these steps:

1. Make sure the WebLogic Portal server is running and that the Administration Tools are started. For more information, see Starting and Logging in to the Administration Tools.

2. On the Portal Administration Tools Home page, click the Catalog Management icon.

3. On the Catalog Management page, click Categories.

4. On the Categories page, you can find the category you want to modify by browsing through the hierarchy of categories and subcategories, or entering its category identifier in the search input box.

5. When the category you want to modify is displayed, click on the name of the category. Figure  10-9 shows a portion of the resulting page from clicking the Java Books.

   Figure 10-9 Editing Category: Java Books Sample page

   
    

6. On this page, you can add, change, or remove the category's attributes.

   Warning: You cannot modify the category's unique identifier. If you need to change a category identifier, you must delete the category and then create a new category with a new, unique identifier.

7. After you edit the attributes for the category, click the Save button. To exit the page without committing your changes, click the Back button.

Editing Product Item Attributes

1. Make sure the WebLogic Portal server is running and that the Administration Tools are started. For more information, see Starting and Logging in to the Administration Tools.

2. On the main administration page, click the Catalog Management icon.

3. On the main Catalog Management page, click the underlined Items button on the Items graphic.

4. Search for the product item in the Item Search page.

   You can find the product item by entering one of its keywords, entering a query-based search expression, or by searching for orphaned items.

   • Enter a keyword you know is associated with the item and click Search.

   • The following shows an example query:

     price > 10 && price <= 50 

     name like 'H*' 

     !(price > 20) || (msrpAmount >= 30) 

     modifiedDate < now 

   Figure  10-10 shows the search for price > 10 && price <= 50.

   Figure 10-10 Sample Query-Based Search to Find a Product Item

   
    

   • Or click the Search button next to the text: Search for items which are not assigned to any category. Items who were never assigned to a category or whose categories have been deleted will be displayed.

   Click the underlined Next button or Previous button (if visible) to view additional items.

5. Click on the desired item to edit item attributes. Figure  10-11 shows the results for a search result for a Java book.

   Figure 10-11 Sample Initial Edit Item Attributes page

   
    

6. Click the Edit button to display the Edit Item Information page. Use this page to add, change, or remove the item's attributes.

   Editable attributes include the item's price, short and long descriptions, its basic inventory setting, and its visibility in the catalog.

7. Before you save any changes on the Edit Item Information page, set the item's inventory status on the Item Inventory page.

8. After you edit the attributes for the item, click the Save button to commit your changes to the database. A confirmation message appears. To exit the page without committing your changes, click the Back button.

Changing the Availability of an Item

The Edit Item Information page includes a link to the inventory function.

Figure  10-11 in the previous section shows the top portion of an Edit Item Information page. Figure  10-12 shows the Item Inventory page that is displayed when you click this link.

Figure 10-12 Sample Item Inventory page

 

9. Click Yes or No to indicate whether the specific product item is in stock. Enter a text string (which can be displayed to a visitor of your Web site on the item details page) to indicate the shipping time. You can also enter additional comments about the item's inventory.

10. If you made any changes on the Item Inventory page, click the Save button. Otherwise, click the Back button.

Deleting Items or Removing Items from One or More Categories

As previously mentioned, you can assign an item to one or more categories. You can use the administration tools to:

• Delete the item entirely from the catalog.

• Remove the item from one category while keeping its assignment to another category.

• Remove the item, one category at a time, from all categories, creating an orphaned item (also called an uncategorized item) that still resides in the database).

Deleting an Item from the Catalog

Perform Catalog Management operations during non-peak Web site usage. When you delete an item or remove an item from a category using the WebLogic Portal Administration Tools, the item record is automatically removed from the Web site, ensuring that subsequent Web site visitors get a valid view of the available, categorized items.

The steps to delete an item are as follows:

1. Make sure the WebLogic Portal server is running and that the WebLogic Portal Administration Tools are started. See Starting and Logging in to the Administration Tools for instructions.

2. On the main administration page, click the Catalog Management icon.

3. On the main Catalog Management page, click the underlined Items link.

4. On the Item Search page, search for the item using a keyword search or query

5. In the Search Results list, when the item that you need to delete is displayed, click the red X to the right of the item name.

   Warning: When you click the red X icon, the delete operation is immediate and permanent; a confirmation page is not displayed.

Removing an Item From One or More Categories

You can remove (unassign) an item, one category at a time. If you remove the item from all categories, it remains in the Commerce database and is flagged as an uncategorized item, also known as an orphaned item.

Before you begin the following procedure, make sure you know the exact name of each category from which you want to remove an item.You can run the catalog's Web application and browse through the hierarchy of categories to find the item name.

1. Make sure the WebLogic Portal server is running and that the Administration Tools are started. For more information, see Starting and Logging in to the Administration Tools.

2. On the Portal Administration Tools Home page, click the Catalog Management icon.

3. On the Catalog Management page, click the underlined Categories link.

4. In the Catalog hierarchy display, click the category or subcategory from which you want to remove the item. To expand a current category and reveal its subcategories (if any), click the red arrow to the left of a category name.

5. When the category or subcategory name is shown in the hierarchy, click its underlined link.

6. On the Editing Category: <category name> page, click the link in the text: To modify the items assigned to this category, click here.

   Figure  10-13 shows a sample page.

   Figure 10-13 Removing an Item from a Category

   
    

   
    

7. Select the item you wish to remove, then click the left arrow to remove the item from the category.

8. Click the Save button near the bottom of the page to make the change. You can also click the Back button near the bottom of the page to cancel any updates you made on the page.

Removing Categories

When you remove a category, any subcategories are also removed. Any items in the category or subcategories that are not assigned to another existing category become "orphaned items" and remain in the catalog, available for reassignment to another category.

If you need to move existing subcategories to another category, do so now before proceeding.

To remove a category, do the following:

1. Make sure the WebLogic Portal server is running and that the Administration Tools are started. For more information, see Starting and Logging in to the Administration Tools.

2. On the Portal Administration Tools Home page, click the Catalog Management icon.

3. On the Catalog Management page, click the underlined Categories button on the Categories graphic.

4. Do one of the following to locate the category you want to modify:

   • Enter the category identifier in the search input box. In the sample data that comes with the catalog tables in the Commerce database, the category identifier is a letter of the alphabet followed by the category name.

   • Browse the hierarchy of categories and subcategories.

   Figure  10-14 shows a portion of the resulting Categories page after searching for a category identifier.

   Figure 10-14 Sample Category Search Result

   
    

5. Click the red X icon to the right of the category you want to remove.

Warning: Be aware that deleting a category removes it and all of its subcategories (if any).

Moving Items from One Category to Another Category

To move an item from one category to another category:

• Assign the item to another category, as described in Assigning Items to Categories.

• Remove the item from the current category, as described in Removing an Item From One or More Categories.

 

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Administering Customer Order Information

These services handle all of the tasks necessary to process customer orders, from the acceptance of items in their shopping cart to final order confirmation.

This section covers information on the following subjects:

• Locating Orders

• Updating Order Status

Locating Orders

To access the Order Management tools, click the Orders icon in the Portal Administration Home page, the Order Management search page (shown in Figure  10-15) appears.

Figure 10-15 The Order Management Search Page

 

1. You may do any of the following:

   • Search by Customer ID: Enter the ID in the Customer ID field.

   • Search by Order ID: Enter the ID in the Order Identifier field.

   • Search by date range: Specify date ranges using the Calendar Date Selection Tool, shown in Figure  10-16.

     Figure 10-16 The Calendar Date Selection Tool

     
      

2. Enter the range and click Save; You selection appears in the From and To fields.

3. Click the Search button.

Note: The results for searches by date range are inclusive. That is, if you search for orders placed between July 22, 2002 and August 24, 2002, results will include orders placed on July 22 and orders placed on August 24.

4. Click the corresponding Search button.

5. View the text message that appears at the top of the page, indicating how many orders were found for the search.

   An example of a search by customer ID is shown in Figure  10-17. The Order List shows the Order Identifier number, the date the customer placed the order, and the price of the order.

   Figure 10-17 Sample Results for Order Search by Customer ID

   
    

6. To see details for a particular order (for example, the product items ordered, shipping information, tax, etc.), click the hyperlinked Order Identifier number to load the Order Status page (shown in Figure  10-18).

   Figure 10-18 Sample Order Status Page

   
    

7. Click the Back button at the bottom of the Order Status page to return to the Order Management search/results page.

Updating Order Status

The Order Status Page (shown in Figure  10-19) appears after you click the hyperlinked Order Identifier number on the Order List page. This section describes how to change the status of an order.

Figure 10-19 Sample Order Status Page

 

1. Click the drop-down arrow on the Order Status list.

2. Select the new status and click OK.

   After a new status is entered, new entries appear in the Order Status list. These entries reflect the sequence of order status. For example, the initial Order Status list might contain the following:

   • Authorized

   • Cancelled

   • Rejected

   If you change the order status to Authorized, the Order Status list might contain the following options:

   • Backordered

   • Cancelled

   • Shipped

 

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Administering Customer Payment Information

You can use the Portal Administration tools to search for payments and then troubleshoot that payment information if necessary. This section contains the following information:

• Searching for Payments

• Authorizing Transactions

Searching for Payments

1. Start the WebLogic Portal Administration Tools, see Starting and Logging in to the Administration Tools.

2. In Administration Tools Home page, click the Payment Management icon. The Payment Management search page (shown in Figure  10-20) appears.

   Figure 10-20 The Payment Management Search Page

   
    

3. Enter the search criterion.

   • Search by Customer ID - Enter the customer's ID in the Customer ID field.

   • Search by payment status - Select the status from the Status pull-down menu.

4. Click the Search button.

5. View the text message that appears at the top of the page, indicating how many payments were found for the status.

The actual results appear as shown in Figure  10-21.

Figure 10-21 Sample Results for Payment Search by Customer ID

 

Authorizing Transactions

The Payment Transaction History section (which appears in the lower portion of the Payment Management search page after a search is performed, see Figure  10-21) shows information about each payment transaction, including the date, the transaction ID, the payment amount, the payment status, and a masked version of the credit card that was used to complete the transaction.

Table  10-1 provides a description for each of the possible payment status values.

Table 10-1 Payment Status Values

Status	Description
Authorized	The transaction has been successfully authorized, and is awaiting capture and settlement.
MarkedForSettle	The transaction has been batched for settlement (captured).
PendingSettle	The transaction settlement process has been initiated.
Settled	The transaction has been settled.
Rejected	Authorization for the transaction was rejected.
Retry	The transaction has been recorded, but authorization was either unsuccessful or has been deferred.

 

Note: For a merchant to obtain the funds associated with a payment transaction, the transaction must be authorized, captured, and settled. Depending on the status of the transaction, a text field and associated button may appear at the end of the line in the Payment Transaction History section, making it possible to manually change the state of the transaction.

1. If the status of the order is set to Retry, an Authorize button appears (Figure  10-22).

   Figure 10-22 Payment Transaction History With Authorize Button

   
    

2. Click the Authorize button; the WebLogic Portal product connects to the Payment Web service to reserve credit from the customer's account on behalf of the merchant.

   A transaction is placed in the Retry state if you have configured the server to defer authorization of payments, or if the Payment Service was unavailable due to a system failure. In such cases, the business will not fulfill the order until the status on the associated payment transaction has been set to Authorized.

 

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Administering Discounts

Discounts enable you to put permanent or temporary price reductions on items, providing incentives to customers to buy additional products, buy products by a particular date, or by other criteria you use to define the discount.

This section includes the following information about administering discounts:

• Defining a New Discount and Attributes

• Saving, Finalizing, and Synchronizing a Discount

• Finding Existing Discounts and Items

• Modifying an Existing Discount

• Controlling Active Status and Deleting Discounts

Defining a New Discount and Attributes

This section provides the following information:

• Define a New Discount

• Specify General Discount Information

• Specify Discount Terms

• Establish the Discount Duration and Overall Limit

Define a New Discount

You can specify three kinds of discounts:

• Per Item: A discount attached to an individual item.

• Set-based: A discount attached to a grouping of specific items.

• Per-order: A discount attached to an order.

To define a new discount, do the following:

1. Start the E-Business Control Center if it is not already running. See Starting the E-Business Control Center. The Explorer panel appears on the left hand side of the screen.

   Figure 10-23 Choosing to Create a New Discount

   
    

2. In the Explorer window, click the Business Logic tab. (You can click the Discounts icon to see a list of existing discounts.)

3. Click the New button, and select Discount.

   Figure 10-24 Discount Editor

   
    

4. Using the Discount Editor window in Figure  10-24. Follow the steps provided in the next four sections. The sections walk you through the necessary steps to create discounts:

   • Specify General Discount Information

   • Specify Discount Terms

   • Establish the Discount Duration and Overall Limit

   • Saving, Finalizing, and Synchronizing a Discount

Specify General Discount Information

1. In the Discount Editor, click the General bar. The General pane opens.

   Figure 10-25 General pane of the Discount Editor

   
    

2. Select whether you wish to create a Stand-Alone or Campaign discount.

   If you selected the Stand-Alone usage, you may want to enter an explanation of the discount for your customers in the corresponding field. If your page design (JavaServer Pages) shows the information in this field, it will be displayed to customers receiving the discount.

3. Specify the priority for the discount by entering a number in the Priority field.

4. Provide a description of the discount in the Description text area.

5. To close the pane, click the General bar.

Specify Discount Terms

1. Click the Discount Terms bar. The Discount Terms pane opens.

   Figure 10-26 Discount Terms pane in the Discount Editor

   
    

2. Select the corresponding radio button for Per Item, Set-based, or Order discount types.

3. Depending on the discount type you selected in the previous step, follow the steps described in:

   • A) Per Item Discounts

   • B) Set-Based Discounts

   • C) Order Discounts

A) Per Item Discounts

A Per Item discount is a discount attached to an individual item. To define the discount terms, use the Discount Terms Editor to complete the following steps:

1. In the Discount Terms Editor, click the Add a Trigger button. The Specify Trigger Items window appears.

   Figure 10-27 Specify Trigger Items window

   
    

2. Select a discount trigger option by clicking either the Any Items or Specific Items radio button.

   For example, if you select the Any Items option, customers having any product items in their shopping cart (regardless of what these items are) would qualify for the discount. If you select the Specific Items option, customers having only the items you specify (by SKU number or product category) in their shopping cart would qualify for the discount.

3. If you selected Specific Items in the previous step, complete the following steps to specify which items trigger the discount:

   1. Select either SKU or Category from the drop-down list.

   2. Enter the SKU or category from your product catalog into the corresponding field.

   3. Click the Add button. The trigger items that you specified appear in the text area below. Repeat this process for each item you want to use as a trigger item.

   Note: If you specify more than one trigger item (either by SKU or category), any of those items present in a customer's shopping cart qualifies the customer for the discount. In other words, multiple trigger items—those shown on the same line in the Discount Terms list—are treated as alternates.

4. Specify the order limit for the discount by selecting either the Limit or No Limit radio button. The order limit specifies how many times per order the discount can be applied.

5. If you specified an order limit, enter the limit value in the corresponding field.

6. If desired, change the value in the Minimum Purchase Requirement field from 1 to another numeric value. The order limit must be greater than or equal to the minimum purchase requirement.

7. Click OK. The Specify Trigger Items window closes, and the first phrase shown in the Discount Terms list changes to reflect your choices.

   To specify additional triggers, repeat steps 1 through 6.

8. Click the Add a Discount button. The Specify Discount Value window opens.

   Figure 10-28 Specify Discount Value window

   
    

9. Select a discount value, and then enter the percent, amount, or price of the item in the corresponding field. You do not need to type the % or currency symbols into the fields. You can choose a Percentage off, an Amount off, or a Fixed Price discount.

10. If required, choose the type of currency from the corresponding drop-list. Be sure to select the same currency type that you use for the items in your catalog and for shipping charges.

11. Click OK. The Specify Discount Value window closes, and the second phrase shown in the Discount Terms list changes to reflect your choices.

12. Click Add a Target. The Specify Target Items window opens.

    Figure 10-29 Specify Target Items window

    
     

13. Select whether you want the discount to target the same items that triggered the discount (specified in steps 2 and 3), to any items, or to specific items.

14. If you selected Specific Items in the previous step, complete the following steps to specify the items to which the discount will apply.

    1. Select SKU or Category from the drop-down list.

    2. Enter the SKU or category from your product catalog into the corresponding field.

    3. Click the Add button. The target items you specify appear in the text area below. Repeat this process for each item you want to use as a target item.

15. If you selected Any Items or Specific Items in step 13, select a Limitation. You can apply the discount to target items up to a certain limit or to exactly some number of target items. For either option, provide a numeric value in the appropriate field.

16. Click the OK button. The Specify Target Items window closes, and the third phrase shown in the Discount Terms list changes to reflect your choices. To specify additional targets, repeat steps 13 through 15.

17. To close the Discount Terms pane, click the Discount Terms bar.

B) Set-Based Discounts

A set-based discount is a discount based on a grouping of items. To define a set-based discount, complete the following steps:

1. In the Select the radio button for "Set-based Discounts".

2. Specify the order limit for the discount by selecting either the Limit or No Limit radio button.

3. If you chose an order limit, enter a limit value in the corresponding field.

4. Click the Add a Trigger button. The Specify Trigger Sets window appears.

   Figure 10-30 Specify Trigger Sets window

   
    

5. Enter the number of items that constitutes a set into the field. This is the number of items that must be purchased to qualify for the discount.j

6. Specify how the discount is triggered by clicking the corresponding radio button. You can trigger the discount based on sets of any items or sets of specific items.

7. If you selected Specific Items in the previous step, you need to indicate which items will trigger the discount, as indicated in the following steps.

   1. Select SKU or Category from the drop-down list.

   2. Enter the SKU or category from your product catalog into the corresponding field.

   3. Click the Add button. The trigger items you specify appear in the text area below. Repeat this process for each item you want to use as a trigger item.

8. Click the OK button. The Specify Trigger Sets window closes, and the first phrase shown in the Discount Terms list changes to reflect your choices. To specify additional triggers, repeat steps 2 through 6.

9. Click the Add a Discount button. The Specify Discount Value window opens.

10. Select a discount value. You can choose a Percentage Off, an Amount Off, or a Fixed Price discount. Enter the percent, amount, or price of the item in the corresponding field.

11. If required, choose the type of currency from the corresponding drop-list. Be sure to select the same currency type that you use for the items in your catalog and for shipping charges.

12. Click OK. The Specify Discount Value window closes, and the second phrase shown in the Discount Terms list changes to reflect your choices.

13. Click Add a Target. The Specify Target Items window opens.

14. Select whether you want the discount to target the same items that triggered the discount (as specified in steps 4 and 5), to any items, or to specific items.

15. If you selected Specific Items in the previous step, complete the following steps to specify the items to which the discount will apply.

    1. Select SKU or Category from the drop-down list.

    2. Enter the SKU or category from your product catalog in the corresponding field.

    3. Click Add. The target items you specify appear in the text area below. Repeat this process for each item you want to use as a target item.

16. If you selected Any Items or Specific Items, select a Limitation. You can apply the discount to target product items up to a certain limit, or to exactly some number of target items. For either option, provide a numeric value in the appropriate field.

17. Click OK. The Specify Target Items window closes, and the third phrase shown in the Discount Terms list changes to reflect your choices. To specify additional targets, repeat steps 11 through 15.

18. To close the Discount Terms pane, click the Discount Terms bar.

C) Order Discounts

An order discount is a discount attached to an order. If you selected the Order discount type, complete these steps to provide the specifics of the discount:

1. Click Add a Trigger. The Specify Trigger Subtotal window appears.

   Figure 10-31 Specify Trigger Subtotal window

   
    

2. Specify that the discount should triggered when an order subtotal meets a certain criteria, or that the discount should apply to any order. If you select Order Subtotal, use the drop-down list and corresponding field to specify the comparison and subtotal value.

   Note: You do not need to type the $ symbol into the field.

3. Click OK. The Specify Trigger Subtotal window closes, and the first phrase shown in the Discount Terms list changes to reflect your choices.

4. Click Add a Discount. The Specify Discount Value window opens.

5. Select a discount value, and then enter the percent, amount, or price of the item in the corresponding field. You can choose a Percentage off, an Amount off, or a Fixed Price discount.

6. If required, choose the type of currency from the corresponding drop list. Be sure to select the same currency type that you use for the items in your catalog and for shipping charges.

7. Click the OK button. The Specify Discount Value window closes, and the second phrase shown in the Discount Terms list changes to reflect your choices.

8. Click the Add a Target button. The Specify Order Discount Target window opens.

   Figure 10-32 Specify Order Discount Target window

   
    

9. Select a radio button to apply the discount to either the order total or to the shipping cost.

10. Click the OK button. The Specify Order Discount Target window closes, and the third phrase shown in the Discount Terms list changes to reflect your choices.

11. To close the Discount Terms pane, click the Discount Terms bar.

Establish the Discount Duration and Overall Limit

1. Click the Start/Stop bar. The Start/Stop pane opens.

   Figure 10-33 Discounts Start/Stop Window

   
    

2. Enter a start date, start time, stop date, and stop time for your discount in the fields provided.

3. Specify the overall limit for the discount by selecting either the Limit or No Limit radio button.

4. If you chose an overall limit, enter a limit value in the corresponding field.

5. To close the pane, click the Start/Stop bar.

Saving, Finalizing, and Synchronizing a Discount

Once you've created and defined the discount, use the procedures in this section to make sure it persists in your system.

• Saving, Finalizing, and Synchronizing

• Requirements for Saving and Finalizing a Discount

• Saving a Discount

• Finalizing a Discount

• Synchronizing a Discount

Saving, Finalizing, and Synchronizing

This section discusses the differences among saving, finalizing, and synchronizing a discount.

• Saving a discount is like saving a file like in any other software program. Saving a discount saves the discount to your local file system. You can save a discount whether it is complete or not. The only requirement is that the discount has a unique name.

• Finalizing a discount prevents all parts of the discount definition from being changed except for the Discount Priority, the stop dates and time, and the Deactivate this discount option. Before a discount can be finalized, the discount must be complete. The E-Business Control Center does not allow incomplete discounts to be finalized.

• Synchronizing a discount copies the discount file to the server designated in the Synchronization Setup window. Synchronization deploys the discount to your enterprise application. If you synchronize a discount that has not been finalized, it will not function.

Requirements for Saving and Finalizing a Discount

To save a discount, the only information you need to specify is a unique name. To finalize a discount, however, you must be sure to specify each of the following:

• Name

• Discount usage (stand-alone or campaign)

• Discount priority (1-20)

• Overall limit

• Start/stop dates and times

• Discount trigger items

• Discount target items

• Discount value (percent off, amount off, or fixed price)

Saving a Discount

To save a discount, complete the following steps:

Figure 10-34 Save Icon

 

1. Click the Save icon on the E-Business Control Center toolbar. The Save As window appears.

2. In the Save As window, enter a unique name for the discount. The name of the new discount appears in the Discounts list of the Explorer window.

Finalizing a Discount

To finalize a discount, complete the following steps:

1. Be sure the discount is open. Start the E-Business Control Center if it is not already running. For more information, see Starting the E-Business Control Center.

2. Click the Business Logic tab, select the Discounts icon, and double-click an existing discount to open it in the Discount Editor window.

3. Open the Start/Stop pane in the Discount Editor window.

4. Select the Finalize this discount check box.

   Caution: Do not check the Finalize This Discount box unless you are absolutely positive that the discount you are defining is exactly as you want it. After discount definitions are finalized, modifications to the discount are extremely restrictive. For more information about the items you can change after finalizing and synchronizing the discount, see Modifying an Existing Discount. Remember, you can always return to the Start/Stop pane and finalize the discount at another time.

5. Save the discount by clicking Save.

Synchronizing a Discount

Before synchronizing a discount, make sure that the discount definition is complete, that the Finalize This Discount check box in the Start/Stop pane is checked, and the discount has been saved. If these requirements are not met, the discount will not work.

To synchronize a discount, use the Tools —> Synchronize menu option in the E-Business Control Center. Synchronizing is an important step that requires well-thought-out planning and processes.

Figure 10-35 Synchronization menu option

 

Warning: If you and other developers concurrently synchronize data to a single enterprise application, it is possible to overwrite each others' work or create sets of changes that are incompatible and difficult to debug. To prevent this possibility, synchronize to separate instances of your application.

Finding Existing Discounts and Items

This section contains information on the following subjects:

• Browsing a Catalog

• Browsing a Catalog

• Searching a Catalog

• Locating an Existing Discount Quickly

Browsing a Catalog

The browsing feature of the Catalog Browser allows you to select categories or specific items from your catalog.You can select one or more items or categories.

1. Start the E-Business Control Center if it is not already running. For more information, see Starting the E-Business Control Center.

2. Click the Business Logic tab of the E-Business Control Center Explorer window.

3. Create or edit a discount. Click the New icon and choose Discount, or select the Discounts icon and double-click an existing discount to open it.

4. Click the Discount Terms bar, click Add a Trigger or Add a Target, and select the Specific Items radio button. The window will look something like Figure  10-36.

   Figure 10-36 Window for Accessing the Browse Catalog Feature

   
    

5. To open the Catalog Browser, click the Browse Catalog button (see Browsing a Catalog).

   Figure 10-37 Logging Into the Browse Feature

   
    

6. In the Logon dialog window, enter your Username and Password, and then click the Connect button. The Catalog Browser opens.

   Figure 10-38 The Catalog Browser

   
    

7. In the left navigation pane, navigate to the category that contains the item or product category that you want to add to your discount or campaign definition.

8. In the right pane, select one or more categories or items.

9. Click the OK button. The items or categories are added to your discount or campaign definition.

Searching a Catalog

The search feature of the Catalog Browser allows you to find a specific item or category from your catalog. You can use a wildcard (*) to help you find items when you don't know the exact SKU.

1. Start the E-Business Control Center if it is not already running. For more information, see Starting the E-Business Control Center.

2. To open the Catalog Browser, click the Catalog Browser button (see Browsing a Catalog).

3. Click the Search button. The Search window opens.

   Figure 10-39 Search window

   
    

4. Enter the Category or SKU in the corresponding field, and then click the Search button. Use an asterisk (*) for wildcard searches.

5. After the search list appears in the left pane, select the desired Category or SKU from the left pane.

6. Click OK. The items or categories are added to your discount or campaign definition.

Locating an Existing Discount Quickly

If you have defined numerous discounts, it can be time consuming to locate a particular discount by simply looking in the Discounts list. The WebLogic Portal provides you with a mechanism to filter existing discounts by name.

To locate an existing discount using the name filter, do the following:

1. Start the E-Business Control Center if it is not already running. For more information, see Starting the E-Business Control Center.

   Figure 10-40 Explorer window with Filter icon highlighted

   
    

2. Click the Business Logic tab in the Explorer window of the E-Business Control Center.

3. Click the Discount icon in the Explorer window on the Business tab. This enables the Discounts view and a list of discounts appears in the Discounts list.

4. In the Name Filter field, type the name of the discount you want to locate.

5. Click the Filter icon. The discounts that have names beginning with the text you entered appear in the Discounts list.

6. To return to the full list of discounts, click the Show All Objects icon.

Modifying an Existing Discount

You can also view and modify existing discounts. If a discount has not yet been finalized, you can modify any information about the discount. If the discount has been finalized, you can only modify the following:

• Discount Priority

• Discount Stop Date/Time

• Activation State

Regardless of whether the discount has been finalized, you will need to open the discount for modification. To open an existing discount for modification, complete these steps:

1. Start the E-Business Control Center if it is not already running. For more information, see Starting the E-Business Control Center.

2. If you are not viewing discounts, switch to the Discounts view. (In the E-Business Control Center Explorer window, click the Business Logic Tab. Then click the Discount icon. A list of discounts appears in the Discounts list.)

   Figure 10-41 Explorer window with discounts listed

   
    

3. Click the name of the discount you want to modify. The discount is highlighted.

4. Click the Open icon on the Explorer toolbar. The Discount Editor opens.

   Figure 10-42

   
    

5. If the discount you opened has not yet been finalized, you can modify any part of the discount definition, except for the discount name. See Defining a New Discount and Attributes.

6. If the discount you opened has already been finalized, follow these instructions:

   • To change the discount priority, open the General pane, and then enter a new priority in the Priority field.

   • To change the discount stop date or time, open the Start/Stop pane, and then enter a new stop date and/or stop time in the Stop Date/Stop Time fields.

   • To deactivate a discount, open the Start/Stop pane, and then click the Deactivate This Discount check box.

7. To save your modifications, click the Save button on the E-Business Control Center toolbar.

Caution: If the discount you modify is in use by a promotional campaign, saving modifications to the discount will affect every scenario action that refers to that discount. Be certain that the modifications you make are in line with your organization's established policies and that you entered the modifications correctly in the WebLogic Portal.

Controlling Active Status and Deleting Discounts

This section contains information on the following topics:

• Activating and Deactivating Discounts

• Deleting an Existing Discount

Activating and Deactivating Discounts

Once discounts are synchronized, they are considered active. In other words, synchronized discounts are working on your enterprise application.

Deactivating a Discount

To stop offering a discount, do the following:

1. Start the E-Business Control Center if it is not already running. For more information, see Starting the E-Business Control Center.

2. Click the Business Logic tab in the Explorer window of the E-Business Control Center.

3. Edit a discount. Select the Discounts icon and double-click an existing discount to open the Editor for that discount.

4. Open the Start/Stop pane and check the Deactivate This Discount check box.

5. Save the discount (see Saving a Discount).

6. Synchronize the discount (see Synchronizing a Discount).

   If a customer order was already associated with the discount you just deactivated, the system will still honor the discount. However, no new offers of the discount will be made.

Reactivating a Discount

To reactivate a discount, do the following:

1. Start the E-Business Control Center if it is not already running. For more information, see Starting the E-Business Control Center.

2. Click the Business Logic tab in the Explorer window of the E-Business Control Center.

3. Select the Discounts icon and double-click an existing discount to open the Editor for that discount.

4. Open the Start/Stop pane and click the Deactivate This Discount check box to remove the check mark.

5. Save the discount (see Saving a Discount).

6. Synchronize the discount (see Synchronizing a Discount). It is reactivated.

Note: Deactivating a discount will not release the modifications restrictions placed on finalized discounts.

Deleting an Existing Discount

If no pending offers or customer orders are associated with a discount, you can also delete existing discounts using the WebLogic Portal.

Warning: BEA recommends that you do not attempt to delete discounts until the discount has expired (that is, the end date associated with the discount is reached) and until any orders associated with the discount have cleared. And, as with any deletion you make, be absolutely certain that you select the correct discount and that you are sure you want to delete it. Deleted discounts cannot be retrieved.

To delete an existing discount, complete these steps:

1. Start the E-Business Control Center if it is not already running. For more information, see Starting the E-Business Control Center.

2. Click the Business Logic tab in the Explorer window of the E-Business Control Center.

3. Highlight the name of the discount you want to delete.

4. Click the Delete icon on the Explorer toolbar, the discount is deleted.

   Figure 10-43 The Delete icon