Approval Actions
Oracle Order Entry/Shipping can prevent the processing of an order or order line at nearly any stage in your order's life cycle by using approval actions. You can include approval steps, such as Export Review or Legal Review, in the life cycle of specific order types. All orders in that cycle are reviewed for the approval.
Definition
Use the Cycle Actions window to define your approval actions. You can define as many approval actions as you want. You can define approval actions for either entire orders or individual order lines. To identify a cycle action as an approval action, check the Approval Action check box for the cycle action. Use the Level field to indicate whether it is an order or line level approval. Predefined actions where the Approval Action check box is not checked are updated by appropriate programs, such as Pick Release or Receivables Interface.
Use the Cycle Results window to define appropriate results for your approval actions. You can define unique results or use existing results, as results can be shared by actions. For example, you can have two actions, Legal Review and Export Review, that have a possible result of Pass. Use the predefined result of Pass, or create a new result with another name, such as Approved.
Next, use the Action Results window to assign results to your approval action. Using the example above, you could assign Pass as a possible result to both actions, Legal Review and Export Review. An approval action can have many possible results, but only one passing result. Once the passing result of an approval is achieved, the approval no longer appears in the Find Order and Line Approvals window.
Finally, you can include your approval action in any order cycle you define for orders or returns. Be sure to enter the appropriate action result as a prerequisite for the next action or actions in your cycle.
Attention: Holds and approvals are not effective between Pick Release and Ship Confirmation.
Pending Approval Reports
Oracle Order Entry/Shipping provides two reports to identify orders, returns, or their lines awaiting approval. The Pending Order Approval Report lists all the orders and returns awaiting approval. You can include all orders needing approval, sorted by the different types of approvals you use. Or, you can include only those orders for a specific approval action.
The Pending Order Line Approval Report identifies order and return lines awaiting approval. As with the Pending Order Approval Report, you can include all the lines sorted by the different types of approvals you use or all lines for a particular approval action.
Orders and Lines
Oracle Order Entry/Shipping automatically stops orders, returns, or their lines when they reach your approval action in their order cycle. Use the Find Order and Line Approvals window to update the status of an order, return, order line, or return line approval. You can review orders, returns, or their lines that are pending approval and, rather than approve them, enter a result of non-approval and record comments on why you did not approve it. The orders, returns, or lines continue to appear in the Approve Orders window and a historical record of the reviews are maintained. Once you have assigned the passing result you defined in the Cycle Actions Results window to an approval action, the approval is complete and the order, return, or line no longer displays on the Find Order or Line Approvals window.
Viewing Approvals
Use the Order Approval History window to view the history of an approval. If the order, return, or line has been reviewed several times, and each time a result and some comments were entered, this window displays the results and comments for you to see the approval history, otherwise, this window displays only the approval information.
See Also
Defining Order Cycles
Defining Cycle Actions
Defining Cycle Results
Assigning Cycle Action Results.
Pending Order Approval Report
Pending Order Line Approval Report
Entering and Viewing Order Approvals
Sample Approval Actions
Order Cycles
Viewing Orders and Returns
