22 Common Sales Configuration: Define Notes, Calendar, Appointments, and Interactions

This chapter contains the following:

Define Sales Notes

Manage Calendar Profile Option

Define Sales Interactions

Define Sales Notes

Defining Notes: Points to Consider

A note is a record attached to a business object that is used to capture nonstandard information received while conducting business. When setting up notes for your application, you should consider the following points:

Note Types
Note Type Mappings

Note Types

Note types are assigned to notes at creation to categorize them for future reference. During setup you can add new note types, and you can restrict them by business object type through the process of note type mapping.

Note Type Mappings

After note types are added, you must map them to the business objects applicable to your product area. Select a business object other than Default Note Types. You will see the note types only applicable to that object. If the list is empty, note type mapping doesn't exist for that object, and default note types will be used. Select Default Note Types to view the default note types in the system. Modifying default note types will affect all business objects without a note type mapping. For example, you have decided to add a new note type of Analysis for your product area of Sales-Opportunity Management. Use the note type mapping functionality to map Analysis to the Opportunity business object. This will result in the Analysis note type being an available option when you are creating or editing a note for an opportunity. When deciding which note types to map to the business objects in your area, consider the same issues you considered when deciding to add new note types. Decide how you would like users to be able to search for, filter, and report on those notes.

Note

Extensibility features are available on the Note object. For more information refer to the article Extending CRM Applications: how it works.

Manage Calendar Profile Option

Creating the CRM Common Calendar: Worked Example

The Oracle Fusion Customer Relationship Management (CRM) common calendar is used across CRM applications. The calendar utilizes the Accounting Calendar Default profile option that is not set when the delivered product is installed. First, create an accounting calendar with calendar periods appropriate for your CRM needs, and give it a unique name, CRM Calendar, for example. Then, you must specify that calendar in the Accounting Calendar Default profile option. Use the tasks noted below in the Set and Maintenance area to accomplish these tasks.

Creating the Accounting Calendar

In the Set Up and Maintenance area, Overview page, All Tasks tab, search for the topic names containing Accounting Calendar
Manage Accounting Calendars will show up in the results box. Click the Go To Task icon.
On the Managing Accounting Calendars page, click the Create icon.
Fill in the required fields as appropriate for the calendar and click Next. Make note of the name utilized as this will be required in the next topic.
Note

When creating the calendar, the first calendar date should be the first date of the period of the oldest historical data on which you will be reporting. For example, if you were to select January 1, 2010 as your first calendar date, you would only be able to enter or import historical data associated with this date and beyond.
Insure that the calendar data is correct and click Save.

Managing the CRM Common Calendar Profile Option

The CRM calendar profile option needs to be associated with the new accounting calendar. Follow these steps:

Note

While the Common Financial Calendar feature of Oracle Fusion Applications supports creation of more than one calendar, Fusion CRM may only be associated with one calendar. Many features of Fusion CRM utilize this common calendar profile option and changing it could result in the loss of data for one or more applications. Oracle strongly recommends that you do not change the selected Accounting Calendar Default (ZCA_COMMON_CALENDAR) profile option calendar value once it is set.

Navigate to the Set Up and Maintenance, Overview page, All Tasks tab, and search for task names containing Calendar.
Locate Manage Calendar Profile Option and click Go To Task.
On the Manage Calendar Profile Option page, locate the ZCA_COMMON_CALENDAR: Profile Values sub page and click the one profile option value line.
Click the drop down for Profile Value and select the calendar name that you created above. Click Save and Close.

Define Sales Interactions

What's an Interaction?

The primary purpose of an interaction is to provide a historical view of all communications initiated by you to a customer (outbound) or by a customer to you (inbound). Interaction is intended to document customer communication, not internal communication, therefore Customer is a required attribute. You can record the method of communication, or channel, by which the interaction occurred. For example, you can denote that the communication was via phone, E-mail, by chat, through a web conference, a meeting in person, and so on. It also records the business objects discussed in the communication. That is, which opportunity or marketing campaign was discussed? You can summarize the interaction or outcome in the Description attribute or pick a specific value in the Outcome attribute, such as "Left Message". But, the actual content of the interaction should be attached as a separate file, especially when it is larger. Finally, you can not only list the external customer contacts but also any internal resources who were participants in the interaction.

Extensibility features are available on the Interaction object. For more details, refer to the article Extending CRM Applications: How It Works