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19 Define Sourcing Configuration

This chapter contains the following:

Manage Negotiation Styles

Manage Attribute Lists

Manage Cost Factors

Manage Cost Factor Lists

Manage Negotiation Templates

Manage Negotiation Styles

Creating a Negotiation Style: Worked Example

Negotiation styles control the definition of your negotiation documents. Negotiation styles can specify the terminology used within the document and control which processing capabilities can be performed using the style. For example, you can define a simple negotiation style and then use it to create very straightforward, streamlined negotiations. Alternately, you can create a negotiation style that takes advantage of many processing features. You can then use this style to create a complex negotiation. Using negotiation styles, you can also define default textual content for certain sections of a negotiation document.

To define a negotiation style, you select which negotiation types the style can be used with, which features are available using the style, and any default text you want to appear in the document.

Creating a Negotiation Style

From the Manage Negotiation Styles page, click the icon to create a new style.
On the Create Negotiation Style page, you define how your style can be used and which negotiation features are available using it.
In the Document Types region, you can specify the types of negotiations for which this negotiation style is appropriate. You can also change the terminology used for the negotiation type and the response type.
If you wish to add text instructions to the negotiation, click the edit icon. The instructions are visible to your suppliers and can include any directions on how to create the response.
In the Controls region, select which negotiation features you wish to make available using this style.
When finished, save your new negotiation style.

Negotiation Styles: Examples

You can create multiple negotiation styles that control the creation of your negotiation documents. Negotiation styles can specify the terminology used within the document and control which processing capabilities can be performed using the style. You can also create default content for certain sections of a negotiation document.

Specifying Document Terminology

For each negotiation there is a pair of documents: negotiation document created by the category manager and a response document created by the supplier contact. Each of these documents has a label. Within the application, there are three types of negotiations: auction, RFI, or RFQ. Each type has its own default document labels; however, you can change the labels used in the negotiation style. :

Negotiation Document	Supplier-side Response Document
Auction	Bid
RFI	Response
RFQ	Quote

When creating a negotiation style, you can create alternate labels for the category manager-side and/or supplier-side documents. Then any negotiation document created using that style will replace the default labels with the labels you created in the style. These replacements appear both in the online application and any printed versions of the document.

For example, you could use Tender or Offer for the supplier-side document, and you could use Solicitation for the buyer-side document.

Selecting Processing Capabilities and Defaults

In addition to specifying alternate document labels, you can select which processing capabilities are available using a negotiation style. By default, all capabilities are available. To create a style without that capability, simply deselect the capability when creating the style.

Creating Default Content: Examples

You can predefine many textual parts of a negotiation document by creating a negotiation style and then creating default content for sections of that style. Creating default text can streamline the negotiation document process and standardize business practices. The category manager can modify default content as needed when using the negotiation style to create a new negotiation document.

Using Variables in Content

If there are contract variables defined in Oracle Fusion Procurement Contracts, those variables are available for use in default content. By using variables, instead of directly entered values, the document can be kept up to date if changes occur during its development.

To use variables, position the cursor where the variable value should appear and click Insert Variables. Select the appropriate variable and click Insert. For some variables, you can initialize the variable by clicking Preview. For other variables, initialization does not happen until actual values are entered later in the definition process.

For example, you might use Close Date on the Cover Page, but the actual date would not display until you specified the date value when defining the Overview page.

Defining Cover Page Tab Content

You can create content for the Cover Page tab to identify the business entity conducting the negotiation, the negotiation number, negotiation title and other appropriate information.

For example, you might identify the Procurement Business Unit to which this negotiation applies as well as any internal contacts for addressing questions of issues on the negotiation.

Defining Overview Page Tab Content

The Overview page might contain descriptions of the purpose and intent of the negotiation, response time line, and legal information.

Defining Requirements Tab Content

The Requirements Tab content provides general instructions and explanations about how to respond to the negotiation requirements. The category manager defines the specific details of each requirement when creating the document.

Defining Lines Tab Content

You can use the Lines tab default content to specify generalized line information, such as pricing guidelines. For example, you might provide details on any price breaks you will offer. You might also want to explain any of the response controls in effect for the negotiation.

Manage Attribute Lists

Line Attribute Properties: Explained

Line attributes identify additional information about an item or service requested by the category manager. Use the following properties to describe your line attribute when defining it.

You use a line attribute's properties to control its behavior and how the supplier should respond.

Response

You can control the supplier's interaction with the attribute by specifying the response type. Optional responses do not require a supplier to offer a response. Suppliers must however provide a value for a required response. Suppliers can view attributes which are display only, but cannot respond to them.

Value Type

There are four value types available. A text value accepts characters and numbers. A number value accepts only numbers and the decimal point. Date values accept dates that you select using the calendar picker. A URL value type accepts a URL in the format http://url.name.here. URLs also accept https:

Target

For each attribute, you can define a target value. This is the value which is most desirable for this attribute. You can display the value to the supplier or keep it hidden.

Acceptable Values

For text values, you can specify a list of values from which the supplier can select. Any value not defined to the list is not accepted. For number and date values, you can define value ranges in terms of From Value and To Value. If you omit a From Value, that range includes everything up to the To value. Likewise, if you omit a To value, the range includes all values starting at the From value and above. Ranges cannot overlap. You can specify a single number by defining it as both the From and To values. Dates are defined similar to numbers.

Line Attributes and Multi Attribute Scoring Negotiations

In a multiattribute scored negotiation, you can have the application include the response values from the supplier along with the price offered when calculating the rank of that supplier's response. To perform this calculation, you give each possible response value a numeric score and then weight the attribute among the other attributes for the line. Note that while each value's score can be between 0 and 100, the weights for all the attributes must add up to 100.

Creating Attribute Lists: Worked Example

Attribute lists are collections of line attributes that are commonly used together. Procurement application administrators can create public attribute lists for use when creating negotiations. When a negotiation author associates an attribute list with a negotiation line, all the attributes on the list are associated with the line. Any attributes on the list that are not needed can be deleted, and additional line attributes can be created if necessary. Attribute lists are an efficient way to streamline the negotiation creation process. They can also be used to encourage standardization and best practices.

In this example, the procurement application administrator is going to create an attribute list.

Creating an Attribute List

On the Manage Attribute Lists page, she clicks the create icon.
When the Create Attribute List page appears, she enters the new list name.
She clicks the Actions menu option or the Add Group button to create an attribute group.
Once the new attribute group is created, she can create new attributes and save them as entries on the list.

Creating Line Attributes: Worked Example

Line attributes make your negotiation line more descriptive and can also be used to ensure that all responses submitted for the line include specific details not included elsewhere in the line information.

In this example, the category manager for a national used car seller is defining a negotiation to deal with suppliers of used cars. She defines the negotiation as a multiattribute scored auction and defines line attributes to describe vehicles.

Defining Line Attributes

After defining the negotiation line for the vehicle to buy, the category manager clicks the Edit icon at the end of the negotiation line for vehicle.
On the Lines: Edit Line page, she scrolls until the Attributes region appears. She clicks the Add Group button. On the new row, she clicks in the Attribute column and enters Vehicle Specifications for the group name. The other columns on the line are write-protected since they don't apply to the Group element.
From the Actions menu, she selects the Add Attribute.
On the Add Attribute page, she enters Color as the Attribute. She accepts the defaults of Required for Response and Text for Value Type. She enters a weight of 20 for this attribute. She chooses to have no target value for this line attribute.
In the Acceptable Values region, she clicks the plus icon to add a row to the table. She proceeds to enter possible color values in the Response Value column and their numeric scores in the Score column. When finished, she clicks Save and Close to return to the Lines: Edit Line page.
She highlights the row for the Vehicle Specifications group and selects Add Attribute from the Actions menu to add another attribute to the negotiation line.
She names this attribute Mileage and this time selects Number as the Value Type. It has a weight of 80. She specifies a Target value of 5000 and displays this target to suppliers.

What's an attribute list?

A line attribute list is a collection of line attributes that you can apply to a negotiation line. When you apply an attribute list, all the line attributes on the list are associated with that line. Once applied to the line, you can modify the line attributes if necessary. You can also delete any attributes that are not appropriate to the line.

Manage Cost Factors

Cost Factors and Cost Factor Lists: Explained

Cost factors allow you to identify and negotiate on additional costs related to a line.

You can use cost factors to obtain a more realistic idea of the total cost of an item or service by factoring in any additional costs beyond just price. Such costs could include additional costs such as consulting or training. Cost factors can be added to a negotiation line, to lines in negotiation templates, or to collections of cost factors (called cost factor lists). A negotiation line can have more than one cost factor (of any type) defined to it. There are three types of cost factors you can create.

Fixed Amount Cost Factors

Fixed amount cost factors are specified as a set value for the line, regardless of the quantity of units being asked for by the line.

Per-Unit Cost Factors

Per-unit cost factors are specified as a set value that is multiplied by the quantity of units being asked for by the line.

Percentage of Line Price Cost Factors

Percentage of line price cost factors are specified as a percentage. The percentage of line price is calculated by multiplying the unit price by the percentage of line price cost factor value.

Cost Factor Lists

Once you create cost factors for your additional costs, you can create lists of cost factors. Buyers can then apply these cost factor lists to negotiation lines to quickly identify the commonly occurring secondary costs that also need to be negotiated. Buyers can create their own personal cost factor lists using cost factors that have been defined to the system.

Creating Cost Factors: Worked Example

Cost factors identify charges associated with a negotiation line in addition to price. For example, these could include charges for shipping and handling, retooling, or import duties.

Cost factors are calculated in one of three ways: fixed amount per line, fixed amount per unit of line, and percentage of line price. You can use these pricing bases to reflect the nature of the extra cost. The table shows a possible example cost factor for each type.

Cost Factor	Pricing Basis
Shipping	Fixed amount per line
Hazardous materials charge	Flat amount per unit
Import tax	Percentage of line price

Vision Corporation is expanding into a new branch of its items and services. Negotiations dealing with this new area will need to negotiate new transportation-related costs with suppliers, specifically with the new Chicago office. The procurement application administrator is going to define several new cost factors. Once the cost factors are defined and enabled, they become available for buyers to use individually or as members of a cost factor list.

Creating Cost Factors

On the Manage Cost Factors page, the procurement application administrator reviews the existing cost factors to ensure there isn't already a cost factor that would be appropriate for the list. Not seeing one, she clicks the icon to add a new cost factor.
When the new line appears, she enters "Shipping" as the name, "General shipping charge" as the description, and enters "CHI_SHIP" as the unique code. She selects Fixed-amount for the pricing basis lets the status default to active.
She clicks the plus icon to add additional rows and enter the information for the Hazard materials charge and Import tax cost factors.
When finished, she clicks Save to save the new definitions.

Manage Cost Factor Lists

What's a cost factor list?

A cost factor list is a collection of cost factors that you can apply to a negotiation line. When you apply a cost factor list, all the cost factors on the list are associated with that line. You can delete any cost factors you don't need. Cost factor lists allow you to quickly associate a group of related or commonly used cost factors with a negotiation line. This speeds up the creation process.

Manage Negotiation Templates

Creating a Negotiation Template: Worked Example

If the majority of the negotiations you create contain the same features, for example, line attributes, terms and conditions, response controls; or negotiation data such as the value for the Location field, you may want to create a public negotiation template that category managers can use each time they create a new negotiation (category managers can create their own private templates). .

Using a template saves time by streamlining the creation process. A negotiation template contains the features that are similar among the negotiations you commonly create. When category managers create new negotiations using templates, they use the template as a shell for the negotiation, add to and edit details of the negotiation as necessary, and publish the negotiation.

In this example, the procurement application administrator will define a negotiation template to be used when negotiating for a list of incumbent supplies from Vision's inventory category 200.13 which contains printers.

Creating a Negotiation Template

From the Manage Templates page, on she clicks the Create icon.
When the pop-up window appears, she selects the procurement business unit, negotiation type, a negotiation style if appropriate, negotiation outcome, and negotiation currency. Procurement business unit, negotiation outcome and negotiation currency are required fields. She then clicks Create.
She uses the train stops displayed across the top of the pages to create the negotiation template. This process is similar to the general negotiation creation process, but some fields and attributes are not available for use. For example, you cannot define a close date. The category manager will enter that date when she uses the template to create a negotiation.
She enters "Printer Auctions" as the template name, and on the Lines page, enters 200.13 for Category. On the Suppliers page, she enters the names of the suppliers with whom the company has purchased printers in the past.
When the procurement application administrator has completed the appropriate fields, she activates and saves the new template.

What's the difference between a negotiation style and a negotiation template?

You can use both negotiation styles and negotiation templates when creating negotiation documents. The purpose for each is different, however, they both help shorten the creation process. A negotiation style uses only the creation features necessary to create the target type of negotiation. Any features not required are not accessible using that negotiation style. For example, if line attributes are not appropriate to a particular type of negotiation, the procurement application administrator can create a negotiation style that omits line attributes. When that negotiation style is used to create a negotiation document, the application pages used to create line attributes do not appear. By focusing only on the features required by the type of negotiation, the creation process is shortened.

A negotiation template is a skeleton you apply to a new negotiation you are creating. Negotiation templates can provide default data for many of the negotiation document attributes, for example addresses or invited suppliers. You can modify some of these attributes when creating your new negotiation document.

Negotiation templates also let companies standardize practices on negotiation creation. For example, different templates can be used with different categories.