This chapter covers the following topics:
Oracle Installed Base is an item instance life cycle tracking application that facilitates enterprise-wide life cycle item management and tracking capabilities. Oracle Installed Base tracks an item from the time that it is received in inventory, in work in process, in projects, at customer sites, and throughout the return and repair process. It records a history of changes to tracked items and supports the creation and maintenance of Oracle Installed Base configurations.
Oracle Installed Base is a centralized repository of information for an item instance and its tracking details including location, status, ownership, party relationships, account relationships, contact relationships, configuration data, and the change history of customer items or corporate assets. The application includes drill-down capability to obtain details of inventory, work in process, and order management transactions affecting an item's tracking attributes.
Additionally, Oracle Installed Base provides links to detailed information from contracts, service requests, service orders initiated for an item instance, and counters associated with the item instance.
Note: Oracle Installed Base support is subject to rules, conditions, and limitations discussed in various sections of this guide. These are not exhaustive. Although most situations are covered, it is not possible to specify all rules, conditions, and limitations with regard to the functionality of the application.
Oracle Installed Base is capable of tracking serialized and non-serialized item instances including:
Tangible items such as manufactured, purchased, and shipped items
Intangible items such as software, services, licenses, and agreements
Tangible assets including fixed, movable, and leased assets
Oracle Installed Base leverages existing Oracle applications and is fully integrated with the Oracle E-Business Suite.
Key features and functionality include the following:
Item instance maintenance
Support for inventory transactions
Centralized repository of information:
Item instance consolidated transactions history
Item instance timestamp and version label history
History of Oracle E-Business Suite transactions affecting Oracle Installed Base
Instance relationships with multiple party/accounts
Configuration support and instance-to-instance relationships
Open Interface and Quick Edit capabilities:
Mass load of item instances by an open interface
Quick online edit of attributes for a group of item instances
System grouping of item instances
Capability of user-defined extended attributes
Oracle Installed Base provides you the ability to create, update, query, and copy instances using Oracle Installed Base user interfaces and through the integration with other applications. These include Oracle applications such as:
Oracle Service Contracts
Oracle Field Service
Oracle Depot Repair
Oracle Complex Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul
Oracle Receiving
Oracle Work in Process
Oracle Inventory
Oracle Process Manufacturing
Oracle Projects
Oracle Order Management
Oracle Quoting
Oracle Shipping
Oracle Site Hub
Oracle Purchasing
Contact Center and the eBiz Center
Use Oracle Asset Tracking to create and maintain assets. Oracle Asset Tracking provides you with the ability to track the location, status, addresses, contacts, business party relationships, inter-instance relationships, extended pricing, instance attributes, and other item instance attributes.
Instance maintenance can be directly performed using robust HTML query, search, and edit capabilities.
Oracle Installed Base supports creation and update of item instances and attributes for transactions originating in Oracle Inventory. These include internal transactions such as internal order shipments and subinventory transfers, discrete manufacturing transactions such as WIP component issue and WIP component return, and external transactions such as sales order shipments to external customers. Oracle Installed Base also provides instance maintenance for transactions involving Oracle Purchasing, Contact Center, and e-Biz Center.
Note: Oracle strongly recommends that you set up the Inventory Installed Base tracking parameter at the item master level. You must select items as Trackable for all organizations.
Similarly, you must set lot, locator, revision, serial, and others at the master level.
The Oracle Installed Base User's Guide provides a comprehensive list of all transactions that Oracle Installed Base supports, including those that are triggered by Oracle Inventory.
These are examples of information stored in the Oracle Installed Base centralized repository:
Consolidated transactions history for an item instance
Oracle Installed Base provides a single, centralized user interface to view and drill down from all transactions affecting tracking attributes for an item over the life of the item instance. Transaction details include, for example, transaction type, source application, transaction, line reference, and transaction date.
Timestamp and version label history for an item instance
Using the Item Instance History page, you can view the state of the attributes of an instance by specifying a date-time stamp or a version label. This feature provides valuable information regarding an item instance configuration at a specific time.
History of Oracle E-Business Suite transactions affecting Oracle Installed Base
Oracle Installed Base provides the ability to query transactions by date range, status, and transaction types across Oracle E-Business Suite applications. It pulls together information from multiple applications and presents it in a single, central user interface.
Some business segments need to track customer-owned item instances only. To support this requirement, an additional option has been provided for Installed Base tracking. With this option, you can avoid the present default behavior that tracks both enterprise and customer instances.
Warning: This feature is not available for Oracle Asset Tracking and Oracle Enterprise Asset Management customers.
Use the Only Customer Owned Instances option to restrict tracking to only customer-owned instances and still perform after-sales transactions such as RMAs and Field Service returns on the Installed Base instances.
By enabling this option, the Installed Base tracking restricts itself from creating any internal instances, and the lifecycle of the Installed Base tracked item starts only on order fulfillment to external customers.
With Oracle Installed Base, you can relate an item instance to multiple entities called parties. The parties can be different party types. For example, an item instance may have been Sold To party A, but is now Owned By party B. It may be Shipped To party C, and so on. The entities may have type values such as Party, Vendor, Employee. For each party type, you can define relationship types such as Owner and Service Provider. Each party can have multiple accounts.
This feature supports the multiple business relationships required by business globalization and outsourcing requirements.
Oracle Installed Base provides the ability to store configurations of item instances and to access the history of a configuration.
This functionality includes creating and maintaining configurations. It builds hierarchical configurations at WIP assembly completion by formulating Component-Of relationships between instances. It supports parent-child bill of material (BOM) structure at the point of sales order shipment.
Multiple types of relationships between instances are supported. For example, Oracle Installed Base connects two or more components in a communications network by creating Connected-To relationships between item instances. This capability reflects Oracle Installed Base integration with the Oracle Telecommunications Service Ordering solution of Oracle Configurator.
Oracle Installed Base provides the Open Interface feature to mass load item instances. This is useful during initial conversion and for synchronizing multiple environments. It can be used to create new instances or to update existing item instances. It can also be used to create or update relationships between item instances including replacing instances in Component-Of configurations.
Additionally, Oracle Installed Base provides Mass Update feature. With this feature you can select a group of item instances based on a set of search criteria and invoke attribute changes for all item instances in the group. For example, you can quickly and conveniently change ownership, location or contacts for a group of instances. The transactions can also be set to run on a future date.
Oracle Installed Base enables you to group item instances under a construct called a system. For example, all copier machines on the fifth floor of a building or those belonging to a specific department can be grouped under a system. You can define, view, and invoke specific changes to item instances within the system or grouping. Additionally, you can build hierarchies of systems, and link multiple systems in parent-child hierarchies or relationships.
Oracle Installed Base offers the flexibility of multi-level, user definable additional, or extended, attributes associated with an item instance to fit a variety of business requirements. The application also stores pricing attributes for an item instance and makes them available for subsequent use by Oracle E-Business Suite applications including Oracle Service Contracts. Oracle Service Contracts uses service programs or extended warranties where pricing is dependent on the attributes of an item.
If you are using the Oracle Autonomous Database in your environment, you must complete the following tasks:
1. Set the csi debug log path for CSI.
Set the cse debut log path for CSE.
Enter the directory that points to EBS_APPLPTMP. This action will create the logs in the correct tier.
Run the following concurrent program to access the debug/log files:
Concurrent Program: CSI/CSE Debug/Log Files from DB to MT
To run the concurrent program:
Navigate to Installed Base Administrator > Others > Requests, and the Installed Base Requests window appears.
Select Transfer CSi/CSE Debug/Log Files from DB to MT in the Name field.
Click Schedule to enter a specific timeframe during which you want to run the concurrent program. The default value is As Soon as Possible.
Verify that the Save All Output Files check box is selected in the Upon Completion region.
Click Submit.
This concurrent program will transfer the files to the application tier and files will be moved.
See Using Oracle Autonomous Database on Shared Exadata Infrastructure for additional information.
Oracle Installed Base has the following integration points within the Oracle E-Business Suite:
Counters and Notes (update capabilities)
Direct updates from Oracle Field Service and Oracle Complex Maintenance Repair, and Overhaul
View and reference accessibility from multiple applications such as Oracle Contracts, Oracle Field Service, Oracle Depot Repair, and Oracle Customer Support
Oracle Trading Community Architecture for querying parties and accounts and building item instance to party relationships
Oracle Inventory (receiving and other inventory transactions)
Oracle Order Management (shipping, fulfillment, and RMA receipts). Includes integrations with the Oracle Telecommunications Service Ordering (TSO) functionality as well as the Oracle Order Management Partner Ordering process.
Oracle Assets (Oracle Asset Tracking-specific updates through mass additions)
Oracle Projects (Oracle Asset Tracking-specific updates to projects)
Oracle Work in Process (move transactions, assembly completion, configuration support, and others)
Oracle e-Biz Center & Contact Center. A new tab provided with Contact/e-Biz Center window enables direct access to Oracle Installed Base.
Oracle Project Contracts (shipment transactions)
Oracle Purchasing (inter-company drop shipment and PO adjustments)
Trading Community Architecture (TCA) party for party and relationship
Note the following points with regard to integration with TCA and Oracle Quoting:
When using the TCA merge routines with Oracle Installed Base records, Oracle recommends that the party merge be completed before the account merge. In addition, the internal party that is set up in the Oracle Installed Base parameter cannot be used in the merge. For details, refer to Setting Up Installation Parameters.
When entering a quote, you can invoke the transaction detail to enter additional information for Oracle Installed Base. When the quote becomes an order, the transaction detail is copied against an Oracle Order Management order. This is processed when the order is shipped as described in the Oracle Order Management integration.
The application uses the Interface Install Base Lines concurrent program to communicate transactional updates from Oracle Inventory to Oracle Installed Base.
See Schedule the Interface Install Base Lines Concurrent Program for more information.
If an item is set up as trackable in Oracle Installed Base, then an inventory receipt such as miscellaneous receipt or PO receipt causes the creation or update of an Oracle Installed Base instance. When the inventory transaction occurs, a record is inserted into the Installed Base interface table. The Install Base lines concurrent program processes the lines in the interface table and updates or creates IB instances.
Note: If the Install Base Lines concurrent program is run manually, the User ID will represent the resource who created or modified the transaction. If the concurrent program is run automatically, then the User ID represents the resource who generated the process.
For non-serialized items, if an instance already exists at the same subinventory location, then it is added to the quantity of the instance with the same subinventory location. If an instance for the same item subinventory location does not exist, then a new instance is created.
If an item is serial controlled at receipt or is predefined, then an instance is created for it with quantity of 1 with location in the subinventory location.
If an item is serial controlled at order issue, then it is treated as a non-serialized controlled item in inventory. The item receives a serial number at order-issue creation time only.
If an Oracle Installed Base trackable item has been received into inventory and an Oracle Installed Base instance has been created, then any subsequent inventory transactions will be tracked in Oracle Installed Base as well.
Note: Oracle strongly recommends that you set up the Inventory Installed Base tracking parameter at the item master level. You must select items as Trackable for all organizations.
Similarly, you must set lot, locator, revision, serial, and others at the item master level.
For an inventory transfer or move order transaction, the location of an instance is updated to reflect the new location for a serialized item. For a non-serialized item, the quantity of the instance at the From location is subtracted, and the quantity of the instance at the To location is increased by the quantity being moved. If the item is issued to a WIP job, then the location of the item reflects the WIP job number. If it is issued to an asset, then it reflects the asset number. If it is issued to a project/task, then the location of the instance shows the project and task number.
Refer to Oracle Asset Tracking documentation for more details.
The Oracle Inventory transactions associated with Oracle Installed Base appear in Appendix A: Oracle Transactions Interfacing with Oracle Installed Base, Oracle Installed Base Implementation Guide,
The WIP inventory-sourced transactions are described in further detail in WIP Integration.
We recommend that the Interface Install Base Lines Concurrent Manager is running so that the interface lines are processed periodically and users can view the most current inventory transactions.
Note: If the Install Base Lines concurrent program is run manually, the User ID will represent the resource who created or modified the transaction. If the concurrent program is run automatically, then the User ID represents the resource who generated the process.
The integration with Oracle Order Management is the only integration that implements the functionality of the Oracle Installed Base Transaction Details window. This includes RMA receipt, sales order shipment, and sales order fulfillment. The functionality of the Oracle Installed Base Transaction Details window is not supported for internal sales orders.
An RMA return receipt generates an inventory receipt material transaction in the Inventory application. If a serialized item never existed in Oracle Installed Base, then the RMA receipt creates a new instance with the location in inventory. For non-serialized items, first create the instance with the required quantity using the Oracle Installed Base user interface and then reference it in the RMA. If the instance exists in Oracle Installed Base, then this return can cause a change of location to inventory and other changes such as status and owner as specified in the transaction type setup used to process the transaction.
In the sales return line, installation detail can be invoked to specify additional details for this instance and other related instances for this update to Oracle Installed Base.
Oracle Installed Base supports the Order Management RMA fulfillment process for non-shippable items under specific terms and conditions. Important conditions include the following:
The item must be flagged as Oracle Installed Base trackable.
Instance Reference must be entered in the Transaction (Installation) Details window for Oracle Installed Base update.
RMA - Oracle Installed Base interface workflow customizing is required.
Oracle Installed Base supports RMA fulfillment by one or more of the following events:
Reduction in quantity (If the quantity is reduced to zero, then it is automatically expired.)
Instance expiration
Change in status
Change in configuration relationship
Instance attributes are updated based on the associated transaction types in the transaction details window.
Refer to Use of Transaction Details for information on the use of transaction detail. To use transaction detail, the transaction types being used have to be previously set up. Refer to Set Up Transaction Subtypes for instructions to set up transaction types.
For an Oracle Installed Base trackable, shippable item, a shipping transaction generates an inventory issue transaction in the Oracle Inventory application.
For a serialized item already in inventory, this transaction causes a change of location and ownership, depending on the transaction type being used.
For items serialized at sales order issue, the first-time shipment transaction causes the creation of a new instance with the serial number. If it has trackable components, then the component instances and component-of configuration for these components are built as well.
For non-serialized items, the quantity is subtracted from the instance at the inventory location, and a new instance is created with the customer ownership and location.
Oracle Installed Base supports the following Oracle Order Management integration based configurations:
Assemble-to-order (ATO) models, configured item, ATO option class and components
Pick-to-order (PTO) models, included item, PTO option class and components
Kits and components items
It is important to note that items must be Oracle Installed Base trackable, and non-shippable items must be fulfilled to be represented in a configuration.
Key Rule: Configurations are built only for a parent item instance with Quantity = 1.
Oracle Installed Base supports the creation of BOM based configurations at initial shipment. Component-of relationships are created between trackable parent and component instances.
The creation of a PTO model is supported as in previous versions of Oracle Installed Base. At the time of sales order line processing, Oracle Configurator enables the selection of optional items to be put into the PTO model. As a result, additional sales order lines are created for the mandatory and optional items. If they are Oracle Installed Base trackable, then at the time of sales order shipment, instances of the top model, the trackable components, and the component-of relationships are created in Oracle Installed Base. The PTO model need not be serialized controlled.
In all cases, at the sales order line for a sales order, installation detail can be invoked to specify additional details for this instance and other related instances, for this update to Oracle Installed Base. Refer to Use of Transaction Details for information on the use of installation detail.
To use the installation detail, the transaction types being used have to be previously set up. Refer to Setting Up Transaction Subtypes for instructions on setting up transaction types.
The creation of an ATO model is supported as well. At the time of sales order line processing, Configurator enables the selection of optional items to be put into the ATO model. Then a WIP job can be created for the configured item to be built in WIP. At the time of WIP assembly completion, the configured item instance and its configuration are created with the location in inventory. When it is shipped, the location and ownership will be changed to that of the customer. The ATO model need not be serialized controlled.
Oracle Installed Base supports sales order line fulfillment of shippable or non-shippable, Oracle Installed Base trackable items.
Fulfillment of an order line invokes the Oracle Installed Base interface and appropriately creates or updates Oracle Installed Base item instances.
Note: If the Install Base Lines concurrent program is run manually, the User ID will represent the resource who created or modified the transaction. If the concurrent program is run automatically, then the User ID represents the resource who generated the process.
Note: Concurrent programs used to process the order lines are:
IB Transaction Lines Import
IB Transaction Lines Import Worker
Oracle Installed Base supports creation of the following configurations based on integration with Oracle Order Management:
PTO models, included items, PTO option class and components
Kits and components items
BOM-based configurations
Key Rule: Configurations are only built for a parent item instance with Quantity = 1.
Oracle Installed Base supports the creation of BOM-based configurations at fulfillment. Component-of relationships are created between trackable parent and component instances.
In all cases, at the sales order line for a sales order, transaction detail can be invoked to specify additional details for this instance and other related instances for this update to Oracle Installed Base. Refer to Use of Transaction Details for information on the use of transaction details.
To use the transaction detail, the transaction subtypes being used must have been previously set up. Refer to Setting Up Transaction Subtypes for instructions to set up transaction subtypes.
Oracle Installed Base is integrated with the Oracle Order Management end-customer or partner ordering process, and information that is specific to end customers can be automatically captured in Oracle Installed Base from sales orders.
You set up order management default values to specify Oracle Installed Base ownership and the current and installed location in sales orders.
Oracle Installed Base populates the owner, owner account, current location, and the installed location in the transaction detail, based on the order management defaults or entries in the sales order line.
Following sales order fulfillment, these values are appropriately reflected in Oracle Installed Base for an item instance.
The owner/account can come from the sold-to party/account or the end-user/account, the current location can come from the shipped-to location, end-user location, sold-to location, or deliver-to location, the installed location can come from shipped-to location, end-user location, sold-to location, or deliver-to location.
You can choose items to track only after order fulfillment if the tracking of inventory transactions is not important for your business. The control can be set at the item level in the Item Master, or at the Install Parameters level.
Oracle Installed Base supports and reflects the majority of inventory transactions sourced from WIP jobs and WIP transactions including component-of configuration creation at WIP assembly completion.
WIP assembly completion creates a receipt and a subsequent transaction in Oracle Inventory. The Oracle Installed Base integration point with WIP is strictly through the inventory material transaction, not through any internal WIP transactions.
See Inventory Transactions for more information.
The creation of Oracle Installed Base configurations in the context of WIP integration is determined by several variables including auto allocate parameter, genealogy enabled, single versus multiple job assembly quantity, serial control, trackable components, and others.
In general configurations are created subject to Rule 1 below.
For auto allocate = 'Y' and genealogy not enabled, configurations are built based on job requirements. Generally, excess component quantity is not attached to a configuration. Excess quantity is only attached if there is no job requirement.
Other considerations include the following:
Configurations are only built for serialized assemblies (serialized at receipt or predefined).
Components are added or removed from existing configurations following post-completion transactions. (For example, WIP component issue/return and WIP negative component issue/return)
Oracle Installed Base provides configuration support for work order-less WIP completions.
Configurations (component removal and installation) are not supported at assembly completion for CMRO WIP jobs.
For assembly quantity = 1, configurations are created and modified based on issued component quantities. An exception is the following repair/upgrade scenario: If item/serial number A is issued to a job and job completion creates the same item/serial number or the same item with a new serial number B, then the original serial number A is not created as a component of itself (original serial number A or new serial number B).
For multi-quantity assembly jobs, configuration creation is governed by the Auto Allocate install parameter: Auto Allocate = 'Y' and genealogy not enabled.
For serialized components:
Completion configuration is based on a random allocation (order of serial numbers) in the ratio of total job component quantity required to job assembly quantity, if job requirements exist. If no job requirements exist, then configuration is based on component quantity issued to job assembly quantity. Excess quantity is randomly issued.
Post component issues are added based on ratios specified in job material requirements, subject to Rule 1.
For non-serialized components:
Component issues are added based on quantity required to job quantity if job requirements exist. Otherwise, component issues are based on quantity issued to job quantity if no requirements exist.
Post component issues are added based on ratios specified in job material requirements. Auto Allocate = 'N' and genealogy enabled.
For serialized components:
Configuration is created according to genealogy or from the parent serial number in the MTL table.
No random allocation is performed.
For non-serialized components:
Configuration relationships are built only for specific quantity allocations.
Only a single level configuration is built for a given WIP job. To process multiple levels of configuration, multiple jobs must be created and executed for subassemblies.
At the time of sales order shipment, the ownership and location are changed to that of the customer, depending on the transaction being used. Key supported WIP transactions include:
WIP Component Issue
Wip Component Return
Wip Negative (Wip-ve) Component Issue
Wip-ve Component Return
Wip Assembly Completion
Wip Assembly Return
The internal sales order is one of the means to transfer items between internal organizations. Oracle Installed Base supports the internal order process subject to specific rules and conditions. It updates item instances for internal order transactions including internal order pick, internal order in-transit shipment, internal order direct shipment and internal order in-transit receipts.
The key condition affecting Oracle Installed Base support for internal sales orders requires the selection of the Oracle Inventory Oracle Installed Base tracking parameter at item master level. Items must be selected as Trackable for all organizations. Similarly, lot, locator, revision, and others must be set at the master level. Generally Oracle Installed Base supports organization-level serial control combinations provided by Oracle Inventory. Specific conditions such as serialized at receipt item in Org A to serialized at sales order issue item in Org B are not supported.
In general, Oracle Installed Base updates the following item attributes in the internal sales order process.
Serialized Items
Inventory Location attributes (Organization ID, Sub-inventory, Location, Locator, Lot) are appropriately updated to reflect the transferred organization.
Non-Serialized Items
Instances may be created and/or updated (quantity decreased or increased) appropriately based on whether instances exist, negative quantities are allowed and so on.
In-Transit Internal Order Shipments
Instance usage and location type are updated to 'In-Transit' at shipment subject to serial/no-control rules.
Instance usage and location type are updated to 'In-Inventory' on receipt subject to serial/no-control rules.
Direct Internal Order Shipments
Instance usage and location type are updated to 'In-Inventory' subject to serial or no-control rules.
Inter-Organization Transfers
These generally are subject to the same rules and processes listed earlier in this section.
For information about asset integration, refer to Oracle Asset Tracking Implementation Guide and Oracle Asset Tracking User's Guide.
For information about project integration, refer to Oracle Asset Tracking Implementation Guide and Oracle Asset Tracking User's Guide.
The Transaction Details window is used to capture additional information that is used to update the instance, an RMA return line, and a sales order line.
The Transaction Details can be activated on the sales order line window by clicking Actions and selecting Installation Details. For a full description of this window, refer to Using the Order Management Transaction Details Window in Oracle Installed Base User's Guide and online help.