General Order Broker questions

Why can’t I work with systems, event logging, preferences, proximity uploads, or user profiles?

Your user roles control this access. See the Role Wizard for more information.

I changed a preference setting on one of our servers. Why hasn’t it taken effect?

When you change a preference, the preference settings are updated immediately only on the server where you performed the update, while additional servers continue to use the cached settings. As a result, if you use a multi-server environment for Order Broker, you need to open the Preferences screen on each server and click Update in order to apply the new preference settings.

Use the Cache... button at the About Order Broker window to determine if the current instance of Order Broker is sharing a cache with another instance.

How do I know which version of Order Broker is installed?

Select Systems > About Order Broker... to display the About Order Broker window.

Why did my Order Broker session time out? How can I get back in?

The UI Timeout setting at the Tenant screen specifies how many minutes to wait before timing out an inactive user session.

Once a session times out, you need to close the browser window and start a new session in a different window.

What are the password requirements?

For any user not flagged to use LDAP authentication, the password must:

•         be changed at least every 90 days

•         be from 8 to 25 characters

•         not contain any spaces

•         include at least 1 numeric character

•         include at least 1 letter

•         not be the same as the user ID

•         not be the same as any of the 4 previous passwords

The password is case-sensitive (A is not the same as a).

These rules apply to all Order Broker users, store associate users, and vendor users.

Note:  Vendor users are not eligible for LDAP authentication.

Why does some of the information on a screen looks incorrect, such as certain fields appearing in more than one area of the screen?

If you are using Internet Explorer, make sure that you are not displaying the Order Broker screens in Compatibility View mode. Compatibility View should be turned off for Order Broker.

Why did Order Broker return an error: Inbound Message failed validation?

Order Broker returns this error to a web service message if authentication is required for the web service and the request message was not sent with a valid user name and password. See the Web Service Authorization screen for background.

Why are my search results not correct?

Unless otherwise indicated, codes and names in Order Broker, Store Connect, and Supplier Direct Fulfillment are case-sensitive (A is not the same as a). When searching for a specific record on a screen, you must enter the case correctly; for example, if you are searching for reason code CAN, you must enter C, CA, or CAN in the code field, and not c, ca, or can.

Will trailing blank spaces in an inbound message cause an error?

Order Broker trims any trailing blank spaces from the fields in inbound messages, so trailing blank spaces do not cause an error.

Why are screens displaying asterisks rather than personal information?

Data can be anonymized through the Purge Customer Data from Completed Orders window, or through a web service request. Once the data is anonymized, it is replaced with asterisks, and cannot be recovered. The types of personal data that can be anonymized are:

• customer names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers (both sold-to and ship-to) on both sales orders and purchase orders

• vendor names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers

• Order Broker user names and email addresses

• Vendor user names and email addresses

• Store Connect associate names and email addresses

• Brand contact names and email addresses

See Anonymizing Data for background.

Merchandise Locator and Routing Engine questions

Why are no products displayed at the Products screen?

When you initially install Order Broker, there are no products in its database. You need to perform the steps described in Setting Up Data for the Routing Engine Module and then continue importing products or items from your default system.

Another possibility is that the cached information in the browser needs to be refreshed. To prevent this issue from occurring, if you use Internet Explorer:

•         Select Tools > Internet Options

•         In the Internet Options window, select the Advanced tab

•         Scroll down to the Security options and select Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed

•         Click OK to apply the change

How can I tell when the availability information for a product location was last updated?

This information is displayed at the Browse Product Locations window. Availability information can by updated by:

•         the import process

•         responses to inventory inquiries sent by Order Broker, if the location is in an online system

•         entry at the New Product Location screen or the Edit Product Location screen

•         the incremental inventory update (see the Incremental Inv Update tab of the System screen)

Why are there no product locations for a product?

Confirm that the location was created in Order Broker, as described in Setting Up Data for the Routing Engine Module.

How can I display the probability rule assignments for a location, location type, or organization?

See the Probability Location screen.

Probable quantity rules: You use the Probable Quantity Location screen rather than this screen to assign probable quantity rules, which update the probable quantity that a system, such as your ecommerce site, can use to estimate an item’s availability. For more information, see:

•         the Probable Quantity Rules screen

•         the Probable Quantity Location screen

•         the Probable Qty Export tab at the System screen

Why can’t I display the New Location screen?

You need to first set the Use Proximity Locator preference at the Preferences screen. See Setting Up Data for the Routing Engine Module for an overview.

I have the Require Status Update flag selected for a system. Why is Order Broker generating duplicate emails to the specified email address?

The Email Interval specified in the Email Settings section of the Tenant screen controls how many minutes to wait between generating emails.

Why isn’t an Item # displayed at the Order screen?

If your user ID is not assigned a Default Shipping System at the User Profile Configuration screen, the Item # might not be displayed at the Details tab on the Order screen.

Why did a rejected order stay in rejected status?

This can occur if the Default Unfulfillable Location is not associated with the default system for your organization, because Order Broker cannot reshop the order unless there is a system product record for the system associated with the Default Unfulfillable Location.

Why was an entire order assigned to the Default Unfulfillable Location when it could

have been partially fulfilled?

The Routing Engine does not initially create an order or line as partially unfulfillable.If there is no location that can fulfill the entire requested quantity of an order or line, or is flagged as Backorder Available, the entire order is assigned to the Default Unfulfillable Location.

Supplier Direct Fulfillment questions

Why can’t I create a vendor?

You cannot create a vendor for an organization until you create the default vendor system. See the default vendor system for background.

Where is the vendor’s contact name and address stored in the database?

The vendor contact’s name and address information, as well as the vendor’s name and Active flag, are stored in the location table.

Where is the vendor’s return address stored in the database?

The vendor’s return address information is stored in the contact table.

What is the DS Vendor location type?

The DS Vendor location type is required for you to create vendors for your organization. Order Broker automatically creates the DS Vendor location type for an organization when you create the default vendor system. You should not delete the DS Vendor location type.

How to resend invoices to the order management system?

If the order management system, such as Order Management System or CWDirect, did not receive and create the invoices, you can resend one or more invoices by setting the posted_date in the vendor_invoice table to NULL. Order Broker then includes these invoices in the GetDSInvoicesResponse message the next time it receives the request from the order management system.