Oracle® Retail Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service

Release Notes

Release 16.0.028

E98651-01

July 2018

This document highlights the major changes for Release 16.0.028 of Oracle Retail Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service.

Overview

Retailers leverage Oracle Retail Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service (RMFCS) functionality to execute core merchandising activities, including merchandise management, inventory replenishment, purchasing, import processes, sales auditing, and financial tracking. Its Trade Management module is used to manage the import process, including automating the steps necessary to import goods, managing file exchanges with trading partners, and providing a central database of critical import order information.

Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service also includes Sales Audit and Pricing modules. The Sales Audit module evaluates sales transaction from all channels, identifying any missing, duplicate, or erroneous data and highlighting any suspicious transactions, to ensure errors are resolved so that downstream systems operate off the same cleansed sales information. The Pricing module provides the ability to define, maintain, and review price changes and clearances, as well as provides the ability to pass approved price events onto downstream selling systems for execution.

Oracle Retail Cloud Services and Business Agility

Oracle Retail Foundation Cloud Service is hosted in the Oracle Cloud with the security features inherent to Oracle technology and a robust data center classification, providing significant uptime. The Oracle Cloud team is responsible for installing, monitoring, patching, and upgrading retail software.

Included in the service is continuous technical support, access to software feature enhancements, hardware upgrades, and disaster recovery. The Cloud Service model helps to free customer IT resources from the need to perform these tasks, giving retailers greater business agility to respond to changing technologies and to perform more value-added tasks focused on business processes and innovation.

Oracle Retail Software Cloud Service is acquired exclusively through a subscription service (SaaS) model. This shifts funding from a capital investment in software to an operational expense. Subscription-based pricing for retail applications offers flexibility and cost effectiveness.

Client System Requirements

The following technology is supported:

Operating Systems

n Microsoft Windows 7

n Microsoft Windows 10

Browser Support

n Mozilla Firefox ESR 52

n Microsoft Internet Explorer 11

n Google Chrome (Desktop) 55+

Functional Enhancements

The functional enhancements below are included in this release.

Item/UDA Defaulting Updates

Previously, the UDA inheritance feature from parent to child items had some difference in behavior compared to other attributes associated with items. This was primarily due to the fact that UDAs can have more than one "value" for an item, as well as the way that the tables are structured such that the "value" (e.g. value from a list, date, or free-form text) is part of the primary key on the UDA/item tables. For example, a UDA that represents fabric types could be assigned to an item twice if more than one fabric is applicable for an item. This made it difficult to know how to inherit changes down to the child items as the UDA and value together make the key, and once it is changed at the parent level, the traceability is lost. Enhancements have been made to standardize some of the behavior to make it more predictable for users. These changes apply to both the application screens and interfaces where item/UDAs are maintained.

Cost Component GL Mapping

With this enhancement, a change has been made to how purchase costs are written to TRAN_DATA when ELC is being used in Merchandising. In previous releases, the cost components that made up the ELC for the purchase order were included in the overall purchase cost recorded on PO receipt and therefore had to all be mapped to the same GL account. But, with this release, separate records will be written for the merchandising cost on the PO, as well as one for each cost component that is applicable for the receipt. This will allow these cost components to be mapped, by non-merchandise code, to different GL accounts than the purchase cost, if desired.

Transaction Data Stock Ledger Updates

Two updates were made to how records are written to the transaction level stock ledger (TRAN_DATA) for certain transaction types. First, for inventory adjustments, the unique key captured for the adjustment on the INV_ADJ table is also written to TRAN_DATA in REF_NO_2. This can be used for reporting or to tie out transactions between the two tables.

Additionally, for clearance markdowns, if a markdown number value (e.g. First Markdown) has been assigned for a markdown on a particular item/location/date, that markdown value's code will be captured on TRAN_DATA in REF_NO_2 for reporting purposes. Additionally, for all markdown and markdown transactions captured, the price event ID will be captured in REF_NO_1.

Code Head and Detail Updates

There were a number of updates made to CODE_HEAD/CODE_DETAIL tables in this release to remove obsolete codes and code types, and to clean up naming in other codes.

Numeric Only Codes

To support managing certain codes in the CODE_HEAD and CODE_DETAIL tables, new logic was added to support requiring certain codes to be numeric only and will impact the following code type: PRTP - Purchase Type. Any new customer added values to this code type will need to be numeric or an error will be raised when updating.

Data Upload/Download Template Classifications

The following updates were made to the template groupings used for uploading or downloading data for several foundational data elements in Merchandising and Sales Audit to better align with functionality in the solution. These updates apply for both upload and download functions.

Template	Template Types	Updates
Timelines	Foundation (Merchandising)	This was moved from the Import template type, as it is used for more than just the import function in Merchandising.
Transfer Zones	Foundation (Merchandising)	Moved this template from Inventory, as it impacts the creation of stores which is more of a foundation data function.
Entry Status and Types Freight Size and Types HTS Definition HTS Setup SCACs	Import	When the option to use Trade Management is turned off, then these templates are hidden and not able to be used in the system.
Entry Status and Types Freight Size and Types SCACs	Import	When the option to use Trade Management is on, but it is being run in "simplified" mode, then these templates will be hidden and not able to be used in the system.
Delivery Slots Supplier Distribution	Replenishment (new)	Moved these templates from Inventory to this new template type as they is very specific to Merchandising replenishment functionality.
Transfer Entity	Finance Administration	Moved this template from Inventory, as this is typically something managed by the financials team in a retail organization.
Locations Closings	Foundation (Sales Audit) - new	Added this template to Sales Audit, in addition to being available in Merchandising, as this functionality impacts both areas.

In addition, permissions for the various template types in Merchandising have been updated to provide more granular control of which users are able to update which foundation data entities. A separate privilege is now available for each of the template types: Administration, Security, Financial Control, Budgets, Finance Administration, Franchise, Foundation, Inventory, Price and Cost, Items, and Import.

Flex Attribute Extensions in Data Upload/Download Templates

Custom flex attributes (CFAS) are supported in Merchandising for diff types, value added tax (VAT) codes and estimated landed cost (ELC) components. These data elements are all managed using the spreadsheet upload/download capabilities in Merchandising; however, in previous releases the CFAS attributes, if defined for these entities, could not be updated using the spreadsheet upload/download process as they were not available in the template. This enhancement automatically adds the CFAS attributes to the templates when the CFAS attributes are activated in the system so that they can be maintained via this functionality.

New Languages

The following languages are now available for user selection for the Merchandising cloud suite, including Sales Audit, Pricing, Allocation, and Invoice Matching:

n Arabic

n Czech

n Danish

n Finnish

n Hebrew

n Norwegian

n Thai

Packaged translations for these languages are not available, but you can use the capabilities in ORAAC, as well as other Merchandising translation capabilities, to add their own translations for these languages for both labels and data in these solutions.

Updated Task List

Several updates were made to the task list options in this release to more logically group the various tasks available in RMFCS. The table below shows the updated task list structure with this new release.

Folder or Link	Change	Notes
Data Loading	New Folder	This folder was moved out from the Foundation Data folder to make it more visible.
Download Foundation Data Upload Foundation Data	Link in New Folder	These links were moved from the Data Loading folder into Foundation Data folder. They were also relabeled from Download to Download Foundation Data and from Upload to Upload Foundation Data.
Download Items from Merchandising Download Cost Changes from Merchandising Download Orders from Merchandising	Updated Label	The "RMS" label was replaced with "Merchandising" in these task list links.
Create Item Lists Manage Item Lists	Link in New Folder	These links were moved from Foundation Data to the Items folder.
Product Restrictions	New Folder	New folder added under Items for Product Restrictions. This contains both the create and manage links for that functionality.
Deals	Updated to Folder Location	This folder was previously in the Order folder but is now in the main task list.
Returns to Vendor	New Folder	New folder added under Inventory for RTVs. This contains both the create and manage links for this functionality.
Franchise Orders	Updated to Folder Location	This folder was previously in the Inventory folder, but is now in the main task list.
Upload Replenishment Attributes	Updated Label	The label was previously named "Upload Replenishment Attributes from File".
Letter of Credit	New Folder	A new folder was added for Letter of Credit in the Import Management folder. All Letter of Credit related task links were moved into this folder: n Lett of Credit Order Selection n Create Letter of Credit n Manage Letters of Credit n Send Letters of Credit n Send Amendments
Import Financials	New Folder	This new folder was added under Import Management to hold a number of the tasks that were not associated with either Transportation or Letter of Credit: n Create Customs Entry n Manage Customs Entries n Create Obligation n Manage Obligations n Review ALC n Finalize ALC
Supplier and Partner Foundation	Updated Label	Previously this folder was labeled Suppliers and Partners
Location Foundation	Updated Label	Previously this folder was labeled Locations
Item Foundation	Updated Label	Previously this folder was labeled Items
Expense Foundation	Updated Label	Previously this folder was labeled Expenses
Cost Zones	Link in New Folder	This link was moved from the Location Foundation folder to the Expense Foundation folder.
Replenishment Foundation	New Folder	This new folder was created to house replenishment related foundation data.
Location Delivery Schedule	Link in New Folder	This link was moved from the Location Foundation folder to the Replenishment Foundation folder.
Priority Groups	Link in New Folder	This link was moved from the main Replenishment folder to the Replenishment Foundation folder.
Data Loading Template Configuration	Link in New Folder	This link was moved from the Data Loading folder to the Application Administration folder. And its label was changed from Template Configuration to Data Loading Template Configuration.

Usability Enhancements

The following usability updates have been made:

n Transfer Search screen: added support to search for transfers containing virtual warehouses falling under a physical warehouse entered in the search criteria

n Order Search screen: added support for searching for orders using the create user, original approval user, and last updated by user

n Open Orders by Item screen: added the ability to drill directly into the Order Details screen for a results line item, included the order status as a results column, and added the ability to view transaction level order details when viewing for a parent item.

Integration Enhancements

The integration enhancements described below are included in this release.

New Web Services

With this release, several new web services will be available for use in RMFCS.

Diff Upload

This service was created by SOAP enabling the existing Diff Subscription API to support creating, updating, or deleting diffs in Merchandising.

Transfer Upload

This service was created by SOAP enabling the existing Transfer Subscription API to support creating, modifying, or deleting transfers from an external source to Merchandising.

Budgeted Shrink Update

A new web service was created to support the update of budgeted shrink rates from an external system to Merchandising for one or more department/location combinations.

WAC Update

A new web service was created to support the update of budgeted shrink rates from an external system to Merchandising for one or more item/location combinations.

Data Access Schema Additions

Additional tables have been included in the DAS with this release. To obtain the DAS target side scripts and configuration files, please see support.oracle.com, referencing patch # 28121541. You will need to obtain the password from Oracle in order to download.

New Pricing Integration Options

New options were added to Pricing to support integration of regular and clearance price changes from an external source. In a previous release, bulk (batch) upload for both of these areas was introduced. In this version, options to upload regular and clearance changes from a web service and from a spreadsheet have also been added. Like the bulk upload, these methods will support the ability to create, update, and delete the regular or clearance price change events.

Ticketing and Expenses to Item Induction

Item induction capabilities in Merchandising support the ability for items to be loaded from an external source based on a bulk load, web service, RIB, or a spreadsheet. It also includes a number of key item attributes, such as UDAs, suppliers, and images. This functionality was enhanced in this release to add the ability to also assign ticket types to items, as well as define estimated landed cost (ELC) expenses for items.

Additionally, changes were made to the item supplier and item supplier country levels of this integration as well to add an optional "Default Expense Profiles" field to allow users to specify if the supplier, partner, and/or country profiles should be defaulted to the items. This will allow only item level exceptions to have to be defined in the expenses components of the item creation/upload process.

Planning Integration Updates

Planning integration for Merchandise Financial Planning Cloud Service (MFPCS) and Retail Demand Forecasting Cloud Service (RDFCS) in a previous release has been expanded to also support integration with Item Planning Cloud Service (IPCS). As part of that, some of the previous files that were created had to be updated and others were added.

Known Issues

The known issues described below remain in this release.

Known Issue/Defect

Timing of MFPCS and RDFCS Uptake

The planning integration changes required corresponding changes in the MFPCS and RDFCS applications. The application of this RMFCS patch will need to be coordinated with the application of the MFPCS patch 17.1.001 and RDFCS patch 16.0.3.x in your environment. Please work with your Oracle AMS team to coordinate when these patches become available.

Supplemental Documentation on My Oracle Support

The following documents are available through My Oracle Support. Access My Oracle

Support at the following URL:

https://support.oracle.com

Oracle Retail Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service Advance Release Notification (Doc ID 2396253.1)

This document provides a summary of significant changes to the Merchandising Foundation Cloud Services (RMFCS), including new privileges and duties, changes to integration and tables, and the defects that are scheduled to be included in the upcoming release.

Documentation Accessibility

For information about Oracle's commitment to accessibility, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program website at http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=docacc.

Access to Oracle Support

Oracle customers that have purchased support have access to electronic support through My Oracle Support. For information, visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=info or visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=trs if you are hearing impaired.

Oracle Retail Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service Release Notes, Release 16.0.028

E98651-01

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Value-Added Reseller (VAR) Language

Oracle Retail VAR Applications

The following restrictions and provisions only apply to the programs referred to in this section and licensed to you. You acknowledge that the programs may contain third party software (VAR applications) licensed to Oracle. Depending upon your product and its version number, the VAR applications may include:

(i) the MicroStrategy Components developed and licensed by MicroStrategy Services Corporation (MicroStrategy) of McLean, Virginia to Oracle and imbedded in the MicroStrategy for Oracle Retail Data Warehouse and MicroStrategy for Oracle Retail Planning & Optimization applications.

(ii) the Wavelink component developed and licensed by Wavelink Corporation (Wavelink) of Kirkland, Washington, to Oracle and imbedded in Oracle Retail Mobile Store Inventory Management.

(iii) the software component known as Access Via™ licensed by Access Via of Seattle, Washington, and imbedded in Oracle Retail Signs and Oracle Retail Labels and Tags.

(iv) the software component known as Adobe Flex™ licensed by Adobe Systems Incorporated of San Jose, California, and imbedded in Oracle Retail Promotion Planning & Optimization application.

You acknowledge and confirm that Oracle grants you use of only the object code of the VAR Applications. Oracle will not deliver source code to the VAR Applications to you. Notwithstanding any other term or condition of the agreement and this ordering document, you shall not cause or permit alteration of any VAR Applications. For purposes of this section, “alteration” refers to all alterations, translations, upgrades, enhancements, customizations or modifications of all or any portion of the VAR Applications including all reconfigurations, reassembly or reverse assembly, re-engineering or reverse engineering and recompilations or reverse compilations of the VAR Applications or any derivatives of the VAR Applications. You acknowledge that it shall be a breach of the agreement to utilize the relationship, and/or confidential information of the VAR Applications for purposes of competitive discovery.

The VAR Applications contain trade secrets of Oracle and Oracle's licensors and Customer shall not attempt, cause, or permit the alteration, decompilation, reverse engineering, disassembly or other reduction of the VAR Applications to a human perceivable form. Oracle reserves the right to replace, with functional equivalent software, any of the VAR Applications in future releases of the applicable program.