2 Data Flow from Merchandising to Xstore using Omnichannel Data Service (OCDS)

This chapter covers the data flow from Merchandising and Pricing to OCDS, where Merchandising and Pricing data can be requested by Xstore Office for loading into the Xcenter and Xstore databases.

OCDS can provide the Xstore Suite the following categories of data:

• Merchandise hierarchy

• Organizational hierarchy

• Store (including addresses)

• Dimension type (derived from item differentiator, or diff usage)

• Dimension value (derived from item diff usage)

• Items and Item Location

• Enterprise Item and Enterprise Item Location

• Item UPC

• Value Added Tax (VAT) rules and item associations

• Related items

• Initial prices

• Price changes

• Promotions

• Clearance prices

Conceptual Data Flow

Oracle Omnichannel Cloud Data Service (OCDS) is a data hub, enabling the Merchandising applications to share information with the Oracle Retail Omnichannel applications. OCDS is composed of three major components:

• BDI Batch Job Admin - Enables the flow of data into OCDS using the Oracle Bulk Data Integration (BDI) technology. Job Admin has a User Interface (UI) to support the management of BDI batch jobs.

• RIB Injector - Enables the flow of data into OCDS from the Oracle Retail Integration Bus (RIB).

• ORDS Web Services - Enables the data contained in OCDS to be accessed by Omnichannel applications, such as the Xstore Suite, through the use of RESTful web services.

Figure 2-1 illustrates the major system components that make up OCDS, and the interactions of the applications major actors.

Figure 2-1 OCDS Component Diagram

Figure 2-2 Conceptual Data Flow from Merchandising and Pricing to Xstore POS

The following steps describe the flow in Figure 2-2.

1. OCDS receives an initial load of Merchandising foundation data using BDI as the data transport. This is generally a one-time push of data over BDI into OCDS.

2. OCDS starts to receive, on-going, regularly scheduled pricing and promotion data using BDI as the data transport.

3. OCDS starts to receive, on-going, near-real-time updates of Merchandising data using the RIB as the data transport.

4. Xstore Office starts polling OCDS, at a regularly scheduled interval, to check for updates (for example, additions, deletions, and modifications) of Merchandising and Pricing data used by the Xstore Suite. Xstore Office communicates requests for changes to OCDS data by calling the OCDS REST web services.

5. When changes to OCDS data are detected, Xstore Office generates .mnt files containing the commands to update Xstore Suite databases. When .mnt files are generated, they are automatically deposited into the Xstore Office auto-drop folder for data-loading and distribution.

6. If any detected OCDS updates necessitate updating the Xcenter database then the appropriate .mnt file will be automatically dataloaded.

7. If any detected OCDS updates necessitate updating the Xstore database then the appropriate .mnt files will be deployed to the store where they can be dataloaded either immediately or at store close.

Xstore Office Deployments

When the OCDS integration is enabled, Xstore Office will automatically generate .mnt files with instructions for updating store databases when Merchandising or Pricing data changes are detected. Deployments of generated .mnt files, to be loaded at the store, are automatically created for either immediate or scheduled distribution. Each deployment status of the files is displayed in the Xstore Office Deployments screen.

Figure 2-3 Xstore Office Deployments

Phased Rollout of Stores [CLOUD ONLY]

Xstore Office's Integration Manager supports the use of Store Collections when configuring an OCDS integration. By associating a Store Collection with an OCDS Integration a retailer can identify which stores require data from OCDS. This feature can facilitate a phased-store rollout of OCDS data to a subset of existing stores in the Merchandising System. An OCDS integration using a Store Collection will limit the creation and deployment of mnt files to only those stores defined by the Store Collection.

Adding another store to an existing OCDS integration will enable incremental changes to start flowing to the store. A manual refresh from OCDS should be requested for the added store to seed it with a full set of OCDS data.

Manual Refresh of an Xstore Database from OCDS

The OCDS integration is designed to be fully automated; under normal conditions no manual steps are required to have Merchandising and Pricing data flow from OCDS into a store database. However, Xadmin's Data Publisher can be used to regenerate and redeploy .mnt files with OCDS data to a store if exceptional circumstances necessitate the refreshing of an Xstore database.

Use of the Data Publisher to replenish one or more types of OCDS data at a store will result in the purging of all existing OCDS-sourced data, followed by the loading of a full set of the most recent OCDS data.

When the OCDS integration is enabled in Xstore Office, the DataManager screen's "Data Publisher" option will include a "Data Source" drop down list, which includes the list option: Omni Channel Data Service.

To publish OCDS data to one or more stores:

1. Choose the desired Organization Node for the target stores, select Omni Channel Data Service, and click Next.

   Figure 2-4 Xstore Office - Data Publisher Option

   
   

2. Choose the type of data you wish to publish, then click Next.

   Figure 2-5 Xstore Office - Data to Publish

   
   

3. Select a Download Priority, Immediate or Store Close, and click Deploy.

   Figure 2-6 Xstore Office - Target Organization Node Pop Up