Core Commerce provides tools to handle pre-checkout order-processing tasks such as adding items to a shopping cart, ensuring items are shipped by the customer’s preferred method, and validating credit card information. The system is designed for flexibility and easy customization; you can create sites that support multiple shopping carts for a single user, multiple payment methods and shipping addresses.
As soon as a customer submits an order, the fulfillment framework takes over processing. This system includes a collection of standard services that coordinate and execute the order fulfillment process. Like the purchase process, the fulfillment framework can be customized to meet the needs of your sites.
Core Commerce also includes an HTML-based Fulfillment Administration page that you can use for:
Viewing orders that are ready to be shipped.
Notifying the fulfillment system that an order has been shipped to the customer.
Notifying the fulfillment system that a shipping group has changed and needs to be reprocessed.
Printing order information.
The fulfillment framework includes the following features:
Cost Centers: Cost Centers allow customers to track internal costs by designating parts of their organization as cost centers, enabling them to track costs by department and run related reports.
Export an Order Via XML: Classes in Core Commerce allow you to export customer orders in XML for easy integration with your other systems.
Scheduled Orders: Your customers can create template orders from a new or existing order, then create a schedule for the same order to be placed regularly during the time frame they specify. For example, a company could set up a scheduled order to buy certain supplies on a monthly basis for the next year, then stop so the company can review its needs and perhaps change the standard order.
Order Approvals: You can require that customers’ orders be reviewed by authorized persons who can approve or reject them. The approval process in Core Commerce can identify customers for whom approvals are required, and check for the conditions that trigger an approval for an order, such as when an order limit is exceeded. After an approver has reviewed the order, if approved, the order proceeds through checkout.
Invoicing: This feature gives your customers the option of being invoiced for orders they place.
Requisitions: Requisitions work with the order approval process, enabling your customers to attach requisition numbers to orders, then submit them for approval within their organization, improving your customers’ ability to track internal activities.
