3Administering Siebel Orders for Fleet Management
Administering Siebel Orders for Fleet Management
This chapter covers the administrative tasks for Siebel Orders for Fleet Management that are different from the standard administrative tasks for order management. It includes the following topics:
About Administering Upselling for Fleet Management
After customer service representatives have entered orders, they go to the Upsell view to see which lanes they will try to upsell to a customer. The records displayed in the Upsell view depend on:
Score. A score is calculated for each lane for this customer, based on the customer’s order history; see Configuring the Score for Upselling. It displays the ten lanes with the highest scores in the Upsell view. The customer is most likely to ship product using these lanes, and they have the highest profit.
Targeted lanes. Your marketing department creates a list of targeted lanes, which are routes where your company wants to focus on selling transportation. If a lane displayed in the Upsell view is also a targeted lane, it is indicated in the NM (network management) field for that lane.
The customer service representative can upsell to this customer in these ten lanes and can emphasize the lanes that are targeted lanes, as described in Upselling to the Customer. If the customer places an upsell order, it is an additional order, which is separate from the initial order.
For more information about administering upselling, see:
Configuring the Score for Upselling
Whenever Oracle Transportation Management sends information that an order is complete, the Siebel application adds information about this order to its order history. The order history aggregates weekly orders for each account for each lane.
This history is used to calculate a score for each lane that each account uses.
With the preconfigured Siebel Orders for Fleet Management application, the score is calculated for the last six weeks. This period is configurable and is stored in the system preference, FM Eval Period in Weeks.
The score is configurable. It is a calculation with a weighted measure, including loads for each week and static profit for all orders that a customer has placed for a lane during the evaluation period.
Formula for Calculating the Score
You can configure the score by changing the system preferences used in the formula for calculating the score.
With the preconfigured application, the score for each lane for each account is calculated using the following formula:
Min(FM Upsell Score Max Ord Count, Order Count)*Min(FM Upsell Score Max Stat Prft, Order Static Profit).
The formula uses the following variables, some of which are configurable:
Order Count. The total number of orders from this account for this lane during a given period. The period is defined by system preference: FM Eval Period in Weeks, as mentioned previously, and it can be configured by changing the value of this system preference. The Order Count field itself must be part of the formula and cannot be removed or replaced with another field. The Order Count field is in the FM Order History business component.
FM Upsell Score Max Ord Count. A system preference that indicates the maximum value for the number of orders used in the calculation. The default value is 6. You can configure the variable by changing the value of the system preference.
Order Static Profit. The total static profit from this account for this lane. You cannot configure this variable. The Order Static Profit field is in the FM Order History business component.
FM Upsell Score Max Stat Prft. A system preference that indicates the maximum value for the static profit used in the calculation. The default value is 500. You can configure the variable by changing the value of the system preference.
For more information about setting system preferences, see Siebel Applications Administration Guide.
How the Score Is Used
After a customer service representative creates an order for a customer, the lanes with the highest score for that customer are displayed in the Upsell view for the order. The records are sorted by score, so that the lane with the highest score is the first in the list. With the preconfigured application, the ten highest lanes are listed. This value is configurable and is stored in system preference FM No of Upsell Lanes.
The customer service representative tries to sell the customer more orders for these lanes in addition to the initial order, because these are the lanes where the customer is likely to place orders with a high static profit.
Adding Targeted Lanes
The marketing department of the transportation provider defines the targeted lanes; that is, the lanes where the company wants to focus on selling transportation.
A lane is a route between an origin and a destination using a given line of business. For example:
Truck transportation from Chicago to New York is a lane.
Rail transportation from Chicago to New York is a different lane.
Instead of cities, regions can be used as the origin and destinations of lanes. For example, if a transportation provider targets the lane representing truck deliveries from Berlin to Paris, it might also want this lane to include deliveries from the suburbs of Berlin and to the suburbs of Paris . To include the suburbs, it defines the regions, based on the postal codes, or on city and state names. Regions are defined in external applications, which must be integrated with the Siebel application.
You can define targeted lanes in an external application that is integrated with the Siebel application, or you can define targeted lanes in the Siebel application, as described in the following procedure.
To define targeted lanes
Navigate to the Administration - Fleet Management screen, then the Targeted Lanes view.
Display all fields:
From the Targeted Lanes menu, select Columns Displayed.
Use the Columns Displayed dialog box to move the Effective Start Date, Effective End Date, and Active fields from the Available Columns list to the Selected Columns list.
Click Save.
Add new records to the Targeted Lanes list, and complete the necessary fields, described in the following table.
Field Description Origin City, Origin State
If you are using a city as the origin, enter the name of the city and state.
Destination City, Destination State
If you are using a city as the destination, enter the name of the city and state.
Origin Pricing Region
If you are using a region as the origin, enter the name of the region.
Destination Pricing Region
If you are using a region as the destination, enter the name of the region.
LOB
Select the line of business for this lane. For example, lines of business might be truck, rail, or intermodal.
Effective Start Date
Enter the date when the designation of this lane as a targeted lane first becomes effective.
Effective End Date
Enter the date when the designation of this lane as a targeted lane is no longer effective.
Active
Select this checkbox to activate the designation of this lane as a targeted lane.
For the lane to be used as a targeted lane, the Active checkbox must be selected, the current date must be after the Effective Start Date, and the current date must be before the Effective End Date if one exists.
Creating Products for Fleet Management
Before the customer service representatives can create orders, the product administrator must create the appropriate products for your implementation of Siebel Orders for Fleet Management.
The following table shows some product types and some examples of products that you might create for each type. The product types and products that you want depend on your business model.
| Product Type | Description | Examples of Products |
|---|---|---|
Transportation |
The transportation products that your fleet provides. |
Transportation
Note: The seed data provides a product with the name,
Transportation. You can create other products of the type Transportation, if it is appropriate for your business model.
|
Accessorial |
Optional extra services that can be purchased with the transportation products. |
|
Commodity |
The products that you deliver for your customers. |
|
If necessary, you can create your own product types. For information about configuring your own product types, see Configuring Siebel Business Applications. For information about creating products, see Siebel Product Administration Guide.
Creating Locations for Fleet Management
When customer sales representatives create orders, they enter the locations of all pickups and deliveries. In addition, they can enter locations for the types: Border Crossing and Other.
The Location screen is specific to orders administration for Fleet Management. It includes an Account view and a Contact view, which uses accounts and contacts created in the standard Siebel application. For more information about working with accounts and contacts, see Siebel Applications Administration Guide.
For fleet management, one account might have many locations. For example, one of your accounts might be a large retail chain, and the locations that you provide transportation services to might include all of this chain’s individual warehouses and stores in your region. You must enter a location record for each of these locations.
Because many deliveries are to repeat customers, with pickup and drop off at the same locations, the customer service representative does not always have to enter new location information while placing an order.
Adding the Location Record
The location record is created using information from an existing account, including the organization within that account. If an account for this customer does not already exist, you must create one, as described in Siebel Applications Administration Guide.
To add a location record
Navigate to the Administration - Fleet Management screen, then the Location view.
Add a new record to the Location list, and complete the necessary fields. Some fields are described in the following table.
Note: Other fields in this record are filled in when you enter information in other views.Field Description Location Name
Enter a name for the location. The name is not the same as the account name, because one account might have many locations.
Location Type
Select the location type. Some types are Ship From/Ship To, Invoice To, Airport, Port, Rail Station.
Location Valid
The field indicates whether the location is valid. You can update this field manually, or integrate it with an external application that updates this field.
Organization Name
Select the organization within the account that owns this location. The default is Default Organization.
If necessary, you can implement single-organization visibility for locations, independent of accounts. In that case, you do not have to select the organization in this field.
Owner Account
Select the account that owns this location.
For example, an account might own a warehouse facility that many retailers use to transfer goods. These accounts are known as third-party retailers
Location Alias
Enter an alias for the location.
Active
Do not select this check box when you are first entering the location record. Select it after you have entered all necessary information in all views and the location is ready to be used.
Adding Accounts for the Location
When you created the location record, you added the account that owns the location. Next, you add all accounts that are tendering parties who use this location.
When the customer service representative adds the origin, destination, or other stops for an order, the Siebel Orders for Fleet Management displays only locations associated with the tendering party. Thus, you must add all tendering parties who use this location, so the customer service representative can choose the location as stops in their orders.
With the preconfigured Siebel Orders for Fleet Management application, all the stops for an order display only locations associated with the tendering party for the offer. Thus, you must add the accounts for all tendering parties who use the location, to allow the location to be used in orders from those tendering parties.
For example, if the location is a warehouse that is owned by a third-party retailer and that is used by a number of your accounts as tendering parties, you enter the third-party retailer as the owner account in the location record, and you enter all the accounts that use the warehouse in this Accounts list.
To add an account
Click the Accounts view tab.
Click Add.
In the Add Accounts dialog box, select the appropriate account, and click OK.
Adding Contacts for the Location
Enter information about the employees who are your contacts at this location.
The Contacts list displays all existing contacts in the Siebel application. If the contacts at this location do not already exist, you must create them, as described in Siebel Applications Administration Guide.
To add a contact
Drill down on the Name field of the location record.
Click the Contacts view tab.
Click Add.
In the Add Contacts dialog box, select a contact, and click OK.
Adding Addresses for the Location
Enter all the addresses for the location. For example, a large warehouse might have an operational address where the trucks go, a separate billing address, and other possible addresses.
Though you can enter many addresses for a location in Siebel Orders for Fleet Management, only one address is sent to Oracle Transportation Management, the primary address. Select the Primary checkbox for the address that you want to be sent to Oracle Transportation Management. This is generally the address where the pickup or delivery is made, since this is the address that Oracle Transportation Management provides to the driver.
To add an address
Click the Addresses view tab.
Click Add.
In the Add Address dialog box, select the appropriate address, and click OK.
Select the Primary checkbox of the address that you want to be sent to Oracle Transportation Management.
Adding Roles for the Location
The role for the location describes its role in the delivery process. For example, a location might be a warehouse where frozen food is picked up, or it might be the address where deliveries are accepted for a given chain store. A location might have multiple roles. For example, a single location might be both a place where you make deliveries and a place where you send invoices.
To add a role
Click the Role view tab.
Add a new record and complete the necessary fields. Some fields are described in the following table.
Field Description Primary
Select this check box if this role is the primary role for the location.
If the location has only one role, select this check box.
Active Flag
By default, this check box is selected, so the role is active.
You can use this field to deactivate roles rather than deleting them, so the role is not used.
Role Type
Select the type of the role. The types are: Invoice To and Ship From/Ship To.
Description
Enter a description of the role.
Activating the Location
After you have entered all needed information, activate the location.
To activate the location
Click the Locations view tab.
In the Locations list, in the record for this location, select the Active check box.
Creating Product Favorites for Fleet Management
Product favorites are combinations of products that have been saved for easy reuse. The product favorite can then be added to an order, instead of adding each product individually.
Product favorites have the advantage of allowing the customer service representative to associate accounts, agreements, or lines of business with the product favorite, as described in Adding Product Favorites. This association is useful because:
A favorite can represent a common scenario of order fulfillment for a specific account, line of business, or agreement.
Within the common scenario, a favorite can include products automatically using associated product favorites.
Favorites can be used to create actions automatically.
Product favorites can reduce the effort of creating orders, and can also add another level of control to eliminate errors in order entry.
Creating Product Favorite Records
You create product favorite records for Oracle Fleet Management in the same way as you do in standard Siebel Business Applications, as described in the section on product selection favorites in Siebel Order Management Guide.
Differences from standard order management are:
Product favorites for Fleet Management are created in the Administration - Fleet Management screen.
The fields described in the following table are added to the product favorites record, and all are optional.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
Start Effective Date |
Enter the date when the product favorite can first be used. |
End Effective Date |
Enter the date when the product favorite can no longer be used. |
Line of Business |
Choose a line of business to which this product favorite applies. If you choose a line of business, this favorite will be available to add to an order only when the line of business in the order header matches this line of business. If you leave this field empty, this favorite will be available regardless of the line of business in the order header. |
Agreement |
Choose an agreement to which this product favorite applies. If you choose an agreement, this favorite will be available to add to an order only when the agreement in the order header matches this agreement. If you leave this field blank, this favorite will be available regardless of the agreement in the order header. |
Account |
Choose an account to which this product favorite applies. If you choose an account, this favorite will be available to add to an order only when the account in the order header matches this agreement. If you leave this field blank, this favorite will be available regardless of the account in the order header. |
Associated Product Favorites |
Select the parent product for the product favorite. All the line items for this product favorite are displayed in this picklist. You must select the parent product so relationships among the line items in the product favorite can be generated correctly. This field allows the administrator to enforce the selection of one product each time the other product is chosen. For example, you can associate the special service product Live Load/Unload with the commodity Cattle. In this example, the commodity Cattle would be the parent product, and the special service Live Load/Unload would be the associated product. Thus, whenever the customer service representative selects this favorite for transporting cattle, the service product would be added also. |
Creating Actions for Product Favorites
You can also create Action records for specific items in product favorites.
When the customer service representative uses the product favorite, as described in Adding Product Favorites, the product favorite item’s actions are associated with the order's stop record, as follows:
When the customer service representative adds the product favorite to the order, an order line item is created for each product favorite line item.
When the customer service representative creates a stop record for the appropriate order line item, the action is automatically added for that stop.
To create an action for a product favorite
Add an item to the product favorite.
For more information, see Siebel Order Management Guide.
Create an action record for this product favorite item.
Choose a value in the Action Type field.
Configuring Picklists for Fleet Management
Many fields used by Siebel Orders for Fleet Management contain picklists that let you select a value. You might want to modify these picklists to suit your business model. For example, when the customer service representative chooses actions for each commodity or for each stop, your company probably wants a picklist with different values from the default to suit your business model.
The values displayed in this picklist are controlled in the List of Values view of the Data Administration screen. For each value displayed in the picklist, there is one record in the List of Values view.
The following table shows the value of the Type field for picklists used in Siebel Orders for Fleet Management and the default values for each type and the language independent code by default for each type. If you want to change the default values for any type, modify the records in the List Of Values view.
| Type | Display Values by Default | Language Independent Code by Default |
|---|---|---|
FM_ACTION_STATUS_TYPE |
Cancelled Complete In Progress Inactive Not Started |
Cancelled Complete In Progress Inactive Not Started |
FM_ACTION_TYPE |
Driver Assist Load Driver Assist Unload Driver Hand Load by Piece Driver Hand Unload Driver Hand Unload By Piece Drop Loaded Trailer Hire Lumper To Load Hire Lumper to Unload Mechanical Driver Load Mechanical Driver Unload Pickup Loaded Trailer |
Driver Assist Load Driver Assist Unload Driver Hand Load by Piece Driver Hand Unload Driver Hand Unload By Piece Drop Loaded Trailer Hire Lumper To Load Hire Lumper to Unload Mechanical Driver Load Mechanical Driver Unload Pickup Loaded Trailer |
FM_DIMENSION_UOM |
Centimeter Feet Inches Meter Yard |
Centimeter Feet Inches Meter Yard |
FM_DISTANCE_UOM |
Kilometer Miles Nautical Miles |
Kilometer Miles Nautical Miles |
FM_HOLD_REASON |
Credit |
Credit |
FM_LINE_OF_BUSINESS |
Bulk Dedicated & Southwest Global Supply Chain (GSCM) Intermodal One Way Regional SFI Transportation Management (STM) |
Bulk Dedicated & Southwest Global Supply Chain (GSCM) Intermodal One Way Regional SFI Transportation Management (STM) |
FM_LOC_ROLE |
Invoice To Ship From/Ship To |
Invoice To Ship From/Ship To |
FM_LOC_TYPE |
Airport Border Crossing Carrier Dispatch Location Invoice To Port Rail Station Ship From/Ship To XDock |
Airport Border Crossing Carrier Dispatch Location Invoice To Port Rail Station Ship From/Ship To XDock |
FM_MILEAGE_PCKG |
19 (HHMG) MileMaker version 18 PC Miler version 15-21 PTV |
19 (HHMG) MileMaker version 18 PC Miler version 15-21 PTV |
FM_ORDER_MODE |
Air Transport All Barge Transport Drayage Transport Express Transport Handling Intermodal Transport LTL Multi Ocean Parcel Transport Pipeline Network Transport Rail Small Pack Truckload Unknown Vessel Transport - Charter Vessel Transport - Container Vessel Transport - NVOCC |
Air Transport All Barge Transport Drayage Transport Express Transport Handling Intermodal Transport LTL Multi Ocean Parcel Transport Pipeline Network Transport Rail Small Pack Truckload Unknown Vessel Transport - Charter Vessel Transport - Container Vessel Transport - NVOCC |
FM_ORD_DTL_TYPE |
Order Reference |
Order Reference |
FS_ORDER_STATUS |
Inactive Accepted PI-Sent To Analysis PI-Sent To Decontamination Received Assigned Moving Released Submitted-Pending Transportation Order |
Inactive Accepted PI-Sent To Analysis PI-Sent To Decontamination Received Assigned Moving Released Submitted-Pending Transportation Order |
FM_PACKAGING |
Bags Bales Boxes Bundles Cans Coils Crates Drums Kegs Pail Racks / Cages Rolls Super Sacks Tubes |
BG BL BX BD CA CO CR DR KG PA RX RL SS TU |
FM_REJECT_REASON |
Commodity not feasible Credit Cancel Customer Cancel Customer Request Failed To Meet Min Profit Req Market restrictions No agreement No capability Order Expired Rate not competitive Transit not feasible |
Commodity not feasible Credit Cancel Customer Cancel Customer Request Failed To Meet Min Profit Req Market restrictions No agreement No capability Order Expired Rate not competitive Transit not feasible |
FM_SHIPPING |
Floor Pallet Double Stacked Pallet Single Stacked Slipsheet |
FL PD PL SS |
FM_STOP_DTL_TYPE |
Accounting Number Appointment Number Bond Number Customs Broker Name Master Bill (MB) PARS Number Pickup Reference Number Purchase Order (PO) Release Number Seal Number |
Accounting Number Appointment Number Bond Number Customs Broker Name Master Bill (MB) PARS Number Pickup Reference Number Purchase Order (PO) Release Number Seal Number |
FM_STOP_STATUS_TYPE |
Arrived Assigned Cancelled Complete Inactive Unassigned |
Arrived Assigned Cancelled Complete Inactive Unassigned |
FM_STOP_TYPE |
DROP-OFF (Dest) PICK-UP (Origin) BORDERX Pickup Border Crossing DROP-OFF Delivery Other PICK-UP |
DROP-OFF (Dest) PICK-UP (Origin) BORDERX Pickup Border Crossing DROP-OFF Delivery Other PICK-UP |
FM_VOLUME_UOM |
Cubic Centimeter Cubic Feet Cubic Inches Cubic Meter Cubic Yards Gallons Gallons (Canada) Liters |
Cubic Centimeter Cubic Feet Cubic Inches Cubic Meter Cubic Yards Gallons Gallons (Canada) Liters |
FM_WEIGHT_UOM |
KILOGRAMS KIPS (1000 POUNDS) METRIC TONS (1000 KG) POUNDS TONS (2000 POUNDS) |
KILOGRAMS KIPS (1000 POUNDS) METRIC TONS (1000 KG) POUNDS TONS (2000 POUNDS) |
PROD_CD |
Transportation Accessorial Special Service Commodity |
Transportation Accessorial Special Service Commodity |
To configure a picklist
Navigate to the Administration - Data screen, then the List of Values view.
In the Type field, query for the type you want to modify, using one of the type values listed in the previous table.
Add one record for each value of this type that will be displayed in the picklist.
Configuring Validation for Verifying and Submitting Orders for Fleet Management
When the user clicks the Verify button or the Submit button, two levels of the order are checked:
Order validation. The fields in the order are checked for valid values.
Solution validation. The pricing solution in Oracle Transportation Management or another fulfillment system is checked to see that it is still valid.
You can configure either or both of these levels.
Order Validation
The workflow, SWISendOrder, has been modified to call a fleet management specific rule set. This workflow calls rules in the Data Validation Manager in the rule set named, FM Order Validation. You can modify the rules in this rule set to change the validation functionality.
If this workflow is not modified, it checks the following fields and displays error messages if any are not valid:
The business component [Order Entry - Orders] must have valid values in the following fields: Tendering Party, Liable Party, Origin Location, Destination Location, Origin Start Req Pick Up Date, Origin End Req Pick Up Date, Destination Start Req Pick Up Date, Destination End Req Pick Up Date.
The business component [Order Entry - Line Items] must have at least one record where the field Product Type is set to Transportation.
There must be one stop record where Type is set to DROP-OFF (Dest), and Location Id is set to Order Entry - Orders.Destination Location Id.
There must be one stop record where Type is set to PICK-UP (Origin), and Location Id is set to Order Entry - Orders.Origin Location Id.
The field, Order Entry - Orders.Status, must have one of the following values: Accepted, Released, Assigned, Moving, Complete, Cancelled. (A cancelled order is valid and must be submitted to Oracle Transportation Management.)
If the field, Order Entry - Orders.Revision is greater than 1, then this order must be the latest revision. For example, if five revisions exist for a given order, and the user is trying to verify order revision number three, then an error message appears.
The field, Order Entry - Orders. Hold Flag, must be False. (If it is True, the order is on credit hold, meaning that it cannot be shipped until the customer’s credit is confirmed.)
For all records, the following applies:
The field, Order Entry - Orders.Solution Valid, must be True.
The field, Order Entry - Line Items.Solution Valid, must be True.
The field, FM Stops.Solution Valid, must be True.
These fields indicate that the pricing solution is valid. They must be configured as described in the following topic.
If the product type is Commodity, there must be one pickup stop and one drop-off stop for it.
The following procedure describes how to modify the validation rules.
To modify the order validation rules
Navigate to the Administration - Data Validation screen, then Rule Sets view.
In the Validation Rule Set list, drill down on the rule set that has the name, FM Fleet Order Validation, and the status of Active.
Modify this rule set by adding, editing, or deleting rules.
For detailed instructions about creating and modifying rules, see Siebel Order Management Infrastructure Guide
Solution Validation
Solution validation provides the Boolean field [Solution Valid Flag] within three Siebel business components:
[Order Entry - Orders.Solution Valid Flag]. The field Solution Valid Flag in the business component Order Entry - Orders.
[Order Entry - Line Items.Solution Valid Flag]. The field Solution Valid Flag in the business component Order Entry - Line Items.
[FM Order Entry - Stops.Solution Valid Flag]. The field Solution Valid Flag in the business component FM Order Entry - Stops.
Based on your own business process, you configure the application to populate these fields with values that indicate whether the solution is valid.
All of the fields are automatically populated in the following ways:
When the user clicks the Confirm button, the fields are set to true.
When the user clicks the Save button, the fields are set to false.
When the user clicks the Cancel button, the fields are set to false.
Apart from these values, you must configure the product to populate these fields using any declarative logic, such as Business Component User Properties or On Field Update Set expression. For example, you might want to say that a pricing solution is no longer valid for an order, a line item, or a stop is no longer valid if a user changes the requested start date or requested end date of the order.
You can configure the product to update one or more of these three fields with the value False whenever the requested start date or requested end date changes. Then the Validation functionality detects that the solution is no longer valid.
Configuring Validation for Canceling Orders for Fleet Management
When the user clicks the Cancel button, a cancel order is created and validated. The validation rule set for the cancel order checks for the same errors as the validation rule for verifying and submitting orders. For more information, see Configuring Validation for Verifying and Submitting Orders for Fleet Management.
You can change the rules used to validate this cancel order.
To modify the cancel order validation rules
Navigate to the Administration - Data Validation screen, then Rule Sets view.
In the Validation Rule Set list, drill down on the rule set that has the name, Fleet Cancel Order Validation, and the status of Active.
Modify this rule set by adding, editing, or deleting rules.
For detailed instructions about creating and modifying rules, see Siebel Order Management Infrastructure Guide