Importing Enterprise Foundation Data through Omnichannel Cloud Data Service (OCDS)

Overview: Use the integration with Omnichannel Cloud Data Service (OCDS) to import information and create or update records, including items, item warehouses and locations, prices, and item images, that have been added to the OCDS database from Oracle Retail Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service (RMFCS) and Oracle Retail Pricing Cloud Service (RPCS).

About OCDS: Oracle Omnichannel Cloud Data Service (OCDS) is a data hub, enabling Oracle Retail Merchandising and Pricing applications to share foundation data with Oracle Retail omnichannel applications through the use of RESTful web services.

OCDS contains the following components:

•         BDI Batch Job Admin: Enables in-bound data flow into OCDS using Oracle Bulk Data Integration (BDI) technology. Job Admin has a User Interface (UI) to support the management of BDI batch Jobs. Handles the initial load into OCDS.

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

•         ORDS: Enables outbound data flow from the OCDS database to omnichannel applications, such as Order Management System, Order Broker, and Oracle Retail Customer Engagement, and Xstore.

Enterprise order integration: You can use the data imported from OCDS to support enterprise order integration, including the use of purchase order information originating in RMFCS to control when orders can be fulfilled through submission to Order Broker. See Enterprise Order Integration (Future Receipts and Active PO/Pre-Order Processing) for more information.

In this topic:  

•         Data Flow from OCDS to Order Management System

•         Configuration for OCDS Integration

•         System Control Values

•         Properties

•         Web Service Authentication

•         OCDSITM Periodic Function

•         Periodic Process

•         Additional Considerations for OCDS Integration

•         Troubleshooting Information for OCDS

•         Mapping Information into Order Management System

•         Merchandise Hierarchy Import and Mapping

•         Item-Related Import and Mapping

•         Item Price Import and Mapping

•         Item Location Attributes Import and Mapping

•         Item Image Import and Mapping

Data Flow from OCDS to Order Management System

If your company is configured for enterprise foundation data integration, processing takes place as follows:

1.      When the OCDSITM Periodic Function runs, it uses the system control values listed below to generates a RESTful request for various types of information that is available in OCDS. This information was previously sent to OCDS by enterprise applications, including Oracle Retail Merchandising Foundation Cloud Service (RMFCS) and Oracle Retail Pricing Cloud Service (RPCS).

•         Merchandise hierarchy: Requested if the OCDS Merchandise Hierarchy URL (M43) is specified. See Merchandise Hierarchy Import and Mapping for details.

•         Item information: Requested if the OCDS Item URL (M45) is specified. This information updates the item, SKU, item warehouse, and item location tables. See Item-Related Import and Mapping for details.

•         Item image information: Requested if the OCDS Item Image URL (M47) is specified. This information updates the item table. See Item Image Import and Mapping for details.

•         Item location attribute information: Requested if the OCDS Item Location Attributes URL (M46) is specified. This information updates the item and SKU tables. See Item Location Attributes Import and Mapping for details.

•         Pricing information: Requested if the OCDS Initial Item Price URL (M48) is specified. Also, if the OCDS Service is configured in Working with Web Service Authentication (WWSA) to use OAuth for authentication, regular and clearance prices are also requested if the OCDS Regular Item Price URL (M68) and OCDS Clearance Item Price URL (M69) are specified. This information updates the item offer and item price tables. See Item Price Import and Mapping for details.

Note:            You need to run the full import before attempting an incremental import. See the OCDSITM Periodic Function for background.

GZIP compression: The generated request message indicates that gzip encoding is accepted, and OCDS sends the data in GZIP compression format.

2.      The OCDSITM periodic function uses the data in the response messages from OCDS to create or update records in the target tables, as mentioned above. It creates a record if it does not exist; otherwise, it updates the record. However, some fields are never updated for existing records. See Mapping Information into Order Management System for details.

Note:            The periodic function does not delete records. If OCDS passes a delete request, it is ignored.

Logging and import history: See Troubleshooting Information for OCDS for a discussion.

Configuration for OCDS Integration

The configuration required in Order Management System to support importing information through OCDS is described below.

System Control Values

The following system control values must be selected:

•         Use Retail Integration (H26)

Important:                           See Retail Integration (External System into Order Management System) Overview and Setup for background on the additional setup required to support retail item integration. If you do not complete this setup, the import will not be successful.

•         Require Long SKU Division with Long SKU Department (E85)

The following system control values must be unselected:

•         Require Item Class in Work with Items (F06)

•         Require Sort Sequence Number in the SKU File (F23)

•         Require Entity in Item File (G44)

Enterprise Integration Values: Use the Enterprise Integration Values (M41) screen to define additional values required for integration with OCDS, including URLs and default values for mapping.

Supporting values: Several of these system control values require additional setup of supporting values. For example, you need to configure warehouse and location records in order to specify the defaults to use for the integration. See each system control value for more information.

When you run the import, each type of data is imported only if the related URL is specified at this screen. For example, merchandise hierarchy information is imported only if the OCDS Merchandise Hierarchy URL (M43) system control value specifies a valid URL. See that screen for more information.

Properties

Use the following properties to control logging:

•         OCDS_LOG_LEVEL

•         OCDS_MAXBACKUP_DAYS

See OCDS (Omnichannel Cloud Data Service) Log for a summary, and see Logs for an overview on logging.

Also, use the OCDS_JOB_HISTORY_RETENTION_DAYS property to control the number of days to retain records in Enterprise Data Imports History (the INT_OCDS_STATUS table) before thee OCDSITM periodic function automatically deletes them.

Web Service Authentication

Use the Work with Outbound Web Service Authentication Screen to set up authentication for the OCDS Service.

If the OCDS Service is configured to use OAuth for authentication, then the OCDSITM periodic function requests not only the initial item price, but also the regular item price and the clearance item price, using the URLs specified in the related system control values at the Enterprise Integration Values (M41) screen. Otherwise, if the service uses basic authentication, only the initial item price is requested.

OCDSITM Periodic Function

Use Working with Periodic Functions (WPER) to set up the periodic function. When setting up the function:

•         Set the Program name to PFR0202.

•         Set the Parameter to:

•         FULL or leave it blank to perform a full load of each type of item-related data.

•         INCREMENTAL to perform a load of new or changed information since the last time you imported data for the company.

•         INCREMENTAL plus a date and time to perform a load of new or changed information since the specified date and time, based on the OCDS server’s local date and time. The date format is based on the locale of the user who configures the periodic function. If the user’s Date Format is set to:

•         DDMMYY, format as INCREMENTAL 31/12/2020 23:59

•         MMDDYY, format as INCREMENTAL 12/31/2020 23:59

•         YMMDD, format as INCREMENTAL 2020/12/31 23:59

Note:            You need to perform a full load for a company before you can perform an incremental load.

•         Select the Company Parameter flag.

Creation and update only: The periodic function creates new records and updates existing records. It does not delete records.

Periodic Process

Use Working with Periodic Processes (WPPR) to assign the periodic function described above to a periodic process. The Company parameter is required to indicate the company where the records should be created or updated.

Additional Considerations for OCDS Integration

Does not support SKUs: Since RMFCS does not support SKU’s, all items imported from RMFCS are non-SKU’d items.

Using RMFCS Item Level and Tran Level to determine whether to create or update an item: RMFCS uses a different hierarchy than Order Management System for multi-level items. The RMFCS hierarchy supports:

•         A level 1 item: For example, a picture frame that comes in only one finish and size.

•         A level 2 item: For example, an item group that includes a novelty tee shirt in sizes small, medium, and large. Level 1 is the tee shirt, while level 2 includes the sizes.

•         A level 3 item: For example, an item group that includes a polo shirt in red, blue, and yellow, and sizes small, medium, and large. Level 1 is the polo shirt, level 2 is the sizes, and level 3 is the colors.

The records in the itemhdr file that map to items in Order Management System are identifiable by the fact that the ItemLevel passed in the file is the same as the TranLevel. If the ItemLevel and the TranLevel are different, the record is not used to update the item record in Order Management System.

Troubleshooting Information for OCDS

If the OCDS process ends without successfully importing data, possible explanations include:

•         You submitted an incremental import without first submitting a full import. See OCDSITM Periodic Function for more information.

•         The web service authentication failed. Check that the OCDS Service web service user and password set up through the Work with Outbound Web Service Authentication Screen matches a valid OCDS user.

Logging: Based on the OCDS_LOG_LEVEL, communication between Order Management System and OCDS is recorded in the OCDS (Omnichannel Cloud Data Service) Log.

Log errors:

•         Invalid URL: If the URL specified in one of the system control values is invalid, the status record written begins with a message such as DataRetriever - Exception response code InboundJaxrsResponse{context=ClientResponse{method=GET and then indicates the specific URL that resulted in the failure.

•         Retail reference number changed: You should not change the retail reference number for the SKU. If the retail reference number in the SKU table does not match the item code, a status record such as the following indicates this issue: ItemPriceFilter - Skipping item: NNNNNNN since the item cannot be found in INSKU based on Retail Reference #

•         Retail reference number not numeric: If the retail reference number passed is not numeric, the record is bypassed for the item price update, because a non-numeric retail reference number indicates that the item is not sellable. For example, the following message is written to the OCDS log: Skipping item: [ITEM_NBR] since non-numeric Retail Reference # found. 

•         Blank system control values: If a system control that is required for an import is blank, the import does not take place, and a status record such as the following identifies the missing system control value: Skipping Item price import - RMS location identifier SCV(M52) not configured.

Enterprise Data Import History: Activity for the OCDSITM periodic function, as well as the OCDSFA periodic function, is also recorded in the INT_OCDS_STATUS table. You can review this data at the Enterprise Data Import History page in Modern View. The periodic function writes a record in this table each time:

•         The import for a feed type begins. The periodic function attempts each import feed type of the system control value defining the feed’s URL is populated. Possible import feed types are:

•         MERCHHEIR: Merchandise hierarchy. See Merchandise Hierarchy Import and Mapping.

•         ITEMSKU: Item and SKU information. See Item-Related Import and Mapping.

•         ITEMIMAGE: Item image information. See Item Image Import and Mapping.

•         ITEMLOCATION: Additional item and SKU information defined in the OCDS ITEM_LOC table. See Item Location Attributes Import and Mapping.

•         Item price: Item offer and price information.See Item Price Import and Mapping.The feed requests different price types separately, as follows:

•         ITEMPRICEINI: The initial item price.

•         ITEMPRICEREG: The regular item price.

•         ITEMPRICECLR: The clearance price.

The OCDSFA periodic function creates FUTUREAVAILABLE records.

•         The result of each attempted import feed, including:

•         Execution time: The total number of seconds that elapsed while executing the feed.

•         Total rows count: The total number of records that met the selection criteria for the import feed.

•         Updated rows count: The total number of existing records that were updated through the import feed. Note: The updated row count might not match the actual number of records changed.

•         Inserted rows count: The total number of new records that were created through the import feed.

The OCDSITM periodic function clears all outdated Enterprise Data Import History records based on the number of days specified in the OCDS_JOB_HISTORY_RETENTION_DAYS property.

•         When it purges records, it writes an entry in the OCDS (Omnichannel Cloud Data Service) Log,:Purged successfully.

•         When there are no eligible records to purge, it writes a log entry: No Records Available to Purge.

Mapping Information into Order Management System

Mapping details are provided below:

•         Merchandise Hierarchy Import and Mapping

•         Item-Related Import and Mapping

•         Item Image Import and Mapping

•         Item Location Attributes Import and Mapping

•         Item Price Import and Mapping

Merchandise Hierarchy Import and Mapping

About merchandise hierarchy: Merchandise hierarchy information in OCDS originates in RMFCS. If the OCDS Merchandise Hierarchy URL (M43) specifies a valid URL, the OCDSITM Periodic Function imports the item hierarchy information. The information that maps to Order Management System through the item hierarchy import is described in the following table.

Note:            The import process creates or updates records. It does not delete item hierarchy records that already exist.

Mapping: The item hierarchy information is mapped as follows:

Item-Related Import and Mapping

About item, SKU, item warehouse, and item location mapping: Item information in OCDS originates in RMFCS, and additional information in Order Management System, such as SKU, item warehouse, and item location records, is built during the import process using predefined defaults. If the OCDS Item URL (M45) specifies a valid URL, the OCDSITM Periodic Function imports the item information and creates the related records. The information that maps to Order Management System through the item import is described in the following table.

You need to run a full import of the periodic function before you can run an incremental import.

Additional item and SKU information: The ITEMLOCATION feed imports additional item and SKU information that is defined in the ITEM_LOC table in OCDS. See Item Location Attributes Import and Mapping for more information.

•         Item Mapping and Defaults

•         SKU Mapping and Defaults

•         Item Warehouse Mapping and Defaults

•         Item Location Mapping and Defaults

Note:            About unmapped fields: Any item, SKU, item warehouse, and item location fields in Order Management System that are not listed below are not mapped through the OCDSITM Periodic Function. Y/N fields are set to N; otherwise, fields are left blank if alphanumeric, or set to 0 if numeric. Also, these fields are not updated after initial record creation.

Note:            The import process creates or updates records. It does not delete records that already exist.

Item Image Import and Mapping

Item image import: Item image URL information in OCDS originates in RMFCS. If the OCDS Item Image URL (M47) system control value specifies a valid URL and the item has been imported from OCDS, the OCDSITM Periodic Function imports the links to item images from OCDS and updates the corresponding field in the item table. The import takes place regardless of the setting of the Use External Item Image (L55) system control value.

The import process updates the item’s image link only when the response from OCDS indicates that it is flagged as the primary.

•         Company: The code identifying the company selected when running the OCDSITM Periodic Function.

•         Item: The code identifying an item in the OCDS database. If the item does not exist in the specified company in Order Management System, no update takes place.

•         Image link: The image link for the item. See the Item Image/Info Link Screen for more information.

Note:            The import process does not delete item image links that already exist.

Item Location Attributes Import and Mapping

Purpose: The item location attributes import through the OCDSITM Periodic Function actually updates certain fields in existing Item and SKU records based on the information in the ITEM_LOC table in OCDS; it does not create or update item location records. These updates take place only if the OCDS Item Location Attributes URL (M46) specifies a valid URL. The information in the Item and SKU tables that the function updates in Order Management System is described in the following table:

•         Item Fields Updated through the Item Location Attributes Import

•         SKU Fields Updated through the Item Location Attributes Import

Identifying the items to update: The OCDSITM Periodic Function uses the OCDS RMS Location Identifier (M52) system control value to determine which records to update with item location attributes. Only OCDS ITEM_LOC records with a LOCATION that matches the system control value are used to update the Order Management System item and SKU records.

How are item locations updated? The OCDSITM Periodic Function creates and updates item location records through the Item and SKU import. See Item-Related Import and Mapping, including Item Location Mapping and Defaults, above, for more information.

Important:                           About unmapped fields: Any item, SKU, item warehouse, and item location fields in Order Management System that are not listed below are not mapped through the OCDSITM Periodic Function. Y/N fields are set to N; otherwise, fields are left blank if alphanumeric, or set to 0 if numeric. Also, these fields are not updated after initial record creation.

Note:             The import process updates existing item and SKU records. It does not delete records that already exist.

Item Price Import and Mapping

Purpose: The item offer and item price import through the OCDSITM Periodic Function creates or updates item offer and item price records for the Current Offer (A33). These updates take place only if the OCDS Initial Item Price URL (M48) specifies a valid URL. Regular and clearance price updates also take place if the OCDS Service is configured in Working with Web Service Authentication (WWSA) to use OAuth for authentication and the OCDS Regular Item Price URL (M68) and OCDS Clearance Item Price URL (M69) are specified. The information in the item offer and item price tables that the function updates in Order Management System is described in the following table:

•         Item Offer Field Updated through the Price Import

•         Item Price Fields Updated through the Price Import

Identifying the items to update: The OCDSITM Periodic Function uses:

•         The OCDS RMS Location Identifier (M52) system control value to determine which items are eligible to have item offer and item price records created or updated. Only OCDS ITEM_LOC records with a LOCATION that matches the system control value are used to update the Order Management System item offer and item price records.

•         The retail reference number in Order Management System, which needs to match the Item passed from OCDS. Ordinarily, the retail reference number and the item code in Order Management System are the same, as the periodic function sets them both to the same Item code.

Default offer: The periodic function creates item offer and item price records using the Current Offer (A33) system control value. This system control value must be set to a valid, current offer in order to create the item offer and item price records correctly.

Important:                           About unmapped fields: Any item offer or item price fields in Order Management System that are not listed below are not mapped through the OCDSITM Periodic Function. They are set to N if a Y/N value; otherwise, they are left blank if alphanumeric, or set to 0 if numeric. Also, these fields are not updated after initial record creation.

Note:             The import process updates existing item offer and item price records. It does not delete records that already exist.

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