Reference Data Sets and Sharing Methods

Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications reference data sharing feature is also known as Set ID. The reference data sharing functionality supports operations in multiple ledgers, business units, and warehouses.

As a result, there's a reduction in the administrative burden and the time to implement new business units. For example, you can share sales methods, or transaction types across business units. You may also share certain other data across asset books, cost organizations, or project units.

The reference data sharing features use reference data sets to which reference data is assigned. The reference data sets group assigned reference data. The sets can be understood as buckets of reference data assigned to multiple business units or other application components.

Reference Data Sets

You begin this part of your implementation by creating and assigning reference data to sets. Make changes carefully as changes to a particular set affect all business units or application components using that set. You can assign a separate set to each business unit for the type of object that's being shared. For example, assign separate sets for payment terms, transaction types, and sales methods to your business units.

Your enterprise can determine that certain aspects of your corporate policy can affect all business units. The remaining aspects are at the discretion of the business unit manager to implement. This allows your enterprise to balance autonomy and control for each business unit. For example, your enterprise holds business unit managers accountable for their profit and loss, but manages working capital requirements at a corporate level. In such a case, you can let managers define their own sales methods, but define payment terms centrally. In this example:

• Each business unit has its own reference data set for sales methods.

• One central reference data set for payment terms is assigned to all business units.

The reference data sharing is especially valuable for lowering the cost of setting up new business units. For example, your enterprise operates in the hospitality industry. You're adding a new business unit to track your new spa services. The hospitality divisional reference data set can be assigned to the new business unit to quickly set up data for this entity component. You can establish other business unit reference data in a business unit-specific reference data set as needed.

Reference Data Sharing Methods

Variations exist in the methods used to share data in reference data sets across different types of objects. The following list identifies the methods:

• Assignment to one set only, no common values allowed. This method is the simplest form of sharing reference data that allows assigning a reference data object instance to one and only one set. For example, Asset Prorate Conventions are defined and assigned to only one reference data set. This set can be shared across multiple asset books, but all the values are contained only in this one set.

• Assignment to one set only, with common values. This method is the most commonly used method of sharing reference data that allows defining reference data object instance across all sets. For example, Receivables Transaction Types are assigned to a common set that's available to all the business units. You need not explicitly assign the transaction types to each business unit. In addition, you can assign a business unit-specific set of transaction types. At transaction entry, the list of values for transaction types includes the following:

  • Transaction types from the set assigned to the business unit.

  • Transaction types assigned to the common set that's shared across all business units.

• Assignment to multiple sets, no common values allowed. The method of sharing reference data that allows a reference data object instance to be assigned to multiple sets. For instance, Payables Payment Terms use this method. It means that each payment term can be assigned to one or more than one set. For example, you assign the payment term Net 30 to several sets, but assign Net 15 to a set specific only to your business unit. At transaction entry, the list of values for payment terms consists of only the set that's assigned to the transaction's business unit.

Note:

Oracle Fusion Applications contains a reference data set called Enterprise. Define any reference data that affects your entire enterprise in this set. Also update the data set going forward as you create reference data items.