Overview of Using Extensible Flexfields in Order Management
Set up an extensible flexfield so you can add your own attribute to Order Management.
An extensible flexfield is a field you can use to capture details in a sales order that are unique to your business requirements. Each sales order in Order Management comes predefined with a lot of attributes, but you might need one that's specific to your needs.
You can use the details in an extensible flexfield to determine process automation, send and receive details when communicating with systems outside of Order Management, or provide the criteria to use in a complex business rule. For example:
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Capture consumer details in an extensible flexfield, then use them to add free samples to a shipment.
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Capture customer loyalty details in an extensible flexfield, then determine whether to call the customer or upgrade shipping priority.
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Receive a sales order request that includes unique build specifications from your customer, store them in an extensible flexfield, and then route the sales order to different manufacturing facilities according to the specifications.
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Select and ship a bottle of wine according to your customer dining preferences. Store these preferences in an extensible flexfield.
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Store the user ID of the order entry clerk who submitted a source order from a source system.
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Track source orders that include warning messages from a source system.
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Store the original schedule date and the new schedule date on the order line so you can track and report scheduling throughout the fulfillment lifecycle.
Note
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An extensible flexfield supports a one-to-many relationship between one entity and one or more attributes. You can use it to add more than one context sensitive segment.
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You can set up an extensible flexfield for a fulfillment line, or on some other object that supports an extensible flexfield.
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If you add an extensible flexfield to a fulfillment line, and if you use the Update or Close Sales Orders scheduled process to close the order line that the fulfillment line references at runtime, then the Order Entry Specialist.
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Can't update the value in the extensible flexfield on the fulfillment line.
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Can revise the sales order and update the value in the extensible flexfield on the fulfillment line, but Order Management won't use the revised value when it processes the revision.
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Can update an extensible flexfield on the order header regardless of the status of the sales order or order line.
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For details, see Overview of Setting Up Extensible Flexfields in Order Management.
Examples of Using Extensible Flexfields
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Example |
Description |
|---|---|
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Get details from a source system. |
Get source order details from one or more source systems. A source order is an order that you import into Order Management from a source system, such as from an upstream channel. A source order contains a set of attributes. If you need details or attributes that the source order doesn't contain, then you can use an extensible flexfield to get them, then use these details during order fulfillment. You can use the same extensible flexfield attributes to receive details from each source system, or use different extensible flexfield attributes according to the unique requirements of each source system. |
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Send details to a fulfillment system. |
Order Management sends a fulfillment request that includes a predefined set of attributes to a fulfillment system. You can use an extensible flexfield to send details that these attributes don't include, but that the fulfillment system needs to finish the fulfillment request. |
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Integrate with systems outside of Order Management. |
For details, see Overview of Using Flexfields to Integrate Order Management with Other Oracle Applications. |
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Receive details from a fulfillment system. |
A fulfillment system might send attributes that provide a business value, and that the Order Entry Specialist must view in Order Management or in the source system. In some situations, Order Management might also use these details in the next set of tasks that it runs in an orchestration process. You can use an extensible flexfield to receive these attributes. |
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Write a business rule. |
Use an extensible flexfield attribute with a business rule.
For details, see Overview of Using Business Rules With Order Management. |
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Manage change. |
Use an extensible flexfield as an order attribute to store details about a change that happened. For example, use an extensible flexfield as input to calculate the cost of change and to select a compensation pattern when Order management receives a change order. |
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Display attributes in the Order Management work area. |
Allow the Order Entry Specialist to search for sales orders in the Order Management work area according to the value of an extensible flexfield. Note that the Order Entry Specialist can read but not edit an extensible flexfield attribute. |
Examples of Using Extensible Flexfields with Orchestration Processes
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Example |
Description |
|---|---|
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Assign an orchestration process. |
Use the value of an extensible flexfield in an assignment rule to automatically assign an orchestration process during order fulfillment to fulfill each sales order and each order line. Use an extensible flexfield as part of the selection criteria during assignment. |
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Set up an orchestration process. |
Create a business rule that uses an extensible flexfield to determine branching and the tasks to run in an orchestration process. |
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Select the fulfillment lines to process. |
Use an extensible flexfield to determine whether a task in an orchestration process will process the fulfillment line or ignore it during order fulfillment. |
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Calculate the lead time that an orchestration process step requires. |
Use an extensible flexfield to calculate lead time according to your data. For example, create an extensible flexfield named Engraving that includes a Yes or No value, then set up conditions.
For details, see Set Up Jeopardy and Lead Time to Manage Delay. |
Entities That You Can Use With Extensible Flexfields
You can use with an extensible flexfield only with these entities:
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Header
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Fulfillment line
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Fulfillment line detail
Web Service That You Can Use to Map Extensible Flexfields
You can use this web service with all task types.
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Web Service |
Description |
|---|---|
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Receive Fulfillment Task Response Service |
For data that flows into Order Management. It uses this composite:
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