1. Implementing Order Management
  2. Overview of Orchestration Processes

Overview of Orchestration Processes

Set up an orchestration process so it meets the fulfillment requirements for your sales order.

An orchestration process is a sequence of steps that automate fulfilling your sales order's fulfillment lines across fulfillment systems. For example, here's the predefined ShipOrderGenericProcess orchestration process.

An orchestration process is a sequence of steps that automate fulfillment for your items in a single order across fulfillment systems.

Note

  • Each process contains steps.

  • Each step calls a service that does a fulfillment task. The service communicates with the fulfillment system to do the task. For example:

    Step

    Service

    Description

    Step 100, Schedule

    Create Scheduling

    Create a schedule that the process can use to fulfill the fulfillment line. It makes sure fulfillment meets the delivery dates that the sales order specifies.

    Step 200, Create Reservation

    Create Inventory Reservation

    Reserve inventory for the item on the fulfillment line so no other order can use the inventory.

    Step 300, Create Shipment Request

    Create Shipping

    Create a shipping plan that makes sure the carrier delivers the item on time.

    Step 400, Wait for Shipment Advice

    Wait for Shipment

    Wait to receive confirmation that the carrier delivered the item.

    Step 500, Create Invoice

    Create Billing Lines

    Create billing lines that we can send to accounts receivable.

    Step 600, Wait for Invoice

    Wait for Billing

    Wait to receive confirmation from accounts receivable that billing is done.

  • The orchestration process does each step sequentially, starting with step 100 and ending with step 600.

  • You use the Setup and Maintenance work area to create and manage your orchestration process.

  • See how an orchestration process works in context, and get an overview of how task services interact with the fulfillment system. For details, see How Order-to-Cash Works in Order Management.

Set up Steps

You do almost all your set up on the steps.

You do almost all your set up on the steps.

Note

  • Dependencies. If your process includes a branch, then set dependencies that affect branching.

  • Planning. Specify how to plan fulfillment for the fulfillment line.

    • Set the default lead-time that the process needs to do the step.

    • Create a business rule that uses conditions to set lead-time.

    • Specify the status you expect from the fulfillment system during planning.

    • Specify the step that determines whether fulfillment is done.

  • Change Management. Specify how to manage change that happens in the fulfillment system.

    • Specify the task service to use for update messages or cancel messages that the fulfillment system sends to you.

    • Create a business rule that uses conditions to specify what to do when a change happens.

  • Specify dependency, planning, and change management for each step. For example, click Planning to scroll to the part of the row that contains planning attributes.

Set Up Statuses

Set up statuses.

Note

  • Different fulfillment systems might use different status values.

  • Set up statuses for your orchestration process so they match the values that your fulfillment system uses. This way, the fulfillment system understands values that the orchestration process sends, and the process knows how to handle values it receives.

    For example, fulfillment system x might use SCHEDULED, and system y might use FULFILLMENT_SCHEDULED. Add values to handle both systems.

  • You can also set statuses for fulfillment lines.

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