Overview of Using Business Rules With Order Management

Set up a business rule in Oracle Order Management to implement a dynamic decision at run time that automates a company policy, does a calculation, or does some processing.

A business rule is a statement that describes how to implement a business policy or make a business decision. It can implement logic.

  • Enforce a spending policy.

  • Constrain a process so it meets a regulatory requirement.

  • Calculate a discount or premium.

  • Provide an offer according to a customer value.

Here are some business requirements you can meet with a business rule.

  • If customer is Computer Service and Rentals, then use orchestration process y to fulfill the sales order.

  • If destination is Japan, then route shipment through Pacific Northwest Warehouse.

A business rule keeps rule logic separate from the underlying application code, which allows a business analyst to modify rule logic without using programming code and without interrupting your business process.

Here's an example of a business rule.

  • If the sales order is valued at $50,000 or more, then make sure a representative calls the customer before sending an invoice.

You can use business rules and order manage extensions together during a sales order's lifecycle:

flow that illustrates the types of business rules you can use and where you can use them

Note

Type of Business Rule

Description

Process Assignment

Assign the orchestration process that Order Management runs to process order lines.

For example:

  • If the ordered quantity is large, then assign the sales order to an orchestration process that optimizes scheduling and delivery for large orders.

  • If the customer is Important, then assign the sales order to an orchestration process that expedites delivery.

  • If the ship-to address in the order header resides outside of your country, then assign the sales order to an orchestration process that handles international fulfillment, such as checking for trade compliance.

For details, see Assign Orchestration Processes.

Process a sales order.

  • Start After Condition

  • Branching Condition

  • Lead Time Expression

  • Line Selection Criteria

Process a change order.

  • Compensation Pattern

  • Cost of Change

Set up a rule that affects processing, such as branch in an orchestration process, do a complex calculation that determines planning lead time, or manage a change that happens to the sales order.

For example:

  • If an invoice exceeds $100,000, then make sure a representative phones the customer.

  • If the status of the Create Shipment orchestration process step is Shipped, then send a notification to your customer that the sales order is on its way.

  • If the sales order includes a shippable item, such as a laptop, and an item that isn't shippable, such as a warranty for the laptop, then make sure the orchestration process doesn't attempt to ship the warranty.

Routing Rule

Set up a rule that routes a fulfillment request to a fulfillment system according to an attribute on the sales order, order line, or orchestration process.

For example:

  • If product type is Goods, and if task type is Invoice, then route the request to fulfillment system ABCInvoicingSystem.

  • If item is 2TX Server, then route the service request to fulfillment system Big Server.

For details, see Overview of Connecting Order Management to Your Fulfillment System.

When Should I Use An Extension?

Order Management converts each source order that you create in Order Management or that it receives from a source system so it can optimize order fulfillment. You can use an order management extension to:

  • Populate order attributes before conversion.

  • During conversion.

  • Populate order attributes after conversion.

For example:

  • Populate an attribute on the order line. If the item is a widget, then populate the Request Date attribute.

  • Convert a measurement. If the item is a widget, then convert the value in the Size attribute from centimeters to inches in the order line.

  • Create order lines from one item. For example, if the item is a laptop that includes a docking station, then convert the item into one order line for the laptop and another line for the docking station.

See Overview of Creating Order Management Extensions.

Use Visual Information Builder to Create Rules

You can use Visual Information Builder to create some types of rules, which is a rule editor that supports a simplified drag-and-drop interface. It helps you visualize data, visualize your business processes, implement your business logic, and implement your business rule sets.

We strongly recommend that you use only Visual Information Builder for routing and assignment rules.

Use these pages to access the editors:

Editor for Oracle Business Rules

Editor for Visual Information Builder

Manage External Interface Routing Rules

Manage External Integration Routing Rules for Sales Orders

Manage Orchestration Process Assignment Rules

Manage Process Assignment Rules for Sales Orders

Examples of Creating Business Rules

Visual Information Builder

See:

Oracle Business Rules

See:

Page

Details

Manage Orchestration Process Definitions

Get details about the rules that you set up on an orchestration process.

Get details about the rules that pause an orchestration process.

Get details about the rules that control status.

Learn how to use business rules with extensible flexfields. For details, see Overview of Setting Up Extensible Flexfields in Order Management.

Examples That Include Orchestration Process Attributes

Orchestration Process Attribute

Details

Cost of Change

Measure the Cost of Change

Compensation Pattern

Manage Order Attributes That Identify Change

Compensate Sales Orders That Change

Lead-Time Expression

Add Lead-Times for Orchestration Process Steps

Line Selection Criteria

Select Fulfillment Lines for Orchestration Process Steps

Branching Condition

Add Branches to Orchestration Processes

Start-After Condition

Pause Orchestration Processes for Events

Pause Orchestration Processes for Time

Pause Orchestration Processes for Dependencies

You use the Manage Orchestration Process Definitions page to set these attributes. For details, see Guidelines for Setting Up Orchestration Process Steps.