External Service Engine

This page is accessed via Shipment Management > Power Data > Geography > External Service Engine.

Oracle Transportation Management can use distance data from Oracle Map Cloud Services (configured by default) or a third party application. Oracle Transportation Management supports third party external engines from ALK (PC*MILER), HERE, and Rand McNally MileMaker. This allows service time, or both distance and service time, to be calculated externally.

This page defines the external service engine you want to use. The engine you define here can then be assigned to specific rate services. When the Rate Service Type is defined as External Drive in the Rate Service Manager, Oracle Transportation Management calls out to the external program to obtain stop-to-stop times. It then applies any appropriate break, work, and stop times. These times are then used during the planning process.

If the External Service Engine (ESE) does not contain the data to process the request, then Oracle Transportation Management will look for the next valid rate service and posts a message to the log files stating DISTANCE_UNAVAILABLE. If multiple solutions are found by the external service engine, then the SOURCE_ADDRESS_TYPE and the DEST_ADDRESS_TYPE parameters will be used to try to limit the findings. If there are still multiple solutions found, then the first one found is used, and a warning is posted to the log files.

Adding an External Service Engine (ESE)

1. Enter a new External Service Engine ID.
2. If needed, enter additional information about the engine in the Description field.
3. Select the External Engine Type from the drop-down list. The options are the various external service engines. The Java Class and Connection Type are auto populated based on the External Engine Type selected. Once saved, the External Engine Type (and therefore the Java Class) cannot be changed. You can configure your own ESE. A blank value is available in the drop-down of the External Engine Type. When this is selected, you can manually enter the relevant information. If the option selected is 'HERE' or 'HERE - Routing' option, enter an External System ID.
4. For the Cache Control Type, you can leave it blank or select "Cache Off". If "Cache Off" is selected, OTM makes the call to ESE without caching any result in the in-memory App-Tier caches (i.e., the RateServiceCache and associated caches). This option is needed for a situation where parameters to ESE change (such as weight, volume etc) for each call, even when the source/destination attributes are fixed.
5. The Connection Type options are Java Class or Web Service. This is populated when you select the External Engine Type. If you do not select an external engine type, you can select an option here. Using Web Service connection type class any external system can be integrated. You can configure an external web service engine by selecting Web Service. If you select Web Service, the External System ID field appears and is mandatory.
6. If the Connection Type is Web Service, enter an External System ID.
7. Enter a County Override ID. Some external distance engines use county information in their lookups. However, some engines take the full county name, some require a 2-4 letter code.
8. Enter a Parameter, Value, and Country Code. The list of parameters is filtered depending on the external service engine selected. Valid values and Country Codes for each parameter are provided in the respective drop-down lists. Click Save after each parameter selected. For more information about different ESEs, available parameters and possible values, see External Distance/Service Engine and Map Parameters.
9. Click Finished.

Manually Adding External Service Engine Data

If you don't select an external engine type, you can manually enter the Java Class of the external service engine you want to use.

Additionally, you must configure the external service engine with the required parameters and java class. For example:

• For PC*MILER Connect use the glog.business.rate.ratedistance.external.PCMilerEngine java class.
• For PC*MILER Web Service use the glog.business.rate.ratedistance.external.PCMilerEngineWS java class.

Parameters must be defined for each external service engine. Each parameter is made up of the following, Parameter Name, Parameter Value, and Country Code. A description of each parameter and its values can be found in the topic External Distance/Service Engine and Map Parameters.