Appendix: Conversion APIs

E Appendix: Conversion APIs

The conversion APIs are designed to enable conversion of certain entities into a production environment which, if converted through the Merchandising Data Conversion tool, may take longer to complete due to the volume of data being processed and require longer downtime for production systems during the phased data load. As these APIs are run in a production environment, they eliminate the need for the lift & shift activity during go-live, thus reducing the overall cutover period. When using the conversion APIs for a phased conversion, the key assumption is that the Merchandising Conversion tool was used for the initial phase of conversion. These conversion APIs are compatible with the existing file layout in the Merchandising Data Conversion tool and are designed to be run in the production environment after you have established the data quality and detailed migration process by performing multiple mock cycles and cutover rehearsal in a non-production environment.

The APIs are invoked through the batch jobs scheduled using the Process Orchestration and Monitoring (POM) solution and go through all the phases handled in the Merchandising Data Conversion tool (Import from File, Data Validation, and Business Validation).

Entities Supported

The entities below are supported for conversion into the production environment using the conversion APIs.

Functional Area	Notes
Partner	As in the Merchandising Data Conversion tool, this includes both the partner and address information. If you have configured any custom flex attributes for partner, including CFAS attributes for associated addresses, these can be converted as well. Also, if using the Retail Financials Integration (RFI) for integration with PeopleSoft, Oracle Financials, or Cloud Financials, there is a cross-reference that would also need to be maintained and needs to be considered in conversion.
Item HTS	Only applicable if Import Management functionality is configured on. See Data Entities above for information on conversion of HTS.
Item Expenses	As in the Merchandising Data Conversion tool, you can choose to convert both expenses and assessments associated with item using the conversion API.
Purchase Order	As in the Merchandising Data Conversion tool, the conversion API supports create, ship, and receive flows of purchase orders. To convert a closed purchase order from your legacy system to Merchandising, you will need to perform the entire flow of create, ship, and receive for purchase orders. Currently, there is no provision to directly load closed purchase orders through the data conversion API. Purchase order receipt conversion updates inventory in the `ITEM_LOC_SOH` table. It is assumed that the inventory at item-location level will be validated and reset during the inventory conversion to the correct values. Transactional stock ledger (`TRAN_DATA`) records created out of the shipping and receiving of purchase orders should be cleared by running the `TRUNCTBL` job from POM to truncate the records from the `TRAN_DATA` table.
Customer Order	As in the Merchandising Data Conversion tool, the conversion API supports the create, ship, and receive flow of customer orders.
Stock On Hand	The relevant item/location records have already been established at this phase of conversion through the item/location ranging process. If not, then this should be a pre-conversion step for stock-on-hand conversion.
Stock Ledger	Ensure that the inventory (`ITEM_LOC_SOH` table) conversion is completed before the stock ledger initialization job is run. If you wish to align the cumulative mark-on and shrinkage percentage in advance of the stock ledger conversion, to use that value for calculating the balances, leverage the `HALF_DATA` and `HALF_DATA_BUDGET` entities.

Key Considerations

The conversion APIs are managed through the USE_CONV indicator in the CONV_SYSTEM_OPTIONS table. To use conversion APIs, the USE_CONV parameter should be set to Y. In the non-production environment, you can set this indicator using the APEX Data Viewer. To enable this indicator in the production environment, you are required to log an SR with the Oracle Cloud Operations team.
You will need to do several mock runs using the Conversion APIs in a non-production environment to reach the optimum number for the thread count, chunk size, and parallel files that is suitable for your data load and machine size. Once benchmarked, to configure these in the production environment, log an SR with the Oracle Cloud Operations team. It should be noted when Golden Gate replication is turned on in the production environment, loading huge volumes of data can cause issues with replication.
The task execution engine in the Data Conversion tool is not available in the production environment. Some of the features from the task execution engine, like gathering stats on staging tables and so on, are incorporated in the conversion APIs.
The conversion APIs do not require you to turn off the MFQUEUE publishing triggers in the production environment. These APIs are designed in such a manner that these will not publish the MFQUEUE records for converted data. However, data captured for integration to downstream systems through other business transactions (for example, through the MFCS UI) will continue to be published. As part of the conversion APIs, the publication tables will be loaded with published flag set to Y for setting up the converted data for future publication to downstream systems.
If other systems need to be seeded with the converted data, then use other data seeding options.
When testing in non-production environments, enable Flashback once the Mock conversion has started. This is to mimic the behavior of loading in the production environment where the flashback is always turned on.
In a new instance, the database optimizer may settle into a better execution plan after 2-3 runs of execution, so continue loading the files with smaller volumes for a few mock runs even if performance is not as expected.
To achieve optimal performance for data conversion using conversion APIs in your production environment, it is recommended that you avoid running heavy SQL APEX queries, conversion of parallel entities, and item induction/purchase order induction in parallel with conversion jobs.

Key Data File Assumptions

When generating your data files based on the template format, there are few key things to keep in mind:

When zipping your files, ensure that there is only one file per table.
The same file layouts that are used in the Data Conversion tool are extended for the conversion APIs. See the Download Templates and Key Data File Assumptions section in the Prepare for Conversion section for more details on file layout and assumptions.
The input files for entities with the file names having the same starting string such as HALF_DATA and HALF_DATA_BUDGET, are required to be sent in a sequential manner. The files in the object storage are searched with the file name string and may result in upload errors due to an unexpected file. For example: the HALF_DATA file should be processed first and then the HALF_DATA_BUDGET file.
Only the file extension defined for an entity in the CONV_ENTITY tables is accepted for processing.
Once your data files upload to the object storage is completed, sending a .complete file to indicate end of file upload for an entity is not mandatory.
The incoming prefix in the object storage for uploading the input files for Conversion APIs is different from the Data Conversion tool. Please reach out to the Oracle Cloud Operations team for instruction on the path.

Use Conversion API

Once your files have been created with the expected file name patterns and format, the Merchandising File Transfer service will be used for uploading the files to the object storage incoming prefix. You will receive instruction from the Oracle Cloud Operations team on file upload through the Merchandising File Transfer service that should be followed here. When this is complete, you will be ready to use the conversion APIs to load data from these files into the production environment. The data conversion through these APIs involves a two step process:

Load the data from the input files into the conversion staging tables in the production environment.
Invoke data checks and business validations to ensure the correctness of data being migrated.

The records that are successfully validated are moved to the main Merchandising tables.

For both these steps, there are separate conversion jobs for each entity that are supported for conversion in the production environment.

Execute the CONV_ARC_PURGE_STATS_JOB_ADHOC job from the Process Orchestration and Monitoring (POM) solution to both archive and purge the conversion staging tables and gather stats on the Merchandising main tables for the entities supported in the conversion APIs. It is highly recommended to truncate staging and error tables at regular intervals for an entity using this job. This will improve the execution timings for the subsequent runs.

The diagram below shows, at a high level, how the conversion schema is set up in relation to your production environment.

Loading to Staging Tables

The conversion load jobs load the data from input files into the conversion staging tables in the production environment. There is a load job created in POM for each entity supported for the data conversion through the production conversion API. There are no input parameters required for running these jobs.

The common tables that are available for monitoring and troubleshooting any errors reported during data loading to staging tables are described below:

Table Name	Description
CONV_PROCESS_TRACKER	Contains information on the data conversion against a process ID. For data loading from input files to the staging table, it will have a status of `END_IMPORT` for success and `FAILED_IMPORT` for failure.
FILE_UPLOAD_STATUS	Holds the status of the files uploaded during import. It will have status as `S` for success and `F` for failure.
FILE_UPLOAD_LOG	When the `sqlloader` import failed, this table will be populated with log/bad data from `sqlloader` logs.

Loading to Merchandising Main Tables

The conversion job invokes data checks & business validations to ensure the correctness of data being migrated. The records that are successfully validated will be moved to the main Merchandising tables. The job picks up the process IDs where the status in the CONV_PROCESS_TRACKER table is END_IMPORT or END_VALIDATE. There are no input parameters required for running this job. The job also invokes the rejection process, which generates the reject files for any errors and moves them to the OUT directory, so that you can manually correct them and reload the records to trigger a fresh file upload against that data. There is a conversion job created in POM for each entity supported for the data conversion through the production conversion API.

The common conversion tables that are available for monitoring and troubleshooting any errors reported during data validation and upload to the main tables are described below:

Table Name

Description

CONV_PROCESS_TRACKER

Contains information on the data conversion against a process ID. It will hold an intermediate status of END_VALIDATE, which is updated after data validation is completed by a conversion load job.

Upon completion of data upload from staging to the main tables, the process status in the CONV_PROCESS_TRACKER table will be either COMPLETE_NO_REJECTS or COMPLETE_WITH_REJECTS.

CONV_VALIDATION_ERROR

Holds the errors encountered during validation and upload to the Merchandising main table. In case of validation or upload errors, the record status in the corresponding conversion staging tables will be either E or PE - to indicate processed with errors or S or PS to indicate processed successfully.

Stock Ledger Initialization Job

To initialize the starting inventory totals in the stock ledger tables based on the stock-on-hand conversion in your production environment, run the CONV_SL_INIT_JOB_ADHOC job using POM. There is a parameter named as ACTION_TYPE in the CONV_ENTITY table for entity name SLOPNINIT. This can be configured based on the business need. The ACTION_TYPE should be set as New if you would like to recalculate the starting inventory totals after updating the stock on hand to zero. Any other value for this parameter would process only records with non-zero stock on hand. By default, the ACTION_TYPE would be New and, as needed, you can reset the parameter value by logging an SR with the Oracle Cloud Operations team. There are no input parameters required to run these jobs.

Backup and Purge Job

To archive and purge the conversion staging tables and gather stats on the Merchandising main tables for the entities supported in the conversion APIs, execute the CONV_ARC_PURGE_STATS_JOB_ADHOC job from POM.

There are two parameters for this job: ENTITY_NAME and GATHER_STATS.

GATHER_STATS is an optional parameter and is set to Y to gather tables stats.
ENTITY_NAME is a required parameter and valid values are:
- CREATE_PURCHASE_ORDERS
- SHIP_PURCHASE_ORDERS
- RECEIVE_PURCHASE_ORDERS
- CLOSE_PURCHASE_ORDERS
- ITEM_LOC_SOH
- PARTNER
- ITEM_HTS
- ITEM_EXPENSES
- CREATE_CUSTOMER_ORDERS
- SHIP_CUSTOMER_ORDERS
- RECEIVE_CUSTOMER_ORDERS

Conversion Process Flow

At a high level, for each entity you wish to convert using the conversion APIs in the production environment, you need to perform the following steps:

Place the conversion zip file into the object storage incoming prefix.
Run the CONV_<entity>_LOAD_JOB batch process using the Process Orchestration and Monitoring (POM). The batch moves the input files from the object storage to an inbound directory for data processing and loading into the conversion staging tables. There is separate load job for each conversion entity. For example, the CONV_PARTNER_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC job loads the partner data in the related staging table.
The above batch process will insert a record with a unique process ID into the CONV_PROCESS_TRACKER table. You can monitor the load processing by querying this table using the Merchandising APEX Data Viewer link. The status END_IMPORT in the table indicates that load was successful. If there are errors during the data load into the staging tables, then the status is recorded as FAILED_IMPORT.
In case of errors during the data loading into the staging tables, to debug and troubleshoot the load errors, query the FILE_UPLOAD_STATUS and FILE_UPLOAD_LOG tables. These tables will provide the details of the files loaded and corresponding load errors.
Run the CONV_<entity >_JOB batch process using the Process Orchestration and Monitoring (POM). This job will perform data and business validation on the imported data in the conversion staging tables and upload the successfully validated records to the main Merchandising tables based on the entity being loaded. For example, the CONV_PARTNER_JOB_ADHOC job validates and uploads the partner data to relevant Merchandising tables.
After running step 5, the status in the CONV_PROCESS_TRACKER table - COMPLETE_NO_REJECTS indicates a successful load into the Merchandising tables and COMPLETE_WITH_REJECTS indicates the process completed with some rejected records. The status END_VALIDATE in the CONV_PROCESS_TRACKER table is an intermediate status once the job in step 5 completes data validation and is in the process of business validation and loading to Merchandising tables.
The successful records are inserted into the Merchandising main tables. Any rejected records are written to the CONV_VALIDATION_ERROR table. The reject file is generated and moved to the outgoing prefix in the object storage. You can download the file to view the errored data, make relevant corrections, and reprocess the rejects.

The entities below are supported for conversion into the production environment using the conversion APIs.

ENTITY	CONVERSION LOAD JOB (TO STAGE TABLES)	CONVERSION JOB (TO MAIN TABLES)
CREATE_PURCHASE_ORDERS	CONV_PO_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_PO_CREATE_JOB_ADHOC
SHIP_PURCHASE_ORDERS	CONV_PO_SHIP_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_PO_SHIP_JOB_ADHOC
RECEIVE_PURCHASE_ORDERS	CONV_PO_RECEIVE_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_PO_RECEIVE_JOB_ADHOC
CLOSE_PURCHASE_ORDERS	CONV_PO_CLOSE_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_PO_CLOSE_JOB_ADHOC
ITEM_HTS	CONV_ITEM_HTS_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_ITEM_HTS_JOB_ADHOC
ITEM_EXPENSES	CONV_ITEM_EXP_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_ITEM_EXP_JOB_ADHOC
ITEM_LOC_SOH	CONV_ITEM_LOC_SOH_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_ITEM_LOC_SOH_JOB_ADHOC
PARTNER	CONV_PARTNER_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_PARTNER_JOB_ADHOC
CREATE_CUSTOMER_ORDERS	CONV_ORDCUST_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_ORDCUST_CREATE_JOB_ADHOC
SHIP_CUSTOMER_ORDERS	CONV_ORDCUST_SHIP_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_ORDCUST_SHIP_JOB_ADHOC
RECEIVE_CUSTOMER_ORDERS	CONV_ORDCUST_RECEIVE_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_ORDCUST_RECEIVE_JOB_ADHOC
HALF_DATA	CONV_HALF_DATA_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_HALF_DATA_JOB_ADHOC
HALF_DATA_BUDGET	CONV_HALF_DATA_BUDGET_LOAD_JOB_ADHOC	CONV_HALF_DATA_BUDGET_JOB_ADHOC
SLOPNINIT	-	CONV_SL_INIT_JOB_ADHOC