Asset-Based Ordering

An ABO asset is created when a subscription product order from CPQ is fulfilled. When an order is fulfilled, an asset is created in the CPQ asset repository. Once created, customers can use CPQ transactions and the Subscription Workbench (previously called the Customer Assets page) to view and manage their assets. The CPQ transaction will capture the delta change of the asset when the transaction is fulfilled, only the delta change will be fulfilled. The asset will be updated with the delta change to bring it to the same state as last transaction.

In the out-of-the-box implementation of ABO, asset information is stored locally in the CPQ repository. The local asset repository is not versioned and only keeps track of the latest image of the asset. The sample Update Assets action follows the Apply business process that applies all the lines in the current order to the same asset and aggregates the lines to generate a Projected Asset Cache (PAC). The PAC generates the future state of the asset that is compared against the current state of the asset. The PAC generates the delta change to apply on the local asset repository. You can use the out-of-the-box Update Assets sample action to copy the full order hierarchy to an asset.

The PAC projection for the sample Update Asset script is slightly different from the PAC projection for the modify process. During the modify process, transaction lines with a pending fulfillment status from other transactions are considered. During the sample Update Asset process, only the transaction line from the current transaction is considered. For example, On September 1 there is a pending order on transaction line (L1) to change attribute A's value to v1, then on October 1 there is a pending order on transaction line (L2) to change attribute B's value to v2. In the sample Update Asset process, the updated asset for L2 will only update attribute B to value 2. It will not update attribute A, but you would see that attribute A has been updated to v1 if you tried to reconfigure L2.

This mimics the expected ERP logic where fulfillment and the update asset will only update the delta change as indicated in the current order line. In other words, since users can reconfigure a transaction line with an earlier requested date, the last requested transaction line for the asset may not reflect some changes. Differences may occur between the PAC and the last requested transaction line. The transaction lines from other open orders are not considered when using the Apply business process, which ensures all changes are incorporated in the final projected configuration.

Pricing fields are recalculated whenever an asset is loaded into a configuration session. A one-way synchronization occurs from order to asset. Therefore, the price value is not usually carried over from asset to configuration. Beginning in 19B, the unit price of the item is tracked internally. For external order renewals, the price is set to the point when the pending order line was added to the shopping cart. For CPQ Commerce integrations, we expect the price to be recalculated each time the user creates a new transaction to modify or renew an asset.

The transaction lines reflect one of four states: Created, Being Fulfilled, Fulfilled, and Cancelled. The sample implementation of the Update Assets action applies all transaction lines in the current transaction that are not yet Fulfilled by order of requested date. If the transaction line is requested for a future date, the future dated transaction line configuration is synchronized to an asset. In the case of newly created transaction lines, the start date of the asset is set to the requested date of the new transaction line.

There are limitations in current application to store assets outside of CPQ, which is only supported via an override for simple model cases (i.e. models that do not have nested child models).

You should adhere to the following guidelines to ensure proper asset population. These guidelines are applicable to the following REST API endpoints: Create Asset, Update Asset, Synchronize Asset, Synchronize Assets, and Import Assets CSV File. This does not include the BOM projection approach in the sample update asset script.

• The REST API schema definitions specify the basic attribute type (e.g. string, integer, number). The following guidelines describe additional requirements:
  • The acceptable length for string type attributes is 255, with the exception of the following attributes:
  • The acceptable length for the following attributes is 100: assetKey, displayKey, serialNumber
  • The acceptable length for the following attributes is 30: status, usageUnitOfMeasure, fixedRecurringPeriod.
  • The acceptable length for the "currency" attribute is 20.
  • The acceptable length for the "assetDescription" attribute is 1000.
• The default format for the following of timestamp type attributes is ISO to eliminate any time zone ambiguity issues: startDate, endDate, suspendDate, resumeDate, purchaseDate.
• Unless noted otherwise, number type attributes allow 22 digits with a precision or 7.
• The following attributes are mandatory fields that should be populated with valid data: "Customer", "DisplayKey", "Part", and "Quantity".
• Populate the "rootAsset" and "parentAsset" fields based on hierarchy.
  • Both fields should reference a valid asset.

  • The parent asset should be null for the root asset record.

    For example, assume A2 has A1 as a parent and A1 has A3 as a parent, therefore A2 would have A3 as a grandparent. It would be invalid for A3 to have A2 as a parent, because it would create a cycle in the hierarchy where A3 has A1 as a grandparent and A3 has A3 as a great grandparent.

  • Use the "assetKey" component fields to update the "rootAsset" and "parentAsset" fields.
  • The parent asset cannot be its own ancestor.
  • All amount attributes should have the same currency code.
• The "attributes" field should contain a JSON object which typically stores a BOM attribute.
• The parent asset cannot be its own ancestor.
• If an order line is marked as deleted, use the asset repository to delete or end-date the asset.
• With the exception of the action code available in the transaction_line_bom_attribute, the Attributes field should contain the same information as the transaction_line_bom_attribute.
• The abo_updateAsset function available in the 18D and later ABO package supports the ability to copy information from a Commerce order line and paste it into an asset.
• If ABO implementation package from 18D or later release is being used and abo_updateAsset is not being used to create/update assets, then Update Configuration REST API action should be invoked explicitly after asset creation or update.

A Configuration BOM instance is represented by a JSON object. BOM items can be classified as sales items, manufacturing items, or both. These items are defined in the BOM Item Definition table. This BOM instance is referenced during reconfiguration and is used to generate Sales BOMs and Manufacturing BOMs, which can be sent to a back-end system for order fulfillment.

CPQ uses sales items to create a Sales BOM instance during Configuration, sales items are used for quotes, and the Sales BOM instance is used during reconfiguration. In other words, ABO packages only use Sales BOMs.

For ABO implementations, the BOM instance contains the delta configuration of the change compared with the projected asset.

The changed BOM item will an applicable action code of add, delete, or update.

The Projected Asset Cache (PAC) tracks the state of an asset across time, it is also known as the Projected Asset State. The PAC process is a function that loads into memory all assets and open orders matching a specific search. The projected configuration can be different based on the transaction's requested effective date.

For example, consider the following shirt configuration:

• An asset has the following configuration: Color=Red and Size=XL
• Order 1 is placed to change the Color to Blue, it is pending to take effect on August 1
• Order 2 is placed to change the Size to Small, it is pending to take effect on September 1
• If we create a new modify third order for the same asset to take effect on August 15, the projected configuration when we open the configurator would be Color=Blue, Size = XL
• If we create a new modify third order for the same asset to take effect on September 15, the projected configuration when we open the configurator would be Color=Blue, Size = Small

In the default implementation, an open order is referring to an order in the “Being Fulfilled” state. After retrieving the data, the PAC builds the future requested state of the asset product instances. This is accomplished by taking into consideration the asset matching the search specification and applying all open orders due to complete before the specified date. The process then applies the current quote to generate the future requested state.

There are two key steps in calculating projected assets:

1. Retrieve relevant data:
   • Load the asset data
   • Find and load all open orders associated with the asset
   • Load the current changes made to quote line items associated with the asset.
2. Build the future projected requested state
   • After retrieving the data, build the future requested state of the asset.
   • Consider all assets matching the search specification and apply changes from all open orders due to complete prior to the specified date.
   • Apply the changes made in the current quote to generate the projected requested state of the asset.

When users request a change to an existing asset (i.e. product or service) or a projected future asset, they usually initiate a Delta quote. Delta functionality compares a projected original asset BOM instance with a new asset BOM instance and creates a new BOM instance with action codes indicating the components that changed.

The delta functionality is implemented in abo_delta BML, which is defined in BOM Admin > Declare Bom utility.

The Subscription Workbench (previously called the Customer Assets page) allows sales users to view and manage active assets. The page has predefined display columns, but you can configure the page using the Customer Assets List available in UI Designer. Sales users can also hide and reorganize columns. The changes will remain active until the user's session expires.

To access the Subscription Workbench, open a quote with an associated customer Id and click Customer Assets.

The Customer Assets Commerce action is used to retrieve and display assets for the associated Customer ID in Subscription Workbench. The action is available in the ABO implementation package as a main document (e.g. Transaction) action.

System Configuration refers to a product offering which is made of multiple sub products, each of which can have a set of rules to define the structure leading to an n-level nested configuration to define the overall offering or permutations of configurable attributes which go together to make the sub product and ultimately the overall product.

System Configuration refers to the manner in which Oracle CPQ is used to configure and bundle the product or set of products that are sold using a group of related models that together define an entire system. A system is a hierarchical arrangement of connected configurable models with a system root containing all of the other models.

When ABO is enabled, it saves a delta configuration at the end of the configuration session. The delta configuration is stored in the Configuration BOM Instance, but it is not exposed for direct access. Similar to BOM applications, open order stacking will occur for the delta configuration when launching a configuration session.

A Follow-On Order is a change to an unfulfilled order. When a user creates a Follow-On Order, ABO automatically creates the action codes for each Transaction line based on the difference between the expected state of the asset on the request date and the new configuration.

Complete the following steps:

1. Open the Oracle CPQ Transaction for which you are creating a Follow-On Order.
2. Set the Default Request Date to the date you want the Follow-On Order to take effect.

3. Select the green plus sign icon at the top of the line item grid to open the Model Configuration page.

   

4. Select the new options to include in the Follow-On Order.

5. Click Add to Transaction.
   The Follow-On Order will appear in the line item grid with a fulfillment status of "Created" and an updated date in the Request Date field.

6. Click Save.

7. Submit the order to the fulfillment system and convert the order to an asset.

Sales users can create a modify order by adding, deleting, or updating a component of a fulfilled asset.

Complete the following steps:

1. Create a new Transaction, then click Customer Assets.
2. Select the asset you want to modify, then click Modify.
   The Model Configuration page opens
   
3. Modify the Transaction options, as appropriate.

4. Click Add to Transaction.

   The Transaction page opens. Verify that the modified asset appears with an action code of "Add" and the original asset appears with an action code of "Delete".

5. Click Save.

After creating assets, sales users can perform any of the asset actions (i.e. Suspend, Resume, Renew, Modify, Terminate) from the Customer Assets page.

Complete the following steps to modify, suspend, resume, or renew an asset:

1. Log in to CPQ.
2. Open Transaction Manager.
3. Click New Transaction.
4. In the Default Request Date field, select a future date. The date selected represents the date the asset will be suspended, resumed, renewed, or modified.

5. Click Customer Assets.

   The Customer Assets page opens and displays active assets associated with the customer.

   

6. Select the asset you want to suspend, resume, renew, or modify.

7. Click one of the action buttons on the Customer Assets page.

   The following asset modification options are available from the Customer Assets page:

   • Click Modify to open the Configuration page and modify the selected subscription.
   • Click Suspend to change the status of active assets to Suspend. The suspend date is taken from the Transaction.
   • Click Resume to change the status of a Suspended asset to Active.
   • Click Renew to renew a subscription. An asset continues to remain Active after performing a Renew action. The renew date is taken from the Transaction.
   • Click Back to return to the Transaction page for the current Transaction.

   

   The Transaction only displays Transaction lines containing the action code associated with the action performed. For example: If users click Suspend, they will only see Transaction lines containing the “Suspend” action code.

   

Use the Reconfigure action to update a quote prior to fulfillment. Reconfigure compares the projected asset with a reconfigure order line to reflect user-intended net changes in a subscription or asset. Pending update order lines that occur before the reconfigure requested date are included in the comparison. Pending order lines have one of the following conditions:

• The item is “Being Fulfilled” in another order.
• The item is “Being Fulfilled” or “Created” in the current order.

Sales users can use the Reconfigure action to update an asset-based BOM model in an order prior to fulfillment.

Complete the following steps:

1. Open CPQ.
2. Navigate to Transaction Manager.

3. Click a specific Transaction Number.

   The Transaction page opens.

4. Select a specific asset-based BOM model from the line item grid.

   The Reconfigure button becomes enabled.

   

5. Click Reconfigure.

   The Model Configuration page opens.

6. Reconfigure the BOM model, as desired.

   

7. Click Update to save changes.
8. Click Save to return to the Transaction page.

Customers can perform a Resume operation on a suspended asset or a Renew operation on an active asset and then reconfigure the asset. This is beneficial in situations where a customer suspends a service, such as a cable service, then later resumes the service. The customer can reconfigure the resumed or renewed service from the Oracle CPQ Model Configuration page.

For example: Customers could upgrade their cable service to include additional channels or downgrade their cable service to remove channels never viewed.

Use the Terminate action on the Customer Assets page to end a subscription, such as a cable television subscription. The sales user can create a Commerce Transaction for the customer and specify the request date for the termination. When Oracle CPQ displays the Customer Assets page, the sales user can select the asset to terminate and click Terminate. The Transaction displays in Commerce with the appropriate action codes to terminate the subscription. When the Terminate action completes, the end date of the asset becomes the date the customer requested the subscription termination.

Complete the following steps:

1. Open the Customer Assets page.

2. Select the asset you want to terminate, then click Terminate.

   The root line item will have an action code of "Terminate" and all child line items will have an action code of "Delete".

3. Click Save.

4. Submit the order to the fulfillment system.

   The asset will no longer display in the Customer Assets page.