Commerce Actions

Overview

Commerce actions trigger events within documents to occur. The Commerce system creates a default set of actions for use in each document, and generates additional actions when Commerce documents include certain attribute types.

Both main documents and sub-documents can consist of system-generated actions as well as user-defined actions, created based on supported action types. Because actions are required to carry out operations based on the business logic, they are comprised of components.

Commerce Actions overview

All Commerce actions are administrated from the Admin Actions page. You can customize system-generated actions by modifying action labels and creating action rules.

In addition to the system-generated action defaults, you can also create custom actions for the purpose of saving document data, directing the system to a different page, offering print or email options, and showing the change history for a document.

Users usually perform Commerce actions, but timers can be set up so the system can automatically perform Commerce actions after specified periods of time.

ClosedDisplaying Actions on the Transaction UI

ClosedOrder of Operations

ClosedUser-Defined Commerce Actions

ClosedSystem-Generated Commerce Actions

ClosedStandard Process Commerce Actions

ClosedComponents of an Action (i.e. Tabs)

ClosedDestination Tab

ClosedDocument Views Tab

ClosedGeneral Tab

ClosedIntegration Tab

ClosedModify Tab

ClosedPerformance Tab

Commerce action performance analysis was introduced in Oracle CPQ 19A to help customers identify potential performance hindrances. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 20B, the performance analysis will include the run-time for the action's BML, including the library functions and select BML functions for the specified transaction or transaction line. The performance analysis shows elapsed time for processing-intensive elements of a Commerce action's BML. This feature allows the administrator to troubleshoot common performance complaints, such as "the system is slow when I save my quote". This feature can also be used to benchmark BML performance before and after implementing a script change.

For example: The following image displays the performance analysis for the Save action.

Performance Tab


ClosedSpecial Tabs

Administration

ClosedAdding Commerce Actions Watch Video  Video icon

  1. Click Add at the bottom of the Actions List page.
  2. Enter a Name. This field will be used to link back to edit the action.
  3. Enter a unique Variable Name.

    The Variable Name field populates automatically. Variable names can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores. The entry can be changed before saving, but after saving the value is read-only.

    Admin Action page

  4. Select your desired Action Type from the drop-down.
  5. Click Add to save changes and open Admin Action editor or click Cancel to return to Document List without saving changes.
  6. Edit the tabs available. Refer to the Tabs section above.
  7. Select one of the following:
    • Translations: Oracle CPQ content and product templates can be translated into the following languages: French, German, and Spanish.
    • Apply: saves changes and remains on the page.
    • Update: saves changes and returns to the Document List page.
    • Update and New: saves changes and creates a new action.
    • Back: returns to the Document List page without saving changes.
    The new action appears in alphabetical order on the Actions List page.

ClosedCloning Commerce Actions Watch Video  Video icon

  1. Navigate to the Action List page and perform one of the following actions:

Action List page

Only one Commerce action can be selected to clone at a time. Selecting multiple actions from the Admin List page results in an error message.

Admin Action page

The Admin Action page for the newly cloned action displays.

Admin Action page for the newly cloned action

  1. Enter a Name in the Label field for the new cloned action.
  2. Enter a unique Variable Name or accept the default variable name in the Variable Name field for the new cloned action.

    Click Clone

  3. Click Clone. The Admin Action page for the new cloned action displays.

ClosedDeleting Commerce Actions Watch Video  Video icon

  1. Mark the checkbox of the desired action under the Select column within the Actions List page.

    Actions List page - select action to delete

  2. Click Delete.

Use caution when deleting a Commerce action because it is not possible to recover the deleted data. Upon a deletion, all associated rules within the Commerce action are also deleted.

Notes:

  • It is not possible to delete default, system-generated actions. For default actions created in association with document attributes, the system deletes these actions automatically when the corresponding attribute is deleted.
  • Standard Process actions cannot be deleted, but the action functions can be viewed, overridden, and easily returned to their default values Most Standard Process actions can be removed from the layout if a customer does not want to use them.
  • You can delete all custom actions by checking the Select All box and then clicking Delete.

ClosedEditing Commerce Actions Watch Video  Video icon

  1. Modify the Label.

    The Variable Name field populates automatically. Variable names can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores. The entry can be changed before saving, but after saving the value is read-only.

  2. Modify the Description, if required. The description is for your reference and appears on the Actions for Document page.

    Admin Action page

  3. Edit the desired rules associated with the action.

    Edits are not visible until the process is deployed (or redeployed). All actions besides system defined actions can be deleted even after a process has been deployed.

ClosedFormulas in Reconfiguration Scenarios

The Reconfigure action is split into one parent (Reconfigure) and one sub-action (Reconfigure Inbound). This eliminates the need for conditionals to segregate logic.


ClosedGenerate a Commerce Action Performance Analysis Watch Video  Video icon

To generate a Commerce action performance analysis, perform the following steps:

  1. Navigate to the Action List page.

    Admin > Commerce and Documents > Process Definition > Documents > Actions

  2. Click on the name of the applicable action.

    The Admin Action page opens.

  3. Click on the Performance tab.
  4. Enter the applicable information:

    1. For main document actions, enter the Transaction ID.

      Generate Performance Analysis for Transaction ID

    2. For sub-documents, enter the Transaction ID and Document #.

      Generate Performance Analysis for sub-document

  5. Click Generate.

    The performance analysis operation includes BML functions in Advanced Modify Before and After Formulas, Advanced Validation, Modify options, Destination options, and BML integrations. Upon execution, the Commerce action Performance tab displays the following times for associated BML loops, BMQL, URL data calls, library calls, and JSON parsing.

    • Total Time: Total time taken, in milliseconds, to execute the nested BML, including any time spent executing BML items that have their own entries.
    • Incremental Time: Time taken, in milliseconds, to execute the nested BML, excluding time spent executing BML items that have their own entries.
    • Child Rollup Time: Total combined time taken, in milliseconds, for all BML items called from this BML item.

    Performance Analysis

Notes:

  • Actions that do not have BML functions will not show the Performance tab.
  • The run-time breakdowns are specific to BML functions and do not reflect non-BML execution times.
  • Generating a Performance Analysis does not save changes to the quote.
  • The external integrations defined in the Integration tab are not executed when generating a Performance Analysis, but calls from other BML using the urldata functions will execute and may modify external systems

ClosedUse Case - Auto Update Sub-Document Attributes

Administrators add Boolean, Currency, Date, Float, Integer, Menu, Text, and Text Area attributes to the output of their auto update action. Then when an end user triggers the auto update function, the function will modify the value of the specified attribute.

Sample Auto Update Use Case

An end user may want to specify a quote-level discount percent to auto update all line items rather than manually entering a discount value for each line item, as follows:

  1. Define the main doc-level attribute Quote Level Discount % with Trigger Auto Update selected. In this case Quote Level Discount is a Float attribute.

    Float Attribute Editor

  2. Define the BML Function for the Auto Update – Before Formula of the main doc calling out the Line Item attributes to auto update.

  3. Once a Quote Level Discount % value is entered, the quote will auto update and apply the discount value to the applicable line item attributes including the Purchase Date, Discount %, and Override Discount.

    User side auto-Update example

  • Auto update of Commerce Boolean, Date, Single-Select Menu, Multi-Select menu, Commerce Dynamic Menu, and Text Area attributes is only applicable to the JET User Interface. This functionality is not supported using mobile or the legacy UI.

  • In Oracle CPQ 21A and earlier, non-supported attributes can be included in an auto update BML script. When the BML script is run these unsupported attributes types are skipped. Be advised that during Oracle CPQ 21B upgrade, Commerce Boolean, Date, Menu, and Text Area attributes included in an auto update BML script will no longer be skipped and will auto update accordingly.


Notes

Notes:

Custom Variable Name Conventions

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23D, CPQ will adopt Oracle CX Sales variable naming conventions for custom items. When administrators create new custom entities in a Standard or non-Standard Commerce Process, an “_c” suffix will be appended to the variable name.

Related Topics

Related Topics Link IconSee Also