Oracle CPQ Features by Version

Pricing

Rate Plan Business Object in CPQ Pricing

Oracle CPQ 23D provides support for the Rate Plan business object to define groups of charges that can be optionally applied to the pricing for a subscription product (e.g. Monthly vs. Quarterly Subscription Plan). Rate plans can be defined within CPQ Pricing Engine Price Models using either the Pricing Portal or Product Workbench (aka Product Launch). Oracle CPQ 23D also provides Pricing Engine UI updates to support the Rate Plans object and to enhance navigation and list pages. These updates improve usability of the pricing UIs, display of multi-column tables, and translations.

Rate plans are also available in the Product Workbench (aka Product Launch) for Oracle Sales integrated customers.Oracle Sales product managers can now define, select, and apply rate plans for subscription-based products that are linked to CPQ Pricing Engine Price Models.

When pricing is invoked, CPQ Pricing will calculate prices using the requested rate plan. When no rate plan is requested by a sales user, pricing applies the default rate plan if defined, or the stand-alone charges. The pricing output will include the applied rate plan and other available rate plans, if applicable.

Rate Card Business Object in CPQ Pricing

Oracle CPQ 23D introduces Pricing Engine Rate Cards to support usage-based pricing for industries such as telco, utilities, and cloud services. These industries require invoicing or rating calculations based on multi-dimensional tables to capture complex pricing rules, such as for phone call or data storage usage. To support this type of pricing requires that Pricing Engine support the creation of custom dynamic matrices for use in determining the invoice amounts to be billed on a periodic basis. Rate Card Templates are provided to specify the custom fields that are included in a Rate Card item. The Rate Card is then used to define the necessary rows and values for the pricing table matrix.

The new Rate Cards and associated Rate Card Templates are also supported in the Product Workbench for Oracle Sales product managers to define complex pricing for usage-based charges for a product.

CPQ pricing also writes the Rate Card data into the applicable quote line charge items. This information can be included in document outputs to assist sales users in pricing negotiations. The Rate Card data is also integrated to a subscription billing system and referenced in the downstream flow to an order management or fulfillment system.

Combine Volume, Tier, and Static Pricing in the Same Price Model

Oracle CPQ 23D combines dynamic pricing with static pricing so all pricing types can be defined in the same Pricing Engine Price Model. This enhancement simplifies administration and discoverability of pricing in the Pricing Engine. Dynamic pricing types, such as Tier or Volume Pricing, have been moved from the parent Price Model level to the Pricing Data section within the Price Model object. This allows administrators to add multiple different dynamic pricing type items to the same Price Model. Administrators can also change the dynamic pricing type for a data item without the need to create a new Price Model.

These price model improvements are also reflected in the Product Workbench for Oracle Sales integrated customers to allow product managers to define dynamic pricing for products.

Effective Dating for Price Models, Charges, and Rate Plans

Oracle CPQ 23D adds effective start and end dates to the Pricing Engine Price Model, Charge, and Rate Plan business objects. This allows effective dating such as for time-based promotions. If needed, customers can still use Pricing Rules to define the effective dates as well.

Charge Definitions

This release also introduces optional Charge Definitions that can be used to standardize charge categories. (e.g. Activation Fee, Call Usage, Data Usage, One-time Pricing, Recurring Pricing), and price types. When enabled, the pricing administrator or product manager selects a Charge Definition first when creating a charge, and the charge type and price type are automatically populated.

Commerce

Price Enhancements in Commerce

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23D, the following CPQ Pricing enhancements are available in Commerce:

Rate Plans – When a rate plan is applied to a subscription type product, CPQ Pricing will apply the associated rate plan charges. CPQ Pricing will also populate the new sub-document Price Attribute Set applied rate plan attributes. Sales users can view the associated charges from a rate plan in the Charge Details drawer and in the Transaction Line Details.

Rate Cards - When rate card charges are applied to a subscription product, a link is displayed to in the charge details to allow sales users to view the rate card data for the applicable line item. The rate card data will be synchronized from CPQ Pricing to the charge array set and can be included in output documents to fully communicate to the customer the pricing that will be applied to consumption-based services.

Charge Definitions – When charge definitions are used to provide standardized charge categories for a usage-based product, sales users will also be able to view this information in the charge details for a line item. The charge definitions will be synchronized from CPQ Pricing to the charge array set.

Line Item Grid Personalization

Oracle CPQ provides users with the flexibility of selecting columns, arranging columns, and applying filters in the Line Item Grid. Previously, Line Item Grid personalization was not retained when a user cleared their cache, changed browsers, or switched between devices. Oracle CPQ 23D enables users to save Line Item Grid personalization, and then apply their saved Line Item Grid personalization to subsequent user sessions.

Default Collapsed Mode for Hierarchical Products in Line Item Grid

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23D, hierarchical models and products will be displayed in collapsed mode by default. Sales users can identify collapsed items, and then select an individual item or use the Expand All option to view all items within the model or product hierarchy.

Transaction Array Enhancements

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23D, CPQ will allow users to filter and sort main document and sub-document Transaction Arrays.

Adopt Oracle SalesCustom Variable Name Conventions in Commerce

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23D, CPQ will adopt Oracle 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. This update only effects new custom entities, and there is no change to existing custom entities. This update is applicable to new custom entities in both Standard and Non-Standard Processes.

Configuration

Pricing Enhancements in Product Workbench

Oracle CPQ 23C introduced the Product Workbench (previously known as the Product Launch UI) for Oracle CPQ sites integrated withOracle Sales. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23D, integrated Oracle Sales users can access the following pricing functions from the Product Workbench:

• Volume and Tier Pricing - select and define dynamic pricing for charges.

• Rate Plans – create and manage groups of charges for a product.

• Rate Cards - define complex pricing items for subscription-based products using Rate Card Templates that specify dynamic custom fields.

• Charge Definitions – provide standardized charge categories to create charges.

Configuration Actions

Oracle CPQ 23D introduces configuration actions that function as triggers to invoke Recommendation Rules. When added to the condition of Recommendation Rules, invoking the action can trigger the rules.

Integration

Near Real Time Synchronization for Oracle Sales SPIM Integration

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23D,Oracle Sales SPIM (Sales Product Information Master) products can be synchronized to CPQ using the “Upsert Product in CPQ” action when an appropriate Oracle Sales Routine trigger occurs. TheOracle Sales Integration Maps use pre-defined mapping for Standard Part Attributes and additional mapping can be added for custom attributes. This provides synchronization of a given product, without waiting for a scheduled batch synchronization to occur.

Oracle CPQ Subscription Pricing Integration with Oracle Fusion Pricing

Oracle CPQ 23D provides productized integration to synchronize price definitions involving usage charges, rate plans, and rate cards between the Oracle Fusion Pricing module (aka QP) and CPQ for subscription-based products. The new Pricing Portal Pricing Integration module allows administrator to define the Integration ID for the Default Partner Price List and initiate synchronization of price definitions. To support integration of charges, the following items have been added to Pricing Charge Attributes: Charge Definition, Charge Definition Code, and Charge Definition Integration.

Support Rate Plan and Rate Cards for Oracle Order Management - CPQ Integrations

Oracle CPQ 23D will support rate plans when creating or canceling orders for Oracle Order Management – CPQ integrations. When a rate plan is applied to a subscription type product, CPQ Pricing will apply the associated rate plan charges. Using the new pricing integration, CPQ administrators can synchronize pricing definitions with Oracle Fusion Pricing. When an order is created, Oracle Order Management billing users will be able to view the rate plan and usage charges within the customer order.

Salesforce: Connect using Oracle CPQ Integration Center

A new Salesforce CRM integration type is added to the Oracle CPQ Integration Center. This feature streamlines the set up and management of the connection(s) between Oracle CPQ and Salesforce. This new interface allows administrators to directly configure the details of the Salesforce environment without the assistance of customer support. Also, Oracle CPQ 23D User Integration page provides a complete list of all enabled Salesforce organizations and the user login.

Salesforce: Manage Salesforce Certificates

The new Salesforce CRM Integration includes support for Salesforce certificates. A Salesforce certificate ensures that communications claiming to originate from your organization are actually from your organization. Once the certificate is applied to the Oracle CPQ site, inbound communications from the Salesforce Integration can be verified. This feature allows administrators to view certificate-related details and upload/download certificates without the assistance of customer support.

Salesforce: Support Custom Domains

Oracle CPQ 23D supports custom login domains as well as the previously supported login.salesforce.com and test.salesforce.com URL domains. This feature supports Salesforce’s recently introduced Domain Management features and My Domain login and redirect policies. Prior to Oracle CPQ 23D, only a single domain, either login.salesforce.com or test.salesforce.com, was associated for all Salesforce connections to an Oracle CPQ site.

Support Transaction Arrays in Data Cube Export

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23D, CPQ will support exporting transaction arrays in Data Cube Exports. This allows customers to store Commerce attribute information in an array set, and then export the array set instead of exporting a large number of Commerce attributes. This array set can be added to the Data Cube XML mapping file and then exported to .ctl and .dat files when the report is extracted.

Parts

New Service-Related Parts Fields

Oracle CPQ 23D adds Service Duration Type, Duration, and Duration Period standard parts fields to support service-related products for CPQ sites that are integrated with Oracle CX Sales. These fields are used to capture basic service attributes for Extended Warranty, Included Warranty, Maintenance, or Subscription type items. With this data, Quoting will be able to develop pre-defined logic specific for these items. For example, when an Extended Warranty is defined as Fixed, a sales representative won't be able to change the Duration, nor the Duration Period. On the other hand, when an Extended Warranty is defined as Open Ended, the Quote should allow the override of Duration and Duration Period.

User Management

Deactivate User Groups

Oracle CPQ 23D supports the ability for administrators to deactivate user groups. The Group Lists page will display active and inactive groups. Once a group is deactivated, it will no longer be allowed access permissions nor will it be selectable for access to Commerce and Configuration properties.

Web Services

Add Last Deploy Date to Configure REST API

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23D (REST version v15), the Last Deploy Date of the product family will be added to the Configure Model REST API response when Configuration cache is enabled. This will allow customers to validate if a local cache instance is up to date with the most current Configuration layout updates.

BOM Mapping REST API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 23D provides the following BOM Mapping REST API enhancements:

• “Root BOM Item Label” and “Root BOM Item Part Number” are now included in the BOM Item Definition instance and collection responses.

• Case insensitive queries can now be performed on the BOM Item Setups collection.

Oracle CPQ 23D also adds the Update BOM Item Definitions Action to create, update, or delete CPQ BOM hierarchies. This endpoint uses a list format, instead of the hierarchical JSON format.

Calculate Price REST API Enhancements

The Calculate Price REST API has been updated to support Charges and Rate Plans.

Configuration Product Administration REST API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 23D provides the following enhancements to the Configuration Product Administration REST API:

The following endpoints are added to support Product Family Deployment:

• Deploy a Product Family - Allows for deployment of a specified product family using REST API web services. Deployments can be scheduled, and users can set up email notifications. Data tables associated with rules can be deployed along with the product family.

• Get Undeployed Data Tables – Lists undeployed data tables associated with configuration rules.

Oracle CPQ 23D also adds endpoints to Get, Add, Update, and Delete Configuration Actions (including Configuration Action Translations).

History Action for Commerce REST API

Oracle CPQ 23D adds support for Commerce History type actions for (v15) REST APIs. This endpoint allows customers to retrieve historical changes for a transaction using REST API web services. The transaction history will capture events including but not limited to:

• User and action modifications to main and sub-document attributes
• Activity history for multiple users in Collaborative Quoting
• Transaction locking and unlocking events
• Approval sequences and Workflow transitions
• ABO actions
• Language changes

This REST API will also support queries to search for specific attributes.

Migration Package REST API

Oracle CPQ 23D supports the following migration package and migration resource REST API web services enhancements:

• Get migration package content dependencies
• Get dependencies of the selected migration resources from a source site
• Get dependencies of a migration package from a source site
• Migrate the selected migration resources from a source site
• Migrate the selected migration package from a source site
• Add Util Library Namespaces to migration packages REST APIs
• Specify granular (low-level) content while creating or updating a migration package

Pricing

Multiple Charges for a Product

The subscription economy requires the ability to price a single product with multiple charges. Oracle CPQ 23C provides a productized, easy to implement and maintain means of defining and administering pricing for simple and complex products using one time, recurring, and usage/consumption-based pricing. The new Pricing Portal Charge object in association with the Pricing Engine delivers multiple product prices and charges during price execution for products including simple parts and complex BOMs. In Commerce, the multiple charges will be stored as a child entity of a line item in addition to the line price. Line item prices provide backward compatibility and can be setup with or without charges.

Extensible Charge Attribute

Oracle CPQ 23C introduces the ability to define custom pricing Charge Attributes in CPQ Pricing Engine, with the ability to deploy this charge schema in Product Launch, Quoting, and the Calculate Price REST API. Charge Attributes support Boolean, Currency, Date, Decimal, Integer, String, and Text Area data types and allow default values. Administrators can specify if the attribute is required, if the item is negotiable (i.e. the attribute value can be modified by sales users), along with attribute visibility in Administration and/or Runtime. Customers can add their own custom charge attributes or use standard attributes that are provided in Oracle CPQ 23C to allow administrators to quickly define their own charges for their products.

Pricing Engine Reference Data

Oracle CPQ 23C introduces a new Pricing Lookups module that allows administrators to view, add, and manage the list of values that are available for use in product and charge pricing. Standard pricing lookups are provided for Price Types, Price Periods, Discount Types, Charge Types, Usage Units of Measure. Pricing lookups allow customers to define defaults and domains of values for product and charge prices.

Product Launch Support

The new Product Launch feature, available for Oracle Sales integrated customers, provides an alternative UX for product managers to define prices and multiple charges for simple parts and complex BOMs that are applied at runtime in quoting and configuration. Prices defined in Product Launch are visible in the CPQ Pricing Engine, and base prices defined in Pricing Engine are visible in Product Launch. Pricing and product managers use the new Product Launch feature to:

• Discover and easily view multiple prices or charges that are currently defined for a product.

• Understand and view prices that are defined for a product when it is sold standalone versus when it is part of a specific bundle or BOM.

Commerce

Add Products with Fixed Structure to a Commerce Transaction

Commerce Quick Add functionality allows sales users to add a product to a transaction with a few clicks within the transaction UI. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23C, products with fixed structures (BOM hierarchies) are accessible via the Quick Add functionality. If the selected product is a root item, the associated BOM hierarchy is added to the Line Item Grid.

Transaction Support for Multiple Charges

Customers need the ability to identify and characterize multiple charges for a single product. For example, a product could have a monthly recurring price and a one-time installation fee. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23C, Commerce will support multiple charges for Add From Catalog, Quick Add, Opportunity Import, and corresponding REST APIs. An indicator is displayed in the Line Item Grid for line items with multiple charges. Sales users can select a line item with multiple charges and click on Charge Details to view the charge breakdown. Sales users can also navigate to a charge’s detailed view page to view additional charge attributes and modify editable charges.

Configuration

Multi-Charge Price in Configuration

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23C, the Bill of Materials panel will display multiple charges where applicable. When there is more than one charge associated with a line item, the price value will be replaced with a link with the phrase "Details...". Clicking on or hovering over the “Details...” link will show a popup with specific price information.

Rollup in Configuration

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23C, the Prices panel will display subtotals for the One-Time and Recurring charges. Tooltips are also provided to help users understand the significance of each new total.

Integration

Product Hub Integration Added to Oracle Fusion CRM Integration

Product Hub integration is added to the Fusion Customer Relationship Management (CRM) integration type in the Oracle CPQ Integration Center. This new section stores the credentials required to access the Oracle Fusion Supply Chain Management (SCM) Product Information Management (PIM) application where the primary parts database is maintained. This feature allows a parts administrator to run or schedule part import or export directly from the Parts Integration page.

Product Launch for Oracle Sales Integration

Oracle CPQ 23C introduces the Product Launch UI for Oracle CPQ sites integrated with Oracle Sales. Product Launch is a new solution designed for product managers, with the goal of making the definition and management of their products and services more intuitive and seamless. Product Launch provides the ability to set and edit pricing from the product-centric point of view (i.e. the user is presented with all the pricing defined for a particular product). If the product should be priced differently under different condition sets, Product Launch will display all records on a single page, grouped by those condition sets, making it easier to read.

Product Launch also makes it easy to define "contextual pricing", which can be thought of as the ability to define differentiated pricing when the product or service is to be sold together with other products and/or services.

Another major innovation introduced by Product Launch is the ability to define multiple charges of different types for each product or service under the different circumstances mentioned above (conditional and contextual pricing) in a very intuitive way.

Oracle Sales Product Information Master (SPIM) Integration

Previously, XSL web service calls were used to integrate parts between Oracle Sales and Oracle CPQ. Although this approach allowed two-way communication, synchronization was labor intensive because part fields did not match and parts could be maintained in both Oracle Sales and Oracle CPQ applications. Oracle CPQ 23C delivers SPIM integration for parts to enable parts synchronization. This feature will provide:

• Pre-defined scheduled synchronization of parts fromOracle Sales to Oracle CPQ.

• Single source control of parts management (i.e. When Oracle CPQ is integrated with Oracle Sales Product Master, Oracle Sales becomes the part master. Parts synchronized from the Product Master are non-editable on the Oracle CPQ side).

Batch Integration with SPIM for Structures and Components

In Oracle CPQ 23C, structures created in Oracle Sales can be automatically synchronized into CPQ via a scheduled process. This option is available in Configuration Options, where administrators can select "Yes" to "Enable Unified BOM Sync”.

Standard Process - Order Management Integration Charge Entity Support

Oracle CPQ 23C will support multiple charges for Oracle Order Management – CPQ Standard Process integrations. The Oracle Order Management sales orders will include transaction line Charge Array Set attributes that are synchronized with CPQ Pricing Charge Attributes.

Web Services

Calculate Price REST API

Oracle CPQ 23C updates the Calculate Price REST API to support charges and charge attributes in the pricing data.

Configuration Run-Time Data REST API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 23C adds price type, price period, and pricing charges to the following endpoints to support multiple charges in Configuration.

• Get BOM Items (Configuration)
• Configure Model
• Configure Model in System
• Next Configuration Node
• Reconfigure from Favorites
• Reconfigure Model
• Resume Configuration
• Update Configuration

Extract Bulk Transaction Data REST API

The Extract Bulk Transaction Data REST API sends bulk transaction and transaction line data to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Object Storage service, which can be picked up by the Fusion Analytics Warehouse (FAW) to produce advanced reports and dashboards. This feature is released for customers on controlled availability in Oracle CPQ 23C. The release introduces the following endpoints to manage CPQ data extraction into the Object Storage:

• Request Data Extract
• Get Site Status for Data Extract
• Get Data Extract Task Status
• Cancel Data Extract Task

Migration Package REST APIs

Oracle CPQ 23C introduces Migration Package REST API endpoints to aid administrators in the creation, distribution, and deployment of migration packages to different environments. The following migration package web services are available:

• Get All Migration Resources
• Create a Migration Package
• Update a Migration Package
• Delete a Migration Package
• Get Migration Package Contents
• Update Migration Package Contents
• Version a Migration Package
• Migrate Package
• Upload Zip FIle for a Migration Package

Parts REST API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 23C updates the Parts Search to include the variable name of the root BOM item and product status.

Parts Setup REST API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 23C introduces the Update/Insert action for the Parts Setup REST API. This action will enable customers to update or create CPQ Parts using REST API web services.

Pricing Administration REST API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 23C introduces the following endpoints to support pricing lookups for charges:

• Add a Pricing Lookup Type
• Add a Pricing Lookup Value
• Delete a Pricing Lookup Type
• Delete a Pricing Lookup Value
• Get a Pricing Lookup Type
• Get a Pricing Lookup Value
• Get Pricing Lookup Types
• Get Pricing Lookup Values
• Update a Pricing Lookup Type
• Update a Pricing Lookup Value
• Update Pricing Lookup Types
• Update Pricing Lookup Values

Administration

Restrict IP Range Access to Oracle CPQ

Oracle CPQ 23B gives host company administrators control of which IP ranges can access their Oracle CPQ environments. This allows administrators to specify, for example, that a CPQ environment can only be accessible from customer office networks or virtual private networks (VPNs).

Asset-Based Ordering

Asset-Based Ordering Support for Commerce Standard Process

In Oracle CPQ 23B, CPQ delivers a new ABO implementation package to support the new Commerce Standard Process. The Standard Process simplifies administrator setup for new ABO implementations by providing ABO-related Commerce attributes, actions, functions, and data columns.

Commerce

Commerce Standard Process

Oracle CPQ 23B introduces the Commerce Standard Process with pre-defined quoting, ordering, integration, and other workflow entities. When you create a new Standard Process, it is automatically populated with documents, attributes, actions, rules, library functions, layouts, data columns, Commerce integrations, and workflow steps. The new Standard Process simplifies administrator setup for ABO implementation and Commerce integrations. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23B, the Standard Process is delivered for new Oracle Sales integrated site installations and is the default process when creating a new Commerce process. Customers can add their own Commerce items to meet their particular needs.

Standard Process Documents

The standard main and sub-documents are Transaction and Transaction Line, respectively. The documents contain standard functions, which can be overridden if desired. You can quickly return to the standard functions by removing the override.

Standard Process Attributes

Commerce attributes include input fields to collect data such as billing, shipping, parts, pricing, and revenue information. The Standard Process attributes have been rationalized to remove redundant attributes and to streamline and simplify Commerce integrations. The attributes contain standard default values and modify actions, which can be overridden if desired. You can quickly return to the standard values by removing the override. Standard Process attributes cannot be deleted or reordered.

Standard Process Actions

Commerce actions trigger events within documents to occur. The standard Transaction and Transaction Line actions contain standard functions, modify actions, and destination values which can be overridden if desired. You can quickly return to the standard values by removing the override. Standard Process actions cannot be deleted.

Standard Process Commerce Integrations

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23B, the Standard Process provides predefined REST integrations to simplify setup for Oracle Sales and Oracle CPQ integrations. Additionally, it provides several predefined BML integrations for order and subscription management.

Integration

Custom Filter for REST – Export Lines

Oracle CPQ 23B introduces a Custom line-level filter for the REST – Export Lines Commerce integration. Administrators can now enable a custom line type filter on each integration. When this type is selected, the administrator must additionally specify a line-level attribute which indicates whether that line should be included or not included in the export. This attribute can be of type Boolean or text and if the value is "true" then the line is included in the export. If the attribute value is anything other than "true", the line-level attribute is not included in the export. By using the Custom filter, administrators can reduce the number of lines to synchronize to Oracle Sales.

OpenID Connect for Single Sign-On

Oracle CPQ 23B adds support for OpenID Connect (OIDC) as a Single Sign-On (SSO) option. OIDC is an extension of the existing OAuth Provider configuration available for use with Oracle Identity and Access Management (IAM)'s Identity Domains (formerly IDCS). OIDC adds an identity layer to OAuth 2.0 that enables a federated SSO solution between Oracle and Custom Applications configured in IAM.

Oracle Fusion CRM Integration Added to Integration Center

A new Fusion Customer Relationship Management (CRM) integration type is added to the Oracle CPQ Integration Center. This feature streamlines the set up and management of the connection between Oracle CPQ and Oracle Fusion Sales. This new interface allows administrators to directly configure the details of their Fusion environment without the assistance of customer support or cloud operations. New and existing Oracle Fusion Sales (Oracle Sales) Commerce Integrations will use these properties when making Web Service calls to the Fusion site.

Pricing

Support Hierarchical Product Pricing in Pricing Engine

Oracle CPQ 23B enables the CPQ Pricing Engine to setup and execute different prices for a product based upon the presence and location of the product within a product hierarchy, bundle, or BOM. The Price Model UX and Pricing Engine runtime pricing calculations now support pricing of both part products and hierarchical BOM-type products.

Optimize Pricing Engine Performance

Oracle CPQ 23B eliminates redundant invocations of CPQ Pricing Engine during sales user interactions to improve performance. Additionally, this release improves the administrator experience by consolidating pricing-related settings within Pricing Options in the Pricing Portal.

Web Services

Host Company REST API

Oracle CPQ 23B introduces the Company REST API to retrieve host company information, such as Full Company Name, Company Login, Email, Phone, Fax, Address, City, State/Province, Zip, Country, Subscription Plan, Base Language, Supported Languages, Number Format, Units, Date/Time Format, Time Zone, Base Currency, and Supported Currencies.

Parts Setup REST APIs

Oracle CPQ 23B introduces new Part Setup REST APIs to enable administration of CPQ parts using REST API services. The following web services are now available:

Pricing Setup REST API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 23B adds new functions for the Pricing Setup REST API to manage price options in CPQ Pricing Engine. The following web services are now available:

• Get All Pricing Options
• Update Pricing Options

Commerce

Alternate Input Mode for Commerce Formula Management

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23A, CPQ provides an alternate input method to create formulas using plain text entry. The new formula entry method vastly increases ease of use and supports the following functionality:

• View all formula attributes and operators in one place.
• Easily navigate to any position in the formula.
• Allow quick copy-paste between formula.

Expose New BOM Attributes for Line Item Grid

Oracle CPQ 23A exposes the following new BOM-related line item attributes:

• _line_bom_name (Line BOM Name)
• _line_bom_variable_name (Line BOM Variable Name)
• _line_item_type (Line Item Type)
• _line_display_name (Line Display Name)

The new attributes will be added to existing Commerce processes and will be present when a new sub-document is created. These attributes are treated as system attributes and can be referenced in the same applicable areas as similar attributes.

Configuration

System Navigation Panel Enhancements for the Configuration UI

The System Navigation Panel displays the hierarchical arrangements of configurable models within a system root item. Oracle CPQ 23A improves usability of the System Navigation Panel by expanding display options for the JET Configuration UI. Administrators can now set the following System Navigation Panel display options in the configuration layout editor:

• Display a small, medium, or large panel size.
• Display the System Navigation Panel on the left side or in the right-side panel.
• Provide a 'sticky' System Navigation Panel.

Integration

Provide Additional Integration Event Data in Performance Log

Performance details for all Web Service calls invoked from integrations, external applications, BML scripts, etc. are logged in Oracle CPQ performance logs. Following upgrade to Oracle CPQ 23A, additional Commerce integration event data is included in the performance logs, as follows:

• The URL of the Commerce integration is included for all SOAP and REST integrations and for BML integrations when available.
• The Execution Context ID (ECID) is included when available from the response header for SOAP/REST/BML integrations. The ECID is a unique identifier that helps in identifying and debugging processes and analyzing logs for various components on the Fusion server.

Salesforce: Automatically Mark New Quotes as Active

Oracle CPQ Connector for Salesforce Managed Package v8.6 allows administrators to define a site-level default setting for marking a quote within an Opportunity as active. This includes quotes that are newly created as well as those that are copied/cloned and moved from one Opportunity to another. The new Auto Activate Quote setting provides three options, as follows:

• None (default) requires users to mark a quote as active.
• First Quote automatically marks the first quote created for an Opportunity as active.
• New Quote automatically marks the latest quote created for an Opportunity as active.
  

Migration Center

Support Granular Migration of Commerce User Interface Layouts

Oracle CPQ 23A supports the individual selection and migration of Commerce User Interface Layouts in the Migration Center. Administrators can now select the Commerce JET Responsive Layouts and migrate using one of two migration modes: import by source or import package. In addition, if necessary, administrators can roll back the migrated Commerce UI layout. This feature saves administrators significant time, reduces the possibility of errors when performing migrations, and improves Commerce UI layout uniformity.

Pricing

New Pricing Portal

Oracle CPQ 23A introduces the new Pricing Portal and all-new Pricing Engine UIs to dramatically improve the administrator experience. The new Pricing Portal and Pricing Engine UIs use Redwood design standards to align with other Oracle products and provide a foundation for consolidation of CPQ pricing functionality. In this release, CPQ's Pricing Engine modules are the first items to be updated and accessible from the new Pricing Portal. Users will experience a completely redesigned Redwood UX for the Pricing Engine with the following enhancements:

• More intuitive, flexible, and consistent setup options in the Pricing Engine
• Enhanced search and navigation
• A guided UX for mapping Pricing Engine attributes
  
• The ability to view and navigate to the Pricing Engine Rules directly from the linked Pricing Engine Model

We are also renaming the Pricing Profiles module to Price Models to more accurately reflect the module's functionality using industry standard terminology.

Pricing Engine Rule Enhancements

In addition to the Redwood design update, Oracle CPQ 23A delivers multiple enhancements to simplify usability and expand functionality. The following Pricing Engine Pricing Rule enhancements are now available:

• CPQ introduces a new "Always True" condition for Pricing Engine Pricing Rules. The "Always True" condition provides a simplified method for creating Pricing Rules that are always true.
• Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23A, administrators can change the Pricing Rule type without creating a new Pricing Rule.
• To provide a more intuitive indication of customer account-related Pricing Rule conditions, we are renaming the "Basic" condition to "Customer Specific".

Web Services

Get BOM Tree REST API Enhancements

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 23A, the Get BOM Tree REST API will include the following parameters:

• "treeHasModel" – This parameter will be included for root BOM items only and will indicate if the root item has any child models.
• "isModel" – This parameter will be included for all BOM items to indicate if the current item is a model.

Parts Validation Service for BOM Mapping REST API

Oracle CPQ 23A introduces a new BOM Mapping REST API endpoint to validate parts for BOM mapping implementations.

Parts REST API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 23A expands the current Parts REST API to allow customers to view a specific part or an unfiltered list of all parts. All new and existing endpoints for Parts REST API are read-only; parts cannot be added, modified, or deleted using these web services.

Administration

External Email Server Support

Beginning in Oracle 22D, an external email server that meets our supported TLS protocol standards can be set up for outgoing email. The following emails are supported by external email services within Oracle CPQ:

• New User Creation Email
• Partner Organization Creation Email
• Forgot Password Email
• Update Favorites List
• Bulk Upload Email
• Scheduled Data Table Export Email
• Commerce Process Reporting Scheduled Email
• Broadcast Email
• Commerce Step Transition Email

Asset-Based Ordering

Adopt Oracle Sales Custom Attribute Variable Name Conventions

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22D, CPQ will adopt Oracle Sales naming conventions for asset custom attribute variable names. When administrators create new asset custom attributes, a "_c" suffix will be appended to the variable name. This update only effects new custom attributes for assets. There is no change to existing asset custom attributes.

Data Tables

Define Data Table User Access Rights Based on Groups

Oracle CPQ 22D expands administrator group functionality to provide user access rights for individual data tables. Administrators can now employ administrator groups to assign access and administration permissions for data tables. Administrators can also use the new data table Access Rights tab to set the access level for groups.

Integration

Improved Configuration of Oracle Identity and Access Management

Oracle CPQ 22D includes enhancements to the Integration Center for easier configuration of Oracle Identity and Access Management (IAM), formerly called Identity Cloud, as an OAuth Provider. This feature allows administrators to directly upload the IAM certificate to the Setup page.

Preview REST Import and Export Data and Mappings for Commerce Integrations

Administrators are able to view request and response payloads for Commerce REST integrations via the Edit Integration page, as follows:

• The REST – Import integration will include a response preview link.
• The REST – Export integration will provide a link to preview the request and separate links to preview response payloads.
• The REST – Export Lines integrations will provide a link to preview all request and response payloads.

This feature aids setting up and troubleshooting integrations by easily accessing attribute mapping information.

Salesforce: Configure New Oracle CPQ User Login Format

Oracle CPQ Connector for Salesforce Managed Package v8.5 allows administrators to define a configurable Oracle CPQ User Account login format when provisioning new users in Oracle CPQ.

Salesforce: Edit Oracle CPQ User Login

Beginning in Oracle CPQ Connector for Salesforce Managed Package v8.5, administrators can manually override the default Oracle CPQ User Login.

Salesforce: Mark as Active Bypasses Opportunity Access Control

Beginning in Oracle CPQ Connector for Salesforce Managed Package v8.5, any user who has permissions to the Oracle Quote will also be able to sync an Oracle Quote to the Opportunity & Opportunity Products, regardless if the user has write access to the Opportunity or Opportunity Products.

Support for Oracle Integration 3

Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC) provides a standard Oracle solution for general integration needs. By using the power of OIC, system integrators can manage Oracle CPQ integrations using a robust toolset. OIC enables Oracle CPQ to connect to back office systems, on premise environments, and other products in a consistent, enhanced manner. OIC is releasing a new Adapter framework referred to as Oracle Integration 3. To accommodate the OIC Generation 3 release, Oracle CPQ and the Oracle CPQ Adapter for OIC are being updated to support both the existing Generation 2 and the new Generation 3 platforms.

User Management

Allow Partner Organization Users to Authenticate with OAuth Provider for CPQ REST APIs

When an external OAuth Provider is configured in Oracle CPQ's Integration Center, the OAuth Provider can be used to authenticate Partner Organization users for inbound CPQ REST API calls. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22D, external logins for Partner Organization and Host Company users can be registered in Oracle CPQ. This feature allows partner organization users to use OAuth to access information in Oracle CPQ from external systems such as customer portals.

Web Services

BOM Mapping REST APIs

Oracle CPQ 22D introduces new REST APIs to enable creation of BOM Item Definition and BOM Item Mapping Data Table entries via REST services.

BOM Item Definitions

• Get All BOM Item Definitions
• Get a BOM Item Definition
• Get All BOM Item Child Definitions for a Parent BOM Item
• Get a BOM Item Child Definition for a Parent BOM Item
• Create a BOM Item Definition
• Delete a BOM Item Definition
• Update a BOM Item Definition

BOM Item Mappings

• Get All BOM Item Mappings for a Parent BOM Item
• Get a BOM Item Mapping for a Parent BOM Item
• Create a BOM Item Mapping for a Parent BOM Item
• Delete a BOM Item Mapping for a Parent BOM Item
• Update a BOM Item Mapping for a Parent BOM Item

BOM Item Tree

• Get a BOM Item Tree and BOM Item Mappings
• Create a BOM Item Tree and BOM Item Mappings
• Update a BOM Item Tree and BOM Item Mappings

Certificate REST APIs

Oracle CPQ 22D introduces new Certificates REST APIs to get certificate details using REST API services. The following web services are now available:

• Get List of All Certificates
• Get a Certificate

Asset-Based Ordering

Custom Field Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 22C adds several enhancements for Custom Asset Fields:

• A new Date type attribute is now available for Custom Asset Fields.
• The number of Custom Asset Fields is increased from 50 to 600 (50 date attributes, 200 number attributes, and 350 string attributes).
• The String type field length is increased from 255 characters to 1500 characters.

Bulk Upload and Bulk Download Services

Download Error Logs

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22C, administrators are able to easily download error logs to a text file. This provides administrators with easily accessible logs for reporting and troubleshooting.

Download User Login History

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22C, administrators can generate and download the User Login History in .CSV format. The User Login History data can be filtered by User Login, Company Name, User Group, Login Date, and Logout Date. Prior to this feature availability, administrators logged a Service Request (SR) to get the User Login History data in .CSV format. Administrators now have easier access to the User Login History to aid in reporting and troubleshooting.

Commerce

Expose Create Quote Version Action ID

Oracle CPQ 22C exposes the Create Quote Version action id and other required parameters for Commerce integrations, such as Oracle Sales and Salesforce. Integrated customers can view these Ids and parameters from the Commerce Process Integrations page. The commerce process parameters and Ids are also available using REST API web services.

Line Item Details Page Navigation

Oracle CPQ 22C provides navigation functionality for the JET UI Commerce Line Item Details page. Customers can now navigate between different line items (next, previous, last, etc.) without navigating back to the Transaction UI. The line item order will reflect user filters and sorting applied to the Line Item Grid. The Open Transaction Line REST API will also support navigation parameters.

Deal Management

Time Series Analytic

While negotiating pricing on a deal, it is very helpful to know the price trend for a customer, market, or product. With these trends in mind, sales users can craft their quote prices and discounts to be both more competitive and more profitable. One specific use case occurs when negotiating with a repeat customer. Knowing the discounts and prices paid by this customer in the past allows the negotiator to anticipate the customer’s expectations and better counter demands for additional discounts.

Oracle CPQ 22C introduces the new Time Series Analytic to display Transaction and Transaction Line pricing trends to sales representatives during the quoting process. This is a type of data visualization that displays data points as a comparison set in a chart. The Time Series Analytic is also useful for pricing managers and approvers in deciding to approve or reject special pricing requests.

Integration

Disable User Sync Between Salesforce and Oracle CPQ

Oracle CPQ Connector for Salesforce allows administrators to globally disable and re-enable user sync between Salesforce and Oracle CPQ. When disabled, changes to Users or Oracle Users in Salesforce will not trigger an update to Users in Oracle CPQ. This disable/enable toggle can be controlled manually or via automation. Administrators may find this feature helpful when performing a bulk update of User or Oracle CPQ User records in Salesforce.

Edit Oracle CPQ User Preferences from Salesforce Personal Settings

In previous versions of the Oracle CPQ Connector for Salesforce, only users with admin permissions could modify the Oracle CPQ user preferences from within Salesforce. Oracle CPQ Connector for Salesforce Managed Package v8.4 allows sales users to view and edit their own Oracle CPQ preferences from the Personal Setting page in Salesforce.

Support for Compression REST Headers When Integrated with Oracle Sales

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22C, processing of GZIP compression headers is supported for Oracle CPQ REST Integrations with Oracle Sales.

Support Integration SFTP File Upload

Integrations requiring SFTP support, such as DataCube and Data Table Export Scheduler, now have the ability to test file upload. Previously, only testing of the SFTP connection was supported. This feature aids administrators in troubleshooting SFTP issues.

Pricing

Pricing Engine Volume and Tier Pricing

The CPQ Pricing Engine provides a single entry point for setting up pricing criteria, rules, and values to deliver consistent prices across Oracle CPQ and to external consumers via a Calculate Price REST API. Oracle CPQ 22C expands the Pricing Profiles to include dynamic volume and tier pricing. Customers can use this feature to provide differing discounts or prices based in the line quantity.

Adding Pricing Engine Pricing Rules to the Pipeline Viewer

The Oracle CPQ Pipeline Viewer provides real-time processing information for administrators by displaying the last executed Pricing Engine Rules for both Configuration and Commerce. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22C, Pricing Engine Pricing Rules are included in the Pipeline Viewer to allow pricing implementers and administrators to verify the setup of pricing and identify if rules are applied correctly. The Pipeline Viewer displays the Pricing Engine Rules executed in the last Update or Modify action of the current configuration or quote session.

Web Services

Line Item Details Page Navigation Support

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22C, the Open Transaction Line REST API will support navigation parameters for Commerce Sub-Document items.

Administration

Opt In for JavaScript/Advanced HTML

While Oracle CPQ does not endorse or guarantee the use of JavaScript customizations, we recognize that some customers have extended the Oracle CPQ. Customizations may present a security risk, conflict with new Oracle CPQ platform features, data may be corrupted or lost, maintenance and support may be difficult, cross-browser support must be verified, performance may be impaired, and testing is required for each upgrade. Customers should consider carefully the relative benefits of JavaScript customizations in light of the associated risks.

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22B, administrators must opt in to add customized advanced HTML/JavaScript to the site. A new User Profile preference checkbox setting, JavaScript/Advanced HTML Opt-In, must be selected in order for customized JavaScript or Advanced HTML scripts to be added or modified. If a user attempts to add custom advanced HTML without this setting selected, an error message displays indicating the opt-in setting is required.

Favorites User Interface Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 22B updates the Favorites User Interface to provide a better user experience. Users can easily search, organize, and view their favorites. The following functionality is available:

• New user experience for viewing and managing favorites
• Add a Description to any favorite
• Sort option for favorites using a predefined set of attributes (i.e. List by Date, List by Price, etc.)
• Tab toggles to quickly navigate to pre-defined views of each type of favorite (i.e. My Favorites, Company Favorites, or Shared With Me)
• Favorites search

User-Driven Sharing of Favorites

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22B sales users can share favorites with other sales users as well as easily access the favorites others have shared with them. Users can share a favorite with a single sales user or with a defined group of sales users.

Asset-Based Ordering

Calculate Delta Price from Projected Assets

Oracle CPQ 21D delivered delta pricing to Oracle CPQ Commerce transactions for ABO sites. Oracle CPQ 22B extends the delta pricing functionality to include projected assets. The prior price is populated for open orders to establish delta price, roll-up delta, and delta price based on request date when there are multiple orders for the same asset. Oracle CPQ 22B also introduces a new Commerce setting to specify which sub-document attribute is used to retrieve the net amount from open orders to derive prior price.

Commerce

Support for New Shopping Cart

The shopping cart allows users to view the number of items with the associated price of the item and the total cost for all items for a quote. Oracle CPQ 22B introduces the new JET User Interface shopping cart that seamlessly transitions between JET Configuration and JET Transaction UI. The new shopping cart increases user productivity and faster quote generation with the following features:

• View the shopping cart to preview the number of items and the total amount added to the quote while staying in Configuration
• Checkout button adds the selected item from the shopping cart to a new quote and seamlessly transitions to the Commerce quote
• Add to Quote button adds the selected configuration from the shopping cart to an existing quote and transitions to the Commerce quote

If your current implementation uses a shopping cart with Legacy Configuration UI, we recommend you to transition to the JET Configuration UI. Upon upgrade to Oracle CPQ 22B, customers will no longer have access to the shopping cart feature in their Legacy Configuration UI. If prior to Oracle CPQ 22B upgrade you have implemented a JET UI shopping cart, your implementation is automatically upgraded to use the new shopping cart.

Data Tables

Export and Delete Options for Filtered Records

Oracle CPQ 22B provides the ability to export or delete filtered data table records. This allows customers to export or delete specific sets of records from data tables that contain a large number of records.

Multiple Data Table Selection Limit

Performing advanced filter or REST API services on multiple large data tables can cause performance issues. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22B, the number of data tables that can be selected in the Global Menu Advanced Filter is limited to five data tables to minimize potential performance issues. Customers are still encouraged to use the table-level filters to search for specific values.

Document Designer

Support Document Designer Page Break Section-Level Loop Iteration

A new Document Designer section-level setting, Page break each loop iteration, is introduced in Oracle CPQ 22B. This new loop editor setting controls if looped section elements include page breaks between each loop iteration. The setting affects both simple and advanced loops. When this setting is enabled, page breaks will occur for each loop iteration (same behavior as 22A and earlier).

Upon Oracle CPQ 22B upgrade, the Page break each loop iteration setting is enabled for existing section-level loops. All new section-level loops, defined after the Oracle CPQ 22B upgrade, default to the Page break each loop iteration set to disabled. This new setting allows administrators more flexibility in the pagination of documents.

Integration

Delete Detected CX Attributes in Imported Revenue Line Conditional Mappings

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22B, the Attribute Mapping page and the Edit Conditions dialog provide error messages when a Oracle Sales attribute used in a condition has been deleted. Informing CPQ administrators of missing Oracle Sales attributes enables administrators to prevent errors when an integration is run.

Enhanced Error Messages for Imported Config Attribute Values

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22B, CPQ provides detailed error messages when the default configuration attribute values from a Oracle Sales Revenue Line Import integration cannot be processed. The enhanced error messages help administrators identify the Product or Product Group with invalid values in the Config Attribute Values JSON data. Oracle CPQ 22B also expands the Oracle Sales reference application to provide predefined conditional mapping for the CPQ Model Name attribute in the Oracle Sales Revenue Line Import REST Integration to enable the enhanced error messages.

Sort and Reorder Mapped Rows on the Commerce Integration Attribute Mapping Page

Oracle CPQ 22B provides the ability to sort and reorder mapped rows on the Commerce Integration Attribute Mapping page. The mapped rows can be sorted by the CPQ Attribute or the Mapped Attribute column in ascending or descending order. Sorting rows by the CPQ Attribute allows administrators to easily identify all attributes that are conditionally mapped to the same target attribute. Administrators can also drag and drop attributes to reorder the mapped rows.

Parts

Part Custom Field Variable Name Selection

Oracle CPQ 22B allows administrators to select which available variable name to use when adding a new Part Custom Field.

Web Services

Data Table API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 22B updates existing REST APIs to delete and export filtered data table records. The following web services are now available:

• Delete Data Table Filtered Records
• Export Data Table Filtered Records

Favorites REST APIs

Oracle CPQ 22B introduces new v14 REST APIs to support Oracle CPQ Favorites, Favorites Lists, Favorites Folder, Sales Users, and Sales Groups features.

Favorites and Favorites Lists

• Get User's List of Favorites
• Get a Favorite
• Get List of the Selected Options from a Favorite
• Get Details of a Favorite's Selected Option
• Update the Favorites Label or Description
• Delete a Favorite or List of Favorites
• Copy a Favorite or a List of Favorites to a Folder
• Move a Favorite or a List of Favorites to a Folder
• Reconfigure a Favorite
• Get Sharing Settings for a Favorite
• Update Sharing Settings for a Favorite
• Remove Myself from a Shared Favorite

Favorite Folders

• Get a Favorite Folder or List of Favorite Folders
• Create a Favorite Folder
• Update a Favorite Folder
• Delete a Favorite Folder
• Get Permissions for a Favorite Folder
• Update or Remove Permissions for a Favorite Folder

Favorite Process Invocations

• Get Favorite Process Invocations
• Invoke Favorite

Sales Users and Sales Groups

The following endpoints are available to administrators as well as buy-side/sales users. They are used to identify Sales Users and Sales Groups for sharing favorites.

• Get List of Sales Users
• Get Sales User
• Get List of Sales Groups
• Get Sales Group

Single Sign-On Integration REST APIs

Oracle CPQ 22B introduces new Single Sign-On (SSO) REST APIs to update Oracle CPQ Single Sign-On (SSO) settings using REST API services. The following web services are now available:

• Get SSO Configuration
• Update SSO Configuration

Administration

Support For Invoking Commerce Actions Directly from a Reconfigured Favorite

Oracle CPQ 22A adds the ability to invoke a Commerce Transaction when reconfiguring an item from the Favorites List. The Commerce invocation action will now be visible on the Configuration page when a Favorite is reconfigured. Prior to this feature implementation, users would need to save the reconfigured Favorite and exit Configuration, and then go into Commerce to add the Favorite to a quote.

Configuration

Support Delimiters for Single Select Menus and Pick Lists BOM Item Mapping

Oracle CPQ 22A extends the support of delimiters for Single Select Menu (SSM) and Single Select Pick List (SSPL) attributes to allow administrators to specify multiple values for SSM and SSPL attributes in a single BOM Item Mapping table record. Prior to this feature, only the Multi-Select Menu attributes had delimiter support.

Integration

Import Revenue Lines from Oracle Sales

Oracle CPQ 22A expands the REST – Import Commerce integration type to import transaction line level data into CPQ (i.e. Import Oracle Sales Revenue Lines into a CPQ transaction). Upon creation of a quote, CPQ will import the revenue lines from Oracle Sales and create corresponding transaction lines in CPQ. This feature completes the 'round trip' integration of transaction and revenue lines for integrations with Oracle Sales. End users no longer need to re-enter Oracle Sales revenue lines into the CPQ transaction.

Oracle Sales revenue lines can reference product groups or products. Oracle Sales product group revenue lines are imported as CPQ models and product revenue lines can be imported as CPQ models or parts. When a Oracle Sales revenue line is imported as a CPQ model, the transaction line will display the unconfigured model icon indicating that the line requires configuration.

The enhanced REST – Import Commerce integration also allows administrators to define query parameters for imports. This enables CPQ to filter out revenue lines that are not exposed in the Oracle Sales UI and to exclude those that instantiate sales splits and revenue schedule entries.

Conditional Mapping for Commerce REST Integrations

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22A administrators can define conditional logic for the import of sub-document Commerce REST integration mappings. This feature supports the import of revenue lines from Oracle Sales to create CPQ quote lines for both configured and unconfigured products by referencing model attributes from revenue line products or product groups.

Default Configuration Attributes for Import Revenue Lines Integration

Oracle CPQ 22A allows Oracle Sales to provide configuration defaults during import for revenue lines that reference CPQ models. The default values are applied in the Configuration UI when a sales user initially configures an imported model-type transaction line.

Derive Revenue Category for Asset-Based Ordering Modifications

Oracle CPQ 22A provides the out-of-the-box logic to derive the revenue category for all asset modification and subscription amendment use cases. This functionality supports main and sub-document revenue categories as well as additional customer-defined revenue categories.

Extensibility for Revenue Category

Oracle CPQ 21C introduced a Revenue Category system attribute for Commerce main documents. A new Revenue Category attribute was also introduced for Commerce sub-documents in the Revenue Attribute Set. Both of these attributes were non-editable and contained three menu options. Oracle CPQ 22A allows administrators to rename the default options and add, edit, and delete custom revenue category options.

Standard Oracle Sales Revenue Line Import REST Integration

Oracle CPQ 22A also expands the reference application to provide predefined sub-document attribute mappings for REST-based integrations. The CPQ 22A Sales RefApp is available in a migration package for existing customers or with the out-of-the-box application for new customers.

Logs and Utilities

Automatic Purge of User Session Records

Upon upgrade to Oracle CPQ 22A, user session log in and log out records are deleted automatically after 180 days from the User Metrics Report. If you would like to modify the time the user log in records persist prior to deleting for your site, submit a Service Request (SR) on My Oracle Support. Automatically purging the user log in records reduces the storage required for data that you are not actively using.

Truncate Display of Administration Log Records

Oracle CPQ 22A introduces a maximum number of Administration Log records available to display within the Oracle CPQ User Interface. The default value is 1000 records with the records displayed in the order of latest date/timestamp to earliest date/timestamp based on the specified filtering criteria. If after applying date range filters the Administration Log results exceed 1000 records, a message displays indicating that a complete list of the records can be downloaded in a .CSV file. Limiting the number of administrative log records to view in the User Interface assists in ensuring the system is able to respond in a timely manner.

Parts

Increased Number of Part Custom Fields

Oracle CPQ 22A increases the available count of Part Custom Fields from thirty to six hundred. The expanded field count includes: 350 text or menu fields, 200 numeric fields, and 50 fields for the new date/time data type. This feature also updates the Parts Custom Field administration page to display the count of available fields instead of listing all available fields at the bottom of the page.

New Standard Part Fields

Oracle CPQ 22A provides additional standard part fields that are compatible with Oracle Sales parts management.

Manage Attributes for the Part Attribute Set

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 22A, administrators can use the new Manage Part Attributes page to select which standard and custom parts attributes are included in the part attribute set. The part attributes include standard part fields, including the new standard part fields, and deployed Part Custom Fields.

Administration

Export Commerce Reports in .XLSX Format

Oracle CPQ 21D introduces the ability to export Commerce reports in .XLSX format. Reports exported in .XLSX format can populate up to 1,048,575 results. This is a significant increase in results as opposed to exporting in .XLS format, which has a limit of 65,535 results. A new General Options setting allows administrators to determine which export format is preferred. For new site installation, the default setting is Yes. Upon upgrade, the default setting is set to No and exporting reports remains in .XLS format.

Asset-Based Ordering

Reconfigure Line Item Grid Pricing Behavior for Child Models

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 21D, users who have ABO enabled can directly reconfigure child system models from the Line Item Grid in the Transaction UI. Prior to this feature addition, users could only reconfigure the child models of a system by first reconfiguring the root model, then navigating to the child to make changes.

Support for Commerce Delta Pricing

Oracle CPQ 21B provided configuration delta pricing information inside the Configuration User Interface when implemented with Asset-Based Ordering (ABO). Oracle CPQ 21D introduces a new sub-document Delta Pricing Attribute Set to extend the delta pricing to Oracle CPQ Commerce transactions for ABO sites. This feature allows for delta pricing information to be easily available to end users by enabling the following valuable operations:

• View delta pricing information on the Line Item Grid and the sub-document page for both legacy and JET Transaction UIs.
• Support delta pricing on the Transaction UI for Add, Update, Delete, Renew, and Terminate ABO flows.
• Provide rollup delta pricing for new, updated, and modified models.

Support for Delta Pricing in Formulas and BML Functions

In addition to Commerce delta pricing support, Oracle CPQ 21D will also support delta pricing in Commerce Formulas and BML functions. This feature will allow administrators to use delta pricing attributes in BML editors to define main and sub-document default values using:

• Functions
• Modify Actions
• Before and After Formulas
• Advanced Conditions and Actions for Commerce Rules

Administrators can also use delta pricing attributes for:

• Commerce Library Functions
• Price Scores
• Advanced Defaults, Auto Update, and BML scripts

Commerce

Commerce Layout Editor

Oracle CPQ 21D replaces the current Commerce Layout Editor for both JET and Legacy Commerce UIs with a new Commerce Layout Editor. This new Layout Editor uses the JET UI framework to provide administrators with a simple and intuitive way to create and edit JET and legacy Transaction UI pages within Oracle CPQ. This provides the groundwork for a common user experience across all Oracle CPQ administration pages. The Commerce Layout Editor provides the same functionality as the previous editors combined with improved usability.

Deal Management

Support for Deal Comparison Scatter Plot Data Point Cache Configuration

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 21D, administrators can define data point cache settings for HTML attributes for Deal Comparison Scatter Plot Analytics. The Deal Comparison Scatter Plot Analytic is a graph that displays data points as a comparison set in a scatter plot chart. The scatter plot is exposed to a user by adding an HTML attribute to the Transaction UI. Prior to Oracle CPQ 21D, every time a user viewed a scatter plot analytic it required a separate database call to generate the HTML attribute from the defined list of data points. With this feature, the list of data points for the HTML attribute are cached and can be retrieved more efficiently.

Integration

Automatic Purge of Real-Time Integration Failure Logs

Upon upgrade to Oracle CPQ 21D, failed logs are deleted automatically after 30 days. If you would like to modify the time the failures persist prior to deleting for your site, submit a Service Request (SR) on My Oracle Support.

JET User Interface

User-Specific Rich Text Editor (RTE) Templates for JET Transaction UI

Oracle CPQ 21D provides user-specific RTE Templates for the JET Transaction UI inline editor. With this new functionality, users will be able to:

• Create new RTE templates
• Save RTE templates
• Insert previously saved RTE templates
• Rename existing RTE templates
• Delete multiple RTE templates

Logs and Utilities

Print Server Log Enhancements

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 21D, CPQ logs contain several new details about print server requests, connections, and status if a print request fails or times out. When enabled, administrators can access the new print logs if print server issues occur. When applicable, the print server logs provide error messages, start and elapsed times, the originating user, transaction, and action.

Oracle CPQ 21D also establishes a print server slow thread detection time limit. When the print request exceeds the pre-defined limit, a log entry is recorded in the print logs.

In addition to the new logs and the print server logging threshold, print request failures and timeouts are now recorded in the Performance Log.

Pricing

Simple Condition Pricing Rules

Oracle CPQ 21D introduces a Simple condition pricing rule type that allows administrators to select the necessary condition attributes and comparison operators, and then specify the values of the attributes for which the pricing rule is invoked. Administrators can also search and specify available account names for a condition input. The Simple condition pricing rule type allows administrators to easily create Simple conditions for pricing rules without creating BML scripts in an Advanced type pricing rule.

Support Granular Pricing for Subscription Products

Oracle CPQ 21D introduces a new subscription pricing structure that provides a consistent pricing structure for subscription and non-subscription products by allowing single price type for each line item. With the new pricing structure, a price change can be made at a more granular level since every charge is represented with a distinct part. Every line item/part charge is able to roll up to the Model price. In Oracle CPQ 21C and earlier, line items under the Model part were rolled up into one Model-level price and part number.

Usage Metrics

Support for Oracle CPQ Usage Metrics in Oracle Cloud Dashboard

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 21D, the following new CPQ Usage Metrics data is available to view from the Oracle Cloud dashboard:

• Total number of API licenses consumed per day
• Total amount of disk space consumed in Gigabytes (GB)

Having one central location for accurate and real-time licenses information helps administrators in decision making, usage tracking, and troubleshooting.

Web Services

Consolidated Asset View REST API

Oracle CPQ 21D expands Web Service support for users with Asset-Based Ordering enabled by introducing a v13 Consolidated Asset View REST API. This REST API call provides a consolidated list of fulfilled and pending order asset lines in a hierarchical list for a specific customer. In addition, users can perform search and sort operations on the consolidated list of projected assets.

RTE Templates REST APIs

Oracle CPQ 21D introduces new v13 REST APIs to support a user's JET RTE templates. The following web services are now available to support a user's RTE templates:

• Retrieve a list of RTE templates
• Retrieve an RTE template
• Create an RTE template
• Modify an RTE template name
• Update multiple RTE template names
• Delete an RTE template
• Delete multiple RTE templates

Commerce

Concurrent Commerce Rule Processing Enhancement

Oracle CPQ 21C enables the internal parallel processing of Commerce rules to improve end user response time.

Formula Management Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 21C exposes system variables and version attributes in the Formula UI. This feature significantly improves the administrator experience by removing the need to write BML to use system variables and version attributes as formula inputs.

New System Revenue Items for Commerce Main and Sub-documents

Oracle CPQ 21C introduces the Revenue Category system attribute for Commerce main documents. On Commerce sub-documents, CPQ introduces a new platform-level Revenue Attribute Set that contains two system attributes: Revenue Category and Revenue ID.

Oracle CPQ Administration

Support for Pagination of User Login History

Beginning in CPQ Cloud 21C, administrators can set a pagination option for the Login History. With the Login History pagination feature, a subset of user history will be loaded on the page when the page is accessed. This decreases the initial load time of the page and allows the user to page through the login history to access the information.

Oracle CPQ Licensing Metrics

Support for Improved eCommerce Interaction Licensing

Oracle CPQ 21C supports a new “user” property in the access token that can be passed from any eCommerce application to Oracle CPQ. For a quick registration user, the "user" property and the access token created using the private key are validated against the uploaded public secure certificate to authenticate the user for CPQ access. Once authenticated, a quick registration user is seamlessly allowed access into the Oracle CPQ application and a CPQ interact license is assigned for their use during that login session.This feature enhances the quick registration user login procedure and better defines CPQ interact license consumption for quick registration users and guest users.

Pricing Engine

Simple Conditions for Pricing Profiles

Oracle CPQ 21C introduces Simple Conditions for Percent, Amount, and Absolute Price type Pricing Profiles. Simple Conditions can be easily set up without the need for coding. Administrators can simply select the necessary condition attributes, select the appropriate comparison operator, and specify the values of the attributes for which the Pricing Profile is invoked.

Web Services

Data Cube Exports

Expanded Filter Operations for Data Cube Exports

Currently some customers run multiple Data Cube exports to compare an attribute against specific values because of the limitations of filters. Oracle CPQ 21B expands filter operations for Data Cube Export customers to provide more robust filtering capabilities. In addition to existing functionality, filters for Data Cube exports now allow IN and BETWEEN filter operators and they also support the OR conjunction operator between filters.

Stop Running a Data Cube Export

While running periodic Data Cube exports, customers may experience scheduled exports being put on hold when an export with a large amount of data is running. Oracle CPQ 21B provides the ability to stop a currently running Data Cube export, which allows the system to proceed to the next scheduled export.

JET User Interface

Display Indicator Icons in Configuration Arrays

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 21B, administrators can choose to display indicator icons for easier recognition of editable configuration array fields. Previously, display indicator icons only displayed when a field was selected for editing. The indicator icons for editable JET configuration arrays allow sales users to quickly recognize and access editable fields.

Enable AJAX for Recommendation Rules with Array Attribute Inputs

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 21B, administrators can enable AJAX for Configuration Recommendation rules that have array attributes for rule conditions or actions. Previously, Recommendation rules with array attribute inputs were only evaluated if the attributes were set to auto update or if a user clicked the update action. With AJAX enabled, the rules are evaluated and the action is performed instantly when a user changes any rule input.

Enhanced CPQJS Wrapper for Attribute States

Oracle CPQ 21B introduces new methods for administrators to set attribute states as visible and/or editable. Custom JavaScript can be used to set these states, offering administrators greater flexibility in their custom implementations.

Filter JET Transaction UI Lines When Exporting to .XLSX File Format

Oracle CPQ 20A provided the ability to export Line Item Grid data to a Microsoft Excel (.XLSX) file on an end user's local computer. The export included all columns and line items that the end user had access to for a given Transaction. Beginning with Oracle CPQ 21B, Export Line Item action contains an additional option to allow the export of only the Line Item Grid data that is visible to the end user on the current step, taking into account Commerce hiding rules and Line Item filter rules. Administrators can choose to continue using the current functionality of exporting all the Line Item Grid data or use the new option.

Increased Pagination Limit for JET Configuration and Transaction Arrays

In Oracle CPQ 21A and earlier, a maximum of 50 array records could be displayed per page for JET configuration and transaction arrays. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 21B, the number of viewable records is increased for configuration and transaction arrays.

• The pagination size limit is increased to 200 records for vertical and horizontal configuration arrays.
• The pagination size limit is increased to 100 records for transaction arrays.

JET UI Enhancements for Configuration Arrays

Introduced in Oracle CPQ 18C, the JET UI provides a modernized and fully responsive user experience for viewing and editing content with dynamic updating of page content on any device and in any language. Oracle CPQ 21B implements the following JET CPQ table functionality for Configuration arrays:

• Sticky headers in arrays so headers are visible while scrolling through the array table.
• Multi-column show, hide, and re-order with Manage Columns for vertical arrays.
• Show, hide, and re-order rows with Manage Rows option in horizontal arrays.
• Enhanced Context Menu Actions for Array Columns Easier resizing of columns.
• Quicker and smoother interactions.
• Freeze and unfreeze columns in vertical arrays.
• Wrap Cell Content option for vertical arrays. Rows will expand as needed to display full text.

Modify Default Configuration User Interface to JET User Interface

Since introducing the JET User Interface in Oracle CPQ 19B, customers have seen several benefits of the visually pleasing and easy-to-use JET UI. Adoption of the JET User Interface has grown substantially with new and legacy customers. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 21B, JET UI is set as the default UI for new Configuration Layouts and Layout Access Control. Additionally, by default the Mobile Override is set to "Yes" and access to the JET UI is granted to all users types. As Configuration flows are defined, the Layout Properties will default to the recommended JET UI settings.

Selection Checkboxes for Transaction Arrays

Oracle CPQ 21B introduces selection checkboxes for the JET Transaction Arrays to make selecting and deselecting lines is easier for all users. The transaction array selection checkboxes are displayed at the start of each row and the table footer indicates the number of currently selected rows.

Support Auto Update of Commerce Boolean, Date, Menu, and Text Area Attributes

Beginning with Oracle CPQ 21B, auto update of more types of Commerce attributes are supported. Administrators can specify if they would like to trigger auto update of Commerce Boolean, Date, Menu, and Text Area attributes. The auto update function provides users with an automatically-generated, real-time calculation of their Commerce attribute values. When the auto update parameter is enabled for an attribute, recalculation of logic and values associated with that attribute are initiated after the user alters the attribute's value.

Oracle CPQ Asset-Based Ordering

Support Copy Transaction and Transaction Lines for an Asset

Asset-based Ordering is used for selling assets/subscriptions for services delivered over a period of time. In Oracle CPQ 21A and earlier, customers had to rely on customization in order to be able to re-use an order configuration for simple and nested models. Beginning in 21B, once enabled by an administrator, end users can easily copy ABO order lines and Transactions. When creating similar Transactions, this new feature can reduce configuration errors and make the ordering process more efficient for customers.

Support for Asset-Based Ordering Delta Pricing

Currently in Oracle CPQ Asset Based Ordering, users are not able to easily view pricing differences between the current state of an asset configuration and pending asset modifications of that same configuration. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 21B, a view of this delta configuration pricing information is supported inside the Configuration User Interface when implemented with ABO. The delta pricing feature is supported with Oracle CX Commerce integrations. This feature allows for delta pricing information to be easily available to end users.

Oracle Sales Integration

Enhanced Attributes and Attribute Mappings for Oracle Sales

Oracle CPQ 21B expands predefined attributes and attribute mappings in CPQ Reference Application (RefApp). The CPQ 21B Sales RefApp is available in a migration package for existing customers or with the out-of-the-box application for new customers. The expanded reference application provides common price types and price periods, rollup attributes, and predefined attribute mappings for REST-based integrations. Additionally, CPQ 21B expands the attribute types available for mapping and provides access to system attributes.

REST - Import Commerce Integration Type for Oracle Sales

Oracle CPQ 21B introduces the REST – Import Commerce integration type to import transaction level data into CPQ (e.g. Import a Oracle Sales opportunity to a CPQ transaction). The REST-based integration replaces the existing SOAP integration to significantly improve the administrative experience.

REST - Export Commerce Integration Type for Oracle Sales

The REST – Export Commerce integration type, delivered in Oracle CPQ 21B, is used to export transaction level data from CPQ (e.g. Export the CPQ transaction to Oracle Sales). The REST-based integration replaces the existing SOAP integration to significantly improve the administrative experience.

Oracle Order Management Cloud Integration

REST API Order Management Integrations

Oracle CPQ 21B allows customers to leverage Order Management Cloud REST APIs with orchestration and error handling capabilities through an integration platform, such as Oracle Integration Cloud (OIC). This solution enables sales users to:

• Create a quote in Oracle CPQ and invoke OIC to create an order in Oracle Order Management Cloud.
• Create orders for physical goods and related services (e.g. warranties)
• Sales users can also cancel or terminate orders for single or multiple products within the same order or an entire order.

Web Services

Consistent Array Set Prefixes for Configuration REST APIs

Oracle CPQ 21B appends the "_set" prefix to configuration array set variable names in the v12 Configuration Layout and Metadata REST APIs. The v12 Configuration Layout and Metadata REST APIs configuration array set variable names are now consistent with the Configuration Run-Time Data REST APIs.

BML

Filter Data with Get Transaction BML Function

In 20B and earlier, the gettransaction BML function returns the complete document XML without a way of filtering it. For quotes with several hundred or thousand lines, this can perform poorly. Beginning in 21A, Oracle CPQ provides the ability to filter data when running the gettransaction BML function

Bulk Upload and Download Services

Bulk Download of Event Log Data

Beginning with Oracle CPQ 21A, bulk download services supports the download of Event Log data in CSV format. This provides administrators with easier data access to aid in troubleshooting issues. The Event Log data can be filtered by date, business ID, user, action, and server time.

Commerce

Commerce Dynamic Menu Attributes

Oracle CPQ 21A introduces Dynamic Menu attributes for JET Commerce UIs. Similar to Configuration Single Select Pick Lists, Dynamic Menu attributes allow customers to implement drop-down menus that display dynamic options. Dynamic Menus are available for Commerce main and sub-documents, and they can be referenced in Commerce rules, BML, Formulas, and Document and Email Designer Templates. The v11 Commerce Transaction REST APIs will also support Dynamic Menu attributes.

Dynamic Menu attributes have several advantages over Single Select Menu attributes:

• Administrators can easily maintain menu options using Oracle CPQ Data Tables.
• Updated table values for Live or deployed Data Tables are automatically available in the Dynamic Menu.
• Dynamic Menu attributes can dynamically filter menu options based on other Commerce attribute values and user input.

Data Tables

View Undeployed Data Tables

Beginning with Oracle CPQ 21A, the color of the circle icon for a data table that has not been deployed is changed from blue to orange. This change allows end users to more easily recognize the status of the data table.

Developer Tools

Oracle CPQ Developer Toolkit

To help administrators and developers manage CPQ technical artifacts, Oracle CPQ 21A introduces the CPQ Developer Toolkit. This toolkit is a combination of Command Line Interface (CLI) and open REST APIs, which allow customers to communicate with their CPQ site. This client-side tool that can change the way administrators work with customized BML code.

In Oracle CPQ 21A, the Developer Toolkit is enabled to be used with Commerce and Util BML Libraries. Customers use Commerce and Util BML Libraries heavily within CPQ environments. These elements play important roles during CPQ implementation and expansion. The Oracle CPQ Developer Toolkit can reduce the amount of time spent implementing, testing, and deploying complex BML across different CPQ environments.

Customers can use the CPQ Developer Toolkit to implement the following continuous development and integration practices for their CPQ scripts and code:

• Pull the latest Util and Commerce BML Libraries to your local systems
• Use your preferred tools to write BML code locally and deploy it to your CPQ sites
• Manage BML Libraries with your own source control tools (Git, CVS, SVN)
• Validate and test your changes directly with CLI
• Write, save, and execute unit tests for BML Libraries

JET Transaction UI

Unit Conversion Support for Float Attributes

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 21A, the JET Transaction UI supports float attributes with defined conversion fields. When a conversion class is associated with a float attribute, users are able to indicate which units they are using when setting attribute values. For example, if a temperature attribute is created and linked to a pre-defined conversion class with associated units, the user can select whether the temperature is in Celsius, Fahrenheit, Kelvin, or any other unit included in the class. The v11 Commerce Transaction REST APIs will also support float attributes with defined conversion fields.

Oracle Asset-Based Ordering

Support Business Time Zone for Asset-Based Ordering

The Oracle CPQ Ref App used by the ABO package stores the commerce start, end, and request dates as date-only format without timestamp and time zone, while asset start and end dates are stored with full timestamp information. In Oracle CPQ 20C and earlier, during the translation of the date information between commerce and asset, the commerce date is always based on the "0" hour of the server default time zone (usually GMT+0).

End users that are in the same time zone as the server default see the commerce and asset date and time information consistently. However, when an end user is located in a different time zone than the server default and their user profile is set to display their local time zone, the translation between the server time zone and their local time zone may overlap dates and cause the commerce date display to be different than the asset date display. This may cause confusion and result in undesirable business date handling.

In Oracle CPQ 21A, an updated 21A ABO package provides a new administrator-defined business-level time zone setting called businessTimeZone. The business time zone is used, rather than the server default time zone, as the basis for all asset-related date and full timestamp translations. This provides administrators the ability to set a time zone that is more relevant to their business.

The updated package interprets the commerce date fields consistently during ABO processing based on the specified business time zone setting. End users may need instruction on how to interpret their user interface display of start, end, and request date fields in relation to the overall business time zone setting.

Customization of older ABO packages can be implemented for this feature as well. For more information on backward compatibility of this ABO enhancement, refer to the Oracle CPQ 19B or later Asset-Based Ordering Implementation Guide.

Oracle Sales Integrations

REST – Export Lines Commerce Integration Type for Oracle Sales

Oracle CPQ 21A introduces the REST – Export Lines Commerce integration type to replicate and synchronize CPQ quote lines to Oracle Sales. This feature will enable Oracle Sales users to search quotes and quote lines within Oracle Sales using key quote line data.

Attribute Mapping for Oracle Sales Quote Line Integration

Oracle CPQ 21A also introduces a new Attribute Mapping page that allows Oracle Sales customers to customize their integration without the use of XSL. This page provides a user-friendly interface to map attributes and supports the ability to drag and drop or directly enter Oracle CPQ and Oracle Sales attributes.

Predefined Oracle Sales Quote Lines Integration Items

Oracle CPQ 21A provides new customers with predefined Oracle Sales Quote Lines export integration items. Existing customers can leverage the new Oracle Sales Quote Lines integration by importing a migration package to implement the predefined content or by using the new attribute mapping UI to integrate customized attributes. With limited implementation set up, customers can create quotes and the two sites can exchange information about quote lines created or updated in CPQ.

Web Services

Conversion Units for Float Attributes

The v11 Commerce REST APIs provide support for complex objects for Float attributes when conversion units are defined.

Expanded Domains for Commerce Dynamic Menus

The "expandedDomains" property can be included in Commerce action and interact REST API requests to return domain information for specified dynamic menu attributes.

Developer Toolkit REST APIs

Oracle CPQ 21A provides REST APIs to support the following Developer Toolkit functions: download, validate, save, and deploy site BML and BMLT (BigMachines Extensible Language Test) files.

Unit Conversion REST API

The v11 Unit Conversion REST API, delivered in Oracle CPQ 21A, provides support for unit conversion support for Float Attributes.

Approvals

Capture Multiple Comment Lines in Approval Emails

Prior to Oracle CPQ 20C, only the first line of an email approval comment was copied in the email approval reply. Oracle CPQ 20C allows for the email approval reply to include multiple comment lines.

BML

Add Months BML Function

A new BML function, addMonths, is available. This function adds or subtracts a number of months from a specified date using the syntax Date addmonths(Date date, Integer num_of_months).

Bulk Upload and Download Services

Add Email Addresses for Bulk Upload Summary Notifications

Prior to Oracle CPQ 20C, bulk upload summary notifications were sent only to the SuperUser's email address. Oracle CPQ 20C provides a new General Site Options setting to designate additional email addresses to send bulk upload summary notifications. Notifications regarding scheduled data table exports are also sent to this new email address, if specified.

Commerce

Optimize Data Storage for Commerce Display History

Oracle CPQ 20C improves performance when saving Commerce Attribute history by optimizing the save batch size to accommodate for the number of records being saved. Additional enhancements improve Commerce Action responsiveness by performing an asynchronous save of Commerce Attribute history. This allows the actions to complete before the history save is complete.

Optimize Commerce Rule Execution

Oracle CPQ 20C optimizes Commerce rules by eliminating the execution of unnecessary rules, such as hiding rules on attributes if they are hidden by a workflow step.

Deal Management

Auto-Update Price Score Values

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 20C, price score values automatically update during JET UI auto updates. Additionally, a single save or modify action will update the price score value. Previously, users had to invoke a save or modify action, sometimes twice, to update price score values.

JET Transaction UI

JET UI Inline Rich Text Editor

Oracle CPQ 20C introduces a new inline editor for rich-text editable attributes (RTE).

• Users can now edit and format rich text on the quote in an intuitive editor that maintains all of the formatting functions from the legacy editor while improving the copy and paste capabilities.
• Templates selected to display as the default value are supported, however, the end user will not be able to access other templates with this initial release of the new editor.
• The editor Toolbar displays above the text editing area, which sizes responsively based on the content.
• The new JET editor includes more text formatting options than the legacy editor, undo/redo, images, links, table tools, and functions with the browser's native spell check.

Display Error Panel Messages for JET Transaction UI Tables

In addition to the existing inline display, JET Transaction UI Line Item Grid and Transaction Array error messages will now display at the top of the page in the collapsible sticky header bar Error Panel. Error notifications describe the error, list error occurrences, and provide links to the location of the attribute triggering the message.

Display Indicator Icons for Editable Line Item Grid Fields

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 20C, administrators can choose to display indicator icons for easier recognition of editable Line Item Grid fields. Previously, display indicator icons only displayed when a field was selected for editing. Read-only fields will not display these indicators.

Left Align Display Labels for JET Transaction UI Layout

The JET Transaction UI layout now provides a left align option for display labels. Previously, labels for the JET Transaction UI could only be displayed above the field or right-aligned at the side of the field.

Re-Order and Reset Default for JET Transaction UI Table Columns

The JET Transaction UI layout now provides a left align option for display labels. Previously, labels for the JET Transaction UI could only be displayed above the field or right-aligned at the side of the field.

Wrap Text Option for Line Item Grid

Previously, JET UI Line Item Grids truncated overflowing content and users could hover over the cell to view the full content. To improve usability, Oracle CPQ 20C provides a new View menu option to wrap cell content for the JET Line Item Grid. Rows will expand as needed to fit additional lines of content.

Oracle CPQ Integration

Support for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Unified User Interface

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales (CRM) customers can integrate with Oracle CPQ, allowing their users to access Oracle CPQ from an opportunity, to create new quotes, and to edit existing quotes with a seamless Single Sign-On experience. Quote data and line items are synced back to Dynamics to enable more reliable forecasts and reports.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 has introduced a new Unified UI. Beginning with Oracle CPQ 20C, we have added integration support for our JET UI, Legacy UI, and CPQ iFrame integrations with the MS Dynamics Unified UI. In addition, Oracle CPQ continues to support the Microsoft Dynamics Legacy UI.

Web Services

Default Headless Mode to False for Configuration REST APIs

The v10 Configuration REST APIs will honor the legacy behavior by default, so customers do not need to explicitly disable headless mode for Configuration REST calls.

General Site Password Options

Oracle 20B supports a new user account lockout feature. This feature allows administrators to specify an amount of time an account login is automatically locked after the number of invalid login attempts is exceeded. Once the lockout time has passed, the user account login is automatically unlocked and available for user login. This feature provides enhanced site-level user account login security.

Select HTML Attribute Generation Options for Commerce Actions

In prior releases, administrators could not exclude HTML attribute generation for Commerce modify actions. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 20B, administrators can opt to "Leave Value Unchanged" for HTML attributes that do not require rendering for a specific Commerce action. When HTML attribute rendering is required for an action, administrators can select the "Revert to default" option.

Show Run-Time Breakdown of Commerce Action Performance Analysis

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 time in specific functions and in each dependency library for the selected transaction.

Support New Commerce Process System Attributes

Oracle CPQ 20B introduces two new Commerce system attributes:

• _system_process_name to indicate the current process name.
• _system_subscription_order_enabled to indicate if Subscription Ordering, also known as Asset Based Ordering, is enabled.

These attributes are supported for Commerce BML functions, including:

• Attribute defaults
• Actions
• Library functions
• Rules
• Advanced Default
• Auto-Update

Additionally, _subscription_order_enabled is available in the Utility BML library.

Data Table Export Scheduler

Oracle CPQ introduces the Data Table Export Scheduler to automate the export of data tables to an SFTP server. Exported data tables, when saved to the customer's SFTP server on an established periodic schedule, can be used for audit and compliance purposes. Administrators can identify data tables to export and schedule the periodicity, start time, and an optional termination date for services.

Display Transaction from Deal Comparison Scatter Plot

The Deal Comparison Scatter Plot Analytic is a graph that displays data points as a comparison set in a scatter plot chart. Beginning with Oracle CPQ 20B, JET UI users can view Transaction and Transaction Line information when they select a Transaction data point within a scatter plot chart.

Allow Multiple XML Controller Files for Upload Using FTP Automation

Oracle CPQ 20B provides for the upload of multiple XML controller files using FTP Automation. The controller XML files can reference multiple ZIP files. Each controller filename must include the prefix "upload_list" (e.g. upload_list1.xml, upload_list2.xml, upload_listA.xml). The XML controller files are processed one at a time in sequential order with the latest date/time controller XML file processed first. Once uploaded the file is deleted from the FTP folder. Bulk upload status is provided on an individual XML file basis as well as for completion of all the files in the FTP folder.

Import Migration Package Using FTP Automation

Migration packages are administrator-defined packages of components that can easily be moved from site to site without the administrator having to reselect components before each migration. Currently, migration packages and individual components of a migration package are imported into Oracle CPQ using the Import Package functionality of the Migration Center. In Oracle CPQ 20B this same functionality is supported using FTP Automation data transfer.

Checkbox Selection for Line Items

Oracle CPQ 20B delivers the highly requested Checkbox row selection for the JET Transaction UI Line Item Grid. In prior releases, selecting multiple line items was limited to the current page for desktop users, and was not possible for users on touch-screen devices. Now with the selection checkboxes, displayed at the start of each line item row, selecting and deselecting lines is easier for all users. Users can also click the checkbox in the first column header to select or deselect all lines across all pages. In addition, the Line Item Grid table footer indicates the number of currently selected rows.

Enhanced Context Menu Actions for Line Item Grid Columns

Oracle CPQ 20B introduces new actions available from the context menu on the Line Item Grid column headers. From the context menu, users can freeze or unfreeze columns. Users can also quickly Hide a column or Unhide All columns from the context menu.

Expand and Collapse All Models in the Line Item Grid

In prior releases, each model or sub-model had to be individually expanded or collapsed. Oracle CPQ 20B adds two new actions available from the Line Item Grid's View menu to instantly Expand All or Collapse All models on the transaction. This functions across all pages of the Line Item Grid. The expanded/collapsed state is also persistent for the user across sessions.

Import Transaction Line Item Data from XLSX File

Oracle CPQ 20A provided the ability to export Line Item data to a Microsoft Excel (XLSX) file on the user's local computer. With this file users can run formulas and calculations on the Transaction data quickly and easily. Oracle CPQ 20B provides the additional ability to import Line Item Grid data from a modified CPQ-exported Microsoft Excel (XLSX) file. This feature leverages Microsoft Excel with CPQ Commerce to add new or modify existing transaction line data. End users can add independent line items or unconfigured model line items to the CPQ export XLSX file. The export file provides necessary identification data to determine modifications to the specific CPQ Line Item Grid.

Progress Indicator During Queue Processing

Similar to the JET Configuration UI, the JET Transaction UI now displays a Progress Indicator in the page header. This provides an immediate visual indication that the user's action has had an effect. When the user performs an action, an animated icon displays beside the page title notifying the user that the action is in process. A tooltip note is available on this icon to provide more details.

Performance Log Enhancements

Changes made in Oracle CPQ 20B significantly improve performance for large performance log data volumes. To improve the usability, the default sort order is now date descending (i.e. the latest entry is shown first).

Show Commerce Action Related Items in Performance Log

In addition to performance enhancements, the following items related to an invoked action are now logged: Hiding rules, Validation, Constraints, Filters, Auto-update Rule - Before Formulas, Formulas, and Auto-update Rule - After Formulas.

Version Oracle CPQ Migration Packages

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 20B, administrators have more control to regulate package versions by using the new version icon to create incremental versions for selected migration packages

Search User Administration List

To make it easier to locate user information from the User Administration List page, Oracle CPQ 20B introduces the ability to search for a user. You can search on user Login, First Name, and/or Last Name for both Active and Inactive users.

Migration REST APIs

Oracle CPQ 20B provides Migration REST APIs to streamline the distribution and deployment of migration packages to different environments. Customers can use these REST API services to:

• Initiate and cancel migrations
• Export and import migration packages
• Monitor migration status

BML

BML Compiler Optimization

The Oracle CPQ 20A BML script compiler is enhanced to automatically utilize StringBuilders during the internal processing of BML functions.

Set Attribute Value BML Function

A new BML function, setattributevalue, is available to set a Commerce attribute value on a main document or sub-document from within Advanced Defaults, Advanced Modify, or Commerce Library BML.

Support Insert, Delete, Update, and Modify BMQL Functions for Live Data Tables

Currently, modifying Live Data Tables is accomplished using UI, Web Services, or Bulk Upload. In 20A, BMQL functions are supported to insert, delete, update, and modify the data in Live Data Tables.

Commerce

Commerce Filter Rule for Line Item Grid Items

Oracle CPQ 20A introduces a new Commerce filter-type rule to exclude irrelevant Line Item Grid items. Administrators can define Commerce Filter rules that use Commerce attributes for simple or advanced BML conditions to filter out items that are not relevant to the current user.

Run Commerce Rules in Parallel

The internal handling of Commerce rules is enhanced to include more systematic parallel processing of the rules in order to improve end user response time.

Transaction Array Support for Commerce Hiding Rules

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 20A, administrators can use transaction array set attributes in simple and advanced conditions to hide attributes or actions on the Transaction UI. Administrators can select transaction array attributes for simple conditions and select transaction arrays in advanced conditions. Administrators can also select transaction array attributes for simple actions and select transaction arrays in advanced actions as components to hide upon satisfying the hiding rule's condition. Transaction array hiding behaviors are similar to Configuration array set behaviors.

Transaction Opens in New Tab from Commerce Search

Navigation to a Transaction from Commerce Search is improved. A new General Site Option setting, Open transactions in a new tab from Commerce Search, is introduced in 20A.

This setting determines the behavior for opening Transactions from the search page, as follows:

• When set to No (default) the legacy behavior is retained and the Transaction opens in the existing parent window.
• When set to Yes, the Transaction opens in a new tab and focus moves to the new tab. Opening multiple Transactions from the Commerce Search page will result in each Transaction opening in a new tab.

Configuration

Configuration Administrator-Defined Filters

Oracle CPQ 20A introduces administrator defined display filters for the Bill of Materials and Recommended Item lists. When enabled, administrators can use parts and product attributes to define filter conditions to display only relevant items.

Signed Punch-In Configurable Attributes

In Oracle CPQ 20A, signed punch-in attributes are available in the configuration XML and the Pipeline Viewer.

Data Tables

JET Data Table UI

Oracle CPQ 20A updates the Data Table administration UI to JET. The JET UI improves the administrator experience and provides a foundation to build additional Data Table functionality. The JET UI provides these enhancements:

• Status icons are displayed in the side navigation panel next to data tables to indicate live and undeployed data tables
• The JET data table UI utilizes the full browser page and administrators can close the side navigation panel to allow a larger table editing space.
• The simple and advanced filters in combination with the column view options improve the user experience especially for data tables containing a large number of columns and/or lines.
• The undo icon now allows administrators to undo the most recent changes for the selected row, not just delete actions.
• The new Details tab shows the date when the table was added, last modified and deployed. It provides the "Live" Data Table option, and allows administrators to add a description for the table.

JET User Interface

JET Configuration and Transaction UI HTML Help Messages

Beginning in 20A, help messages can display Rich Text, links, and HTML content on the JET Configuration and Transaction UIs. The help icon will display plain text content in a tooltip format if there is no Rich text or HTML content present in that help icon's content.

Enable AJAX for Configuration Rules with Array Attribute Inputs

Beginning in Oracle CPQ 20A, administrators can enable AJAX for Configuration Constraint and Hiding rules that have array attributes for rule conditions or actions. Previously, Configuration rules with array attribute inputs were only evaluated if the attributes were set to auto update or if a user clicked the update action. With AJAX enabled, the rules are evaluated and the action is performed instantly when a user changes any rule input.

Export JET Transaction UI Line Item Grid to .XLSX File Format

Oracle CPQ 20A provides the ability to export Line Item Grid data to a Microsoft Excel (.XLSX) file on an end user's local computer. End users can export the current Transaction's line item information to run formulas and calculations on the Transaction data quickly and easily.

Default Array Column Width for JET Configuration UI

Oracle CPQ 20A allows administrators to set default horizontal and vertical array column widths for the JET Configuration UI. In prior releases array columns were set to a default of 200px wide. Users will still be able to resize column widths as desired.

JET Transaction UI Error Message Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 20A provides several error message enhancements for the JET Transaction UI. Similar to the JET Configuration UI, the JET Transaction UI errors will now display inline and in a collapsible sticky header bar Error Panel. The Error Panel provides a consistent look and feel and improves usability.

Manage Viewed Columns for JET Transaction UI Tables

Oracle CPQ 20A provides a new Manage Columns dialog for JET Transaction UI tables, such as the Line Item Grid and Transaction Arrays. Previously, users could only show or hide columns one column at a time, which was time-consuming for tables with a large number of columns. The Manage Column dialog allows users to quickly hide or show multiple columns.

Web Services

Enterprise Platform

Content Delivery Network Integration

Customers can enable better end-user performance by integrating Oracle CPQ with a CDN to help manage internet content and traffic. CDNs offer geographically distributed proxy servers to provide enhanced availability and performance by distributing services close in proximity to end users.

The following CDN integration is available in Oracle CPQ 19D.

• AKAMAI INTEGRATION
  Beginning in 19D, Oracle CPQ provides an integration with Akamai to allow our customers to deploy Oracle CPQ content using the Akamai Content Delivery Network (CDN).

Commerce Integration Enhancement

Commerce Integrations are used to export and import quote information to and from external systems, commonly CRMs or ERPs, when a Commerce Action is triggered.

The following Commerce Integration enhancement is available in Oracle CPQ 19D.

• GENERAL SUPPORT FOR BML INTEGRATIONS
  BML Integrations can be used on Commerce Actions to send and receive data from external systems typically using REST web services. BML Integrations provide all the power and flexibility of BML functions and are defined on the Integrations page under each Commerce Process. Once defined, the BML integration is associated with a specific Commerce action under the action's Integrations tab. In prior releases, the BML Integration type was only available when integrating Oracle CPQ with Microsoft Dynamics 365 or when there was a Generic Integration established in the Integration Center. Beginning in 19D, this functionality is available generally for all Oracle CPQ sites.

Migration Center Enhancements

Most Oracle CPQ customers have multiple environments to manage their Oracle CPQ implementations. The Migration Center is used to move administrative data and metadata between environments. Migration saves administrators time and reduces user errors by eliminating the need to manually replicate setup details across multiple sites. Migrations can be performed between two Oracle CPQ sites, or between an Oracle CPQ site and a migration package.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 19D.

• FORWARD VERSION PACKAGE MIGRATION
  Migration packages allow administrators to create collections of components for repeated migrations that can be downloaded and uploaded to another site. Oracle also uses migration packages to distribute collections of components to customers to implement certain functionality on an Oracle CPQ site. In prior releases, migration packages could only be uploaded to sites on the same major release. Oracle CPQ 19D introduces Forward Version Package Migration which enables migration packages from 19A and forward to be uploaded to the latest site version.
• DISPLAY VARIABLE NAMES IN MIGRATION CENTER
  In prior releases, the Migration Center only displayed labels for items in the details pane. This made it difficult to identify items for migration when multiple items had the same display label. Oracle CPQ 19D provides options to display variable names and allow sorting in the Migration Center. When enabled, this enhancement makes it easier for administrators to identify appropriate items for migration.

REST API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ exposes objects and data through REST APIs and RESTful standards. Exposing objects and data through REST APIs promotes simpler API calls and more robust integrations using HTTP standards. With appropriate authentication, any other third-party system can query CPQ's REST APIs, get a response, and use the return data as needed.

Oracle CPQ 19D includes REST API enhancements to support the following functionality.

• ADD MULTIPLE MODELS TO TRANSACTION REST API
  Oracle CPQ 19D introduces a Configuration REST API endpoint to add two or more Model configurations to a single Transaction.
• DATA TABLE REST APIS
  Oracle CPQ Data Table REST APIs allows an external system to access deployed data in Oracle CPQ data tables. Oracle CPQ 19D expands the Data Table REST APIs to support all data table functions for folders, properties, columns, records, imports, exports, searches, and status logs.

Differentiate

Pricing Enhancements

The Pricing Engine, also known as the Rating/Pricing Engine, expands the capabilities of the Pricing Profiles and Rules to support a wider range of pricing use cases. This is accomplished by enabling Pricing Profiles to be defined using additional attributes, applying multiple Pricing Profiles to derive the list price for parts and lines, and supporting the ability to provide real-time pricing using RESTful web services.

The following new functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 19D.

• MAP A PRICE ATTRIBUTE TO CONFIGURATION ATTRIBUTE FOR DYNAMIC PRICING ENGINE UPDATE
  Customers desire the ability to get pricing data updates as they make configuration and pricing modifications in the Oracle CPQ configurator, as in the case of Oracle CX Commerce and Oracle CPQ integration. To support this scenario, beginning in 19D, price attributes can be mapped to configuration attributes so that the Pricing Engine remains the central pricing logic manager for the products. The Pricing Engine can then support pricing updates from either a Product Configuration change or from a Commerce Transaction change.
• ATTRIBUTE REVERT TO DEFAULT BEHAVIOR ENHANCEMENT
  In 19D, customers now have the option to not execute Advanced Default BML at the main document and sub-document level for an Action when that action has Revert to Default enabled for any attributes. A new Commerce pricing option, Version 3, is available in the Commerce Settings to enable this behavior.

System Configuration Enhancements

System Configuration refers to the manner in which customers use Oracle CPQ to configure and bundle the product or set of products they wish to sell 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.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 19D.

• SYSTEM CONFIGURATION INITIALIZATION
  In prior releases the child models were not configured until the Configuration UI was launched for each child model. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 19D, when customers launch system configurations a defined collection of child models can have an initial configuration applied. The initial configuration will consist of attribute default values, layout default values, and the result of configuration rules. New system configuration options allow administrators to define the number of models and the depth of descendant models to initialize.
• SYSTEM PATH WARNINGS FOR FAVORITES AND PENDING CONFIGURATIONS
  System configurations use system paths to identify the location of each instance of a model within a system. Beginning in 19D, Oracle CPQ provides warning messages when a model with a system path that exceeds the supported length can't be saved to Favorites or restored from a Pending Configuration.

Customer Requested Enhancements and Features

Modern User Experience

JET Configuration UI

Introduced in Oracle CPQ 19B, the JET Configuration UI provides a modernized and responsive user experience allowing users to view and edit Configurations across multiple device types using the same Configuration layout.

In Oracle CPQ 19C, we enhance the JET Configuration UI by adding the following functionality.

• EMBEDDED JET CONFIGURATION UI SUPPORT
  Oracle CPQ now supports using Client-side integrations to display the JET Configuration UI within an iFrame for external integrations, such as Oracle CX Commerce. Client-side integrations enable the sharing of data between Oracle CPQ and a partner site. When an external user wants to configure a model, the Oracle CPQ JET Configuration UI page is embedded in an iFrame that displays within the integrated application.
• SUBSCRIPTION ORDERING SUPPORT
  Subscription Ordering operations are now supported with the JET Configuration UI. For Modify operations and Follow-on Orders the user can perform Update, Start Over, Add to Transaction, Return to Transaction, and Add to Cart actions. For Reconfigure operations, the user can save or cancel the reconfiguration.
• SYSTEM CONFIGURATION SUPPORT
  The JET Configuration UI now supports system configurations, which are hierarchical arrangements of configurable models within a system root item. With a system configuration, the user can view the system navigation in a panel on the left side of the page. The system navigation panel contains model and part icons to show the hierarchy of a system and status icons to identify models requiring user action. The system navigation panel will display items that are valid, incomplete, invalid, and will also indicate if models have warnings or errors.
• WORKING INDICATOR
  As part of CPQ's goal to provide a responsive high-performance JET UI, a Working Indicator is now displayed in the JET Configuration UI header. This provides an immediate, visual indication that the user's action has had an effect. When the user performs an action, such as clicking a button, an animated icon displays beside the page title notifying the user that the activity is being processed. A tooltip note is available on this icon to provide more details. Some or all actions may be temporarily disabled while the system is processing, but the user is able to continue working during this time. Once completed, the indicator changes to show that the processing is complete.
• JET CONFIGURATION UI KEY CHANGES, LIMITATIONS, AND KNOWN ISSUES
  Provides descriptions of key changes, limitations, and known issues present in the JET Configuration UI as of Oracle CPQ 19C.
  

JET Responsive UI

Introduced in Oracle CPQ 18C, the JET Responsive UIs provide a modernized and responsive user experience. The responsive design provides layouts that can flow vertically to fit within different browser display widths and features a rich set of modern UI components with built-in accessibility and mobile support.

In Oracle CPQ 19C, we enhance the JET Responsive UI by adding the following functionality.

• COLUMN RESIZE DIALOG
  The column resize dialog is now available for all JET UI tables. The dialog provides a user-friendly method to resize columns, is much easier for tablet and phone displays, and allows users to enter a precise column width.
• DISCONTINUE PANEL EXPANSION AND LAST TAB USED PERSISTENCE
  In prior releases, the JET UIs would open the last tab a user viewed even when opening a new or different Transaction. The JET Transaction UI would also retain expanded panel settings. The JET UI now opens the default tab and no longer retains panel expansion settings for new sessions or Transactions.

Enterprise Platform

BML Enhancements

The Oracle CPQ 19C introduces the following new BML functions.

• ADD TO TRANSACTION FUNCTION
  Oracle CPQ 19C allows administrators to add Models to a Transaction using BML. The "addToTransaction" function can be used to automatically add a new Transaction Line which contains a Model which is pending configuration by the sales user.
• GENERATE HMAC MESSAGE FUNCTION
  Oracle CPQ 19C allows administrators to create Hash-based Message Authentication Codes (HMAC) for use in securing outbound web service calls to public web services. The "generateHmacMessage" function supports five types of hashing algorithms including: SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512, SHA-1, and MD5.

Commerce Integration Enhancement

The Oracle CPQ 19C introduces the following Commerce Integration enhancement.

CREATE TRANSACTION LINE VIA INTEGRATION
Oracle CPQ 19C adds the ability to import Line Items during integration. This can be used to import Line Items from an Opportunity when initially creating a Transaction. Some sales processes allow product selection on the Opportunity before it is ready to be quoted, this enhancement eliminates the need to re-enter those products once the Transaction is created.

Integration Center Enhancement

The Oracle CPQ 19C introduces the following Integration Center feature.

DIGITAL ASSISTANT INTEGRATION TYPE

Oracle CPQ 19C adds a new integration type to the Integration Center called Digital Assistant. This integration defines the connection details for an external chatbot/messaging service. Once defined, the details can be retrieved via BML and used to send a message to the external service.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Integration Enhancements

Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales (CRM) customers can integrate with Oracle CPQ, allowing their users to access Oracle CPQ from an opportunity, to create new quotes, and edit existing quotes with a seamless Single Sign-On experience. Quote data and line items are synced back to Dynamics to enable more reliable forecasts and reports.

As part of continuing improvements to the Dynamics 365 integration, the following enhancements are available with version 1.0 of the Oracle CPQ Connector for Dynamics 365 and Oracle CPQ 19C.

• ACCOUNT INFORMATION AUTO-FILL AND REFRESH USING BML ACCOUNT INTEGRATION
  Administrators can create a BML-type Account integration that automatically imports Microsoft Dynamics 365 account information into Oracle CPQ when customers create a new Oracle Quote from Dynamics 365 and allows them to refresh the account information at any time.
• SELECT ALTERNATE ADDRESS INFORMATION FROM CONTACT LIST
  Administrators can create a BML-type Account integration that imports alternate addresses from the Contact list in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and saves the selected address information to the Bill To and Ship To address sets on the Transaction.
• USE PRICE LIST ITEMS WHEN CREATING OPPORTUNITY PRODUCTS
  In Oracle CPQ 19C when a Transaction is marked as Active, the Upsert Primary Quote Information integration can set an active Price List on the Opportunity and add products as Price List Items.
• AUTOMATICALLY DELETE OPPORTUNITY PRODUCTS WHEN ASSOCIATED QUOTE IS DELETED
  In Oracle CPQ 19C, when users delete an Oracle Quote that is associated to an Opportunity, all of the associated Opportunity products are automatically deleted.
• CONSISTENT WINDOW BEHAVIOR
  When a user created a new Oracle Quote in prior releases, they did so with a pop-up that opened a new window. When they later edited that Quote, it opened the Quote in the active window. Oracle has removed this inconsistency in 19C, so the new Quote and the edit Quote experience both open in the active window.
• IMPROVED BUTTON BAR
  When users created or edited Oracle Quotes in prior releases, the Dynamics button bar displayed buttons native to Dynamics 365 that were not applicable to the Oracle CPQ – Dynamics 365 integration. With the Oracle CPQ 19C enhancements, the Dynamics button bar no longer displays when users create or edit Oracle Quotes.
• OPPORTUNITY AUTO-REFRESH ON SAVE
  When users create or edit a new Oracle Quote and then later return to the Opportunity, the Opportunity auto-refreshes and displays the updated Oracle Quotes and Opportunity Products lists.
• JET RESPONSIVE UI SUPPORT
  The Microsoft Dynamics 365 Integration allows sales reps to create and edit quotes from their CRM by opening the Oracle CPQ UI within Dynamics. In previous releases, only the legacy desktop UI was supported. The new version of the Dynamics Solution adds the ability to also embed the JET Responsive UI.

REST API Enhancements

Oracle CPQ exposes objects and data through REST APIs and RESTful standards. Exposing objects and data through REST APIs promotes simpler API calls and more robust integrations using HTTP standards. With appropriate authentication, any other third-party system can query CPQ's REST APIs, get a response, and use the return data as needed.

• SHOW PARENT ATTRIBUTE QUERY PARAMETER FOR CONFIGURATION METADATA REST APIS
  Beginning in Oracle CPQ 19C, the "showParentAttrs=true" query parameter can be added to Configuration attribute and array set metadata REST API endpoints to return all applicable metadata inherited from parent level attributes. Prior to 19C customers had to make several REST calls to retrieve all of the inherited attributes. To retrieve all applicable attributes for a single model, they had to make REST calls to the model, Product Line, Product Family, and all Product Families.
• CONFIGURATION METADATA REST API ENHANCEMENTS FOR PRODUCT FAMILY INTEGRATION
  Oracle CPQ 19C introduces the following Configuration metadata endpoints to support Product Family Integrations for the JET Configuration UI: Get Product Family Integration Metadata and Get Product Family Integrations Metadata.

• CONFIGURATION RUN-TIME DATA REST API ENHANCEMENTS FOR SUBSCRIPTION ORDERING
  Oracle CPQ 19C provides support for Subscription Ordering flows. Configuration Run-Time Data Configure Model and Reconfigure Model enhancements provide support for Subscription Ordering Modify, Reconfigure, and Follow-On Order actions.

• CONFIGURATION REST API ENHANCEMENTS FOR SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
  System configurations have a system navigation panel that contains model and part icons to show the hierarchy of a system and status icons to identify models requiring user action. Oracle CPQ 19C introduces the following REST API enhancements to support system configuration: System Navigation Status Object and Navigate between System Configuration Models REST API.

Salesforce Integration Enhancements

The Oracle CPQ Connector for Salesforce is the next generation Salesforce integration solution for Oracle CPQ built on the Salesforce Platform. This solution makes Oracle CPQ the most advanced and powerful Lightning and Salesforce Mobile enabled Oracle CPQ solution on the market today.

As part of continuing improvements to the Salesforce integration, the following enhancements are available with version 8.2 of the Oracle CPQ Connector for Salesforce.

• ALLOW UNQUOTED OPPORTUNITY PRODUCTS
  A new toggle gives administrators the option to either retain or replace Opportunity Products added directly to the Opportunity when an Oracle Quote is marked as active.
• AUTOMATICALLY DEACTIVATE an Oracle CPQ USER WHEN LINKED SALESFORCE USER IS DEACTIVATED
  When a Salesforce user is deactivated, that same user will automatically deactivate in all Oracle CPQ sites as well.
• DO NOT ALLOW ACCOUNT QUOTES
  A new toggle gives administrators the ability to block the creation of new Quotes that are only attached to an Account.
• MARK AS ACTIVE ENHANCEMENTS
  The Mark as Active feature has been simplified to no longer require synchronizing Price Book entries between Oracle CPQ and Salesforce. The following scenarios are supported when marking a quote as active:

  • If only the Product ID or part_number are provided on the Oracle Quote Lines, the Opportunity Products are created using either the Standard Price Book or any previously selected Price Book on the Opportunity.

  • If a Price Book ID is provided on the Oracle Quote then that Price Book is always used when Opportunity Products are created.

  • If a Price Book Entry ID is provided on the Oracle Quote Line Item then Opportunity Products are created directly using those IDs.

• NEW QUOTES MUST BE ATTACHED TO A PARENT
  A new toggle gives administrators the ability to block the creation of Quotes which are not attached to either an Account or an Opportunity. This can be used with the Do Not Allow New Account Quotes feature to ensure that all Quotes are attached to an Opportunity.
• ORACLE USER AND ORACLE USER PROFILE TIME ZONE LIST ENHANCEMENT
  This enhancement changes the way time zones are displayed on both the Oracle User page and on the Oracle User Profile pages. It also adds several new time zones and replaces several outdated time zones with an updated equivalent. This ensures that the time zone options available in Salesforce mirror the options used in CPQ.
• WIN PROBABILITY AND PRICE OPTIMIZATION ANALYTIC SUPPORT IN LIGHTNING UI
  We have added support for a Win Probability and Price Optimization chart in the Salesforce Lightning UI. This chart displays predictions from the win probability and price optimization analytics provided by CPQ.

Differentiate

Price Optimization Enhancements

Price Optimization is the use of mathematical analysis to predict how customers will respond to different prices for products or services. Oracle CPQ provides an out-of-the-box machine learning Price Optimization solution to maximize either margins or net revenue in addition to support for pricing and discounting guidance. Since Oracle CPQ customers use different metrics to determine profitability, the Price Optimization solution supports selection of custom attributes to optimize to provide an easy, code free setup. Oracle CPQ supports statistically-based price guidance and a visualization of the pricing guidance. Customers with low or zero marginal costs, such as software companies, typically manage the discount percentages off standard list prices, without capturing costs or margins. Customers with meaningful variable costs, such as manufacturers, typically capture costs and margins in CPQ, and manage either net revenue or margin percentages.

In Oracle CPQ 19C, we enhance the Price Optimization solution by adding the following functionality.

• ANALYTICS LIST PAGE ENHANCEMENTS
  Oracle CPQ 19C introduces a new user-friendly interface to create and manage analytics. The Analytics page displays all analytics for the current Commerce process. The analytic name, description, variable name, last modified, last deployed, the Commerce document, and related rules. Administrators can click on the analytic name to access the details for a specific analytic.

• PRICE GUIDANCE ANALYTIC
  In Oracle CPQ 19C, Oracle CPQ introduces the new Price Guidance analytic that provides the ability to display a target price visualization for Commerce Transactions and Transaction Line documents. After set up and the initial machine learning tasks are complete, the predictive model produced by the machine learning can be displayed to sales users in the Commerce UI. Administrators can also define advanced calculations to determine the target, maximum, minimum discount values for Commerce Transactions. Sales users can view Price Guidance analytic to identify the target, maximum, minimum discounts that should be offered to the customer.
• PRICE GUIDANCE GAUGE
  In Oracle CPQ 19C, Oracle CPQ introduces the new Price Guidance Gauge that provides the ability to create a visualization for current price or discount values at the Transaction and Transaction Line level relative to a range of acceptable values. While the gauge is intended to support pricing guidance, it can be used to depict thresholds and the desirability for any numeric values relative to a range or gradient.
• OPTIMAL VALUES FOR TRANSACTION LINES
  
  Beginning in Oracle CPQ 19C, customers can provide guidance to sales users on the optimal discount to maximize net revenue or margins on Transaction Lines. Optimal values are based upon historical Transaction data and determinant attributes. Customers can define which attribute value is optimized and the attribute values the sales user can modify. After set up and the initial machine learning tasks are complete, optimal value recommendations can be presented to sales users on the Commerce UIs.
• WIN PROBABILITY FOR TRANSACTION LINES
  Understanding the Win Probability of a current price is key to maximizing the profit for a Transaction or Transaction Line. While negotiating pricing with customers, sales users need to understand how sensitive their customer will be to changing discounts and pricing, and how likely they are to buy at a particular price point or discount. The Win Probability analytic, introduced in Oracle CPQ 2017 R2, allowed sales users to predict the Win Probability of a Transaction based on historical data. Oracle CPQ 19C extends this functionality and allows Win Probability analytics for Transaction Line Items.

System Configuration Enhancements

System Configuration refers to the manner in which customers use Oracle CPQ to configure and bundle the product or set of products they wish to sell 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.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 19C.

• SYSTEM CONFIGURATION MODEL PATH
  Oracle CPQ 19C introduces the new System Configuration Model Path (_system_config_model_path) system attribute to return a JSON path with the exact location of the current model in the system. "_system_config_model_path" returns a path that includes all of the current model's parent models and the array index associated with the current model.
• SYSTEM CONFIGURATION SUPPORT FOR RFQ
  Oracle CPQ 19C provides system configuration support for Commerce integration quote requests, also known as Request For Quote (RFQ). Commerce integration self-service users can request an Oracle CPQ quote, thereby initiating an Oracle CPQ transaction that a sales specialist can modify, reconfigure, or discount. Once finalized in CPQ, the quote is returned to the Commerce integration for acceptance and ordering by the self-service user.

Customer Requested Features and Enhancements

Modern User Experience

JET Configuration UI

Oracle CPQ 19B introduces the JET Configuration UI. JavaScript Extension Toolkit (JET) leverages popular open-source technologies and features a rich set of modern UI components with built-in accessibility and mobile support. The responsive design provides layouts that can flow vertically to fit within different browser display widths, allowing users to view and edit Configurations across multiple device types using the same Configuration layout.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 19B.

• AJAX Functionality for Recommendation Rules

  Oracle CPQ 19B provides AJAX functionality for Recommendation Rules, which are used to help buyers configure products by offering suggested attribute values. Now the recommendations can be displayed when the Recommendation Rule is triggered, without reloading the whole page. For each Configuration where a model or part would likely have certain attribute values, a recommendation can be created. In prior releases, recommendations were not displayed until an action was performed or the page was refreshed.

• JET Configuration User Experience Enhancements

  The JET Configuration UI provides a modernized and fully responsive user experience to walk buyers through the configuration process on any device and in any CPQ-supported language. CPQ’s JET Configuration UI supports the most vital functionality of the legacy UI combined with combined with the following user experience enhancements:

  • Most actions now display updated content without requiring a full page refresh.
  • The JET Configuration UI header and toolbar remain "sticky" at the top of the screen to provide improved scrolling behavior.
  • Keyboard access support allows users to navigate through arrays and editable fields using keyboard only controls.
  • Simple filters allow users to quickly locate key items within arrays and item tables.
  • View menus allow users to hide and show columns in arrays and item tables.
  • Array and item list columns can be resized and sorted.
  • Additional display options for attributes, tabs, price and Item tables.

• JET Configuration Layout Access Control

  When the JET Configuration is enabled for a site, administrators can provide access control for a select set of users. Other users will continue to see Legacy UI. Administrators can also override the Mobile Layout with the JET Responsive UI or they can continue using the existing layout.

• JET Configuration UI Layout Enhancements

  The JET Configuration UI desktop layout properties allow administrators to individually select the placement of price tables and items lists and select overlay or push content for the right sidebar behavior. The JET Configuration UI also allows administrators to display tabs vertically and provides new display options for Boolean attributes, numeric attributes, and image menus.

Enterprise Platform

Configuration Run-Time Data REST API Enhancements

Customer configuration flows dictate how users go through the pages and the options available to the users as they create Transactions. Configuration flow rules consist of a condition and flow attributes. Actions display based on which node in the flow that the user has available from defined criteria. Oracle CPQ 19B adds Configuration Run-Time Data REST API services endpoints to support the new JET Configuration UI. Configuration Run-Time Data REST APIs enable customers to build modern and responsive UI or to present their custom UI while leveraging the Configuration REST APIs.

Oracle CPQ Release 19B supports the following process invocations in the Configuration Run-Time Data REST API:

• Add a Model configuration to the Favorites list
• Reconfigure a Model configuration from the Favorites list
• Calculate total prices of recommended items, BOM items, and attribute value based on designated pricing implementation

Email Approval Notification Enhancements

Email Approval Notifications help shorten the quote lifecycle by minimizing the lag between when an approval is requested and when an approver takes action. Emails notify approvers that a sales user has submitted a quote for approval and allows approvers to approve or reject without logging into CPQ. Oracle CPQ 19B improves the usability of email approval notifications with the following enhancements.

• DEFAULT APPROVAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION ENHANCEMENTS

  In Oracle CPQ 19B, the Default Approver Template uses an HTML format which includes improved layout, format, and style. The system-generated token is relocated from the email subject line to the end of the message body. This improves readability and reduces the likelihood the email is flagged as spam or causes the user to be suspicious that the email contains a virus.

  In addition, the Default Approver Template now includes Approve and Reject mailto links. These links automatically generate the email response which include Approve or Reject action keywords and maintains the ability to add approver comments.

• CUSTOM APPROVAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION ENHANCEMENTS

  Custom Approver Templates built using the Email Designer relocate the system-generated token from the email subject line to the end of the message body. This improves readability and reduces the likelihood the email is flagged as spam or causes the user to be suspicious that the email contains a virus.

  The Email Designer allows administrators to add dynamic Approve and Reject mailto links to their email templates. When users receive the email notifications, they can use these mailto links to automatically generate the email response which include the Approve or Reject action keywords and maintains the ability to add approver comments.

• ADVANCED APPROVAL EMAIL NOTIFICATION ENHANCEMENTS

  Advanced Approver Templates built using BML relocate the system-generated token from the email subject line to the end of the message body. This improves readability and reduces the likelihood the email is flagged as spam or causes the user to be suspicious that the email contains a virus.

  In Oracle CPQ 19B, a new BML enhancement allows administrators to choose two new rule input variables for inserting Approve and Reject mailto links into Advanced Approval Notifications. These new rule input variables are dynamically replaced with the appropriate mailto links when the notification is sent. When users receive email notifications, they can use these mailto links to automatically generate the email response which include the Approve or Reject action keywords and maintains the ability to add approver comments.

• EMAIL APPROVAL RESPONSE ENHANCEMENTS

  Oracle CPQ 19B improves the way approvers can respond to email notifications to Approve or Reject quotes via email. These enhancements reduce the likelihood of an approver mistyping an Approve or Reject keyword or improperly formatting the response causing an error which slows down the approval process.

  When the HTML Approval Emails setting is enabled, the response email includes mailto links for your Approve and Reject actions. The mailto links automatically generate your email response which includes the Approve or Reject keyword and their associated action name, moves the token to the message body, and provides space for approver comments.

Subscription Management Solution Enhancements

In 19A, Oracle CPQ introduced a Subscription Management solution. This solution allows customers to create and manage products and services in a subscription model. The subscription model supports managing a given product or service as a recurring and usage-based price item. Supported by Oracle Subscription Management Cloud, Oracle Integration Cloud, and attributes, actions, and BML functions created within the Oracle CPQ platform, the solution enables sales users to capture subscription orders and perform subscription management activities throughout the lifecycle of these customer relationships.

In Oracle CPQ 19B, we enhance the Subscription Management solution by adding the following functionality.

• SUBSCRIPTION WORKBENCH

  Oracle CPQ 19B enhances the Asset List page, now known as the Subscription Workbench, to provide sales users with a centralized location to easily access subscription information by account ID or account name.

• SUBSCRIPTION WORKBENCH LAYOUT EDITOR SUPPORT ENHANCEMENT

  Administrators have the ability to edit the Subscription Workbench and add additional account and asset attributes through the UI Designer Layout Editor.

• ACCOUNT REST API SERVICES

  Account REST API services are added to support integrating and querying external system accounts. Integration with out-of-the-box Oracle Fusion customer account services is provided.

Subscription Ordering Enhancements

Companies use Subscription Ordering, often referred to as Asset Based Ordering, to sell tangible assets or subscriptions for services delivered over a period of time. Sales users can create, modify, suspend, resume, renew, and terminate assets in CPQ. They can also reconfigure an asset or create a follow-on order that modifies an order that was previously quoted in CPQ.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 19B.

• SIMPLE PRODUCT SUPPORT

  Beginning in Oracle CPQ 19B, customers can enable Subscription Ordering support to directly add simple products to a Commerce Transaction for an asset-based order. A simple product is a product that does not have its part number associated with any of the related configuration models. When enabled, users can use Quick Add or Quick Key to add simple products to a Transaction without navigating away from the Transaction page. Simple product assets can be modified, renewed, resumed, suspended, and terminated for internal applications.

• MULTI-SELECT SUPPORT FOR ASSET OPERATIONS

  Users can now select multiple assets on the Customer Assets page to modify, renew, resume, suspend, or terminate. After the user invokes the desired asset operation, the Transaction UI page opens and the appropriate action is displayed for the selected assets.

• NEW TRANSACTION SUPPORT FOR ASSET OPERATIONS

  Beginning in Oracle CPQ 19B, customers can perform asset operations from the Subscription Workbench (previously called the Customer Assets page) for assets without an associated Transaction ID. When a user invokes an asset operation for an asset without an associated Transaction ID, a new transaction is created and associated with the requested operation.

• ASSET REST API ENHANCEMENTS

  Beginning in Oracle CPQ 19B, the Transaction ID parameter is not required in v8 asset operation REST API service requests. When the Transaction ID is not provided, a new Transaction is created and associated with the requested operation. Oracle CPQ 19B also introduces new endpoints to provide multi-select support for asset operations.

Transaction Array Enhancements

Organizations using Oracle CPQ rely heavily on Oracle CPQ Commerce to sell their product offerings to customers and capture the orders. In the quote life cycle, there is a lot of information that needs to be captured at the Transaction and Transaction Line level. Some of this information is repetitive, but dynamically varies from one Transaction to another. Transaction Arrays allow customers to group multiple scalar attributes using a single data structure that can capture repeatable data. The array attributes can then be instantiated multiple times at runtime without explicitly defining each instance.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 19B.

• ADD TRANSACTION ARRAYS TO DOCUMENT AND EMAIL DESIGNER DOCUMENTS

  Document and Email Designer templates can now refer to Transaction Array attributes, when they are defined at either the main document or sub-document levels. Administrators can also iterate over the Transaction Array data set through Loop editors, and add corresponding array attributes in relevant template elements.

• TRANSACTION ARRAY UI ENHANCEMENTS

  This enhancement provides several usability improvements for buy-side users. Users can also change their Transaction Array table to view only specified columns or resize columns. User settings are saved when they return using the same browser.

• SIMPLIFIED ADD ALL ATTRIBUTES TO JET LAYOUT

  This enhancement provides administrators with a single step option to add all array set attributes for a Transaction Array to the Transaction layout.

Differentiate

Collaborative Quoting

For many customers, creating a quote is a team effort that requires several people with different knowledge, responsibilities, and concerns. There are often situations where these multiple stakeholders need to simultaneously work together on the same Transaction. For example: Completing a quote before a financial deadline or moving a quote through parallel approval processes.

In previous versions of CPQ, it was not possible for multiple users to simultaneously work on the same Transaction without conflicts resulting in lost changes and frequent page refreshes. Transaction Locking was introduced to prevent these conflicts by ensuring that only one user could edit a quote at a time. However, this meant users essentially had to take turns editing a quote.

Oracle CPQ Update 19B introduces Collaborative Quoting which supports multiple users collaborating in real-time on a single Transaction without conflict. In addition to allowing multiple users to simultaneously work on a Transaction, this feature also allows inbound integrations and email approvals to complete without disrupting active users.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 19B.

• CONCURRENT QUOTE UPDATES

  The principal benefit of Collaborative Quoting is that it allows multiple users to concurrently edit a single Transaction. These users are able to work together on a shared version of the Transaction and each user's changes are merged as they are saved. Also, a Transaction can be updated by an external system, usually via web services, and these changes can be merged without disrupting users who are actively editing the Transaction in the UI.

• CURRENT EDITOR DISPLAY

  The Current Editor Display shows a list of all users who are currently signed in and working on a given Transaction. Each user is assigned a color, which corresponds to a flag showing where that user is editing the Transaction.

• REAL-TIME ACTIVITY DISPLAY

  When multiple users are working together on a Transaction it is important that they can see what the other users are editing and what the results of those changes are. They also need an up-to-date view of the most current version of the Transaction at all times. The Real-Time Activity Display shows which attribute, product, section, or tab a specific user is editing by flagging it with that user's assigned color. As users continue to make edits, the resulting changes are immediately distributed to all users to inform all users of updates. Any unsaved changes are highlighted in blue.

• LOCK ACTION

  When Collaborative Quoting is enabled there may be situations when a Transaction contributor needs to freeze activity on the Transaction and prevent any further changes. For example: Prior to submitting a quote for approval or when finalizing a quote and converting it to an order. The Lock Action is a new Commerce action type, available on main documents, that allows a user to lock the Transaction. When a Transaction is locked, only the locking user can make changes, while other users view the Transaction in read-only mode.

• GRANULAR ACTIVITY HISTORY TRACKING

  Collaborative Quoting allows multiple users to make changes to different attributes at the same time. The user who changes a value may not be the same user who runs the action and saves it to the database. Granular Activity History Tracking improves the history by logging individual interactions along with the user who made the change.

• REST API ENHANCEMENTS

  Collaborative Quoting includes several enhancements to the v8 Commerce REST APIs. These enhancements allow multiple users to collaborate in real-time on a single Transaction.

System Configuration Enhancements

System Configuration refers to the manner in which customers use Oracle CPQ to configure and bundle the product or set of products they wish to sell 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.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 19B.

• SYSTEM NAVIGATION PANEL STATUS DISPLAY ENHANCEMENT

  Oracle CPQ 19B enhances the system navigation panel to display the status for system configuration models. The panel will display items that are valid, incomplete, and invalid. It will also indicate if models have errors or warnings.

• SYSTEM NAVIGATION PANEL ITEM NAMING ENHANCEMENTS

  The system navigation panel now displays item names that can be defined by a new attribute mapping type in the BOM Attribute Mapping table. This allows administrators to dynamically name individual instances of a model or part item. In other words, a single item can have different names when it is referenced multiple times within a BOM structure. Additionally, parts in systems now display their "Part Display Number".

• DISPLAY ENTIRE SYSTEM DATA JSON IN THE CONFIGURATION PIPELINE VIEWER

  The Configuration Pipeline Viewer, which is only visible to FullAccess users, can help administrators confirm configuration set-ups when implementing or maintaining system configurations. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 19B, the Configuration Pipeline Viewer displays the entire system data JSON in the System Configuration tab. This provides administrators with a hierarchical JSON structure representing the entire system, along with the key components of all configured models in the system.

• FAVORITES SUPPORT FOR BOM-RELATED MODELS

  This enhancement allows customers to save BOM-related models and system configurations as Favorites. Associated parts and models are displayed in their hierarchical order.

Customer Requested Features and Enhancements

Enterprise Platform

Subscription Management Integration

Oracle CPQ 19A provides a Subscription Management solution that allows customers to create and manage products and services they can sell using a subscription model. The subscription model supports the ability to manage a given product or service as a recurring or usage-based price item. Supported by Oracle Subscription Management Cloud, Oracle Autonomous Integration Cloud (OAIC), and attributes, actions, and BML functions created within the Oracle CPQ platform, the solution enables sales users to capture subscription orders and perform subscription management activities throughout the lifecycle of these customer relationships.

The following functionality is available in Release 19A:

• Create a quote in CPQ, invoking OAIC to create a subscription in Oracle Subscription Management Cloud.
• Amend a subscription by changing the subscription quantity, duration, or product.
• Renew an existing subscription.
• Terminate an active subscription.
• Use the Rating/Pricing Engine to display subscription charges as line attributes using Transaction array attributes.

Generic Integration Service

In prior releases, the Commerce BML Integration type was only available for integrating Oracle CPQ with Microsoft Dynamics. Oracle CPQ 19A introduces a new generic type integration that leverages the Commerce BML integration to communicate with any external system.

Customer Requested Enhancements

Modern Selling Experience

JET Transaction UI Enhancements

Introduced in Oracle CPQ 18C, the JET Transaction UI provides a modernized and fully responsive user experience for viewing and editing quotes and sales orders with dynamic updating of page content on any device and in any language. CPQ's JET Transaction UI supports virtually every feature available in the Legacy Commerce UI combined with full extensibility and improved usability.

The JET Transaction UI is an option that can easily be enabled for some or all of your users. With the addition of the JET UI, Oracle CPQ customers now have the choice between three different standard interfaces for the Transaction UI all provided by Oracle: the JET Transaction UI, the Legacy Transaction UI, and the Salesforce Lightning Transaction UI.

The following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ 18D:

• Use a Simple Filter to quickly locate key line items using a keyword or phrase.
• Use an Advanced Filter to define filter criteria for multiple columns for Transaction line Items.
• Display a group of actions as a drop-down menu or a strip of buttons.
• Retain user-customized Line Item Grid settings across sessions on the same browser.
• Display the Line Item Grid sticky header while column freezing is active.
• Navigate through the Quick Add fields, add items, delete items, and close the Quick Add window using the improved keyboard access.
• Resize the Quick Add window and use buttons to add items, delete items, and close the Quick Add window.
• Allow integrated users to select and store alternate addresses retrieved from their CRM system.
• Provide Commerce Pipeline Viewer support for FullAccess users to list main document and sub-document attributes and actions impacted by active Transaction rules and AJAX formulas.
• Display a page loading indicator while the JET Transaction UI is being loaded into the page.

JET Support for UI Designer Pages

In Oracle CPQ Release 18D UI Designer layout pages, which include Customer Assets, Performance Logs, and the Eligibility Rules pages, have been converted to JET UI. The JET UI provides a modernized and fully responsive user experience for viewing UI pages on any device and in any language. The JET UI supports the most vital functionality of the previous UI while enhancing usability and standardization of the UX across CPQ. Upon upgrade to Release 18D, these pages are converted to the JET UI framework. The layouts for these pages continue to be managed through UI Designer.

Accessibility Enhancements

Oracle CPQ is committed to making our product accessible, which includes supporting the use of assistive technology such as screen readers and screen magnifiers. Oracle CPQ Release 18D improves accessibility in the Home Page, Favorites List, and Transaction Manager areas of the application. Keyboard navigation for power users in JET Transaction UI is also improved in Release 18D.

Enterprise Platform

Configuration Run-Time Data and Administration REST APIs

Customer configuration flows dictate how users go through the pages and the options available to the user as they define a configured product. Configuration flow rules consist of a condition and flow attributes. Actions display based on which node in the flow the user has available based on defined criteria. Oracle CPQ Release 18D provides access to the current layout definitions as REST endpoints to support the UI interfaces.

In Oracle CPQ Release 18D, the following new Configuration REST APIs are added to the Interface Catalog:

• Configuration Metadata REST APIs for product families, product lines, models, attributes, array sets, and translations
• Configuration Layout REST APIs for product families, product lines, and models
• Configuration Process Invocations Definition REST APIs for pages and actions
• Configuration Run-Time Data REST APIs for flow input support, update action, Pick Lists, create Transaction, Add to Cart action, reconfigure action, add/save/cancel Configuration data to Transaction, start over, resume Configuration, and multi-node flow actions

Transaction Arrays

Organizations using Oracle CPQ rely heavily on Oracle CPQ Commerce to sell their product offerings to customers and capture the orders. In the quote life cycle, there is a lot of information that needs to be captured at the Transaction and Transaction Line level. Some of this information is repetitive, but dynamically varies from one Transaction to another. This requires customers to maintain a large number of attributes and control their access through rules. In Release 18D, Oracle CPQ introduces Transaction Arrays as a way for customers to group multiple, scalar attributes using a single data structure that can capture repeatable data. The array attributes can then be instantiated multiple times at runtime without explicitly defining each instance.

The following Transaction Array functionality is available in Oracle CPQ Release 18D:

• Manage Transaction Arrays on JET Transaction Main and Sub-Document UIs.
• Create Transaction Arrays and define Boolean, Currency, Date, Text, Text Area, Integer, Float, and Language attributes to be included in the array.
• Define and associate Array Control Attributes to set array size.
• Control the array attributes' state using Commerce Steps.
• Retrieve and modify Transaction Array Sets and attributes using BML.
• Support Transaction Array data, states, and delta functions for the following Commerce REST API services: Open, Interact, and Modify actions.
• Use REST API services to query and retrieve Commerce layout and status information for main document and sub-document Transaction Arrays.
• Support migration and bulk data services for Transaction Arrays.
• XML Integration Support for Transaction Arrays.

Administrator Access Control Enhancements

Oracle CPQ is commonly administered by teams of individuals who are often a composite of different skill sets. Using the Administrator Access Control feature introduced in Oracle CPQ Release 18B, companies can delegate and restrict access to certain areas of CPQ. This prevents unauthorized users from introducing unintentional errors, clarifies areas of responsibility, and protects sensitive or proprietary information.

As part of continuing improvements to Administrator Access Controls, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ 18D:

• Assign access to Data Table Folders and Product Families using an improved Access Selector, which uses a hierarchical structure that allows independent selection of parent and child items.
• Filter Available Access by keyword.
• Expand and collapse the Available Access hierarchy.
• Allow administrators with feature-level Data Table access to create and delete Data Table Folders and inherit access to newly created Data Table Folders.
• Allow administrators with Product Definition-level and Catalog Definition-level access to create and delete Product Families and inherit access to newly created Product Families.

Identity Management Service Enhancements

As in prior releases, Oracle CPQ customers can leverage identity management solutions such as Oracle Identity Cloud Service (IDCS) to simplify the administration of users and passwords. CPQ’s integration features simplify the implementation of identity services for Enterprise customers by allowing customers to delegate user management activities such as user creation, activation, revocation, and password management for host company users to IDCS or other Identity Service providers.

The following functionality is available in Release 18D:

• Access Swagger metadata schema for User REST APIs from Interface Catalog
• User Management REST APIs
• Support for currency and language codes in User REST APIs

Oracle Sales Integration Enhancement

The Oracle CPQ - Oracle Sales Integration enables sales representatives to manage quotes and orders from accounts and opportunities, finalize pricing and proposals in CPQ, update opportunity revenue with quote lines for accurate forecasting, and access proposal documents from within Oracle Sales. All user interactions are initiated and controlled by Oracle Sales and Oracle CPQ UIs display as embedded iframes within the Oracle Sales application.

Oracle CPQ Release 18D provides an easier, more efficient method to return users to Oracle Sales. This method provides the following benefits:

• Simplifies integration by removing dependency upon the "Return To Sales Cloud" BML script, which required administrators to specify and maintain multiple return URLs.
• Improves the user experience by retaining user context when a user is directed back to Oracle Sales from CPQ. Previously the web page was refreshed to generic return URL, and the user's navigation history was lost.

Subscription Ordering Enhancements

Companies use Subscription Ordering, often referred to as Asset Based Ordering, to sell tangible assets or subscriptions for services delivered over a period of time. Sales users can create, modify, suspend, resume, renew, and terminate asset-based products in CPQ. They can also reconfigure an asset or create a follow-on order that modifies an order that was previously quoted in CPQ.

The following enhancements are available in Release 18D:

• Use Subscription Ordering flows on System Configuration models in both Oracle CPQ and Oracle CX Commerce order scenarios.
• Retain Configuration attributes in Subscription Ordering flows without mapping the attributes in BOM tables.
• Use the getConfigurations SOAP API to return Configuration attribute values and price information after a Renew operation.
• Perform Suspend and Resume actions on child and grandchild models and parts.
• Reconfigure an asset after performing a Resume or Renew operation on the asset.
• Use new system variable and Library Functions.
• Simplify administrator setup with 18D ABO Implementation Package updates.

Differentiate

General Configuration Enhancements

Oracle CPQ Release 18D provides a "Bulk Table Lookup" recommendation rule action type. Administrators can use this new action type to streamline the Configuration process by applying Configuration attribute value changes based on content in a Data Table column. The "Bulk Table Lookup" action type is available for all recommendation rules. When using a "Bulk Table Lookup" recommendation rule, the attribute variable name, attribute value, set type, and messaging can be provided dynamically.

System Configuration Enhancements

System Configuration refers to the manner in which customers use Oracle CPQ to configure and bundle the product or set of products they wish to sell 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.

As part of continuing improvements to System Configuration, the following enhancements are available in Release 18D:

• View the BOM of the entire system from the Bill of Materials panel when configuring a model.
• Use a single value populated by a URL parameter across all models in a system.
• Immediately access modified attribute values via system data.
• Use System Configuration in conjunction with the Subscription Ordering and Oracle CX Commerce integrations.

Customer Requested Enhancements

Modern Selling Experience

JET Transaction UI

Oracle CPQ Release 18C introduces the JavaScript Extension Toolkit (JET) Responsive Transaction UI. JET leverages popular open-source technologies and features a rich set of modern UI components with built-in accessibility and mobile support. The responsive design presents a system of layouts that can flow vertically to fit within different browser display widths allowing users to view and edit Transactions across multiple device types using the same Transaction layout. In Oracle CPQ Release 18C, the JET upgrade provides the following enhancements and functionality:

• The new JET Transaction UI supports the most vital functionality of legacy and the previous Responsive Transaction UI.
• Streamlined filtering allows users to display the desired content within the Line Item Grid.
• Inline highlighting provides immediate feedback for invalid data entries.
• A single JET-specific CSS file reduces complexity and provides a customized, seamless aesthetic for the JET Transaction UI.
• New display options for Panel Tabs, Boolean attributes, and Numeric attributes.
• Keyboard access support allows users to navigate through the Transaction and Line Items and edit fields using keyboard only controls.
• Release 18C also extends CPQ's extensive REST API library to support the following JET Transaction UI functions: Pricebooks, Transaction-level Back navigation, Calculate Price, Export Attachments for integrations, Auto-fill, and Re-sequencing.

Accessibility Enhancements

Oracle CPQ is committed to making our product accessible, which includes supporting the use of assistive technology such as keyboard accessibility, screen readers and screen magnifiers. Oracle CPQ Release 18C improves accessibility in the Configuration area of the application.

Enterprise Platform

Administrator Access Control Enhancements

Oracle CPQ is commonly administered by teams of individuals who are often a composite of different skill sets. Using the Administrator Access Control feature introduced in Oracle CPQ Release 18B, companies can delegate and restrict access to certain areas of CPQ. This prevents unauthorized users from introducing unintentional errors, clarifies areas of responsibility, and protects sensitive or proprietary information. The following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ Release 18C:

• Assign the Access Administrator permission independent of the User Administrator permission.
• Grant proxy login permission independent of the User Administrator permission, using a new Allow Proxy Login permission on the User Administration page.
• Update the Allow Proxy Login permission using SOAP or bulk data services.

BOM Mapping Enhancements

The Bill of Materials (BOM) Mapping feature allows administrators to import multi-level BOM product structures for use in Oracle CPQ Configuration, Commerce Transactions, and downstream integration of orders to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The BOM Pricing enhancements provide a new Configurable Price item that allows customers to define BOM prices, which can be different from the Parts database prices. This feature allows customers to deliver price incentives for items included within defined BOM structures.

As part of continuing improvements to BOM Mapping, the following pricing enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ Release 18C:

• Define BOM Prices within the BOM Item Definition table and associate BOM prices to Configuration attribute values using BOM Mapping.
• View BOM Prices on the BOM Item Tree Administration and BOM Item Administration pages.
• Use the new "configurablePrice" item to reference BOM Prices in the following:
  • Advanced BML within Configuration BOM Mapping Rules
  • getbom, savebom, convertbomtoflat, and convertbomtohier BML functions
• Display BOM Prices for Commerce Transactions and Transaction Line Items.

Oracle CX Commerce Integration Enhancements

Self-service users in Oracle CX Commerce can configure complex products for purchase in Oracle CX Commerce using the Oracle CPQ Configurator. They can also request an Oracle CPQ quote, thereby initiating an Oracle CPQ Transaction that a sales specialist can modify, reconfigure, and/or discount. Oracle CPQ Release 18C provides functionality supporting the use of Oracle CX Commerce with Subscription Ordering and System Configuration.

In addition to minor enhancements to the eCommerce interaction functionality introduced in Release 18B, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ Release 18C:

• Create an “Authentication Certificate” integration type in the Integration Center to support token-based authentication. Oracle CX Commerce self-service users can then securely access Oracle CPQ to modify a Subscription Ordering asset-based Configuration without a user session.
• Use an updated Add to Cart payload containing Subscription Ordering line level action codes and System Configuration systems, allowing Oracle CX Commerce self-service users to:
  • Perform a Modify action to update an asset and send the associated Add, Update, or Delete action to Oracle CX Commerce.
  • Add tiered systems with models and child models to the Oracle CX Commerce shopping cart. The ability to reconfigure tiered systems is also supported.

Differentiate

System Configuration Enhancements

System Configuration refers to the manner in which customers use Oracle CPQ to configure and bundle the product or set of products they wish to sell 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.

As part of continuing improvements to System Configuration, the following enhancements are available in Release 18C:

• Use a system navigation panel to view the hierarchy and state of each model in a system while configuring the system. An icon displays next to each model in the navigation panel to indicate its state: Normal, Incomplete, or Error.
• Access incomplete configurations from the Pending Configurations page. Upon configuring a system and navigating away from the Model Configuration page, the incomplete configuration is saved to this page.
• Support for systems in Oracle CPQ APIs that are used in Oracle CX Commerce.

Customer Requested Enhancements

Modern Selling Experience

Line Item Grid Enhancements

The Oracle CPQ Release 18B release introduces the following enhancements to improve usability when large numbers of columns or rows are displayed in a line item grid:

• Adds optional sticky headers in the line item grid so headers are visible while scrolling through the table.
• Supports freezing of columns on the left in a line item grid for improved navigation and visibility of data within large tables.

Accessibility Enhancements

Oracle CPQ is committed making our product accessible, which includes supporting the use of assistive technology such as screen readers and screen magnifiers. Oracle CPQ Release 18B improves keyboard navigation, button highlight focus, and screen reader support for the following screens: Login, Reset Password, Change Password, My Profile, Part Search and Serial Number Search, and Part Search Results.

Enterprise Platform

Subscription Ordering Enhancements

Companies use Subscription Ordering to sell tangible assets or subscriptions for services delivered over a period of time. Sales users can create, modify, suspend, resume, renew, and terminate asset-based products using orders stored in CPQ/Oracle CX Commerce. They can also reconfigure an order or create a follow-on order to make changes to an existing order stored in CPQ.

As part of continuing improvements to Subscription Ordering, Oracle CPQ and external applications such as Oracle CX Commerce can now directly launch the Model Configuration page using URL parameters for ABO operations. This simplifies the Modify and Follow-On order integration scenarios. When users modify an asset or make changes to an existing order not yet fulfilled, the ABO operation makes only one REST API call as opposed to the two REST calls required in prior releases.

Administrator Access Control

Oracle CPQ is commonly administered by teams of individuals who are responsible for administering different subsets of Oracle CPQ administrative data. Using the Administrator Access Control feature available in Oracle CPQ Release 18B, companies can delegate and restrict access to certain areas of CPQ’s setup and administration. This prevents unauthorized users from introducing unintentional errors, clarifies areas of responsibility, and protects sensitive or proprietary information.

Oracle CPQ Release 18B supports the following:

• Use a new user group type called Administrator groups to define the administrative features to which Full Access users have access.
• Interact with a cleaner and easier to use Group Administration page updated with Alta UI styling for both Sales groups and Administrator groups.
  • Allows administrators to provide descriptions for groups
  • Supports quick filtering of users and bulk selection of users
  • Provides a new access selector that allows the filtering and bulk selection of administrative features to which member users have access
• Experience a dynamic Admin Home page and navigation menus where logged in users view only the pages and navigation menus to which they have access.
• Security features prevent unauthorized access to administrator features and web services.

Foreign Key Support for Data Tables

Data Tables are an important part of Oracle CPQ functionality and extensibility. Oracle CPQ Release 18B delivers enhancements that allow increased access to Data Tables to enable expanded Oracle CPQ solutions. Foreign Key (FK) support for Data Tables provides the following features:

• Create a new foreign key column or convert an existing column to a foreign key column to define relationships between tables.
• Prevent deletion of tables referred by foreign keys from another table and allow user to specify actions upon deletion of a referenced row.
• Support deployment of Data Tables with foreign key relationships.
• Support import, export, and migration of Data Tables with foreign key relationships.

Single Select Pick List Enhancements

A Single Select Pick List, also referred to as a Dynamic Menu, is a Configuration attribute type. Administrators manage the domain of values for a Single Select Pick List attribute within a defined resource (e.g. Data Tables or Configuration arrays). The enhancements available in Oracle CPQ Release 18B address scenarios where a Single Select Pick List filter returns multiple results with the same value, resulting in users seeing the same result multiple times in Single Select Pick List values.

In Oracle CPQ Release 18B, administrators can filter previously returned multiple results to ensure that a value displays only once to users in the Single Select Pick List. This is accomplished by selecting a “Distinct” checkbox in Attribute Editor to display only distinct values. The checkbox is only available when using a data table as the resource for a Single Select Pick List.

BOM Mapping Enhancements

The Bill of Materials (BOM) Mapping feature allows administrators to import multi-level BOM product structures for use in Oracle CPQ Configuration, Commerce Transactions, and downstream integration of orders to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. This data-driven solution significantly reduces the amount of time needed to set up and maintain integrations of configured products with ERP systems using BOM tables and the BOM Mapping rule type.

As part of continuing improvements to BOM Mapping, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ Release 18B:

• Provide BOM Mapping support for Single Select Pick List attributes, which will invoke applicable BOM Mapping rules to add parts to a Transaction based on a Single Select Pick List selection.
• Provide inherited hierarchies in BOM Mapping, which automatically map parent items when administrators map to a child item.
• Allow mapping to multiple Configuration attributes to allow the evaluation of multiple attributes or attribute values when adding Line Items to BOM-related Transactions.
• Allow administrators to add conditions to BOM Mapping Rules to invoke rules based on conditional logic.

Oracle CX Commerce Integration Enhancements

Self-service users in Oracle CX Commerce can configure complex products for purchase in Oracle CX Commerce using the Oracle CPQ Configurator. They can also request an Oracle CPQ quote, thereby initiating an Oracle CPQ Transaction that a sales specialist can modify, reconfigure, or discount.

As part of continuing improvements to the Oracle CX Commerce integration, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ Release 18B:

• Use a new REST API to retrieve usage metrics related to the number of times the Oracle CPQ Model Configuration page is accessed from Oracle CX Commerce (i.e. the number of interactions). The new API is usable in ICS and its metadata is available in Interface Catalogs.
• Display usage metric data in the User Administration List page. The viewable data is related to the number of interactions in the current month.
• Allow users to view daily interaction metrics from the Oracle Cloud portal, preventing the need to access Oracle CPQ directly.

Product Eligibility REST APIs

Customers can add parts to a Transaction in a variety of ways including via Recommended Item Rules, BOM Mapping Rules, Part Search, Multi-Part Search, Quick Keys, and API calls. Oracle CPQ Release 18A introduced Eligibility Rules as a feature, allowing administrators to define the parts available to specific customers. In Oracle CPQ Release 18B, all methods of adding parts now enforce Eligibility Rules.

Administrators can use REST APIs to do the following:

• Allow external applications to create, read, update, delete, and deploy Eligibility Rules.
• Perform a Quick Key search, advanced part search, or search based on a list of parts.
• Customize the REST response using an advanced query object in the payload.

Transaction REST API Enhancements

The Transaction REST API enables administrators to update transactions from external systems. As part of continuing improvements to Commerce Transaction REST services, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ Release 18B:

• Full administration support to send single or multiple eSignature requests, show details for the eSignature request, and cancel the eSignature request.
• Support to refresh the Quote Transaction with the latest data from the server.

Additional Oracle CPQ Enhancements

The Oracle CPQ Release 18B release introduces the following enhancements to improve performance and simplify Oracle CPQ integrations.

• Allow users to change the language for the current session directly from UI pages, without updating their user profile.
• Allow SuperUsers to access the site during Overcrowded mode to enable site administrators to address performance issues.
• Include a timestamp on email notifications to indicate when a site enters and exits Overcrowded mode.
• Log incoming SOAP and REST API requests, method type, and properties in the Oracle CPQ Performance Log.
• Provide migration log enhancements that prevent deletion of migration events for a customer-defined duration to adhere to audit compliance requirements.
• Provide Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) to better control access to Oracle CPQ REST APIs when invoked by external applications.
• Data resource consolidations provide improved memory usage.

Differentiate

Rating/Pricing Engine

Companies use a Rating Engine to address increasing market requirements to sell products and services in a subscription model. The subscription model allows customers to manage a given product or service that is priced as a recurring price item. The exact value for the recurring price is derived by applying various pricing schemes such as flat fee, tiered, usage, overage, etc.

To allow customers to manage pricing charged at multiple intervals over time, the following platform upgrades are delivered in Oracle CPQ Release 18B:

• Enable administrators to create custom pricing schemes using pricing module enhancements.
• Allow administrators to define conditions to apply specific pricing schemes to Oracle CPQ products.
• View calculated list prices during Configuration and Commerce using integrated pricing schemes.
• Use a dedicated REST API to send pricing information to external applications.
• Allow administrators to define pricing components for the Calculate Pricing REST API and upload the customer-specific REST API to the Oracle CPQ Interface Catalog.
• Enable migration of Pricing attributes, advanced profiles, and advanced rules.

Deal Management Enhancements

CPQ's Deal Management provides robust tools for sales representatives using Oracle CPQ to drive profitability. The Deal Negotiation features guide Oracle CPQ sales representatives in achieving optimal prices and discounts for their customers using Price Score metrics, Last Price Paid, and a Deal Comparison analytic. The Win Probability employs machine learning technology to aid sales users in understanding their customers' price sensitivity in the quoting process. The Price Optimization feature also utilizes machine learning to maximize either margins or net revenue to predict the optimal discount percentage for a Transaction.

As part of continuing improvements to Deal Management, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ Release 18B:

• Offer administrators the option to use machine learning to automatically select driver attributes for Win Probability. Administrators can view the selected attributes on the training details page.
• Provide an Analytics Training and Preview page, which allows administrators to view the resulting Win Probability analytic for the driver attributes that are automatically selected.
• Allow administrators to clone Win Probability and Price Optimization analytics for quick definition of alternative analytics to evaluate the optimal parameters.

Modern Selling Experience

Oracle Alta UI Enhancements

Alta UI is a design system that delivers modern, simple, and more engaging UIs across Oracle's web-based and mobile applications. Alta is the new standard for Oracle applications and Oracle Cloud-based services.

Introduced in Oracle CPQ 2017 R2, the Alta Responsive Transaction UI provides sales users with an improved user experience by focusing on fewer elements and a cleaner design aimed at accelerating performance and information delivery. As part of continuing improvements to the Alta Responsive Transaction UI, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ Release 18A:

• The Alta Transaction UI is fully supported with a Salesforce integration. Users can create or open Transactions using the Alta UI.
• Full tree table functionality in the Line Item table allows users to expand and collapse models and system configurations Transaction Lines while preserving the tree hierarchy.
• Full tree table functionality in the Line Item table allows users to expand and collapse models and system configurations as well as sort Transaction Lines while preserving the tree hierarchy.
• Updated Panel Settings in Layout Editor: Use Alignment options (i.e. Top and Start) to select the alignment of a label next to the input field. This enhancement supports Right-to-Left and Left-to-Right languages and guides whether the label is to the left or right of the input.
• Interaction with Subscription Ordering, including the display of the Customer Assets button and the ability to create a quote with one or more asset Line Items.

Enterprise Platform

Product Eligibility

Customers can add parts to a Transaction in a variety of ways including via Recommended Item Rules, BOM Mapping Rules, Part Search, Multi-Part Search, Quick Keys, and API calls. Eligibility refers to the parts to which customers either have or do not have access. In Oracle CPQ Release 18A, administrators can use Eligibility Rules to define the parts available to specific customers. When sales users add parts to a Transaction using any of the available methods, they can only view and add the parts available to the Transaction's customer.

Oracle CPQ Release 18A allows administrators to do the following:

• Add Eligibility Rules
• Apply a condition to Eligibility Rules
• View a list of Eligibility Rules
• Delete Eligibility Rules
• Bulk Upload Eligibility Rules
• Migrate Eligibility Rules

Subscription Ordering Enhancements

Introduced in Oracle CPQ 2017 R2, the Alta Responsive Transaction UI provides sales users with an improved user experience by focusing on fewer elements and a cleaner design aimed at accelerating performance and information delivery. As part of continuing improvements, Oracle CPQ Release 18A allows customers to use the following Subscription Ordering functions when the Alta Responsive Transaction UI is enabled:

• Reconfigure an asset-based BOM model to update an order prior to fulfillment
• Perform Modify, Suspend, Resume, Terminate, and Renew actions on the Customer Assets page

Migration Center Enhancements

In 2017 R2, Oracle CPQ introduced granular migration of Configuration Product Lines and Models. Oracle CPQ Release 18A extends this functionality by supporting the migration of Configuration rules and attributes. Administrators can navigate within Product Families, Product Lines, or Models and select elements they wish to migrate.

In addition to granular Configuration enhancements, Oracle CPQ Release 18A delivers Cross Version Migration. Cross Version Migration allows partners to develop and distribute Oracle CPQ content to other versions with compatible features. This enhancement reduces the requirement to maintain multiple version-specific packages. By removing the version restriction, packages become a more valuable feature.

Oracle CPQ Release 18A also provides the functionality to cancel in-progress migrations. This feature allows administrators to abort a large migration rather than waiting for it to finish and reverting to a snapshot.

BMQL Enhancements to Support JOIN Clauses

Oracle CPQ Release 18A provides BMQL JOIN clause functionality to enhance the power and usefulness of Oracle CPQ data tables. BMQL now supports SQL syntax for JOIN clauses, the existing ORDER BY operation has been enhanced to allow joined columns, and aliasing is now supported in SELECT and FROM clauses.

• A JOIN clause combines rows from two or more tables, based on a related column between them. BMQL now supports SQL syntax for the following JOIN types: INNER JOIN, LEFT OUTER JOIN, and RIGHT OUTER JOIN.
• Previously, BMQL only supported ORDER BY clauses in simple queries without dotted notation. Oracle CPQ 18A enhances the ORDER BY clause to support JOIN clauses, statements with dotted notation, and statements without dotted notation that reference unique columns in BMQL.
• Oracle CPQ 18A provides SQL JOIN support with aliasing in SELECT and FROM clauses. SQL aliases are used to give a table or a column a temporary name. Aliases are often used to make column names more readable. Aliases only exist for the duration of the query.

Single Select Pick List Enhancements

A Single Select Pick List (SSPL) is an attribute type created in Configuration for Text, Integer, and Float data types. Administrators manage the value for a Single Select Pick List attribute within a defined resource (e.g. Data Tables or Configuration arrays). As part of continuous improvements to Single Select Pick Lists, administrators can use Single Select Pick List attributes in the following ways:

• As a Simple Condition input for Configuration rules
• As an Advanced Condition input for Configuration rules
• In Advanced BML functions for Configuration rule Actions

Document Designer Enhancements

Document Designer is a drag and drop tool for creating and administering document templates. As part of continuing improvements to Document Designer, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ Release 18A.

• Dynamically Embed External Documents - Merge multiple documents through Text and Menu attributes using a Document Map attribute in the Embed Document element in Document Designer.
  • Filter the Document Map attribute to narrow the number of documents to merge.
  • View the Embed Document element output in the Document Designer output file or when previewing the file.
• Nested Tables - Add nested tables within tables, enabling the display of hierarchical information in the output document.
  • Double click a nested table to open it for editing.
  • Apply conditions and loops to a nested table.
• Additional Document Designer eSignature Attribute to support DocuSign.

Integrated Suite

Oracle Contract Cloud Integration

Oracle CPQ currently allows customers to perform certain contract management activities such as contract generation, negotiation of terms, and electronic signature for contract documents. Oracle CPQ Release 18A enables integration with Contracts Cloud to provide a comprehensive Contract Lifecycle Management solution.

Oracle Contracts Cloud has extensive functionality that supports the legal definition, negotiation (redlining), execution, and ongoing management of contracts. The Oracle CPQ - Contracts Cloud integration allows customers to create and manage legal aspects of a Transaction and maintain the contract throughout its lifecycle, long after the initial Transaction that created the contract is completed. The integration also provides the ability to generate and preview the contracts created in Enterprise Contracts seamlessly within the Oracle CPQ application via Web service calls.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Integration

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 365 INTEGRATION

Oracle CPQ Release 17D introduced initial functionality to support a BML-based integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365, including the ability to use a BML function to retrieve a user's OAuth security token during a Dynamics 365 integrated session. Release 17D also provided an Oracle CPQ and Microsoft Dynamics 365 user integration, supporting the use of Microsoft Azure Active Directory to grant application access to user data.

To further support the Dynamics 365 integration, Oracle CPQ Release 18A provides the following:

• A platform enhancement supporting a BML type integration in Oracle CPQ Commerce.
• Managed solution components to configure a process with which to integrate Dynamics 365.
• Use Dynamics 365 to access Oracle CPQ pages and create, edit, or delete Transactions and Transaction line items.
• Data tables to configure data synchronization between Oracle CPQ and Dynamics 365.
• Seeded or productized BML scripts supporting Microsoft Dynamics 365 integrations with an associated Migration Package to perform the following integrations:
  • Create, update, or delete a Transaction or Transaction line item.
  • Import Transaction data using a Commerce function.

OAuth-Based REST API Authentication with IDCS Integration

In 2017 R2, Oracle CPQ introduced integration with Oracle Identity Cloud Service (IDCS), an integrated identity management solution. The integration simplifies meeting the identity services requirements common to Enterprise customers. With the integration, administrators delegate user management activities such as user creation, activation, and password management to IDCS. The integration minimizes the risk of profile duplication and streamlines administrator and user tasks. Oracle CPQ 18A delivers modern and secure OAuth-based authentication for all Oracle CPQ REST APIs used in IDCS Integrations.

Oracle CX Commerce Integration Enhancements

Self-service users in Oracle CX Commerce can configure complex products for purchase in Oracle CX Commerce using the Oracle CPQ Configurator. In addition, they can request an Oracle CPQ quote, thereby initiating an Oracle CPQ Transaction that a sales specialist can modify, reconfigure, or discount. As part of continuing improvements to the integration, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ Release 18A:

• Use an "Included in Base Price" column in the BOM Item Definition table to specify the BOM items to include in the base price, distinguishing the BOM items from optional items that alter the price.
• Oracle Integration Cloud Service (ICS) receives notification via a REST API call when products are available for Configuration and ready to sell in the Oracle CX Commerce storefront. Oracle CX Commerce administrators can subscribe to ICS to receive these notifications automatically.

Differentiate

System Configuration Enhancements

System Configuration refers to the manner in which customers use Oracle CPQ to configure and bundle the product or series of products they wish to sell using a group of models that together define an entire system. The ability to display BOM Mapping Rule items in Configuration, define BOM hierarchy child items as models, and reconfigure child models are enhancements introduced in previous releases to support System Configuration. Release 17D introduced BML functions to access attribute values for configured system models and provided the ability to build cross-model restrictions or rules using advanced BML functions.

As in prior releases, a BOM instance refers to a set of products that customers buy together on a quote. When independent models from the same or different product families or product lines are part of a single BOM instance, there are typically relationships among these models. Oracle CPQ Release 18A simplifies referencing cross-model attributes within the same product family. Administrators can now view folders for each model in a BOM hierarchy when adding attribute references to an advanced BML function. Upon expanding a folder, the model and its associated line-level attributes are displayed if the BOM model is in the same product family as the rule.

Additional Oracle CPQ Enhancements

Modern Selling Experience

Oracle Alta UI Enhancements

Alta UI is a design system that delivers modern, simple, and more engaging UIs across Oracle's web-based and mobile applications. Alta is the new standard for Oracle applications and Oracle Cloud-based services.

Introduced in Oracle CPQ 2017 R2, the Alta Responsive Transaction UI provides sales users with an improved user experience by focusing on fewer elements and a cleaner design aimed at accelerating performance and information delivery. As part of continuing improvements to the Alta Responsive Transaction UI, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ 17D:

• Capture and mask a value while entering it into a field using a secure attribute.
• Create a new Transaction by selecting and making a copy of an existing Transaction.
• Use the complete Deal Negotiation functionality such as Price Score metrics and the Price Comparison scatterplot.
• Adjust the display of a panel by hiding a panel header, hiding a panel title, or collapsing the content of a panel using Layout Editor panel settings.

Lead Innovation

Deal Management Enhancements

CPQ's Deal Negotiation features guide sales representatives in achieving optimal prices and discounts for their customers by providing contextual information for both Transactions and Transaction Lines. With Oracle CPQ 17D, sales users can now understand the Transaction discount percentage that will yield the maximum margin or net revenue based on the likelihood of a customer accepting a Transaction's pricing (i.e. the Win Probability of a quote). Administrators can define a "Price Optimization" analytic and initiate machine learning sessions to develop the predictive model. They can then display the resulting "Price Optimization" chart in both Admin and in Commerce Transactions to guide sales users in the negotiation of pricing and discounts.

The following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ 17D:

• Maximize the profitability of a Transaction by providing guidance to sales users on the optimal discount to maximize margins or net revenue.
• Use BML or formulas to define a customized Price Score for display in the header of a Transaction.
• More easily define customized Price Score calculations on a Transaction line through the definition of expressions, boundary conditions, and override values.
• Visualize complex variables such as "Win Probability" and "Optimal Net Revenue or Margins" to better understand the impact of discounting decisions on profitability.
• Use an Advanced Filter to filter out lost, in-progress, and test Transactions from consideration in Win Probability and Price Optimization analytics.
• Use an Advanced Filter to filter "Won" prices for the Last Price Paid value.
• Preview the Price Comparison scatterplot before displaying it in a Commerce Transaction.

Enterprise Platform

System Configuration Enhancements

System Configuration refers to the manner in which customers use Oracle CPQ to configure and bundle the product or series of products they wish to sell using a group of models that together define an entire system. The ability to display Bill of Materials (BOM) Mapping Rule items in Configuration, define any child item in the BOM hierarchy as a model, and reconfigure child models from the Commerce line item grid are all enhancements introduced over the past several releases in support of System Configuration.

As in prior releases, a BOM instance refers to a set of products that customers buy together on a quote. When a number of independent models from different product families or product lines are part of a single BOM instance, there are typically relationships among these models. In Oracle CPQ 17D, administrators can use these relationships to do the following:

• Use three new BML functions to access configurable attribute values related to any configured system model.
• Apply restrictions, or rules, on the different selections customers can make for a model when configuring a product bundle.
• Use the BML Editor to select attributes from a configured system model and use the selected attributes to create a rule.

Migration Enhancements

When a migration completes, Oracle CPQ currently sends an email notification to the email address provided in the profile of the administrator who initiated the migration. Prior to initiating a migration in Oracle CPQ 17D, administrators can now specify the email address of each individual who is to receive the email notification. After the migration completes, Oracle CPQ sends an email notification containing migration status information (i.e. success or failure) to the email addresses specified.

Integrated Suite

Use OAuth Tokens in BML Libraries

OAuth is an industry standard technology that allows customers to grant third-party access to their application without sharing their passwords. When integrating Oracle CPQ with a CRM system such as Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics 365, the integration uses an OAuth access token to authenticate user access to the CRM system. Generated automatically when the user punches into Oracle CPQ from the CRM system, the token supports the synchronization of data between Oracle CPQ and the CRM system.

In prior releases, administrators could not use BML to access generated tokens. Oracle CPQ 17D allows administrators to use a BML function to retrieve a user's OAuth security token during a Microsoft Dynamics 365 or a Salesforce v5 or greater integrated session. By inserting tokens into the header of a BML URL data function, Oracle CPQ can securely write data to the CRM system.

Oracle CPQ and Microsoft Dynamics User Integration

The Oracle CPQ and Microsoft Dynamics 365 user integration supports the use of Microsoft Azure Active Directory to grant application access to user data. This enhancement provides initial functionality in support of a BML-based integration between Oracle CPQ and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Using Azure Active Directory as the identify provider (IdP), Microsoft Dynamics 365 users can seamlessly access Oracle CPQ using the integration's Single-Sign On (SSO) functionality.

Oracle CX Commerce Integration Enhancements

Self-service users in Oracle CX Commerce can configure complex products for purchase in Oracle CX Commerce using the Oracle CPQ Configurator. In addition, they can request an Oracle CPQ quote, thereby initiating an Oracle CPQ Transaction that a sales specialist can modify, reconfigure, or discount. The integration supports the use of BOM Mapping Rules in SOAP APIs, allows users to add configured items to a Transaction using a single REST API Call, and uses the Oracle Integration Cloud Service (ICS) to provide pre-built integrations for the Configurator and Request for Quote flows. As part of continuing improvements to the integration, the ICS flows reflect new fields available in the "getConfigurations" SOAP API and the "getConfigBom" action for the "configBomInstance" REST API.

JD Edwards Integration

Oracle CPQ 17D provides JD Edwards' customers with an integration that enhances their direct, channel, and web Commerce sales experience. With the integration, Oracle CPQ sales users can create a sales order in CPQ, send the order to JD Edwards for fulfillment, and maintain an up-to-date view of order status. Supported by Oracle Integration Cloud Service (ICS) and Commerce attributes, actions, and BML functions created within the Oracle CPQ platform, the integration substantially reduces the risk, time, and effort associated with implementing a custom Oracle CPQ – JD Edwards' integration.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 17D:

• Create an Oracle CPQ Transaction and click Submit to create an order in JD Edwards.
• Display Ship To, Sold To, and Bill To customer information in CPQ.
• Integrate orders created in Oracle CPQ with JD Edwards.

• Receive an order number from JD Edwards and apply it to the associated Oracle CPQ Transaction.
• View the order status of a Transaction or Transaction line in CPQ.
• Receive order status updates from JD Edwards.

Subscription Ordering Enhancements

Using the Subscription Ordering integration enhancements available in Oracle CPQ 17D, administrators can extend the asset table by adding custom asset attributes to suit their company's business needs. Upon creating and deploying the custom asset attributes, administrators can then modify the Customer Assets page by displaying the custom asset attributes as fields.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 17D:

• View a list of defined and available asset fields.
• Create custom attributes of type Integer, Float, Currency, or String. Custom attributes display as editable fields until used in UI Designer where they become read-only.
• Create custom Single Select Menu type attributes and enter menu items as well as translations for the menu items.
• Delete and deploy custom attributes.
• Use deployed custom attributes in Asset REST Services.

Simplify

Hiding Rule Enhancements

As in prior releases, customers can use hiding rules in Commerce to hide select attributes when a pre-defined condition is satisfied. Oracle CPQ Release 17D extends this functionality by providing customers with the flexibility of using hiding rules to limit access to Commerce actions. This enhancement reduces the excess overhead of achieving similar functionality using workflow steps.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 17D:

• Hide actions in the Desktop or Mobile UI upon satisfying a hiding rule's condition.
• View Commerce actions as a component to hide in the Hiding Rule editor.
• Use the Action list to view and open Hiding Rules referencing a given action.
• Receive a Commerce action's state (hidden or visible) in the returned Commerce action and interact REST APIs when a hiding rule executes.
• View the attributes and actions associated with a hiding rule from the Migration Center.

Document Designer Enhancements

Document Designer is a drag and drop tool for creating and administering document templates. As part of continuing improvements to Document Designer, the following enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ 17D.

Date Format Enhancements

The following enhancements apply to both Document Designer and Email Designer:

• Extends the current date formats to support space and period separators in Document, Section, and Text properties (e.g., d MM yy and d.MM.yy).
• Dates (i.e., names of months and days) translate into the language of the output document or email (including the preview).

Condition and Loop Enhancements

• Apply simple or advanced conditions on Heading, Spacer, Page Break, or Column Break elements.
• Create simple or advanced loops over an Embed Document element in Document Designer.
• Create simple or advanced loops over an entire table in Document Designer and Email Designer.

Single Select Pick List Enhancements

A Single Select Pick List is an attribute type created in Configuration for Text, Integer, and Float data types. Administrators manage the value for a Single Select Pick List attribute within a defined resource.

As part of continuous improvements to Single Select Pick Lists, administrators can do the following in Oracle CPQ 17D:

• Set the value of a Single Select Pick List using a punch-in value, a SOAP API call, or a simple or advanced Recommendation Rule action.
• Sort the order in which available values display for data table-based Single Select Pick Lists by leveraging the value in an admin-identified column in the same data table.

Additional Oracle CPQ Enhancements

Modern Selling Experience

Oracle Alta UI Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 2017 R2 provides an option that allows customers to view and edit Transactions in Oracle CPQ using the Oracle Alta user interface (UI). Alta UI is a design system that delivers modern, simple, and more engaging UIs across Oracle’s web-based and mobile applications and is the new standard for Oracle applications and Oracle Cloud-based services. The 2017 R2 Oracle Alta Transaction UI provides customers with an improved user experience by focusing on fewer elements and a cleaner design aimed at accelerating performance and information delivery.

Win Probability

Understanding the Win Probability of a Transaction’s current pricing is key to maximizing the profit realizable for that Transaction. While negotiating pricing with customers, sales users need to understand how sensitive their customer will be to changing discounts and pricing, and how likely they are to buy at a particular price point or discount. Oracle CPQ 2017 R2 provides an out-of-box feature that allows sales users to predict the “Win Probability” of a quote based on historical data. Using the Analytics Definition Editor, administrators can select “Win Probability” as the type of analytic, configure the analytic, and then display “Win Probability” to sales users in Commerce Transactions to guide their negotiation of discounts.

Enterprise Platform

System Configuration

System Configuration refers to the manner in which customers use Oracle CPQ to configure and bundle the product or series of products they wish to sell. As in Oracle CPQ 2017 R1, the BOM hierarchy supports both parts and models as child items and administrators can view BOM Mapping Rule items, including child sales items, in Configuration. In Oracle CPQ 2017 R2, sales users can view the items that will be included in a Transaction while configuring products at any level of the BOM hierarchy. This functionality extends the BOM Mapping enhancements included in Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 and further supports customers’ ability to bundle configurations across product families, product lines, and models.

Migration Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 2017 R2 extends the functionality available in the Migration Center by supporting the migration of individual product lines and product models in Configuration, which allows greater flexibility, productivity, and responsiveness in product Configuration. Administrators can now migrate smaller sets of data, complete their Configuration development work in stages, and administer product configuration updates with multiple teams working in parallel.

Integrated Suite

Identity Cloud Service Integration

In Oracle CPQ 2017 R2, new customers can leverage Oracle Identity Cloud Service (IDCS) as an integrated identity management solution. The integration simplifies the identity services requirements common to Enterprise customers. With the integration, administrators delegate user management activities such as user creation, activation, and password management to IDCS. The integration minimizes the risk of profile duplication and the number of interfaces administrators and users must visit to complete their tasks.

Subscription Ordering Integration Enhancements

The Subscription Ordering enhancements introduced in Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 allow customers to create and store orders outside of Oracle CPQ in an external client application. Using REST services for assets, external client applications can then modify, terminate, suspend, resume, or renew assets. Oracle CPQ 2017 R2 extends the functionality available in Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 by providing several enhancements to the Customer Assets page.

Salesforce Integration Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 2017 R2 includes enhancements to the Oracle CPQ integration platform to support the integration of multiple Salesforce instances to a single Oracle CPQ site. Different departments within a company may run on separate Salesforce organizations. With this enhancement, these organizations can all integrate to the same Oracle CPQ site. This situation can be common for companies that grow through mergers and acquisitions or have discrete business operating units for each product category or global territory.

Web Service Enhancements

• Oracle CPQ 2017 R2 supports the exposure of data, metadata, and actions by authorized user interfaces such as the Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) and Salesforce Lightning through web services.
• Provide new Alternate Address endpoints for the Transaction REST API.
• Introduce a new REST API service to retrieve Oracle CPQ resource string translations.
• Provide modify actions for Data Table and Parts SOAP APIs.

Simplify

Oracle Alta UI Navigation and Global Header

In Oracle CPQ 2017 R2, administrators can modernize the appearance and usability of Oracle CPQ navigation with the Oracle Alta UI system. Once activated, a new Global Header replaces the previous header and navigation links with a customizable branding area, Global Links, User Navigation Menu, and the Admin Navigation Drawer.

Modern Selling Experience

Deal Negotiation

The Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 Deal Negotiation feature guides Oracle CPQ sales representatives in achieving optimal prices and discounts for their customers using Deal Negotiation metrics and a Deal Comparison analytic available for both Transactions and Transaction Lines. Through Deal Negotiation metrics such as Price Scores and Last Price Paid, sales representatives can better negotiate prices to drive profitability. Administrators can select predefined calculations for price scoring, with results displayed graphically to sales representatives in the Transaction and Transaction Line UIs. To further support Deal Negotiation, sales representatives can use a Deal Comparison analytic to display key price-related data for comparable Transactions and Transaction Lines.

Enterprise Platform

BOM Mapping Enhancements

BOM Mapping Rules provide the ability to map multi-level Bills of Material to Oracle CPQ configuration variables and values and send a complex BOM from Oracle CPQ configuration to Commerce and downstream Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Oracle CPQ 2016 R1 introduced the ability to define any child item in the BOM hierarchy as a configurable part.

As part of continuous improvements to BOM Mapping, administrators can map any model from the Catalog definition as a child item in the BOM hierarchy. In prior releases, administrators could only map part item types to a child item. Also available in 2017 R1 is the ability to view BOM Mapping Rule items, such as Sales BOM items, in configuration. The list of BOM items shown in configuration corresponds to the line items created in a Transaction using BOM Mapping Rules.

Package Lifecycle Management

Administrators continue to have the ability to create packages of functionality to migrate across environments and can manage the lifecycle of these packages by deploying or updating a specific package. Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 further supports Package Lifecycle Management by providing a unique namespace to environments associated with customers, such as implementation partners, who want to create and protect their intellectual property.

The following functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 2017 R1:

• Lock util library functions to hide the implementation details (e.g. BML) from other administrators. This functionality only applies to util library functions and not Commerce library functions.
• Create an override function to make a copy and customize an original, unlocked, and namespaced util library function. Administrators can migrate override functions across sites.
• Migrate override functions along with their original namespaced util library functions. Oracle CPQ maintains customizations to the original namespaced util library functions throughout the migration flow.

Migration Center Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 introduces the use of natural keys in Configuration, Commerce, Library Functions, and Document Engine. Natural keys improve matching in the Migration Center and can take into account non-linear migration paths, such as those required for hot fixes directly in production.

Cross-process migration is an additional Migration Center enhancement that allows administrators to migrate packages when the source and target sites have different base Commerce processes. The cross-process migration enhancement is only available for packages.

Performance Management Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 provides a collection of new enhancements to increase Oracle CPQ site stability and performance. To keep environments running during extremely high loads, Oracle CPQ may temporarily restrict new user sessions.

The following enhancements are also available in Oracle CPQ 2017 R1:

• Set a timeout period to define how long an integration XSL or middleware integration runs before timing out.
• Allow an action to execute when an integration XSL or middleware integration times out. This removes the risk of Oracle CPQ waiting indefinitely for a response.
• Use a timeout parameter to specify how long URL Access functions run before timing out.
• Experience improved site performance through restrictions that prevent line item looping when using an Advanced function in new sub-document attribute defaults. Similarly, administrators cannot create line item loops in sub-document Commerce rules.

DataCube Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 includes a Character Large Object (CLOB) configuration setting that allows administrators to limit the number of DataCube columns enabled for a CLOB per process. In prior releases, DataCube columns were limited to 4,000 characters. Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 extends this capability by allowing DataCube columns to exceed 4,000 bytes. Administrators can export any type of Commerce attribute into a CLOB and preserve the entire content of the Commerce attribute.

Additional functionality available in 2017 R1 is the ability to filter the Transactions to include in a DataCube report. Administrators can schedule more than one DataCube report with each report containing different data. Each DataCube report can have its own scheduled time, reporting period, export location, CLOB attributes, and defined filter.

Data Column Enhancements

Data columns allow administrators to define the Commerce attributes that are accessible in Oracle CPQ Commerce Process Manager, Transaction Searches, Reporting, and DataCube reports. Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 extends the maximum number of data columns definable by administrators to 251 data columns for main document attributes and 400 data columns for sub-document attributes. Sub-document attributes refer only to Commerce attributes and not Catalog attributes.

Integrated Suite

Oracle CX Commerce Integration Enhancements

The Oracle CX Commerce integration enhancements available in Oracle CPQ 2017 R1 expand the functionality available in the 2016 R2 integration by providing support for BOM Mapping Rules in the SOAP APIs and the Add to Cart action. Administrators can set up BOM Mapping Rules for the process flows related to creating or reconfiguring a Transaction in Oracle CPQ and can use the Add to Cart action to add items to a Oracle CX Commerce cart.

Additional 2017 R1 enhancements include the ability to add either a single configured item or multiple configured items to an Oracle CPQ Transaction using a single API call from Integration Cloud Service (ICS). The ICS integration flows use this single API call to simplify the process used in the 2016 R2 integration, which relied on multiple API calls to update a quote with one or more configured items.

Subscription Ordering Enhancements

The Subscription Ordering integration introduced in Oracle CPQ 2016 R1 allows sales users to review, modify, and terminate subscription or asset-based products delivered over a period-of-time. As part of continuing improvements to the Subscription Ordering integration, the following enhancements are available to customers who integrate their Oracle CX Commerce implementation with Subscription Ordering:

• Create follow-on or modify orders to modify assets created from a Oracle CX Commerce shopping cart
• Modify or terminate assets stored in Oracle CPQ using a REST API

Integration Cloud Service Oracle CPQ Adapter Enhancements

In 2017 R1, Oracle CPQ delivers Oracle Integration Cloud Service (ICS) Adapter updates to process REST APIs in addition to the existing SOAP APIs. Customers can now build an ICS connection that calls the desired Oracle CPQ REST API web service using Oracle CPQ as the target application in the ICS integration flow. Oracle ICS Release 17.2.3 or above is required for REST API support in Oracle CPQ Adapter.

ICS will list available Oracle CPQ REST APIs when ICS is connected to an Oracle CPQ REST catalog. After a REST API is selected, users can configure operations and map applicable parameters via the user interface. The Oracle CPQ REST Catalog will list the web services, operations, and parameters that are supported in ICS. The ICS Oracle CPQ adapter only supports REST catalog services at version v3 and above.

Transaction and Assets REST APIs

In 2017 R1, Oracle CPQ continues its effort to expose objects through REST API services empowering customers to extend the capabilities of their Oracle CPQ implementations. In 2017 R1, Oracle CPQ introduces Version 4 (v4) REST API services, and delivers new endpoints for Transaction and Asset REST APIs.

• v4 REST API services deliver several enhancements to access Commerce attributes and optimize returned response data.
• New Transaction REST API endpoints provide favorites and navigation support.
• New Asset REST API endpoints expand support for Subscription Ordering integrations by providing access to configuration and subscription services.

Simplify

Document Designer Enhancements

Document Designer is a drag and drop tool for creating and administering document templates. As part of continuing improvements to Document Designer, several enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ 2017 R1.

• RTE and HTML Attribute Enhancements
  • Add inline references to RTE or HTML attributes in a Text element.
  • Embed RTE and HTML attributes in a table cell or a Header and Footer layout .
• Condition and Loop Enhancements
  • Use newly supported string functions, date functions, and a between function for numbers in conditions and loops. Also supported are XSL variables in condition and loop filters.
  • Convert a simple condition or loop to an advanced filter or loop that displays in XSL format.
• Date and Currency Format Enhancements
  • Use new formats for date and currency, including different date and currency format options for different languages.
  • Make date and currency selections at the text element and heading level.
• Table Enhancements
  • Ensure tables fit within the margins of a document using an Auto-fit property that automatically adjusts the width of tables to match the page width.
  • View the sum of the width of table columns and the corresponding unit of measure using a Total Width property.

• Double Click and Palette Enhancements
  • Expand the Layouts panel or the Elements panel and double click a layout or element to add it to the Layout Editor.
  • Use a palette of options to add layouts and layout elements from the palette to the Layout Editor.

Modern Selling Experience

Mobile UI Enhancements

Oracle CPQ 2016 R2 introduces Mobile UI enhancements that allow customers to use Oracle CPQ on a mobile phone and provides improved usability on both phones and tablets. In previous releases, the Oracle CPQ Mobile UI was optimized for only landscape orientation on tablet devices. With this release, screen use is dynamically optimized for both landscape and portrait orientations and introduces an improved, modernized user experience.

Reinforcing Oracle’s commitment to supporting integration with Salesforce, these Mobile UI enhancements also apply to the integration of the Oracle CPQ Mobile UI with the Salesforce1 Mobile UI. Stylistic improvements on each Oracle CPQ mobile page provide a seamless user experience directly aligning the Oracle CPQ Mobile UI with the Salesforce1 Mobile UI.

The 2016 R2 Mobile UI Enhancements are described below:

• Use Oracle CPQ on a mobile phone or tablet device
• View Oracle CPQ in portrait or landscape orientation
• Show columns in the Transaction Line Grid

Enterprise Platform

Enhancements for REST APIs

In 2016 R2, Oracle CPQ provides several REST API enhancements. These updates include additional URI Endpoint Parameter(s), Request Body Parameter(s), and response data.

• URI Endpoint Enhancement – Provides the Exclude Field Type query.
• Request Body Enhancements – Provide additional request functionality for transaction actions.
• Response Enhancements - Extend and improve the data returned for transaction operations.

Transaction REST APIs

In 2016 R2, Oracle CPQ enhances the Transaction REST APIs to expose additional transactional data, metadata, layout, rules, and actions to enable seamless integration with third party user interfaces, such as the ADF UI and the Salesforce Lightning UI. The new REST APIs are exposed using v3 RESTful services. The new REST APIs are divided into the following categories:

• Data Service Actions – These APIs provide access to interface with transaction operations.
• Layout Service – This service returns the desktop layout definition for a Commerce process.
• Metadata Services – These services return definitions for main documents, sub-documents, actions, attributes, menu items, and translations.

External Configurator REST API

This REST API provides support for the External Configurator Integration feature available in Oracle CPQ 2016 R2. The REST service invokes the External Configurator Advanced Save function to create a transaction, Add from Catalog, or Reconfigure.

SOAP API Enhancements

The following SOAP API enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ 2016 R2 and support the Oracle CPQ – Oracle CX Commerce integration and the External Configurator integration.

• Commerce SOAP API - In Oracle CPQ 2016 R2, changes were made to the Commerce SOAP API to support the Oracle CPQ – Oracle CX Commerce integration. The configuration SOAP API is invoked for creating transactions with configurable transaction lines. No changes were made directly to the SOAP API. The changes are internal changes that provide the functionality to create transactions denominated in a non-base currency.
• Configure SOAP API - In addition to the above changes to the Commerce SOAP API, 2016 R2 provides the following Configure SOAP API enhancements:
  • Currency enhancements allow models with pricing rules defined in the base currency to be used to add lines to a transaction that has a non-base currency. The new lines are converted into the transaction currency.
  • The new “getConfigurations" operation supports Oracle CPQ – Oracle CX Commerce Integration.
  • Reconfigure updates enable easy refresh of the configuration data from an external system or from within the Oracle CPQ transaction

Performance Enhancements

As part of Oracle’s ongoing effort to improve performance of CPQ, several enhancements are provided in Oracle CPQ Data Tables. With these enhancements, administrators can perform several operations faster, including: bulk uploading and migrating large data tables, uploading XML data tables and CSV files, and deploying large data tables. Administrators can also clear data faster when using the “Clear Data” or “Delete All” actions on existing data tables.

Integrated Suite

Oracle CX Commerce Integration

Oracle CPQ 2016 R2 provides an integration between Oracle CPQ and Oracle CX Commerce. Self-service users in Oracle CX Commerce can configure complex products for purchase in Oracle CX Commerce using the Oracle CPQ configurator. In addition, Oracle CX Commerce self-service users can request an Oracle CPQ quote, thereby initiating an Oracle CPQ transaction that a sales specialist can modify, reconfigure, or discount. Once finalized in CPQ, the quote is returned to Oracle CX Commerce for acceptance and ordering by the self-service user. The integration of Oracle CPQ with Oracle CX Commerce uses the Oracle Integration Cloud Service (ICS) to provide pre-built integrations for the two user flows.

The integration provides the following functionality to Oracle CX Commerce self-service users:

• Access an Oracle CPQ Site as guest users
• Add items to a Oracle CX Commerce cart from CPQ
• Edit a Oracle CX Commerce cart from CPQ
• Request a quote from an Oracle CPQ sales specialist

External Configurator Integration

The External Configurator Integration feature available in Oracle CPQ 2016 R2 is part of an ongoing effort to integrate Oracle CPQ with other products both internal and external to Oracle. Customers can now integrate and leverage the use of an external configurator while using the pricing and quoting capabilities of CPQ. Oracle CPQ sales specialists can access the external configurator from the Oracle CPQ Home page and then return to Oracle CPQ to price, discount, propose, and order the configured product.

The following External Configurator Integration functionality is available in Oracle CPQ 2016 R2:

• Define an external configurator integration
• Access an external configurator via Configuration Quick Links
• Use an external configurator Commerce attribute in standard BML functions
• Create or update Oracle CPQ transactions using the External Configurator REST API

Administration Styling

In 2016 releases, Oracle CPQ adopted a design strategy to improve the customer experience throughout the administrative UI. This design strategy incorporates the following design enhancements:

• A new UI provides a unified, compelling, and comfortable experience across applications deployed to the Cloud and Mobile clients.
• A simpler page construction and less page clutter allow critical content to load faster.
• A consistent design with common design elements provides an intuitive interface. New design enhancements include updates to navigation, buttons, selectors, tabs, and tool tips.

Enterprise Excellence

Subscription Ordering

Subscription Ordering, sometimes referred to as Asset Based Ordering (ABO), is used by companies to sell subscriptions for services that are delivered over a period of time with recurring billing. Oracle CPQ 2016 R1 supports Subscription Ordering by recording ordered lines as assets. Oracle CPQ 2016 R1 also provides users with robust subscription management tools that facilitate the review, modification, and renewal of subscription products.

The following are additional Subscription Ordering features available in Oracle CPQ 2016 R1:

• View all instances of purchased assets and filter the assets based on any of the displayed columns including Product, Status, and Service End Date.
• Automatically create or update an asset as of a specific date when an order is fulfilled.
• Modify or terminate service contracts using the Subscription Ordering interface.
• Compare an original asset transaction with an updated asset transaction and reconfigure a service contract to reflect changes, such as changes in the price of the service contract.
• Integrate with an external asset repository such as the Oracle Communications asset repository or the Salesforce asset repository.

Bill of Materials (BOM) Mapping

The new BOM mapping feature allows administrators to import multi-level BOM structures directly into Oracle CPQ data tables, which significantly reduces the amount of time it takes to set up and maintain integration. This feature provides a data driven solution to convert configuration attribute choices into a hierarchical component structure on the transaction. New BOM UIs provide administrators with the ability to easily map and validate complex BOM structures. Included in the BOM mapping feature is the ability to do the following:

• Store bill of materials information imported from ERP systems to allow for effective dates, default quantities, sales/manufacturing BOM differentiation, and parent-child relationships.
• Store related ERP attribute mappings to be used in CPQ.
• Automatic BOM instantiation for Commerce transactions after administrators map Oracle CPQ Models/Attributes to ERP BOM Items.
• Map translations for any BOM attributes defined.

Contract Negotiation

Oracle CPQ 2016 R1 supports the negotiation of a contract with a customer using the following Contract Negotiation features.

• Use a single-language Document Designer template as a contract.
• Leverage Microsoft Word to track and approve document changes and prevent users from editing protected sections of a document.
• Generate a list of differences between document versions using a REST API.
• Add, edit, or delete the differences between document versions and merge approved changes into a new document version using a REST API.

Secure Data Table Columns

Oracle is continually upgrading the security functionality available in Oracle CPQ to meet the needs of customers who must conform to a variety of security paradigms. In Oracle CPQ 2016 R1, Oracle is introducing a Secure data type option for new columns in both new and existing tables. Secure columns always store the encrypted form of data in the database. The only way to access this data in its original, decrypted form is through BML.

Easy Administration

Single Select Pick Lists in Configuration

As part of continuous improvements to Single Select Pick Lists, the following new features are available in Oracle CPQ 2016 R1.

• Apply hiding rules to a Single Select Pick List.
• Display a Single Select Pick List as an image grid.
• Use either a configuration array set or a data table (available in 2015 R2) as the source data to populate a Single Select Pick List.
• Find references made from a Single Select Pick List using the Related Rules tab associated with an attribute.

UI Designer

UI Designer is a new drag−and−drop editor that provides administrators with a simple and intuitive way to create and edit Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) pages within CPQ. Oracle ADF is an end-to-end framework that simplifies application development by providing out-of-the-box infrastructure services and a faster and simpler development experience.

CPQ’s adoption of ADF is part of a larger Oracle effort to provide a seamless user experience across all Customer Experience (CX) applications. In Oracle CPQ 2016 R1, UI Designer is providing the groundwork for establishing a common user interface among Oracle CPQ end−user and administration pages.

The following are some of the UI Designer features available in Oracle CPQ 2016 R1:

• Use drag−and−drop features to edit the Customer Assets List and the Performance Logs List, which are
  pre-generated layouts available in UI Designer.
• Make customizations to the Performance Log table and the Customer Assets List table. The types of customizations include enabling the Freeze Column feature, adding row numbering, changing the default column widths, and customizing column and button labels.

Performance Logs

The new Performance Logs page, available in Oracle CPQ Release 2016 R1, allows administrators to monitor and analyze the performance experienced by Oracle CPQ sales users. The page leverages the Performance Logs REST API delivered by Oracle CPQ in Release 2015 R1, and the new UI Designer, to deliver improved access and usability to performance log data.

BML Enhancements

CPQ’s markup language, BML, allows administrators to create new JSON data types (e.g. JSON, JSON array, and JSON null) and generate, modify, parse, extract, and query JSON data using BML JSON and JSON array manipulation functions. Support of JSON Path expressions in JSON manipulation functions allow advanced users to easily retrieve or modify a node or value in JSON data. In addition to the availability of several new functions, administrators can use the same server authentication to make calls to the same server without repeated authorization using RESTful web services. Using a BML Print Log, administrators can log the output of all BML print statements for easier debugging. Available in Oracle CPQ 2016 R1, these BML enhancements support Subscription Ordering.

Document Designer Enhancements

Document Designer was introduced in 2015 R1 as a drag and drop tool for creating and administering document templates. As part of continuing improvements to Document Designer, the following new enhancements are available in Oracle CPQ 2016 R1.

Performance improvements for load and save operations.

• Expand and collapse Document Designer layout objects (e.g. section, header, footer, and Table of Contents) in a Document Designer template in a single click.
• Specify an image to display as the background image in a DOCX output file.
• Use the conditional background image feature to put a dynamic background image on a document and show, hide, or change the background image based on defined criteria.
• Split a single Document Designer section into two or more continuous sections without a page break between each section.
• Leverage track changes in DOCX output files and use Microsoft Word content controls to prevent users from editing protected sections of a document.
• Integrate with DocuSign to place an eSignature tag in the section, table, header, or footer of a Document Designer template.
• Use formatting enhancements to left−align, right−align, or center tables, set header and footer margins, and drag−and−drop one or more column breaks into a section to start the content in the next column.

Integration

Salesforce1 Integration

The Salesforce1 mobile offering from Salesforce was delivered with new mobile standards that are supported by Oracle CPQ 2016 R1. Using the latest Salesforce Commerce Integration Managed Package, administrators can integrate the Oracle CPQ mobile UI with the Salesforce1 mobile UI. This integration supports all of the existing capabilities of the desktop integration between Oracle CPQ and Salesforce but on a mobile device. The Salesforce1 integration changes are included in the Salesforce Reference Application, which contains updated cascading stylesheets (CSS) to make the Oracle CPQ mobile experience more aligned with the Salesforce1 interface.

Oracle CPQ − eBusiness Suite (EBS) BOM Reference Integration

The Oracle eBusiness Suite (EBS) integration introduced in Oracle CPQ 2015 R1 enables direct integration to EBS Customer, EBS Order Management, EBS Inventory On Hand Balance, and EBS Material Reservation for common Oracle CPQ interactions. In 2016 R1, Oracle CPQ is extending the EBS integration with support of multi-level Bills of Material (BOMs). Multi-level EBS BOM structures are integrated with Oracle CPQ configuration by the new BOM Mapping feature. As orders are created or modified, the options selected from the configuration interface are saved as attributes in the transaction lines.

Process Cloud Service (PCS) Integration

Oracle CPQ has approvals as part of its application. However, customers may want to use remote approval systems to consolidate all of their approvals in a central location. This could be using approvals from Oracle’s PCS, or other remote approval systems. These remote applications provide a common configuration and common attributes to manage approvals for an entire suite of applications, eliminating migration of approval data from one system into another. When a customer chooses remote approvals, approval requests are sent to external approval systems for processing. After approval completion, the associated approve/reject action is performed on the remote approval system and the approval history and status are updated on the Oracle CPQ quote via Oracle CPQ REST Service.

Rest APIs

In 2016 R1, Oracle CPQ delivers REST services to enable new functionality for Contract Negotiations and Subscription Ordering. REST APIs are introduced to compare two Contract DOCX documents and return a list of modified clauses, then merge approved changes into a Contract DOCX document. For Subscription Ordering, REST APIs are used to list, query, create, update, delete, synchronize, import, and export assets.

Email Designer Enhancements

• A REST API, emailGenerator, has been exposed to allow an external system to send a REST call to request an HTML Email Designer email from CPQ
• Search for static text or dynamic attribute values within an Email Designer template, using a new Search field.
• Table column widths can be set in inches, millimeters, and centimeters, in addition to pixels.
• Standard, system-generated email notifications, can use Email Designer templates.

• A REST API, custom{DataTable}, has been exposed to allow an external system to access deployed data in Oracle CPQ Data Tables.