This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change due to the addition of new information. The following table shows all document updates with the most recent updates at the top.
| Date |
What's Changed |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 19 APR 2017 |
Initial Document Creation |
Oracle Configure, Price, and Quote (CPQ) Cloud enables companies to streamline the entire opportunity-to-quote-to-order process, including product selection, configuration, pricing, quoting, ordering, and approval workflows. CPQ Cloud provides a flexible, scalable, enterprise-ready solution ideal for companies of all sizes that sell products and services across direct, indirect, and
e-commerce sales channels.
Leverage the rich interface and interactive capabilities available in CPQ Cloud 2017 R1 to provide a smarter selling experience using the following new features.
- Deal Negotiation
- REST API Services
The CPQ Cloud 2017 R1 Deal Negotiation feature guides CPQ Cloud 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.
In 2017 R1, CPQ Cloud continues its effort to expose objects through REST API services empowering customers to extend the capabilities of their CPQ Cloud implementations. In 2017 R1, 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.
Upgrade the functionality of CPQ Cloud's open and flexible platform to create value and drive results using the following CPQ Cloud 2017 R1 enhancements.
- BOM Mapping Enhancements
- Package Lifecycle Management
- Migration Center Enhancements
- Performance Management Enhancements
- DataCube Enhancements
- Data Column Enhancements
BOM Mapping Rules provide the ability to map multi-level Bills of Material to CPQ Cloud configuration variables and values and send a complex BOM from CPQ Cloud configuration to Commerce and downstream Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. CPQ Cloud 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.
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. CPQ Cloud 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 CPQ Cloud 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. CPQ Cloud maintains customizations to the original namespaced util library functions throughout the migration flow.
CPQ Cloud 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 hotfixes 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
CPQ Cloud 2017 R1 provides a collection of new enhancements to increase CPQ Cloud site stability and performance. To keep environments running during extremely high loads, CPQ Cloud may temporarily restrict new user sessions.
The following enhancements are also available in CPQ Cloud 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 CPQ Cloud 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.
CPQ Cloud 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. CPQ Cloud 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 columns allow administrators to define the Commerce attributes that are accessible in CPQ Commerce Process Manager, Transaction Searches, Reporting, and DataCube reports. CPQ Cloud 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.
Leverage the power of CPQ Cloud by integrating with other software applications. CPQ Cloud administrators can use the following CPQ Cloud 2017 R1 pre-defined integrations out-of-the-box or enhance the provided integration patterns to build a strong Oracle Cloud suite.
- Commerce Cloud Integration Enhancements
- Subscription Ordering Integration Enhancements
- Integration Cloud Service Based Integrations
Commerce Cloud Integration Enhancements
The Commerce Cloud integration enhancements available in CPQ Cloud 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 CPQ Cloud and can use the Add to Cart action to add items to a Commerce Cloud cart.
Additional 2017 R1 enhancements include the ability to add either a single configured item or multiple configured items to a CPQ Cloud 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 Integration Enhancements
The Subscription Ordering integration introduced in CPQ Cloud 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 Commerce Cloud implementation with Subscription Ordering:
- Create follow-on or modify orders to modify assets created from a Commerce Cloud shopping cart
- Modify or terminate assets stored in CPQ Cloud using a REST API
Integration Cloud Service Based Integrations
In 2017 R1, CPQ Cloud 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 CPQ REST API web service using 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 CPQ Cloud Adapter.
ICS will list available CPQ REST APIs when ICS is connected to a CPQ Cloud REST catalog. After a REST API is selected, users can configure operations and map applicable parameters via the user interface. The CPQ Cloud REST Catalog will list the web services, operations, and parameters that are supported in ICS. The ICS CPQ adapter only supports REST catalog services at version v3 and above.
Provide a simple way for administrators and end users to leverage CPQ Cloud by using the following new 2017 R1 features and enhancements:
- Document Designer Enhancements
- Concurrent Transaction Access
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 CPQ Cloud 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 Autofit 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.
In CPQ Cloud 2017 R1, administrators can enable or disable Transaction locking in a Commerce process. This feature is beneficial to CPQ Cloud customers who currently have multiple users, such as sales representatives, working concurrently on Transactions by performing actions such as adding different products to the same Transaction or updating different fields in the same Transaction. Locking a Transaction for editing provides users with full control of a Transaction and prevents conflicting changes to the same Transaction.
A Transaction is unlocked when the user who locked the Transaction performs an auto-unlock action such as Approve or Reject, logs out of CPQ Cloud, or their CPQ Cloud session times out. Other users can unlock a Transaction by performing unlock actions such as Back or Refresh. In addition, users can include new special attributes (e.g. Lock Status, Locked By, Date Locked) in Transaction Manager search results. Also supported is the ability to use REST API calls to lock or unlock a Transaction or perform web service actions on locked Transactions when the request is from a “Web Services Only” user.
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