Update 19B

Revision History

Overview

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.

This guide outlines the information you need to know about new or improved functionality in Oracle CPQ Cloud 19B and describes any tasks you might need to perform for the update. Each section includes a brief description of the feature, the steps you need to take to enable or begin using the feature, any tips or considerations that you should keep in mind, and the resources available to help you.

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Modern User Experience

The following CPQ Cloud 19B enhancement leverages the rich interface and interactive capabilities available in CPQ Cloud to provide an intuitive selling experience.

JET Responsive Configuration UI

CPQ Cloud 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 devices using the same Configuration layout.

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 Cloud’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.

The following functionality is available in CPQ Cloud 19B.

AJAX Functionality for Configuration Recommendation Rules

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

JET Configuration UI Layout Enhancements

Enhanced UI features of the JET Configuration UI are defined by enhancements to the administration of attribute and UI layouts. A single configuration flow UI layout is used for both legacy and JET Configuration UIs. The JET-specific features will display only in the JET Configuration UI - when the end user has access rights to the JET Configuration UI for the associated Product Family.

CPQ Cloud 19B provides JET Configuration UI enhancements for price table and item list layouts, tabs, and attribute display options.

Configuration Options for the JET Configuration UI

Beginning in CPQ Cloud 19B, administrators can enable pagination for vertical arrays and set the table height for vertical arrays and item lists displayed on JET Configuration UI layouts.

JET Configuration UI Layout Access Control

Administrators have the option of enabling the JET Configuration UI while continuing to use the legacy UI for some users. The JET UI is rendered from the same layout definition as the legacy UI. Administrators can assign user access to JET Configuration UI based on user type or user group. With both layouts enabled, customers can make the transition to the JET Configuration layout at their own pace. Since the JET Configuration UI is enabled at the Product Family level, customers can also gradually transition to the JET Configuration UI by enabling only selected Product Families.

CSS Customization of JET Configuration UI

A single JET-specific CSS file reduces complexity and provides a customized, seamless aesthetic for the JET Configuration and Transaction UIs as well as future JET UI enhancements.

Enterprise Platform

The following CPQ Cloud Update 19B features and enhancements cater to the needs of large, complex enterprises for a robust, integrated, and performant platform.

• Configuration Run-Time Data REST API Enhancements
• Email Approval Notification Enhancements
• Subscription Management Solution Enhancements
• Subscription Ordering Enhancements
• Transaction Arrays Enhancements

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. CPQ Cloud 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.

CPQ Cloud Update 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 Cloud. CPQ Cloud 19B improves the usability of email approval notifications with the following enhancements.

Default Approval Email Notification Enhancements

In CPQ Cloud 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 CPQ Cloud 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.

Transition Rule Notification Enhancements

Step transitions in CPQ can trigger Email Notifications. When HTML Approval Email is enabled the system-generated token is relocated from the subject line to the end of the message body for all step transition notifications. 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.

Email Approval Response Enhancements

CPQ Cloud 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, CPQ Cloud 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 CPQ Cloud platform, the solution enables sales users to capture subscription orders and perform subscription management activities throughout the lifecycle of these customer relationships.

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

Subscription Workbench

CPQ Cloud 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 Cloud. They can also reconfigure an asset or create a follow-on order that modifies an order that was previously quoted in CPQ Cloud.

The following functionality is available in CPQ Cloud 19B:

• Simple product support for Subscription Ordering
• Multi-Select support for asset operations
• New Transaction support for asset operations
• Asset REST API enhancements

Simple Product Support for Subscription Ordering

Beginning in CPQ Cloud 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 to add simple products to a Transaction without navigating away from the Transaction page. They can also add simple products using a parts search.

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 CPQ Cloud 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 CPQ Cloud 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. CPQ Cloud 19B also introduces new endpoints to provide multi-select support for asset operations.

Transaction Array Enhancements

Organizations using CPQ rely heavily on 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 CPQ Cloud 19B.

Add Transaction Arrays to Document Designer and Email Designer Documents

Transaction Array attributes can be added to Document Designer and Email Designer templates, for both main documents and sub-documents. 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

The following CPQ Cloud Update19B enhancements pioneers the next generation selling platform:

• Collaborative Quoting
• System Configuration Enhancements

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.

CPQ Cloud 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 CPQ Cloud 19B.

Concurrent Editing of Quotes

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.

Commerce REST API Enhancements

Collaborative Quoting Commerce REST API enhancements provide the ability to communicate which users are editing a specific item. CPQ Cloud 19B adds new collaboration specific error messages, a new parameter to track changes, and the focus object to notify users which items are being changed.

System Configuration Enhancements

System Configuration refers to the manner in which customers use CPQ Cloud 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 CPQ Cloud 19B.

System Navigation Panel Status Display Enhancement

CPQ Cloud 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 CPQ Cloud 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

CPQ Cloud 19B introduces the following customer requested features and enhancements.

Approval Justification Text Entry

In 19B the approval justification comment text entry is increased from 1000 to 4000 characters. This allows users to enter more detailed justification information.

Clone Commerce Action

CPQ Cloud 19B supports cloning of Commerce Actions and all of the associated action properties.

Supported Currency Enhancement

This enhancement provides standard and globally accepted Currency codes for the Supported Currency list. CPQ Cloud 19B includes currency code and definition updates for Belarusian Ruble (BYN), Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (STN), Venezuelan Bolivar (VES), and Mauritanian Ouguiya (MRU).

Select All Columns with BMQL JOIN Clause

CPQ Cloud 19B supports the Select * function for columns in BMQL JOIN clauses for Data Table queries with two or more tables. For Data Tables with large number of columns, this greatly simplifies BMQL statements and reduces the risk of missing columns in Data Table queries.

Transaction Count Setting

A new Disable Transaction Count setting is added to the Commerce Settings page. Administrators have the ability to determine if the system performs an exact Transaction count when the Transaction Manager is displayed. Disabling the Transaction count, when there are a large number of Transactions, may improve the time required for the Transaction Manager to load.

When the Disable Transaction Count setting is selected, the Transaction count displayed on the page does not provide the exact total number of Transactions but rather indicates “of Many”. For example, the Transaction count at the bottom of the page may indicate 1 – 25 of Many, 1 – 50 of Many, or 51 – 100 of Many.

Enterprise Platform

Enterprise Platform features and enhancements cater to the needs of large, complex enterprises for a robust, integrated, and performant platform.

Modern User Experience