New CDH Web Services are based on the existing Business Object APIs of TCA;

• Spoke applications can leverage CDH Web Services to integrate with the Customer Data Hub
• New DQM Search Web Service to access matching in the Hub from any transactional application
• CDH Web Services leverage the Web Service standards such as WSDL (Web Services Description Language) and UDDI (Universal Description,
  Discovery and Integration)

Here are the list of some of CDH Web Services, that you can utilize it.

ADF stands for 'Applications Development Framework'

Oracle Application Development Framework (Oracle ADF) is an innovative, Java EE development framework available from Oracle and directly supported and enabled by evelopment environment, Oracle JDeveloper 11g

Oracle ADF simplifies Java EE development by minimizing the need to write code that implements the application‘s infrastructure allowing the developers to focus on the features of the actual application.

Oracle ADF is also focused on the development experience to provide a visual and declarative approach to Java EE development through
the Oracle JDeveloper 11g development tool.

Oracle ADF Provides end-to-end infrastructure solutions for O/R Mapping, persistence, caching, controller, binding, UI framework

Oracle ADF is an easy way to use them via Visual editors, Property editors, dialogs etc

What’s the Role of ADF in the world of Oracle

• The development framework for Fusion Applications
• The framework at the base of WebCenter
• The UI for SOA and BPM Suite
• Human workflows
• Used in other Oracle products like EM, Siebel and more

What is ADF Framework?

Is MVC pattern , used mostly for:

• Object/Relational mapping
• Data Persistence
• Reusable Controller Layer
• Rich Web User Interface Framework
• Data Binding To UI
• Security
• Customization

ADF Architecture

This can be best Understood as:

Career future of Oracle ADF

ADF is core in Oracle Fusion Architecture and its growing fast both in Fusion Middleware and Applications, so lots of professional opportunities in the following years. Growth means Opps !

A good move in this skill set for those who worked in Java based technology.

Key Resource book/guide on ADF 11g.

A friend of mine extensively works in ADF technology mention sometime back, ADF is best learnt by samples.

If you want to learn concepts, read any of the books mentioned below.

• This one is great for ADF newbies:
  http://www.amazon.com/Oracle-Fusion-Developer-Guide-Applications/dp/0071622543
• This one covers ADF Business Components in-depth:
  http://www.amazon.com/Oracle-JDeveloper-11g-Handbook-Development/dp/0071602380
• And this one covers the ADF Faces Rich Client components in-depth:
  http://www.amazon.com/Oracle-Fusion-Developer-Guide-Applications/dp/0071622543
• Oracle Documentation
  http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23943_01/web.1111/b31974/toc.htm

You can Check out these two free e Courses from Oracle.

• Part 1:http://download.oracle.com/tutorials/jtcd3/ecourse_adf_part1/html/temp_frameset/index.htm
• Part 2:http://download.oracle.com/tutorials/jtcd3/ecourse_adf_part2/html/temp_frameset/index.htm

To learn coding in ADF the Insider Series is very good

• http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/adf/learnmore/adfinsider-093342.html

Conclusion – ADF is a key Oracle technology

UCM : What is it?

A Siebel application which is the central master database/application for storing any and all unified profile for enterprise customers, partners, and prospects information.

In a large company, you have hundreds of various proprietary and legacy applications which deal with different parts of the customer information , some deal with service data, some with sales data, some others purely with demographics and contact data. UCM has the capability to synchronize and bring together all this data to give a single unified view of the customer as a whole.

From a Siebel application point of view, it’s just another application like Siebel Sales or Siebel Call Center application, built up on the same Data, Business and UI model

• Enables a single view of the customer
• Creates and maintains unique, complete and accurate customer information across the enterprise
• Distributes customer information to all operational applications just in time
• Enables organisations to:
• Know your customers
  • Improve data quality
  • Utilize customer insight during all customer interactions
  • Comply with privacy and regulatory requirements
  • Define events and policies
  • Reduce data management costs
  • Provides Telco-specific data attributes

UCM : Functionality

• Receives the transactions from external systems and applies them to it’s base tables and publishes the updates back to all the systems.
• Publish frequency - real-time, batch or event-based (e.g.:on-update of Contact )
• Siebel UCM Data Quality - in built component for data de-duplication
• Survivorship Rules - based on the defined confidence level for each system
• Easy setup for Auto/Manual merge
• Features to Un-Merge already merged records later on if desired.

Deployment Model

There are two deployment models for Siebel Master Data Applications:

• Combined : In this type of a deployment, Siebel MDM application shares the same database and Enterprise Server as any other Siebel eBusiness Application.

This deployment is used mainly for smaller company .

• Stand Alone : This is the recommended, and mostly used deployment model in which the Siebel Master is deployed on a separate box having it’s own database, separated from other Siebel eBusiness Application.

This is the preferred approach in big companies where the volume of transactions is large as well as the integrating systems are many.

Read this for more information on Customer Data Hub (CDH).

Customer Data Hub (CDH) can be implemented in multiple ways. There are three main instance strategy options that organizations can often consider when implementing the Oracle Customer Data Hub. these three options are industry accepted are:

1. E-Business Suite as Hub to 3rd Party Systems
2. Customer Data Hub Integrated with E-Business Suite and 3rd Party Systems
3. Customer Data Hub with no E-Business Suite

While Oracle Customer Data Hub provides the technology base for meeting the business problem, correct implementation strategy and tools are important to ensure complete solution for implementing organizations and meet specific requirements of each customer.

OPTION 1: E-BUSINESS SUITE AS A HUB TO 3RD PARTY SYSTEMS

With this option, customers can easily leverage their existing E-Business Suite footprint to include the functionality of a Customer Data Hub with integration to heterogeneous 3rd party systems.

Given that E-Business Suite applications are built on the TCA oganizations running the E-Business Suite already store customer data in TCA.Therefore, in order to make the TCA customer data sync with the customer data residing in disparate systems, the implementing organization will need to leverage twith integration or middleware technology, and the Source Systems Management capabilities within the TCA infrastructure. If implementing company use Customer Data Librarian to keep the customer data clean and duplicate-free.That would be best case of either side.

Pros

• Existing customer data is migrated one time from 3rd party systems and is continually kept in sync.
• In line with the single-global-instance vision, thereby lowering costs and increasing benefits.
• Allows implementing organizations to sunset any legacy application at any time.
• All customer data resides in operational, transactional E-Business Suite. Therefore, customer information is actionable in real-time.

Cons

• Potentially longer initial implementation timeframe given more complexities in maintaining single source of customer truth within the operational data system.

OPTION 2: CUSTOMER DATA HUB INTEGRATED WITH E-BUSINESS SUITE AND 3RD PARTY SYSTEMS

With this option, customers are able to implement the Customer Data Hub more rapidly and begin realizing immediate benefits by integrating the Hub with existing E-Business Suite and 3rd party transactional systems.

In this model, the Oracle Customer Data Hub is installed as the central repository of customer data, and is integrated with the existing E-Business Suite footprint as a source system, in the same fashion that 3rd party legacy systems are integrated. By mapping the E-Business Suite as a spoke system to the Customer Data Hub, implementing organizations are able to get the Hub up-and-running in parallel with their operational business systems, without spending extensive time on transactional business flow integration testing. In addition, this methodology allows implementing organizations to refine their single source of customer truth over time, and eventually cut over to the 'single instance model' when appropriate.

Just as with any other spoke system mapping, it is required that organizations use the Oracle AS 10g integration services (or other third party middleware), and the Source Systems Management capabilities within TCA to keep customer information in sync across all systems, including the E-Business Suite. In addition, implementing organizations will use Customer Data Librarian to keep the customer data clean and duplicate-free.

Pros

• Shorter initial implementation timeframe given less complexities in maintaining the CDH separate from operational systems.
• Minimal risk of adversely impacting customer data which could impede business and transactional processes.
• Allows implementing organizations to migrate to the single instance model at their own pace, while still taking advantage of a single source of customer reality.
• Allows implementing organizations to patch the CDH with latest functionality without risk of impacting the existing E-Business Suite footprint.

Cons

• Additional spoke system created with this model, rather than reduction of systems. Therefore, additional integration development is required.
• Customer data migrated to Customer Data Hub initially, and then a second effort is required to sync the Customer Data Hub with the E-Business Suite when consolidation occurs in the future.

OPTION 3: CUSTOMER DATA HUB WITH NO E-BUSINESS SUITE

Of course, customers who are not running any E-Business Suite applications at all can also implement the Customer Data Hub.

In this case, the Hub is implemented as the central source of customer truth, and is integrated with all heterogeneous 3rd party systems.

Pros

• Allows implementing organizations to begin realizing the value of the E-Business Suite functionality, even before they have the E-Business Suite up and running.
• Allows implementing organizations to plug in pieces of the E-Business Suite at their own pace, or keep legacy systems living on if migrating to the E-Business Suite is not an option.
• Provides an easy migration path to single global instance vision.

Cons

• Continued costs (IT and personnel) associated with maintaining disparate systems, with different technologies and platforms.

These three implementation options will helps to find the main instance strategy options which is major task considered when implementing the Oracle Customer Data Hub.

Oracle Customer Data Hub is a comprehensive set of services, utilities and applications to create and maintain a single source of truth of customer identity across the company. CDH allows organizations to have consolidated customer data from heterogeneous systems in a central location and establishing enterprise-wide data quality. Oracle CDH is an application with middleware services which can be deployed in any IT infrastructure.

In short,Customer data hub consolidates following concepts under one umbrella to provide a single view of the customers

• Customer Data Business Strategy
• Customer Data Architecture
• Customer Data Integration
• Customer Data Governance
• customer Data Analysis

The Customer Data Hub is a bundling of architecture and application elements that work together to provide a clean and reliable central and shared repository of customer data across Oracle and non-Oracle systems. It has following three layers.

• Architecture: Oracle’s Trading Community Architecture (TCA) provides the basis for the Customer Data Hub.
• Applications: Oracle Customers Online, the application provides the “window” into the Customer Data Hub’s centrally stored data and Oracle Customer Data Librarian, a data quality application, plays a central role in cleansing, enriching and maintaining party data.
• Integration: The final element that brings the Customer Data Hub together is the integration layer that links the Customer Data Hub to the “spoke” systems. A spoke system is defined as a source of information that is providing or synchronizing information with the Customer Data Hub on a regular basis

Architecture

Oracle's Trading Community Architecture (TCA) provides the basis for the Customer Data Hub. TCA is made up of two core elements: the database schema and the enabling infrastructure.

The TCA database schema is the repository for all party related data (a party may be an organization, a person, a buying consortium, a contact, a supplier, a partner, or any other person or organization with which you do business), including profile characteristics of a party (who/what they are), what their association/relationship with other parties is, where they are located, what the locations are used for, how to get in touch with them, how they are classified and more.

The TCA enabling infrastructure is an intermediary between the business applications that wish to utilize the data stored in TCA (whether they are Oracle eBusiness Suite applications or other systems) and the schema itself. The enabling infrastructure is meant to ensure that the data that is entered into, or extracted from, the database tables is done in a uniform manner, ensuring consistent data quality. This infrastructure takes the form of:

• Public APIs which ensure the integrity of the data entered into and retrieved from the database tables.
• Data Quality Management (DQM) tools which use sophisticated match rules to detect and/or resolve potential duplicate data.
• Third Party Content Integration which enriches or validates party data to ensure usefulness and correctness.

CDH Application Layer

Lets take a quick look on these application , which is subset or can be work standalone.

1. Oracle Customers Online provides the tools and functionality to:

• Set-up and maintain Party Relationships, Party Classifications, Data Quality Management (DQM rules)
• Create, view and update party information
• Upload flat data files for import into TCA.

2. Oracle Customer Data Librarian, a data quality application, plays a central role in cleansing, enriching and maintaining party data. Data Librarian provides the tools needed to:

• Configure and deploy match rules for automated duplicate identification.
• Maintain mappings between a party record in TCA and the corresponding record(s) in one or more third party systems.
• Identify potential duplicate records, and take action to merge those records together with a mix of the best attribute values from the records to be merged.
• Purge party records from the TCA database.
• Manage party active/inactive status.
• Control party merge at the attribute, relationship and address levels.

3. Oracle DQM

Oracle Data Quality Management, a highly configurable engine which is used to setup match rules, attributes and resolution set rules.

• Prevent, Identify and Resolve Duplicates
• Synchronize Consistent Data
• Match Rules
• Smart Search

Next post , we will see the CDH Implementation Options and more on Oracle Data Librarian with some real time senarios

E2E Business Processes based implementaion always provide a means for engaging the functional communities who perform the activities within the process steps. some of E2E flows are:

• Acquire-to-Retire
• Concept-to-product
• Cost Management
• Hire-to-Retire
• Market-to-Prospect
• Order-to-cash
• Plan-to- Produce
• Plan-to-Stock-inventory
• Procure-to-Pay
• Prospect-to-order
• Record-to-report
• Service Request-to-Resolution
• Campaign-to-cash

I have searched in the application and noticed the following events availabile in Purchasing module.

1. These events are introduced for ASL integration with ERES. The ER documentation might have more info.

oracle.apps.po.asl.create -> PO ERES ASL Creation
oracle.apps.po.asl.update ->PO ERES ASL Update
oracle.apps.po.event.create_asl->Create New Approved Supplier List Entry
oracle.apps.po.event.update_asl ->Update Existing Approved Supplier List Entry

2. These events are launched during the XML Communication in PO Approval wf,after the PO is approved.

oracle.apps.po.event.setxml -> Set up PO via XML
oracle.apps.po.event.xmlpo -> Send PO via XML
oracle.apps.po.event.xmlpogen -> XML PO document is generated
oracle.apps.po.event.xmlposent -> PO Sent via XML

3. These events are newly introduced for Change Requests and signature flow (11.5.9 - 11.5.10.CU2)

oracle.apps.po.buyersignature -> Buyer Signature Event
oracle.apps.po.suppliersignature -> Supplier Signature Event
oracle.apps.po.event.requester_change -> Requester change Request pending
oracle.apps.po.event.suppchnresp -> Response to Supplier Change Request Event
oracle.apps.po.event.supplier_change -> Supplier Change, and PO is Responded

4. OTM Event - These event is launched for OTM integration flow, to send the PO details to OTM.

oracle.apps.po.event.document_action_event -> Document Action Event

5. Receiving Events

oracle.apps.po.group.receive -> PO ERES Receiving Group Event
oracle.apps.po.line.receive -> PO ERES Receiving Line Event
oracle.apps.po.rcv.deliver -> PO ERES Receiving Delivery
oracle.apps.po.rcv.inspect -> PO ERES Receiving Inspection
oracle.apps.po.rcv.rcvtxn -> Receive Transaction
oracle.apps.po.rcv.transfer -> PO ERES Receiving Transfer

Hope this helps.

High Volume Order Import aka (HVOP) is a yet another alternate option for processing of huge volume of orders.

HVOP is designed for large order volumes (between thirty-thousand and one million order lines per day), with a limited load window, using limited hardware resources.Benchmark study says, HVOP achieves a 2 to 4 –fold improvement relative to standard Order Import.

If you have relatively large volumes say 100,000+ lines per day or more, probabally you need to consider HVOP, else if you shorter window like importing 5000 lines per CPU in an hour, then this also a good options.

For Order Management HVOP order import, no special setup is required.

Before opting for this over Order import check it out what is supported and what not and see what functions are a real fit.

Supported Operations

• Common pricing features
• Item Cross References
• Booking
• Holds
• Shippable/ non-shippable flows
• Credit Checking

Unsupported Operations

• Add Customers
• Configurations
• Advanced pricing features (modifiers)
• Audit Trail
• Returns
• Reservations
• Updates / Deletes
• Importing Closed Orders
• iPayment Integration and credit card orders

Therefore for internal orders, drop shipments, ship, arrival and fulfillment sets, processing constraints and complex defaulting users must continue to use Order Import.

If you really looking options you can use the HVOP Questionnaire on Oracle Metalink to determine if HVOP will work for you or not. Good luck !

Also Read

• Drop Shipment’, ‘BackOrders’ and ‘Back to Back Order
• Understand “Drop Shipment” in Order Management?
• Understand “Drop Shipment” in Order Management? -Part II
• Understanding data flow for “Standard Order”
• What is In “Order Import”

Herewith providing the generic period close process for Cash managment for R12.

1.Make sure you have Loaded & reconciled all bank statements for month

• You must verified Auto-Reconciliation Execution Report

2.If there any , resolve all exceptions

3.Create miscellaneous transactions

This step existed in Release 11i but the difference is that in Release 12 when you create the miscellaneous transactions in AR, the accounting is done by SLA.

4. Resolve unreconciled lines

A Note on Transactions Available for Reconciliation Report

Take advantage of this report.This report shows all transactions available for reconciliation for a specific bank account. It lists detailed transaction information for your Available Receipts, AvailablePayments, and Available Journal Entries for reconciliation.

Detailed information includes the Customer, Supplier, Transaction Date, Payment Method, Transaction Number, Currency, and Amount. It also lists detailed information for statement lines that are available for reconciliation against other statement lines.

5.Reconcile to General Ledger

A Note on General Ledger Reconciliation Report

Use this report to reconcile the General Ledger cash account to a bank statement balance.

This report lists a balance and an adjusted balance for the bank statement. It also lists a separate adjustment amount for un-reconciled receipts, payments, and journal entries, as well as bank errors.

This Report will show

Hopefully these steps will be helpful for doing Closure for CE.

If you are coming from 11i, there is slightly change in FA Period Closure process because of SLA.

Here are steps & procedures for performing period-end processing in Oracle Assets Release 12.

In FA, at period end, we require to run depreciation for depreciation books set up for the organization, and to Create accounting for Oracle General Ledger. Oracle Assets has only a single open depreciation period in each depreciation book.

1.Complete All Transactions for the Period Being Closed

You need to ensure that all transactions have been entered for the period being closed. Once a depreciation period in Oracle Assets has been closed, it cannot be re-opened. Check that no-one is entering transactions as Oracle Assets prevents transaction data entry while the Depreciation Run Process is running. You need to complet all transactions for Oracle Assets:

• Prepare and Post Mass Additions
• Complete Manual Additions
• Complete Adjustments
• Complete Retirements
• Complete Transfers
• Complete Reinstatements

2.Then if you required, you need to assign distribution lines to all assets.

If an asset has not been assigned to a distribution line, the period end Depreciation Process will not complete, and will not close the period. Take the advantage of running "Assets Not Assigned to Any Cost Centers Listing " report to determine which assets have not been assigned to a distribution line.

3.Run Calculate Gains and Losses

This is optional , the Calculate Gains and Losses program for retirements can be submitted prior to running depreciation. The Calculate Gains and Losses process is performed independently for each depreciation book.

4.Run the depreciation

In Release 11i when you ran depreciation you would automatically close the period whereas in Release 12 you can now run depreciation without closing the period.

5.Create accounting

Create Journal Entries (FAPOST) is replaced by Create Accounting – Assets process (FAACCPB)

6.RollBack Depreciation for adjustment

When you are trying to do adjustment on a particular asset, FA automatically rolls-back depreciation for that particular asset.This is one of the area where you will experience change if you are coming from other versions.

7.Once you are sure that all the balances are correct you need to run depreciation and close the period.

8.Create accounting

You need to run "create accounting" very similar as mention in step 5.

9.Post Asset Transaction in GL

You need to make sure the step 8 must be completed only if you done transfer and posting for the accounting entries to GL.

These steps are basically takes care of data movement , then next step for you to tie FA and GL.

For reconciliation of assets you need to take advantage of some of seeded and newly added report that will help business user to reconcile and closing the period.

10. Reconcile your Fixed Asset and GL

• Reconcile Assets to the GL Using Reports
  • Journal Entry Reserve Ledger - reconcile with the Account Analysis with Payables Details Report.
  • Tax Reserve Ledger Report
  • Account Reconciliation Reserve Ledger Report
• Balance Report
  • Cost Detail and Cost Summary Reports
  • CIP Detail and CIP Summary Reports
  • Reserve Detail and Reserve Summary Reports
  • Revaluation Reserve Detail and Revaluation Reserve Summary Reports
• GL Report
  • Journal - posted/Unposted
  • Account analysis

Once these report can tally, there is no way that your P & L report is not going to tally.

Suggested Reading

• Fixed Asset Transfer to GL
• Fixed Asset & SLA
• Release 12: 6 New and Changed Feature in "Oracle Assets"