Providing Overview of Concepts and Definitions

In this unit, we introduce the topic of SAP Order Management foundation and its role in managing, understanding, and adapting processes related to orders. We explain that the SAP Order Management foundation serves as a central hub for order information and orchestration, where orders are submitted, requests are sent to other systems for fulfillment, and updates from downstream systems are received and published for interested parties to use. The SAP Order Management foundation is as an air traffic controller that directs other systems on how to handle orders. Furthermore, we will provide definitions for some key terms related to order management, including sales channels, fulfillment channels, orchestration, external services, orders, order items, fulfillment requests, fulfillment items, business events, and order activities.

Finally, we will point out that additional documentation and resources can be found in the SAP Help Guide and the API business hub.

This image illustrates the life cycle of an order. The order process begins at various sales channels, which could be physical stores, online marketplaces like eBay or Amazon, or even from an individual's device. The customer could be anywhere, as could the product being ordered.

The fulfillment can be through various systems, for example, from a warehousing system like EWM and S4HANA which are part of your core backend capabilities. It could also be from subscription services fulfilled through SAP subscription billing, in-store applications for picking and packing, or through drop-ship vendors.

Orders are received through our API, which are then routed for fulfillment. Messages are subsequently received from those applications, systems, or partners involved. This information is then published and made available to subscribing applications.

While the sales channels themselves are the most obvious subscribers, in some instances, other applications could also interact with the order flow.

This picture showcases how SAP Order Management foundation serves as a central hub for all order information and orchestrations, simplifying the process of managing orders from various sales channels.

Central Hub for Order Information: The SAP Order Management foundation plays a critical role as a central repository for order information. Orders submitted through various sales channels enter the SAP Order Management foundation system. This system is designed to integrate with a range of sales channels via APIs, which ensures compatibility and openness. We have pre-built integrations with key applications such as SAP Commerce Cloud.

Orchestration

Once an order is captured in the SAP Order Management foundation, the system sends requests to other systems to execute on order fulfillment. This interaction is two-way:

1. Inbound: Orders are received into the SAP Order Management foundation (Inbound arrow).
2. Outbound: The SAP Order Management foundation sends requests to other systems for order fulfillment (Outbound arrows).

Updates and Event Publishing

SAP Order Management foundation receives updates from the fulfilling systems regarding the order status. These updates maybe notifications such as processing started or can't start due to an issue, orders ready for pickup, orders shipped or delivered. These updates highlight the real-time tracking of the order.

Once updates are received, SAP Order Management foundation publishes these events for relevant parties to use them. This ensures that all involved parties in the order fulfillment can keep track of the order status themselves, enhancing transparency and efficiency.

Action Trigger

One key function the SAP Order Management foundation performs is using the received events to trigger actions. These may be standard or custom actions depending upon the specific needs of order processing. This highlights two factors: flexibility in the SAP Order Management foundation to adapt to unique scenarios and the system's capability to initiate actions based on the events received.

In the later part of our course, we will dive deeper into how SAP Order Management foundation uses these events to trigger discretionary actions, offering an exhaustive understanding of the SAP Order Management foundation system.

This lesson lays a firm foundation of understanding how the SAP Order Management foundation system functions as a central hub optimizing order management. Through the course, we will delve deeper into each of these stages for an in-depth understanding.

In this lesson, we'll go over several critical terms related to the SAP Order Management foundation. Understanding these definitions will aid in the successful deployment and use of the SAP Order Management foundation.

Sales Channels

These are platforms or routes through which SAP Order Management foundation receives orders. They can be physical stores, websites, or e-commerce platforms.

Fulfillment Channels

They are destinations to which SAP Order Management foundation dispatches orders for processing. Examples include a warehouse management application, an in-store fulfillment application, or an ERP back end.

Orchestration

This is the lifecycle management of an order. The SAP Order Management foundation uses an orchestration microservice to handle order dispatch processes.

External Services

These include third-party solutions that interact with orders, like payment, tax, or email communication services, as well as services that carry out order execution.

Orders & Order Items

An order is a set of products/services that need fulfillment for a customer. An order item refers to individual line items within an order - each specific product, subscription, or service.

Fulfillment Requests

These are subsets of orders sent out for execution. If an order has to be split for fulfillment, each part delivered separately is a fulfillment request. A fulfillment request corresponds to a consignment in SAP Commerce Cloud or a delivery in ERP back ends.

Fulfillment items

These are individual line items within a fulfillment request.

Business events & Order Activities

Business events represent order lifecycle incidents that are kept track of and published to the SAP Event Mesh for other systems to monitor. Order activities are specifically managed incidents received from external systems interacting with the orders. They can also trigger the publication of business events.

With SAP Order Management foundation, agility stems from its ability to define and receive updates from external systems. Then, SAP Order Management foundation can react accordingly, triggering another application to take action, and publishing this information for subscribing applications to utilize.

By understanding these definitions, you will be better equipped to use and navigate SAP Order Management foundation effectively and efficiently. The subsequent lessons will build upon these foundational terms.

In this context, let's step back and look at the big picture of the SAP Order Management Foundation.

Central Hub for Order Management

The SAP Order Management Foundation is like a central hub that allows order submission, orchestration and recording of business activities occurring across various sales channels and fulfillment channels. It aims to administer the complete lifecycle of an order, from order capture to final delivery, potentially even beyond.

Easy, Flexible Process Definition

The simplicity and flexibility in defining processes form an integral part of the SAP Order Management Foundation. It allows triggering a series of modular steps and activities that interact with both internal and external systems. This flexibility caters to the diversity of business needs and processes, enabling a streamlined order management system.

The Air Traffic Controller Analogy

Think of the SAP Order Management Foundation as an air traffic controller. Just as the air traffic controller directs planes, indicating where and how to land without actually landing the plane themselves, the SAP Order Management Foundation guides the orders, determining when to trigger different activities. It doesn't fulfill the orders but directs them to the appropriate fulfillment channel, particularly vital in a distributed landscape with many different players involved in the process.

This lesson presents an overview of how SAP Order Management Foundation serves as a central hub, offering streamlined order management across various channels and systems.

It's flexible and efficient, coordinating multiple players like an air traffic controller to ensure a smooth order delivery process. The following lessons will delve further into its features and functionalities.

Introduction

Supplementary resources are invaluable for a deeper understanding and effective utilization of the SAP Order Management Foundation. Here are the chief references recommended for further exploration.

SAP Help Guide

The SAP Help Guide is an exhaustive resource that provides detailed explanations about various services and features. It includes documentation like the Service Guide and Feature Scope that offer further insights into the functions and usage of different services within the SAP Order Management Foundation.

API Business Hub

The API Business Hub provides access to individual API calls used in the SAP Order Management Foundation. You can explore the Integration Suite definitions and understand how the APIs function to deliver the services you need. This is an invaluable tool for developers and those interested in unravelling the more technical aspects of the product.