"Road Map for Delivering BI Publisher Documents from Oracle EBS"

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"Today Oracle EBS users are required to print Oracle documents and supporting attachments in two separate steps. This is because database attachments typically reside in MS Office document formats (Word, Excel, Project, etc.) and are not printable on a UNIX platform."
Source : STR Software

Resources Related to Road Map for Delivering BI Publisher Documents from Oracle EBS:

• Oracle E-Business Suite (Wikipedia)

Road Map for Delivering BI Publisher Documents from Oracle EBS

A Guide to the Automated Delivery of Oracle E-Business Suite Documents via Email and Fax

This paper is intended to educate users, developers, managers, and executives of companies using Oracle E-Business Suite to automate and maintain the distribution of business documents.

Communications between companies is critical so that commerce may occur smoothly and effectively. Any delay in the delivery of information may seriously affect the ability of a company to complete the manufacture, assembly, or shipment of its product or service. Delays impact profitability. Therefore, it is important for every organization to evaluate its communications methods, improve speed and accuracy, and most of all, reduce or eliminate costs along the way.

Business documents (purchase orders, invoices, statements, packing slips, etc.) tend to be well-defined, printed and distributed to intended recipients. Some companies cling to the use of printing these documents on preprinted, multi-part forms. More progressive companies have purchased "forms packages," replacing the preprinted form with an electronic form which distributes to several printers dispersed throughout the company infrastructure.

Unfortunately, many companies overlook automating business communications by failing to improve the delivery of these critical business documents. They continue to use postal delivery, courier delivery, or manual faxing. All three of these methods include wasted material costs, human intervention, and delivery costs. Fortunately, this inefficiency may be significantly reduced or completely eliminated by using an automated document delivery solution.

In late 2004, Oracle Corporation introduced BI Publisher (also known as XML Publisher and is hereafter referred to as BIP) available on Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) 11i. BIP effectively eliminates the need for third-party tools to create electronic forms. Standard tools like Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word may be used to create a form, and "tokens"' place data (such as the company, address, PO number, line items, etc.) from the Oracle database directly onto the form. By using common applications to simplify forms creation and offering a delivery mechanism, BIP greatly improves the efficiency of the document delivery process.

Throughout this paper we will utilize the scenario below as a road map for how the automated delivery of BIP documents from Oracle EBS can help your organization increase profitability. Studies show that companies utilizing an automated document delivery solution experience significant cost savings. Depending on the size of your organization and quantity of documents emailed and faxed daily, these savings can reach well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Our road map scenario for Vision Operations assumes the following:

1. two purchasing agents are in charge of all POs,
2. Vision Operations creates 25 new purchase order requests daily (total of 50 POs),
3. agents use Oracle EBS to create and print POs on a "pre-printed" form,
4. POs are distributed with a diagram and terms and conditions attached, and
5. agents spend an average of seven minutes faxing each PO (approximately six hours a day).

Business Case: Vision Operations wants to increase resource efficiency and save money on business operations by implementing an enterprise solution for the automated delivery of BIP documents from Oracle EBS via email and fax

Road Map:

1. Use Oracle's native functionality to create and deliver POs
2. Leverage BI Publisher/XML Publisher to create electronic PO forms
3. Distribute POs directly from native Oracle EBS forms
4. Attach Oracle database files (diagram and T&Cs) to POs
5. Systematically monitor successful and failed document deliveries
6. Automate other documents (Statements, Invoices, etc.) from Oracle EBS

Road Map Item 1: Document Delivery with Oracle's Native Functionality

Starting with version 11i, Oracle Corporation incrementally improved its capability of providing an automated document delivery solution. However, the purchase order is the only document enabled for document delivery.

PO Approval

Using the PO Approval Form functionality of Oracle EBS, the user is presented with a particular screen (see Figure 1) when approving the document. Note: the screen supports selection of delivery for print, fax, and/or email.

Print

If the checkbox is selected for print as shown in the form, then the document, without supporting attachments, is printed to the user's default Oracle printer.

The output from Oracle Reports is a simple ASCII text report. If an organization purchases pre-printed forms, it must ensure that the text is properly aligned on the pre-printed form. Otherwise, a third-party forms package can be used to eliminate the pre-printed form. With the introduction of BIP, the option to generate PDF formatted reports is now enabled. In order to print a document created by BIP, PASTA must be installed so that the PDF data can be converted to PostScript.

Fax

Returning to the PO Approval form, if the checkbox is selected for fax, then the fax number is extracted from the supplier table and displayed (as shown in Figure 3).

The output from Oracle Reports is a simple PDF generated by BIP. The PDF output has a similar mechanism whereby a separate command file is generated. Years ago, Oracle Corporation added this information (Fax Command Language) to support integration with a document delivery system. These commands effectively inform the delivery system of the recipient fax machine, document type, and other information. Note: an organization MUST have a third-party document delivery system to actually process and deliver these documents.

Email

With the PO Approval form, if the checkbox is selected for email, then the email address is extracted from the supplier table and displayed (as shown in Figure 4).

Tools Communicate

Starting in 11i10, Oracle introduced the "Tools -> Communicate" method for delivering purchase orders. The purpose of this form is to allow buyers to fax/email/print a document without having to "re-approve" a purchase order. This form is accessed via the Purchase Order Summary form and is similar in functionality to the PO Approval form (as shown in Figure 6). This form is only accessible if using BI Publisher to format purchase orders.

In all cases above, Oracle has enabled some commands via profile options that allow the addition of text based terms and conditions via email and the ability to send an email to a hard coded secondary recipient. Unfortunately, in all cases above, the submission of multiple purchase orders at the same time (i.e. a range of POs) and the ability to choose more than one communication method is not permitted.

Road Map Update:

1. Use Oracle's native functionality to create and deliver POs - Complete
2. Leverage BI Publisher/XML Publisher to create electronic PO forms
3. Distribute POs directly from native Oracle EBS forms
4. Attach Oracle database files (diagram and T&Cs) to POs
5. Systematically monitor successful and failed document deliveries
6. Automate other documents (Statements, Invoices, etc.) from Oracle EBS

Road Map Item 2: BI Publisher/XML Publisher for the Creation of Forms

BIP is a Java-based product within the Oracle Fusion Middleware family. While BIP provides a limited document delivery feature, most companies leverage BIP for the creation of report forms.

BIP and the Creation of Forms

Leveraging tools such as Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft Word, users can create and maintain report layouts in a familiar, easy-to-use environment (as shown in Figure 7). Instead of relying on costly pre-printed forms and the potential waste that could be incurred by subtle changes to the look and feel of the document, BIP allows users to make changes instantaneously. Third party forms utilities can also be abandoned and the support costs of these utilities returned to the company for other projects. Creating a "template" is easy with Oracle's BI Publisher Desktop for Windows utility. This tool installs a plug-in for Microsoft Word that allows users to quickly and easily create and edit templates by dragging and dropping data components on to the page. With the ability to quickly and easily format documents with an out of the box solution from Oracle, EBS customers now have the ability to remove pre-printed forms and 3rd party forms packages from their environment and utilize a native, supported solution.

Road Map Update:

1. Use Oracle's native functionality to create and deliver POs - Complete
2. Leverage BI Publisher/XML Publisher to create electronic PO forms - Complete
3. Distribute POs directly from native Oracle EBS forms
4. Attach Oracle database files (diagram and T&Cs) to POs
5. Systematically monitor successful and failed document deliveries
6. Automate other documents (Statements, Invoices, etc.) from Oracle EBS

BIP Document Delivery

As evidenced from the architecture diagram (see Figure 8), BIP also has the ability to deliver data via fax and email. This is accomplished with BIP's Delivery Manager.

The BIP Delivery Manager is a set of Java APIs that can be utilized to facilitate the delivery of your documents to their intended recipients. For complete specifications on the API, please consult the BIP documentation.

For fax, the open source UNIX package, Common UNIX Printing Solution (CUPS), must be installed along with a fax package capable of communicating with CUPS. Oracle suggests the open source packages, eFax and FAX4CUPS. These packages integrate with fax modems, although do not provide a high level of throughput or manageability such as resending, redialing, error correction/detection, and cancellation of documents. For email, the Delivery Manager API uses standard SMTP calls.

While BIP is certainly more than capable of delivering documents, there is neither a direct integration with Oracle EBS nor is there a packaged solution readily available for ‘out of the box' use. There are many options available for a company to fax and email using the BIP Delivery Manager, including:

• BIP Java Delivery Manager classes to develop a solution to determine recipient information, call the appropriate APIs, and then return the status of the document back into Oracle EBS
• BIP Bursting Control File and CUPS to develop a solution to deliver documents to a single phone number

Both methods require significant work in order to integrate a solution into Oracle EBS. Once the foundation has been set, additional work is required in order to develop standard document delivery functionality, like:

• Delivering documents directly from the native application
• Providing confirmations and reporting on document status back a submitting user
• Creating tools for management of the system is necessary, for example; schedule documents for delivery, error detection and correction and ability to resend or retry documents upon delivery failure

Road Map Items 3 — 6: Role of Third Party Vendors in Document Delivery

As evidenced above, Oracle has added functionality that allows users to distribute formatted POs from Oracle EBS. While this functionality is helpful, there are inherent limitations.

Oracle EBS:

• Functionality is only applicable for Purchase Orders and is limited to one PO document and one recipient per transmission
• Users are restricted to sending only the PO document; they cannot attach additional documents
• Application requires delivery hardware to complete the document transmission

BIP:

• Significant development is required to expose delivery options; specifically, a considerable amount of coding is required in order to create standard document delivery functionality (direct integration with Oracle EBS, ability to pull recipient information, provide delivery confirmations, report on document status, create document delivery schedules, resend or retry documents on failure, etc.)

Independent Software Vendors like STR Software, take unrelated Oracle products (in Oracle EBS and BIP) and bridge the gap. The result is a tight integration within Oracle EBS and a robust feature set. Below are a few examples of STR Software's AventX Oracle Connector functionality:

• Native Oracle EBS Forms — STR Software's AventX product sits within the Oracle EBS application
• Document Attachments — supports attachments using standard Oracle functionality
• Delivery Status within Oracle Applications — query document delivery status from anywhere in the Oracle Application environment
• Ability to deliver ANY type of document (POs, Statements, Invoices, etc.)
• XML Publisher Integration — email and fax BIP generated reports
• Purchasing Workflow Integration — email and fax directly from Oracle's purchasing workflow process
• Unlimited Recipients — include any number and any combination of fax, email, print and archive destinations
• No duplication of data — uses email and fax address of suppliers and customers already present in Oracle EBS
• High Volume Distribution Capabilities — ability to a send single documents or high volume batch transmissions

Road Map Item 3: Distribute Documents from Native Oracle EBS Forms

By integrating a third party document delivery software within Oracle (as shown in Figure 9), users are able to automatically email and fax documents from within native Oracle EBS forms.

Road Map Item 4: Automatically Attach Oracle Database files to Workflow Documents

STR Software's AventX product is one of the few software packages that allows a user to automatically attach

Oracle database files to a workflow document (PO, Statement, Invoice, etc.) during email or fax transmission (as shown in Figure 10).

Road Map Item 5: Systematic Notification of Successful or Failed Documents

Systematic delivery notification of successful or failed documents (as shown in Figure 11) ensures your most critical business documents are monitored.

Road Map Item 6: Automate Delivery of Other Workflow Documents

While many organizations start the automated document delivery conversation with POs, AventX has been designed to distribute ANY document in ANY volume. Specifically, STR Software's customers enjoy the flexibility to distribute POs, Statements, Invoices, Sales Order Acknowledgments, Request for Quotations, Bill of Lading, Order Confirmation, Physician Referral, Insertion Order, and more.

As you can see, AventX takes the best features from Oracle EBS and BIP and creates additional functionality.

All the while, users never leave Oracle EBS.

Road Map Update:

1. Use Oracle's native functionality to create and deliver POs - Complete
2. Leverage BI Publisher/XML Publisher to create electronic PO forms — Complete
3. Distribute POs directly from native Oracle EBS forms - Complete
4. Attach Oracle database files (diagram and T&Cs) to POs - Complete
5. Systematically monitor successful and failed document deliveries - Complete
6. Automate other documents (Statements, Invoices, etc.) from Oracle EBS - Complete

Value of Document Delivery

By combining Oracle's native functionality with STR Software's AventX product suite, we have created a solution that solves Vision Operations' needs. This solution enables our client to remain competitive in today's global-centric business environment, in an era when management teams have mandated that costs be reduced while products and services improve. Organizations continually strive to shorten the "order-to-cash" cycle (with regards to invoices, sales orders, statements, etc.) and shorten the "procure-to-receive" cycle (request for quotations, purchase orders, etc.). Implementing an automated document delivery solution achieves all of these mandates and initiatives.

Companies typically demand a payback on investment of less than two years when purchasing a system to improve upon a task or procedure; automated document delivery is no different. In most cases, automated document delivery solutions provide an ROI measurable in months. The actual time and savings depends simply upon the daily volume of pages delivered.

In our example, the ROI is as follows:

• Average number of pages per fax: 4 (cover page, PO, diagram and terms and conditions)
• Average hourly wage of employee: $10.00
• Long-distance telephone charges: 6¢/minute

With as few as 50 faxes transmitted per day, a company can save more than $25,000 annually. In our example, savings will be even more dramatic, as the BIP integration will remove the need for expensive preprinted forms.

What to look for in a Vendor

 When considering a document delivery solution, try to obtain the following information from each vendor as it pertains to their automated document delivery system:

• Product documentation rather than marketing collateral
• A live demonstration of the vendor's product operating within Oracle EBS rather than a slide presentation
• References, specifically companies that have experienced several product upgrades of the document delivery system and upgrades of Oracle EBS
• Annual support agreement — what is included
• Source of Support — is it provided by the vendor or an outsourced company
• Customizations — does the vendor document product customizations and support them during the life of the relationship
• Implementation — ask for a detailed outline and list of tasks, ask if you can do it yourself, and ask for references of those who did

Summary

As evidenced, there is a significant amount of complexity and consideration behind automated document delivery. Oracle provides some basic email and fax functionality, however, it does not address all facets of document delivery. A third-party solution like STR Software's AventX Oracle Connector must be present to actually "deliver" a fax. Key points such as how a document is submitted, methods of transmission, and how documents are acknowledged and managed must be considered for a successful implementation.

Understanding your requirements for document delivery is a crucial first step in determining the best solution for your company.

To learn more about how STR Software can help save your company time and money,
please visit us online at
www.strsoftware.com
or call us at 804-897-1600 x.2 (toll free 800-897-7097).

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About STR Software

Founded in 1986, STR Software, an enterprise software company, is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Providing a single point of contact for its AventX Product Suite, the company develops, markets, and supports automated document delivery solutions for email, fax, and internet fax for host ERP applications such as Oracle

E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, and SAP in Unix, Linux, MPE, and Windows environments. STR Software, an Oracle PartnerNetwork Certified Partner, has been recognized for engineering reliable "Solutions That Run."

AventX is a registered trademark and the property of STR Software. All products and companies herein may be registered or unregistered trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.