Ebs 122 Cum RCD Proc

Oracle E-Business Suite
Release Content Document
Procurement
Releases 12.1 and 12.2 (inclusive
of 12.0.2 – 12.2.10)
Prepared by Oracle E-Business Suite Product Development
Last Updated: February 9, 2021
Copyright © 2011, 2021, Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Table of Contents
1. Disclaimer 11
2. Introduction 12
2.1. Purpose of Document 12
3. New and Changed Features in Procurement 13
3.1. Oracle iProcurement 13
3.1.1. Overview 13
3.1.2. Release 12.1.1 13
3.1.2.1. Change Management for Internal Requisitions 13
3.1.3. Release 12.1.2 13
3.1.3.1. Inline Commodity Classification 13
3.1.4. Release 12.1.3+ 14
3.1.4.1. Information Template Enhancements 14
3.1.4.2. Primary Favorite Charge Account Can Take Precedence over Employee Charge Account 14
3.1.4.3. Dual Budgetary Control Support 14
3.1.4.4. Attachment Support in Change Order Process 14
3.1.4.5. Account Generator Support in Requisition Import 14
3.1.4.6. Requisition Update PL/SQL API 14
3.1.4.7. Requisition Approval On the Go 14
3.1.4.8. Attachment Support in Desktop Receipts 15
3.1.4.9. Requisition Change Order Enhancements 15
3.1.4.10. Return of Selected Requisition Lines 15
3.1.4.11. Internal and External Descriptors 15
3.1.4.12. Custom Attributes for Direct Punchout 15
3.1.4.13. Search Capability for Smart Forms 15
3.1.5. Release 12.2 16
3.1.5.1. Automatic Updates to Encumbrance (General Ledger) Date 16
3.1.5.2. Visibility of Item Master Attachments in Item Search and Detail Pages 16
3.1.6. Release 12.2.4 16
3.1.6.1. One-Step Checkout 16
3.1.7. Release 12.2.5 16
3.1.7.1. Reuse of Smart Forms Across Operating Units 16
3.1.7.2. Retention of One-Time Addresses 16
3.1.7.3. Generation of Default Requisition Need-by Date 16
3.1.8. Release 12.2.6 17
3.1.8.1. Withdrawal of Requester-Initiated Change Requests 17
3.1.8.2. Support for Foreign Currency in Catalog Request 17
3.1.8.3. Spot Buy for Privileged Requesters 17
3.1.8.4. Enhanced Non-Catalog & Contractor Request Flows 17
3.1.9. Release 12.2.7 18
3.1.9.1. New Supplier Onboarding for Non-Catalog Request & Contractor Request 18
3.1.9.2. New Supplier Creation for Spot Buy Purchases 18
3.1.9.3. View Charge Account Details in the Requisition Approval Notification 18
3.1.9.4. Shopping Cart User Interface Improvements 18
3.1.9.5. New Requester Notifications for Purchase Order Status Updates 18
3.1.9.6. Web Services for Requisition Creation 19
3.1.10. Release 12.2.8 19
3.1.10.1. Option to Register a Supplier for Non-Catalog Request & Contractor Request 19
3.1.10.2. Option to Register a Supplier for Spot Buy Purchases 19
3.1.10.3. List Price for an Item in Requisition from Master Organization 19
Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2 Release Content Document ii
3.1.10.4. Ability to Split Distributions in Catalog Requisitions 19
3.1.10.5. View ‘Full List’ of Requisitions to Receive for Predefined Days Bucket 19
3.1.11. Release 12.2.9 20
3.1.11.1. Line Number Generation while Requisition Import based on Need-By date 20
3.1.11.2. Improvements in iProcurement Receiving Pages 20
3.1.11.3. Multiple PO Numbers in Requisition Summary page 20
3.1.11.4. Ability to Identify Spot Buy Requisitions 20
3.1.11.5. Ability to Change Item Description in iProcurement 20
3.1.11.6. Ability to Search Requisition Lines Based on Internal Item Number 20
3.1.12. Release 12.2.10 20
3.1.12.1. Improved Store & Content Zone Search Options in Catalog Administration 20
3.1.12.2. Enhanced Spot Buy Configuration to Enable User Level Spend Threshold Limits 21
3.2. Oracle iProcurement Consumer-like Shopping 21
3.2.1. Overview 21
3.2.2. Release 12.2.8+ 21
3.2.2.1. Universal Catalogs Search 21
3.2.2.2. Advanced Filtering 22
3.2.2.3. Item Comparison 22
3.2.2.4. Ratings and Reviews for Items and Services 22
3.2.2.5. Preferred Item Indicators 22
3.2.3. Release 12.2.9+ 22
3.2.3.1. New Homepage for iProcurement Consumer-like Shopping 22
3.2.3.2. Relevance Ranking in Results page 23
3.2.4. Release 12.2.9++ 23
3.2.4.1. Homepage updates 23
3.2.4.2. Auto-Suggest matching catalog items for non-catalog requests 23
3.2.5. Release 12.2.10 23
3.2.5.1. Highly Rated Items 23
3.2.5.2. Employee Shopping Search Tracker 24
3.3. Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus 24
3.3.1. Overview 24
3.3.2. V3 24
3.3.2.1. Universal Catalogs Search 24
3.3.2.2. Advanced Filtering 24
3.3.2.3. Item Comparison 24
3.3.2.4. Ease of Implementation and Configuration 24
3.3.3. V6 25
3.3.3.1. Ratings and Reviews for Items and Services 25
3.3.3.2. Requester Feedback 25
3.3.3.3. Improved Homepage for Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus 25
3.3.3.4. Price Break on Information Discovery Search Page 25
3.3.3.5. Multiple-Supplier Catalog Upload 25
3.3.4. V7 26
3.3.4.1. Homepages for Casual and Experienced Users 26
3.3.4.2. Preferred Item Indicators 26
3.3.4.3. Influence sort order Guided Buying 26
3.3.4.4. Requester Visibility into Procurement Operations 26
3.3.5. V8 27
3.3.5.1. Auto-Suggest Catalog Items 27
3.3.5.2. Show Procurement Activities to the Requesters 27
3.3.6. V9 27
3.3.6.1. Homepage Improvements for iProcurement Information Discovery Plus 27
3.4. Oracle Mobile iProcurement for Oracle E-Business Suite 27
3.4.1. Mobile Release 2.1 – Client Version 1.1.0 27
3.4.1.1. Mobile Foundation Release 2.1 Updates 27
3.4.1.2. Accessibility Improvements 28
3.4.2.1. Android Support 28
Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2 Release Content Document iii
3.4.3.2. Translation Support 28
3.4.5.1. Self-Service Receiving for Eligible Requisitions 28
3.4.5.2. Enhanced Requisition Line Statuses and Icons 29
3.4.7. Mobile Release 8.0 29
3.5. Oracle iSupplier Portal 30
3.5.1. Overview 30
3.5.2. Release 12.0.3 (RUP3) 30
3.5.2.1. Forward Port of JFMIP/FSIO from 11.5.10 to R12 for Federal Customers 30
3.5.3. Release 12.1.1 31
3.5.3.1. Dispute Resolution for G-Log Invoices 31
3.5.3.2. AP/AR Netting 31
3.5.3.3. Products and Services Search 31
3.5.3.4. Business Classification Recertification 31
3.5.3.5. Third Party Payments 31
3.5.4. Release 12.1.3 32
3.5.4.1. Work Confirmation Correction 32
3.5.5. Release 12.1.3+ 32
3.5.5.1. Support for Backdated Work Confirmation 32
3.5.5.2. Simplification of the Acknowledgement and Change Request Flow 32
3.5.5.3. ASN/ASBN Support for Outsourced Manufacturing Purchase Orders 32
3.5.5.4. Prospective Suppliers Upload Attachments During Registration 32
3.5.6. Release 12.2 33
3.5.6.1. Integration with Oracle Flow Manufacturing to View and Edit E-Kanbans 33
3.5.6.2. Capture of Additional Supplier Contact Details 33
3.5.7. Release 12.2.6 33
3.5.7.1. Cancelation of ASN Shipment Line Functionality for Suppliers 33
3.5.7.2. New ASN / ASBN Barcode Report for Suppliers 33
3.5.7.3. Enhancements to Work Confirmations 33
3.5.8. Release 12.2.8 34
3.5.8.1. Supplier Broker/Representative User Account 34
3.5.9. Release 12.2.9 35
3.5.9.1. Enhanced Password Security for iSupplier Portal Supplier Users 35
3.5.10. Release 12.2.10 35
3.5.10.1. Visibility to Related Contracts and Repository Deliverables 35
3.5.10.2. Address Status for Supplier User 35
3.6. Oracle Procurement Contracts 35
3.6.1. Overview 35
3.6.2. Release 12.0.2 (RUP2) 35
3.6.2.1. User-Defined Variables with PL/SQL Procedures as Source 35
3.6.3. Release 12.1.1 35
3.6.3.1. Structured Terms Authoring in Contract Repository 35
3.6.3.2. Secure Enterprise Search – Desupported 36
3.6.3.3. Deliverable Payment Holds 36
3.6.4. Release 12.1.2 37
3.6.4.1. Individual Clause Authoring in Microsoft Word 37
3.6.4.2. Project Manager Dashboard for Maintenance of Procurement Deliverables 38
Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2 Release Content Document iv
3.6.5. Release 12.1.3+ 38
3.6.5.1. Multiple Templates for One Sourcing or Purchasing Document 38
3.6.5.2. APIs for Importing Templates, Rules, Questions and Constants 38
3.6.5.3. New Clause Descriptor Field 39
3.6.5.4. Clause Mandatory Attribute at Rule Level 39
3.6.5.5. Clause Section Placement by Contract Expert 39
3.6.5.6. Deletion of Provisional Sections from Solicitation to Award 39
3.6.5.7. Instruction Text 39
3.6.5.8. Multi-Row Variables 39
3.6.5.9. Display of and Sort by Clause Number 39
3.6.5.10. Contract Expert Performance Improvements 40
3.6.5.11. Contract Expert History 40
3.6.5.12. Contract Expert Test Workbench 40
3.6.5.13. Delete Function for Multiple Clauses, Sections and Deliverables 40
3.6.5.14. Defaulting Rules for Contract Administrator 40
3.6.5.15. Purge Process for Repository Contracts 41
3.6.5.16. Microsoft Word Certification for Clause and Document Authoring 41
3.6.5.17. Repository Contracts Printing Enhancement 41
3.6.6. Release 12.2 41
3.6.6.1. Repository Contracts Configurability Enhancements 41
3.6.6.2. User-Defined Attribute Support for Deliverables 41
3.6.7. Release 12.2.4 41
3.6.7.1. Repository Contracts Printing Enhancement 41
3.6.7.2. Print UDA with Deliverables 42
3.6.8. Release 12.2.5 42
3.6.8.1. Update of User-Defined Attributes on Approved Contracts 42
3.6.9. Release 12.2.6 42
3.6.9.1. Related Contracts in Purchasing and Contract Repository 42
3.6.9.2. Contract Hierarchy 42
3.6.9.3. Advanced Search Enhancements for Contract Hierarchy 43
3.6.10. Release 12.2.7 43
3.6.10.1. Content Search 43
3.6.11. Release 12.2.10 43
3.6.11.1. Print Full Clause Text of Include by Reference Clauses 43
3.7. Oracle Purchasing 44
3.7.1. Overview 44
3.7.2. Release 12.0.2 (RUP2) 44
3.7.2.1. Integration with Oracle Transportation Management 44
3.7.2.2. APIs for Oracle iSetup 44
3.7.3. Release 12.0.6 (RUP6) 44
3.7.3.1. Contract Commitments Integration with Oracle Self-Service Purchasing (Oracle Public Sector Financials
International) 44
3.7.4. Release 12.1.1 44
3.7.4.1. Purchase Order Mass Update 44
3.7.4.2. Contract Reference from Any Supplier Site for GCPA 45
3.7.4.3. FPDS-NG Integration 45
3.7.5. Release 12.1.2 45
3.7.5.1. Purchase Order Pricing Enhancement 45
3.7.5.2. Project Security Within Oracle Purchasing 45
3.7.5.3. Procurement Web Services for Oracle Purchasing 46
3.7.6. Release 12.1.3 46
3.7.6.1. Oracle Landed Cost Management Integration 46
3.7.6.2. Asset Lifecycle Management Integration 46
3.7.7. Release 12.1.3+ 46
3.7.7.1. Encumbered Document Revisions Without Un-Reserving Funds 46
3.7.7.2. Approvals Management Engine for Purchase Order Approvals 47
3.7.7.3. Current and Pending Approvers in Action History Region 47
3.7.7.4. Withdrawal of Purchase Order After Submission for Approval 47
3.7.7.5. Configurable Notification in Purchase Order 47
3.7.7.6. Outside Processing Lines in Global Blanket Purchase Agreements 47
Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2 Release Content Document v
3.7.7.7. Support for Importing Complex Purchase Orders 48
3.7.7.8. New Approved Supplier List APIs 48
3.7.7.9. Buyer Work Center Session Preferences 48
3.7.7.10. Purchasing Document Open Interface Enhancements 48
3.7.7.11. Business Service Object (BSO) Web Service 48
3.7.7.12. Promised Date Calculation Based on Lead Time 48
3.7.7.13. Purchase Order Approval On the Go 49
3.7.7.14. Enabling GBPA in Supplier Scheduling 49
3.7.7.15. Support for Multiple Communication Modes in Purchasing Documents 49
3.7.8. Release 12.2 49
3.7.8.1. Automatic Updates to Encumbrance (General Ledger) Date 49
3.7.8.2. Support for Additional Extension Hooks 50
3.7.9. Release 12.2.4 50
3.7.9.1. Spreadsheet-Based Authoring of Purchase Order Lines 50
3.7.10. Release 12.2.5 50
3.7.10.1. Support for Oracle Process Manufacturing Outside Processing Items 50
3.7.10.2. Enhancements to Purchase Order Business Service Object Web Service 50
3.7.11. Release 12.2.6 50
3.7.11.1. Configurable Defaulting Rule for Acknowledgement Due Date 50
3.7.11.2. Promised Date and Shipment Date Synchronization for Drop Ship Orders 51
3.7.11.3. Purchase Order Approval Notification Enhancements 51
3.7.11.4. Notification of Purchase Order Creation 51
3.7.11.5. Related Contracts 51
3.7.12. Release 12.2.7 52
3.7.12.1. AutoCreate Multiple Requisitions to a Single Purchase Order 52
3.7.12.2. Validate BPA Line Amount Agreed During Order/Release Submission 52
3.7.12.3. Enhanced Control Over Purchase Order Approval Notification Actions 52
3.7.12.4. New requester notifications for Purchase Order status updates 52
3.7.12.5. Add all Lines of Requisition to the Order Document at Once 52
3.7.12.6. Content Search and Enhanced Advanced Search 53
3.7.13. Release 12.2.8 53
3.7.13.1. Maintain Notes from Buyer Work Center 53
3.7.13.2. Purchase order rejection notifications for requester 53
3.7.14. Release 12.2.9 53
3.7.14.1. User-Defined Attribute support for Purchase Orders 53
3.7.14.2. Ability to view and compare changes before approving Purchase Order Revision 53
3.7.15. Release 12.2.10 54
3.7.15.1. Improvements to Schedule Split Action for Professional Buyers 54
3.7.15.2. Ability to Populate VMI Flag in Manually Created Requisitions 54
3.7.15.3. Interface Intragovernmental Transactions to G-Invoicing 54
3.8. Oracle Procurement Command Center 54
3.8.1. Overview 54
3.8.2. Release 12.2.9+ 55
3.8.2.1. Procurement Operations Dashboard 55
3.8.2.2. Indirect Procurement Dashboard 55
3.8.2.3. Supplier Analysis Dashboard 55
3.8.3. Release 12.2.9++ 55
3.8.3.1. Enhancements to Procurement Operations Dashboard 55
3.8.3.2. Enhancements to Indirect Procurement Dashboard 58
3.8.3.3. Enhanced Actions in the Supplier Analysis Dashboard 58
3.8.3.4. Item Analysis Dashboard 59
3.8.3.5. Strategic Sourcing Dashboard 59
3.8.4. Release 12.2.10 60
3.8.4.1. Employee Shopping Search Tracker 60
3.9. Oracle Mobile Procurement for Oracle E-Business Suite 60
3.9.1.1. Mobile Foundation 2.1 Updates 60
3.9.1.2. Accessibility Improvements 61
Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2 Release Content Document vi
3.9.2.1. Android Support 61
3.9.3.2. Translation Support 61
3.10. Oracle Project Procurement Command Center 62
3.10.1. Overview 62
3.10.2. Release 12.2.9++ 62
3.10.2.1. Procurement Plan Dashboard 62
3.10.2.2. Project Procurement Dashboard 63
3.10.2.3. Item Analysis Dashboard 63
3.10.2.4. Supplier Analysis Dashboard 63
3.11. Oracle Project Procurement Command Center Plus 63
3.11.1. Overview 63
3.11.2. V5 64
3.12. Oracle Services Procurement 64
3.12.1. Overview 64
3.12.2. Release 12.1.1 64
3.12.2.1. Time Reporting and Contractor Assignment Flexibility 64
3.12.3. Release 12.1.2 65
3.12.3.1. Oracle Projects – Work Confirmations 65
3.12.4. Release 12.2.4 65
3.12.4.1. Advances, Recoupment, and Retainage for Standard Purchase Orders 65
3.12.4.2. Support for Inventory Destinations in Complex Purchase Orders 65
3.12.5. Release 12.2.5 65
3.12.5.1. Job Standardization and Rate Cards for Hiring Contingent Laborers 65
3.12.6. Release 12.2.6 66
3.12.6.1. Support for Foreign Currency in Contractor Request 66
3.12.6.2. Enhancements to Work Confirmations 66
3.12.7. Release 12.2.10 66
3.12.7.1. Work Confirmation Processing using Approval Date 66
3.13. Oracle Sourcing 66
3.13.1. Overview 66
3.13.2. Release 12.1.1 66
3.13.2.1. Two Stage Evaluation of Requests for Quotation (RFQs) 66
3.13.2.2. Two-Stage RFQ and Surrogate Bids 67
3.13.2.3. Supplier Response PDF 67
3.13.2.4. Enhanced Spreadsheet Support 67
3.13.2.5. Countdown Clock 69
3.13.2.6. Price Tier Enhancements 69
3.13.2.7. Cost Factor Enhancements 69
3.13.3. Release 12.1.2 69
3.13.3.1. Earnest Money Deposit 69
3.13.4. Release 12.1.3 70
3.13.4.1. Requester Field in the Sourcing Header 70
3.13.4.2. Descriptive Flex fields in Oracle Sourcing Header 70
3.13.4.3. Landed Cost Management (LCM) Integration 71
3.13.5. Release 12.1.3+ 71
3.13.5.1. Online Discussions Attachments 71
3.13.5.2. Terms and Conditions Controls 71
3.13.5.3. Lot Price Summation 72
Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2 Release Content Document vii
3.13.5.4. Remove Supervisor from Collaboration Team 72
3.13.5.5. Sort and Delete Suppliers from Invited Suppliers Page 72
3.13.5.6. Cancel Closed Negotiations 72
3.13.6. Release 12.2 72
3.13.6.1. Add Requisition Lines to a Draft Negotiation 72
3.13.6.2. Response Withdrawal 73
3.13.6.3. Track Amendment Acknowledgements 73
3.13.7. Release 12.2.2 73
3.13.7.1. Staggered Awards 73
3.13.7.2. Import of Price Breaks 73
3.13.7.3. Negative Cost Factors 73
3.13.7.4. Sourcing APIs 73
3.13.8. Release 12.2.4 74
3.13.8.1. Mass Update of Buyers 74
3.13.8.2. Surrogate Quotes for Suppliers Without User Account 74
3.13.9. Release 12.2.5 74
3.13.9.1. Multiple Active Offers 74
3.13.9.2. Alternate Lines 74
3.13.9.3. Sourcing Initiatives 74
3.13.10. Release 12.2.6 75
3.13.10.1. Alternate Negotiation Terms 75
3.13.10.2. Enhancements to Sourcing Initiatives 75
3.13.10.3. Sourcing Collaborator Responsibility 75
3.13.11. Release 12.2.7 76
3.13.11.1. Flexible Default Outcome for Sourcing Document Builder 76
3.13.11.2. Add to existing Blanket Purchase Agreement 76
3.13.11.3. Content Search 76
3.13.11.4. Apply Templates on Draft Negotiations 76
3.13.12. Release 12.2.8 77
3.13.12.1. Re-award Negotiation 77
3.13.13. Release 12.2.9 77
3.13.13.1. Approvals Management Engine for Negotiation Approvals 77
3.13.13.2. Online Negotiation of Contract Terms with Suppliers 77
3.13.13.3. Default Sorting when Rank Indicator is Win/Lose 77
3.13.14. Release 12.2.10 77
3.13.14.1. Online Discussions Enhancements 77
3.14. Oracle Sourcing Optimization 78
3.14.1. Overview 78
3.14.2. Release 12.1.1 78
3.14.2.1. Oracle Sourcing Optimization Enhancements 78
3.14.2.2. Price Tier Optimization 79
3.14.2.3. Supplier Incentives 79
3.15. Oracle Spend Classification 79
3.15.1. Overview 79
3.15.2. Release 12.1.2 80
3.15.2.1. Integration with Oracle Procurement and Spend Analytics 7.9.6 80
3.15.2.2. Knowledge Base Creation and Incremental Updates 80
3.15.2.3. Multiple Knowledge Bases 80
3.15.2.4. Easy to Use User Interface 80
3.15.2.5. Export and Import to Excel 81
3.15.2.6. Classification of Data into Multiple Taxonomies 81
3.15.2.7. Inline Commodity Classification 81
3.15.3. Release 12.2 82
3.15.3.1. Reclassification of Historical Data 82
3.15.3.2. Asynchronous Approval Flow 82
3.15.3.3. Enhanced Training Data Upload 82
3.15.3.4. Enhanced Tracking Capabilities 82
3.15.3.5. Improvements in Analyzing Batches and Excel to Export 82
3.15.3.6. Increased Flexibility in Resetting Data 83
Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2 Release Content Document viii
3.15.3.7. Deletable Classification Batches 83
3.15.3.8. Run Classification on Selected Transactions 83
3.15.3.9. Simplified User Interface 83
3.15.3.10. Reset Prevention for Transactions in Classified, Unapproved Batches 83
3.16. Oracle Supplier Hub 83
3.16.1. Overview 83
3.16.2. Release 12.1.3 84
3.17. Oracle Supplier Lifecycle Management 84
3.17.1. Overview 84
3.17.2. Release 12.1.1+ 85
3.17.2.1. 360° Supplier View 85
3.17.2.2. Supplier Search 85
3.17.2.3. Supplier Profile Management (Including Self-Service) 85
3.17.2.4. Extended Supplier Profile 85
3.17.2.5. Registration and On-Boarding of New Suppliers 86
3.17.2.6. Qualification Management 86
3.17.2.7. Compliance and Profile Audits 87
3.17.2.8. Performance Evaluation 87
3.17.2.9. Supplier Notifications 87
3.17.3. Release 12.1.3+ 87
3.17.3.1. Mandatory Internal Requirements 87
3.17.3.2. Contact–Address Association 88
3.17.3.3. Keyword Search 88
3.17.3.4. Default User Creation 88
3.17.3.5. Reinstatement of Rejected Supplier Requests 88
3.17.3.6. Registration Approval Workflow Enhancements 88
3.17.3.7. Streamlined Prospective Supplier Registration Process 89
3.17.3.8. Link to Prospective Supplier Registration Status 89
3.17.3.9. Pre-Qualification Template and Dependent Questions 89
3.17.4. Release 12.2.4 89
3.17.4.1. Registration Approval Workflow Enhancements 89
3.17.4.2. Approval History on Supplier Profile 89
3.17.5. Release 12.2.5 90
3.17.5.1. Automated Assessment Process 90
3.17.5.2. Dynamic Invitation List 90
3.17.5.3. Sequential and Parallel Routing of Scoring 90
3.17.5.4. Update Evaluation After Submission 90
3.17.6. Release 12.2.6 91
3.17.6.1. Support for Bind Variables in Products and Services Configuration 91
3.17.7. Release 12.2.7 91
3.17.7.1. Improved Automated Recurring Assessments 91
3.17.7.2. Contact Purpose, Address Purpose and Associated Notifications 91
3.17.7.3. Execute Dynamic Supplier Lists 91
3.17.7.4. Initiate Supplier Onboarding through Non-Catalog Requests and Spot-Buy Purchases 91
3.17.8. Release 12.2.9 92
3.17.8.1. Approvals Management Engine for Assessment Approvals 92
3.17.9. Release 12.2.10 92
3.17.9.1. Invoice Event for Recurring Assessments 92
3.17.9.2. Address Validation in Supplier Registration Pages 92
3.18. Oracle Business Network 92
3.18.1. Overview 92
3.18.2. Version 5.0 93
3.18.2.1. Consolidated Hub Administration 93
3.18.2.2. Production Routing Controls 93
3.18.2.3. UTF-8 Support 93
3.19. Oracle Procurement Command Center Plus 93
3.19.1. Overview 93
3.19.2. V6 93
Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2 Release Content Document ix
3.19.2.1. Procurement Operations Dashboard 93
3.19.2.2. Indirect Procurement Dashboard 94
3.19.2.3. Action Items 94
3.19.2.4. Item Analysis 95
3.19.2.5. Supplier Analysis 95
3.19.3. V7 95
3.19.3.1. New Strategic Sourcing Dashboard 95
3.19.3.2. Support for Document Security 95
3.19.3.3. Support for Additional Supplier Performance Data Points 95
3.19.3.4. Web ADI Support for Bulk-Updating Purchase Orders 96
3.19.3.5. Buyer Notes (Action Items) Enhancements 96
3.19.3.6. User Experience Improvements 96
3.19.4. V8 96
3.19.4.1. Support for Partial Search 96
Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2 Release Content Document x
1. Disclaimer
This Release Content Document (RCD) describes product features that are proposed for
the specified releases of the Oracle E-Business Suite. This document describes new or
changed functionality only. Existing functionality from prior releases is not described. It
is intended solely to help you assess the business benefits of upgrading to the specified
release of the Oracle E-Business Suite.
This document in any form, software or printed matter, contains proprietary information
that is the exclusive property of Oracle. Your access to and use of this confidential
material is subject to the terms and conditions of your Oracle Software License and
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This document is for informational purposes only and is intended solely to assist you in
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in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or
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Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2 Release Content Document 11
2. Introduction
2.1. Purpose of Document

This Release Content Document (RCD) communicates information about new or changed
functionality introduced in Oracle E-Business Suite Releases 12.1 and 12.2, and in
subsequent Release Update Packs (RUPs) and off-cycle patches. For your convenience, it
also includes new or changed functionality introduced in the RUPs for Release 12,
including 12.0.2 through 12.0.7.
The features and enhancements described in this document are grouped by product, and
then by the release in which they first became available, for example, Release 12.1.1.
Features released in an off-cycle patch have a special designation – for example, a feature
released after 12.1.3, but before 12.2, is designated as Release 12.1.3+.
3. New and Changed Features in Procurement
3.1. Oracle iProcurement

3.1.1. Overview
Oracle iProcurement is the self-service requisitioning application that controls employee
spending. It is a key component of Oracle Advanced Procurement, the integrated suite
that dramatically cuts all supply management costs.
3.1.2. Release 12.1.1
3.1.2.1. Change Management for Internal Requisitions

In Release 12.1.1, processing for internal orders has been enhanced to offer additional
and better-coordinated change management capabilities. Now, quantity or date
information can be updated by either the requesting organization or the fulfillment
organization, and the updates will be accurately reflected on both the internal requisition
and the internal sales order. In addition, support is now provided for the cancellation of
internal transfer requests. All of these changes are now visible throughout the planning,
purchasing and order fulfillment workbenches.
A requester can update the Quantity and the Need-by Date of an approved internal
requisition. If desired, tolerances can be set for automatic approval of updates made to the
internal requisition.
Many new synchronization features are provided. Quantity and Need-by Date changes on
the internal requisition line are automatically propagated to the internal sales order and
vice versa. Cascading of an internal sales order Schedule Ship/Arrival date with the
internal requisition is controlled through a profile option. Cancellation of an internal
requisition or line automatically cancels the corresponding internal sales order or line and
vice versa. Finally, the urgent flag on the internal requisition line will flow onto the
internal sales order line as the shipment priority, based on a profile option setting.
3.1.3. Release 12.1.2
3.1.3.1. Inline Commodity Classification

At times, a requester may need to order off-catalog and create a Non-Catalog Request.
When a requester describes a purchase, there is a high likelihood of the purchase not
being classified into an existing commodity hierarchy. The results are misclassification of
spend information, contract leakage, lower compliance, and poor internal controls.
From R12.1.1 forward, a requester creating a Non-Catalog Request can choose from a list
of possible categories for the purchase being made. After the requester clicks Add to
Cart, they can view a suggested best-fit category along with a list of alternate categories.
The requester then picks the appropriate category and continues checking out. The same
window can also be used to parse the complete Category hierarchy. This functionality
uses the Oracle Spend Classification in real time to determine possible purchasing
categories for the item ordered. This capability allows even unstructured requests to be
categorized appropriately, aiding downstream spend analysis.
This feature has a prerequisite of Oracle Spend Classification.
3.1.4. Release 12.1.3+
3.1.4.1. Information Template Enhancements

Oracle iProcurement now stores eligible information template information of 4000 bytes
or fewer as long-text attachments and offers a preview for data stored through
information templates. The Attachment icon in the Requisition Summary and Buyer
Work Center pages displays a preview pop-up upon mouse-over for requesters and
buyers.
3.1.4.2. Primary Favorite Charge Account Can Take Precedence over Employee
Charge Account
Each employee can define Favorite Charge Accounts in iProcurement Preferences, and
can mark one of those accounts as the Primary Favorite. Oracle iProcurement uses a
series of rules to generate charge accounts during the checkout process. Under certain
circumstances, Oracle iProcurement gets the charge account from the employee record in
Human Resources. However, if a charge account is not specified in the employee record,
the Primary Favorite is used. If an employee needs the Primary Favorite to override the
charge account on their Human Resources record, they can now do so with the Override
Employee Charge Account preference in iProcurement.
3.1.4.3. Dual Budgetary Control Support

Dual budgetary control allows Oracle iProcurement users to specify the accounting date
on which they want to encumber funds. This gives users more flexibility in creating
documents that involve transactions which span multiple fiscal years.
3.1.4.4. Attachment Support in Change Order Process

Oracle iProcurement users can now add an attachment when requesting a change on a
Requisition that has been converted to a purchase order. Approvers and buyers can then
view the attachment. Attachments marked with the category To Supplier are also visible
to suppliers after the revised purchase order is approved.
3.1.4.5. Account Generator Support in Requisition Import

The Requisition Import process now calls the Account Generator workflow to generate
charge accounts for requisitions as the requisitions are created. When inserting
requisitions into the Requisitions interface, users can leave the charge account columns
blank, and the system will then trigger the Account Generator workflow to populate these
fields.
3.1.4.6. Requisition Update PL/SQL API

Using a new public API, third-party systems can now update an incomplete or an
approved requisition that has not yet been placed on a purchase order. The Requisition
Update API allows the addition or update of requisition lines and distributions. The API
can also submit the requisition for approval once the updates have been made.
This feature is forward-ported to 12.2.4.
3.1.4.7. Requisition Approval On the Go

Oracle Mobile Approvals for Oracle E-Business Suite is a smartphone application that
lets employees and managers respond on the go to pending approval requests. From a
smartphone, anywhere and anytime, an employee or manager can take quick action on
approval requests for expenses, requisitions, purchase orders, recruitment vacancies and
offers, and more.
Users can quickly filter approval requests by sender or by subject, review header and line
details, review action history and comments, and respond with their approval or rejection
directly from their smartphone.
For a full description, refer to the E-Business Suite Applications Technology Release
Content Document.
3.1.4.8. Attachment Support in Desktop Receipts

Oracle iProcurement users can now add attachments during receipt, return, and correction
of receipts for items and services. The receiver and the Payables in-charge can view the
attachments added to the receipts. Attachments created with the category To Payables
will be visible to the Payables in-charge during invoice matching.
3.1.4.9. Requisition Change Order Enhancements

Oracle iProcurement requesters will be informed if the buyer on a purchase order is
inactive during change request submission. The buyer’s manager will be notified if the
requester submits a change request when the buyer is inactive. The buyer will be notified
if a purchase order exception, such as Supplier Site Inactive or Supplier Is On Hold,
exists during change request acceptance.
3.1.4.10. Return of Selected Requisition Lines

At times, several buyers may work on different lines in the same requisition, based on
their specialties or categories. With this enhancement, a buyer can select one or more
requisition lines and return them to the requester, explaining the reason. The requester
will be notified about the returned requisition lines so that they can take the appropriate
action.
3.1.4.11. Internal and External Descriptors

Organizations can now define descriptors as internal or external. While a buyer has
access to both the internal and external descriptors, a supplier can see only the external
descriptors. Suppliers cannot view or update internal descriptors even though they may
have access to BPAs (if Supplier Authoring for BPAs is enabled).
3.1.4.12. Custom Attributes for Direct Punchout

Oracle iProcurement provides a custom hook that can provide additional user details like
user ID, location, cost center, and so forth during a punchout to the supplier site. This
helps the supplier to show the relevant content to the user based on the user credentials.
3.1.4.13. Search Capability for Smart Forms

The capability to search for smart forms across Operating Units using the Smart Form
Name, Operating Unit, Item Type, Item Category, Template, or additional conditions is
now provided with Oracle iProcurement.
3.1.5. Release 12.2
3.1.5.1. Automatic Updates to Encumbrance (General Ledger) Date

Requesters specify an Encumbrance Date for each distribution against a line at requisition
creation. If this date is within a closed period, and is therefore invalid, then the
application can automatically update the date to the current date. This feature is enabled
through a profile option.
3.1.5.2. Visibility of Item Master Attachments in Item Search and Detail Pages
When viewing the details of an item after having searched for that item in the store,
iProcurement users can now see attachments associated with the Item Master. This gives
users access to information such as design specifications, better equipping them to order
the right product.
3.1.6. Release 12.2.4
3.1.6.1. One-Step Checkout

Oracle iProcurement now offers a simplified shopping experience by reducing the
number of steps to create a requisition. Users can view the contents of the shopping cart
and submit the requisition with a single click. Power users who are interested in a
detailed review of the requisition or who need to make changes can now do so in a single
requisition detail page before submitting for approval.
3.1.7. Release 12.2.5
3.1.7.1. Reuse of Smart Forms Across Operating Units

Oracle iProcurement allows catalog administrators to configure smart forms once and
make them available to requesters in multiple operating units or to requesters with access
to specific responsibilities. If a smart form format is similar across multiple operating
units, the administrator can create the smart form once and assign it to multiple operating
units, which would then share the same template for the specific information.
3.1.7.2. Retention of One-Time Addresses

Oracle iProcurement now has the provision to save one-time addresses for re-use later.
Once an address is saved, the user has the option to pick the saved address or to create a
new one-time address. Saved one-time addresses are managed through the iProcurement
preferences.
3.1.7.3. Generation of Default Requisition Need-by Date

Oracle iProcurement now gives a default need-by date at requisition creation. The date is
based on lead time derived from either the BPA lead time or the Item lead time. This
gives the requester a reliable and realistic need-by date for priority shipping. The user can
change the need-by date. The application alerts the requestor if the selected need-by date
is earlier than the system-recommended date.
3.1.8. Release 12.2.6
3.1.8.1. Withdrawal of Requester-Initiated Change Requests

Oracle iProcurement enables a requester to withdraw a change request that has previously
been submitted. During the change request process, the requester can withdraw the
change request prior to buyer acceptance or rejection. The requester provides the reason
for withdrawal, and the reason is recorded in the requisition action history.
The key benefit of this feature is that the requester is no longer required to wait until the
buyer takes action on a change request in order to take a follow-up action.
3.1.8.2. Support for Foreign Currency in Catalog Request

A requester can now select an item from a catalog in a transaction currency that is
different from the functional currency. Users can now specify currency and exchange rate
information for catalog items and services.
3.1.8.3. Spot Buy for Privileged Requesters

Certain business users have the knowledge, buying insight and authority to make
purchasing decisions for their organizations for certain commodities. Spot Buy empowers
these requestors to create a requisition that converts to a purchase order document with
no or minimal buyer intervention. Spot Buy reduces the involvement of the procurement
team in transactions where the requester has better product/service and supply base
knowledge than the buyer and can add more value to the purchasing transaction.
Spot Buy provides the following capabilities for requesters:
• Specify a supplier and a quote price and convert the requisition document into a
purchase order automatically. Requisition approval can be automated or routed
to appropriate approvers using existing capabilities.
• Document multiple supplier quotes, assign ranks to quotes, and award to a
specific supplier. Eligible requisition lines can be converted into a purchase
order automatically.
Spot Buy lets buying organizations empower trusted requesters who can be considered
subject-matter experts to make quick and efficient purchasing decisions for their
company. Buyers are not required to create or approve the Purchase Order document, a
workflow improvement that reduces buyer workload.
3.1.8.4. Enhanced Non-Catalog & Contractor Request Flows

A new & improved flow is now available for Non-Catalog & Contractor requests. The
updated flow provides users with better search capabilities to help them identify the
appropriate category for their request and also offers more intuitive choices regarding the
possible source of supply. These allow a user to indicate if they haven’t identified a
suitable supplier, have a specific supplier in mind or have considered multiple possible
suppliers. Where multiple suppliers have been considered, a user can provide details of
pricing information from each supplier and can indicate their preferred choice.
The updated Request flow can be accessed by enabling the
POR%Modern%CatalogRequest% profile.
3.1.9. Release 12.2.7
3.1.9.1. New Supplier Onboarding for Non-Catalog Request & Contractor Request
The user-experience for requesters wanting to suggest a new supplier to the procurement
team through a Non-Catalog Request or Contractor Request has been enhanced. While
creating the Non-Catalog Request or Contractor Request, the requester can send an email
to the supplier inviting him to register on the company’s portal. The supplier will have to
provide all information necessary for registration and will go through the standard
approval process within iSupplier Portal / Supplier Lifecycle Management. Once the
supplier has been on-boarded, the buyer can issue a PO to this new supplier to procure
the item or service requested through the Non-Catalog Request or the Contractor Request
process.
3.1.9.2. New Supplier Creation for Spot Buy Purchases

Requesters within the organization that have been granted Spot Buy privileges can now
create new suppliers when submitting a Spot-Buy Non-Catalog Request or Contractor
Request.
This feature allows authorized users to make a quick decision to onboard a new source of
supply if they are cutting a Spot Buy order to satisfy an emergency purchase requirement.
Buyers will be able to see that the supplier was created by Spot Buy authorized user and,
if required, they can opt to further qualify the supplier for future purchases. The key
benefits of this feature include better service, accurate accounting, improved spend
analysis, and a reduction in buyer’s workload.
The spot-buy authorized user can also choose to send an email to the prospective supplier
inviting him to register on the company’s portal. The supplier will have to provide all
information necessary for registration and will go through the standard approval process
within iSupplier Portal / Supplier Lifecycle Management. Once the supplier has been on-
boarded, the buyer can issue a PO to this new supplier to procure the item or service
needed by the requester.
3.1.9.3. View Charge Account Details in the Requisition Approval Notification

Approvers can now see charge account details in the requisition approval notification.
The benefit of this enhancement is that approvers can evaluate accounting in the
notification itself without logging into the application, making it more likely that
incorrect charge accounts will be identified and corrected.
Mobile Approvals app has also been enhanced to show charge account details for
Requisition and Purchase Order approvals.
3.1.9.4. Shopping Cart User Interface Improvements

Oracle iProcurement now offers an enhanced shopping cart user interface with an
improved look and feel. It has been simplified for occasional users who want to be able to
quickly review the content of their shopping cart and complete the Checkout process with
a single click. Improvements have also been made to the labels used in the shopping cart
to deliver information to both occasional and frequent users in a concise manner using a
more conversational style.
3.1.9.5. New Requester Notifications for Purchase Order Status Updates

Requesters can now opt to receive notifications that provide status updates for the
Purchase Orders generated for the items on their requisitions. As appropriate, they can
receive updates that let them know when an item has been placed onto a Draft Purchase
Order and confirmation when that Purchase Order has been approved. Requesters can
also choose to opt-out of the notifications.
3.1.9.6. Web Services for Requisition Creation

Oracle iProcurement now comes with a requisition web service for importing
requisitions.
3.1.10. Release 12.2.8
3.1.10.1. Option to Register a Supplier for Non-Catalog Request & Contractor

Request
When creating a Non-Catalog Request or Contractor Request, the requester can now
suggest a new source of supply by registering the details of a new supplier. The requester
will be required to provide all information necessary for the registration such as address,
contact and tax details before submitting the request. This will go through the
configurable approval process within iSupplier Portal / Supplier Lifecycle Management.
Once the supplier has been approved and on-boarded, the buyer can issue a PO to this
new supplier to procure the item or service requested through the Non-Catalog Request
or the Contractor Request process.
3.1.10.2. Option to Register a Supplier for Spot Buy Purchases

Requesters within the organization that have been granted Spot Buy privileges can now
suggest a new source of supply when submitting a Spot-Buy Non-Catalog Request or
Contractor Request.
The Spot Buy authorized user can provide all information necessary for registration such
as address, contact and tax details before submitting the request. This will go through the
configurable approval process within iSupplier Portal / Supplier Lifecycle Management.
Once the supplier has been approved and on-boarded, the Spot Buy requester can issue a
PO to this new supplier to procure the item or service requested through the Non-Catalog
Request or the Contractor Request process.
3.1.10.3. List Price for an Item in Requisition from Master Organization

A new profile option allows the list price of an item in a requisition to be defaulted from
the organization specified in the financial options. The default option for the profile is
destination organization. This feature helps customers that have many destination orgs
and controls the price for items from a particular master/validation organization.
3.1.10.4. Ability to Split Distributions in Catalog Requisitions

Requesters can now add multiple projects or tasks against requisition lines where the
destination is set as inventory. This enhancement helps users avoid creating multiple
requests for the same item for different projects.
3.1.10.5. View ‘Full List’ of Requisitions to Receive for Predefined Days Bucket
The user-experience for requesters to view Requisitions to Receive has been enhanced.
Users can now control the data to load while launching the list of requisitions to receive.
This feature is enabled through a profile option and an administrator can specify the
number of days in the profile so that the data will be loaded accordingly.
3.1.11. Release 12.2.9
3.1.11.1. Line Number Generation while Requisition Import based on Need-By date
A new profile option allows user to sort and generate requisition line numbers based on
need-by date, when the requisition data from ASCP or MRP inserted into Requisition
Import program. With this features, customers can correlate the line numbers vs shipment
numbers while creating purchase order releases. This will further help customers to track
demand based on need-by date.
3.1.11.2. Improvements in iProcurement Receiving Pages

A new profile is introduced to control the display of outstanding quantity against
shipment while creating receipt in iprocurement. This ensures users to record received
quantity exactly and force users to coordinate with buyer to change purchase order if
there is excess quantity delivered by supplier.
Users now can specify reason for correction while correcting received quantity. These
correction reasons play vital role during reconciliation and help inventory managemers
and auditors in understanding the corrections made by users.
3.1.11.3. Multiple PO Numbers in Requisition Summary page

With this enhancement users can see respective PO numbers in requisition summary
page, if the requisition is placed on to multiple purchase orders. User can click on
hyperlink ‘Multiple’ to see the PO numbers.
3.1.11.4. Ability to Identify Spot Buy Requisitions

Spotbuy requisitions are emergency purchases and these need immediate attention.
Generally spotbuy requisitions are made to create purchase orders only when the
requisition is finally approved and the threshold limit should be with in the limit specified
for the category. With this enhancement, approvers will be able to distinguish the spotbuy
request line with normal requisition line in notification and summary page, which will
help in decision making.
3.1.11.5. Ability to Change Item Description in iProcurement

Customers now can edit or change item description in iProcurement irrespective of
whether the item is expense or inventory. Users can change the item description while
editing the requisition line based on the control defined at the master item. This will help
customers to avoid multiple updates for master item.
3.1.11.6. Ability to Search Requisition Lines Based on Internal Item Number

Users can now see internal item numbers in most of the iProcurement pages. Most of the
users in organizations are familiar with internal item numbers so this enhancement help
iProcurement users to seach requisition line numbers based on internal item number
especially while creating the receipt or retrieving the requisition details.
3.1.12. Release 12.2.10
3.1.12.1. Improved Store & Content Zone Search Options in Catalog

Administration
To improve the efficiency of Catalog Administrators looking to edit Store & Content
Zone settings, multiple search criteria have now been provided to allow quick filtering to
narrow the list of Stores & Content Zones.
3.1.12.2. Enhanced Spot Buy Configuration to Enable User Level Spend
Threshold Limits
Spot buy requests are used generally for emergency purpose and the access to create this
kind of request will be given only for few users who have buying intent. So with this
enhancement administrator can specify threshold limits for the combination of category
and user. The user being the preparer of the requisition.
Spot buy requisition/requisition line from this enhancement onwards, would be validated
not only for 'spot buy access', 'threshold limit of category and user ' but also for the
condition that the preparer and requester are the same for the spot buy requisition line.
3.2. Oracle iProcurement Consumer-like Shopping
3.2.1. Overview
The Oracle iProcurement Consumer-like Shopping feature delivers a completely updated
employee shopping experience for iProcurement users. In keeping with significant
numbers of consumer websites, a universal search capability now enables employees to
easily find any of the catalog content available to them, without the need to navigate and
search on a Store-by-Store basis. Content management tools assist with the spend
management process by allowing administrators to guide employees to negotiated items
& preferred suppliers. And users can provide feedback on catalog content to the
Procurement team to ensure content can be continually evolved to meet customer needs.
This feature includes the following capabilities:
• Universal Catalog Search
• Advanced Filtering
• Item Comparison
• Ratings and Reviews for Items and Suppliers
• Preferred Item and Supplier Indicators
The Oracle iProcurement Consumer-like shopping feature is available at no additional

cost to licensed users of Oracle iProcurement. It can be applied to Release 12.2.4 and
above.
3.2.2. Release 12.2.8+

Oracle Enterprise Command Center technology used in conjunction with iProcurement
provides a powerful new approach to search, while retaining the robust policies, controls,
and integrations built into iProcurement.
The following functionality requires Oracle Enterprise Command Center Framework

Release 12.2 V2.
3.2.2.1. Universal Catalogs Search

Universal Search enables employees to immediately look for an item without knowing
which catalog to search. All catalog content is queried at the same time, including punch-
out supplier content that has been loaded from the punch-out supplier website. Search
results are ranked by relevance and are displayed for all possible sources (agreements,
punch-out content, Smart Forms and Information Templates), ensuring that the user is
guided to the best match for their needs.
3.2.2.2. Advanced Filtering

Filters enable employees to target their choices. Default filters include Supplier Name,
Source Contract, and Shopping Category. Guided Navigation filters are displayed for
items that share similar category attributes. For example, Display Size may appear as a
filter when shopping for computer monitors.
3.2.2.3. Item Comparison

With a few clicks employees can evaluate items and detailed item attributes side-by- side.
Just as with the search engine, item comparison also enables comparison between items
from different catalogs or suppliers. Item comparison allows employees to feel confident
they have identified the best product at the best price.
3.2.2.4. Ratings and Reviews for Items and Services

Requesters have visibility into the item and supplier ratings and reviews for catalog items
and services. These rating and reviews help users to get recommendations on the best
products or services that match their need.
3.2.2.5. Preferred Item Indicators

Requesters have improved visibility into the procurement status and progress on all
requested items or services with preference indicators denoting preferential attributes.
Preference indicator icons appear in search results.
• Requesters can make better shopping decisions by noticing preference indicators
for suppliers and items, such as first source supplier, green supplier, etc.
• Guided Buying, utilizing preference indicator items, helps requesters procure
items and services from the best possible suppliers.
3.2.3. Release 12.2.9+
Release 12.2 V3
3.2.3.1. New Homepage for iProcurement Consumer-like Shopping
Oracle iProcurement Consumer-like Shopping now offers an enhanced homepage with a

new look and feel. Requesters can view and perform their regular activities from the
homepage with minimal navigation in the application and can complete their tasks more
quickly and easily. This also provides the requesters with better visibility of the items
they want to procure.
Key Features include:
• Expanded search box that supports multi-word search along with typeahead search.
• Universal search enables users to search for items across all stores. Users also have
the ability to choose a shopping category from a list of values, which enables them to
search for an item within the particular shopping category.
• Option to display purchasing policies for the requesters on the homepage.
• Most popular categories are displayed based on requisitions created within the
employee group that the login user belongs to.
• Frequently requested items or services are displayed on the homepage, giving the
requesters the ability to quickly add items to cart or favorites.
3.2.3.2. Relevance Ranking in Results page

When requesters search for a particular keyword/term, the Frequency Relevance Ranking
feature ensures that the items with most number of occurrences of the particular
keyword/term appear first in the results table.
When the relevance score is a tie for a set of records, then items with the highest
cumulative weightage based on promotion factor given for descriptor will appear first on
the results page.
The default sort in the results page is relevance, but requesters can sort items based on
other attributes like price, item rating, and supplier rating etc.
3.2.4. Release 12.2.9++
Release 12.2 V4
3.2.4.1. Homepage updates

Further enhancements have been made to the homepage to improve the look & feel of the
sections that provide access to all of a user’s most recent requisitions and notifications.
This will help ensure they can readily access key details about recent transactions for a
sleek and efficient shopping experience.
3.2.4.2. Auto-Suggest matching catalog items for non-catalog requests

When the requester creates a Non-Catalog Request, the details entered on the request will
be used to automatically search all of the existing catalog content in the system (both
local agreements and imported Punchout supplier content) in order to provide the user
with suggestions of matching catalog items that can be used instead of submitting an ad
hoc Non-Catalog Request. This enhancement reduces the volume of non-catalog requests
for which a catalog item selection is more appropriate, and provides preferred items or
services from recommended suppliers to requesters, increasing service levels while
reducing maverick spending.
In addition, if requesters cannot find a suitable matching catalog item and continue with
the submission of a Non-Catalog Request, they are prompted to send a message to their
Procurement team if they believe the item they are looking to buy should be available to
all users as part of a catalog.
3.2.5. Release 12.2.10

The following functionality requires Oracle Enterprise Command Center
Framework Release 12.2 V5
3.2.5.1. Highly Rated Items
A new view to display the top six most highly rated catalog items will further help
requesters find popular items and reduce time spent shopping. In addition, rating
information is now included for the items shown in the Frequently Requested Items
section, again to allow employees make informed choices in their shopping decisions.
3.2.5.2. Employee Shopping Search Tracker
A new dashboard has been introduced to display all of the user search activity carried out
during shopping sessions in the iProcurement Consumer-Like Shopping pages. This new
dashboard is part of the Procurement Command Center. Refer to section 3.8.4 under the
Oracle Procurement Command Center for detailed information.
3.3. Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus

3.3.1. Overview
Employee search against catalogs is one of the most critical activities in iProcurement,
influencing adoption, user satisfaction, and the amount of buying activity that can be
automated. Oracle Information Discovery technology used in conjunction with
iProcurement provides a powerful new approach to search, while retaining the robust
policies, controls, and integrations built into iProcurement.
Expanded catalogs can be loaded to capture contract savings without adding complexity
to the shopping experience. Maverick spending is reduced and non-catalog requisitions
for catalog items are minimized, further streamlining the process and reducing
procurement involvement.
Oracle Information Discovery functionality replaces the classic iProcurement homepage.
The shopping cart and subsequent checkout with integration, accounting, and approvals
remain unchanged. Key product features are described below.
3.3.2. V3
3.3.2.1. Universal Catalogs Search

Universal Search enables employees to immediately look for an item without knowing
which catalog to search. All catalog content is queried at the same time, including punch-
out supplier content that has been loaded from the punch-out supplier website. Search
results are ranked by relevance and are displayed for all possible sources (agreements,
punch-out content, Smart Forms and Information Templates), ensuring that the user is
guided to the best match for their needs.
3.3.2.2. Advanced Filtering

Filters enable employees to target their choices. Default filters include Supplier Name,
Source Contract, and Shopping Category. Guided Navigation filters are displayed for
items that share similar category attributes. For example, Display Size may appear as a
filter when shopping for computer monitors.
3.3.2.3. Item Comparison

With a few clicks employees can evaluate items and detailed item attributes side-by- side.
Just as with the search engine, item comparison also enables comparison between items
from different catalogs or suppliers. Item comparison allows employees to feel confident
they have identified the best product at the best price.
3.3.2.4. Ease of Implementation and Configuration

Items from supplier punch-out catalogs may be refreshed in the search catalog as often as
needed. If desired, items that originate in supplier punch-out catalogs can require the user
to navigate to the supplier’s item page for further information. Navigation to the
supplier’s item page may be required for items that have add-on configuration, volatile
availability, calculated pricing, or specification sheets that employees must reference
prior to making a purchase decision.
3.3.3. V6
3.3.3.1. Ratings and Reviews for Items and Services

Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus now allows requesters to provide
ratings and reviews for catalog items and services. These rating and reviews help users to
get recommendations on the best products or services that match their need. In addition,
Buyers in the organization can monitor the ratings and reviews. Therefore, the ratings and
reviews not only enable requesters to help each other, they enable the user community to
provide feedback about the purchased item or service to the buyer. This feature provides
tremendous value for organizations that monitor ratings and reviews and addresses any
problems that are brought up in a review.
3.3.3.2. Requester Feedback

Requesters can provide feedback or suggestions to a buyer. The buyer can review that
feedback, provide comments, and take steps to address the requester’s feedback or
suggestions. This improves the communication between requesters and buyers.
The buyer feedback feature has a prerequisite of Oracle Procurement Command Center
Plus.
3.3.3.3. Improved Homepage for Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus

Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus now offers an enhanced homepage with
an enhanced look and feel. Requesters can view and perform their regular activities from
the homepage with minimal navigation in the application and can complete their tasks
more quickly and easily.
Key features include:

• The search box is expanded to enable multi-word keyword search without hiding any
text.
• Frequently requested items or services are shown on the homepage so that requesters can
easily select and add to cart.
• Requesters can find recent requisitions on the homepage.
• Organizations can display purchasing policies to the requesters on the homepage.
3.3.3.4. Price Break on Information Discovery Search Page

Requesters can now see whether Price Break is available for the searched item or service,
along with additional details, directly in the search results.
3.3.3.5. Multiple-Supplier Catalog Upload

Suppliers can send catalog information to the buying organization through Oracle
business network. Oracle business network supports both the catalog pull and push
processes. The process can be automated so that the catalog information is pulled or
pushed from the supplier and sent to the buying organization periodically.
Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus now supports multiple-supplier catalog
upload, so that a catalog administrator can upload catalogs from multiple suppliers at
same time, increasing the efficiency of the catalog upload process. Multiple-supplier
catalog upload is supported only for catalogs that are transferred through Oracle business
network to Oracle Information Discovery.
3.3.4. V7
3.3.4.1. Homepages for Casual and Experienced Users

The Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus homepage has been enhanced to
improve visibility for better decision making.
Many requesters within an organization only generate requisitions on a very infrequent
basis. Under such low volume usage, a new lightweight homepage has been introduced
that minimizes the level of detail presented to the user. Features include a global search
box, alerts, recent requisitions, configurable purchasing news, and a list of frequently
requested items or services.
A more robust homepage supports power users. Key features include a clickable metric
panel for user requisition status, alerts, an improved My Requisition table, and a tag
cloud for top categories requested. In addition, metrics and charts such as Order
Processing Time provide insight into employee-driven procurement.
3.3.4.2. Preferred Item Indicators

Requesters have improved visibility into the procurement status and progress on all
requested items or services with preference indicators denoting preferential attributes.
Preference indicator icons appear in search results.
• Requesters can make better shopping decisions by noticing preference indicators
for suppliers and items, such as first source supplier, green supplier, etc.
• Guided Buying, utilizing preference indicator items, helps requesters procure
items and services from the best possible suppliers.
3.3.4.3. Influence sort order Guided Buying

Preferences also influence relevance ranking in search results.
• With the help of a promotion factor, catalog items with higher weightage are
elevated in the catalog items hierarchy, and are shown at the top of the search
results for efficient shopping.
• This feature also helps requesters to pick items from negotiated agreements with
preferred suppliers. Catalogs from preferred suppliers are highlighted at the top
of the search results.
3.3.4.4. Requester Visibility into Procurement Operations

Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus gives requesters visibility into
procurement operations.
• New metrics on order processing time enable requesters to be aware of the
average requisition cycle time as well as the average requisition-to-order -
approval time.
• Buyer Notes expose requesters to buyer activity related to requested items or
services. Buyer Notes enable buyers to assign tasks within the procurement team
and track tasks to completion.
3.3.5. V8
3.3.5.1. Auto-Suggest Catalog Items

When the requester creates a Non-Catalog Request, the details entered on the request will
be used to automatically search all of the existing catalog content in the system (both
local agreements and imported Punchout supplier content) in order to provide the user
with suggestions of matching catalog items that can be used instead of submitting an ad
hoc Non-Catalog Request. This enhancement reduces the volume of non-catalog requests
for which a catalog item selection is more appropriate, and provides preferred items or
services from recommended suppliers to requesters, increasing service levels while
reducing maverick spending.
In addition, if requesters cannot find a suitable matching catalog item and continue with
the submission of a Non-Catalog Request, they are prompted to send a message to their
Procurement team if they believe the item they are looking to buy should be available to
all users as part of a catalog.
3.3.5.2. Show Procurement Activities to the Requesters

Requesters can view the current procurement status such as RFQ Published, Purchased
Order Approved, etc. of their requisitions. The key benefits of this enhancement are
• Requesters get more visibility into Procurement Operations
• Proactively collaborate with buyer on requested items/services
3.3.6. V9
3.3.6.1. Homepage Improvements for iProcurement Information Discovery Plus

The Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus homepage has been enhanced to
improve usability and visibility for better understanding and decision making.
Search results are displayed in a cleaner manner, and more detail is now provided on the
requisition status.
3.4. Oracle Mobile iProcurement for Oracle E-Business Suite

With Oracle Mobile iProcurement for Oracle E-Business Suite, employees can monitor
their requisitions and take action on the go.
• Track requisitions for approval and delivery status.
• View requisition, approvers, lines, and shipments.
• Monitor alerts for approval rejections, returns, and shipment delays.
• Collaborate in transaction context using device features such as email, phone and
text.
Oracle Mobile iProcurement for Oracle E-Business Suite is compatible with Oracle E-
Business Suite 12.1.3 and 12.2.3 and above. To use this app, you must be a user of Oracle
iProcurement, with mobile services configured on the server side by your administrator.
3.4.1. Mobile Release 2.1 – Client Version 1.1.0
3.4.1.1. Mobile Foundation Release 2.1 Updates

• Improvements in login and configuration flow
• Ability to change the URL without having to reinstall the app
• Diagnostics improvements
3.4.1.2. Accessibility Improvements

Improvements were made in the requisition details page, related information item card,
contextual tab bar and person contact card.
3.4.2.1. Android Support

In previous versions, Oracle Mobile iProcurement for Oracle E-Business Suite was
available only for iOS devices. Starting with version 1.2.0, the app is now available for
Android devices as well.

• Changes to support both iOS and Android on the same client-code
• Ability to update server URL from Connection Details page

• Support for enterprise distribution
• Customization support for corporate branding
• Support for Web SSO authentication to delegate authentication to Oracle Access
Manager (OAM)
3.4.3.2. Translation Support

This app is available in the following languages: Brazilian Portuguese, Canadian French,
Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin American Spanish, Simplified
Chinese and Spanish.

• User installation and usage metrics for administrators
• Uptake of Oracle Mobile Application Framework (MAF) 2.2.2
3.4.5.1. Self-Service Receiving for Eligible Requisitions

Requesters can submit receipts for requisitions by invoking the Receive action on the
mobile app. Requesters can receive any requisition line from the mobile app, as long as
the requisition line is accessible in the app, and as long as the same requisition is eligible
for receiving from the iProcurement web application. Requesters can access the Receive
action within the mobile app:
• By swiping left on the requisition line listing page and tapping the Receive
button
• By tapping the Receive button on the top-right corner of the Requisition Line
Detail page
3.4.5.2. Enhanced Requisition Line Statuses and Icons

Requesters see improved requisition status messages and icons. For requisitions that are
beyond the need-by date and are not yet received, a new status called Awaiting Your
Receipt is used. Several new icons are used to visually indicate the status of each
requisition or requisition line.

• Enhanced user security with two-factor authentication
• Ability to open external links in the app
• Ability to easily clear user credential fields in the Sign-In page
• Technical updates with uptake of Oracle Mobile Application Framework (MAF)
2.3.1

• Ability to import custom CA or self-signed server certificates to standard apps
for TLS connections to Oracle E-Business Suite
• Ability to download the mobile app configuration automatically from the server
2.4.0
3.4.7. Mobile Release 8.0

• For apps installed through an Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solution's
app catalog, support for having the EBS Server URL preconfigured by an
administrator rather than requiring users to enter it after launching the app
• Enhancement to prevent attachments viewed within the app from being shared
elsewhere on iOS devices
2.5.0

Technical updates with uptake of Oracle Mobile Application Framework (MAF) 2.6.2.

Technical updates with uptake of Oracle Mobile Application Framework (MAF) 2.6.3.
3.5. Oracle iSupplier Portal

3.5.1. Overview
Oracle iSupplier Portal is the enterprise application that structures all supplier
communication through a secure, internet-based portal. It is a key component of Oracle
Advanced Procurement, the integrated suite that dramatically cuts all supply management
costs.
3.5.2. Release 12.0.3 (RUP3)
3.5.2.1. Forward Port of JFMIP/FSIO from 11.5.10 to R12 for Federal Customers
This feature addresses the delta between Release 11.5.10 functionality and Release 12
functionality, related to meeting the requirements given by JFMIP in the year 2004 for
iSupplier Portal. The following iSupplier Portal pages are impacted:
Supplier Search Page
The DUNS number is available at the supplier-site level for CCR suppliers. A user can
retrieve distinct supplier records while performing the search using the DUNS number.
Organization Page
A CCR Supplier indicator is provided on the Organization page. If the supplier is a CCR
supplier, then the Taxpayer ID, DUNS Number and SIC attributes, and Bank Account tab
are rendered view-only.
Manage Sites Page and Update Address Page
In the Update Address page for CCR suppliers, the attributes Country, Address Lines,
City, State, Postal Code, Province, DUNS Number, and Pay Site are view-only.
For Federal Financials installations, a new attribute, DUNS Number, is displayed in the
Identification tab on the Manage Sites page. If the supplier site is a CCR supplier site, the
user cannot update this field.
The new icon View CCR Supplier allows the user to access the General Information page
from the federal application to view CCR supplier-site-specific data.
Tax Details Page
A new indicative comment on the Tax Details page identifies the tax details of a CCR
vendor.
Bank Details Page
A CCR indicator appears when the assignment level is Supplier Site, and if the site is a
CCR site. For a CCR site, it is not possible to add new bank accounts, to modify any
bank, branch or account information, to change the priority of bank accounts, or to update
a bank account number.
Invoice Management Page
A descriptive comment, CCR Site, appears on the Invoice Management page.
3.5.3. Release 12.1.1
3.5.3.1. Dispute Resolution for G-Log Invoices

In situations where suppliers include sundry charges on a G-Log invoice, it is not
uncommon for the buying organization to hold the invoice in order that the buyer can
review any discrepancies between the invoice and the original purchase order. Depending
on the nature of the additional charges, the buyer and supplier may negotiate a
compromise and adjust the invoice accordingly.
When such disputes occur, it is important that the supplier be able to log and track all
activities for a particular invoice. To better help suppliers in these situations, new fields
have been added to the View Invoice page so that the supplier can see the original value
on the invoice and the reason for the discrepancy.
3.5.3.2. AP/AR Netting

It is a common business practice in many industries to both purchase products or services
from and sell products or services to the same trading partner. In cases like this
companies often offset payable and receivable invoices so that only the net difference is
paid or received. This saves both trading partners the expenses associated with making
multiple payments.
Users of iSupplier Portal now have visibility into the AP/AR netting activity, so they can
easily see which invoices will be paid standalone, which invoices will be offset against
receivable transactions, and which groups of invoices will be paid by a single payment.
On the View Invoices and Payments pages, if a particular invoice has been netted, the
users can see the netted amount and the reckoning currency. Furthermore, the users can
drill down to the Netting Report, which shows all transactions that are a part of the
netting batch.
3.5.3.3. Products and Services Search

A new search tool has been added to the Products and Services section of the Supplier
Profile to make it much easier for suppliers and administrators to find and select the
goods or services categories that identify a supplier's capabilities. This is especially
useful for customers who have an extensive products and services hierarchy with many
thousands of individual categories from which to choose.
The new feature is available within both the Profile Management pages for existing
suppliers and the prospective supplier registration flow.
3.5.3.4. Business Classification Recertification

For those businesses required to track the business classification details of their suppliers,
it has always been a challenge to keep this information up to date to the satisfaction of
auditors. Now, a recertification tool has been added to the Business Classification section
of the Supplier Profile that tracks the last update date for the supplier's classification
details and allows administrators to schedule reminder notifications to be sent to each
supplier as this information becomes due.
This feature significantly reduces risk and administrative burden for buying organizations
because they no longer need to manage the recertification process manually.
3.5.3.5. Third Party Payments

Third party payments help parties engaged in business to set off their liabilities without
directly paying them. This reduces the direct funds movements and enables transactions
to be settled easily. When customers are making payments from their payables system,
there might be instructions from the supplier to make payment to a different party (third
party). In that case, the remittance of the payment must be made to the third party.
From iSupplier Portal, suppliers can add new third-party payment relationships and find
and update existing relationships.
3.5.4. Release 12.1.3
3.5.4.1. Work Confirmation Correction

At times, there may be a need to correct a previously approved work confirmation in
order to adjust a payment to a supplier. This capability enables a buyer to reduce the
scope of the original work confirmation when an error has been made during data entry.
Work confirmation correction is possible through the Purchasing Professional Buyers
Work Center and the iSupplier Portal internal view. Buyers can be granted the additional
authority to make corrections as needed. Buyers that are granted this authority can make
corrections to approved work confirmations.
3.5.5. Release 12.1.3+
3.5.5.1. Support for Backdated Work Confirmation

Often, suppliers and buyers are required to create work confirmations for the inspection
of work that had been requested in the past and now has been completed. The buying
organization and the supplier can now create work confirmations with the request date in
the past.
3.5.5.2. Simplification of the Acknowledgement and Change Request Flow

The Acknowledgement and Change Request flow within iSupplier Portal has been
streamlined by the removal of unneeded user actions. This has simplified the actions a
user performs on change requests and has made the purchase order status more intuitive
when a buyer rejects a change request. The supplier can view the buyer’s reason for
cancelling a shipment. Partially acknowledged orders are not made available to buyers
for response.
3.5.5.3. ASN/ASBN Support for Outsourced Manufacturing Purchase Orders

Manufacturing partners can now send an Advanced Shipment Notice (ASN) or an
Advanced Shipment Billing Notice (ASBN) when shipping eligible outsourced
assemblies against an Outsourced Manufacturing purchase order (subcontracting order).
3.5.5.4. Prospective Suppliers Upload Attachments During Registration

Buyers can now allow Prospective Suppliers to upload Attachments while submitting
prospective supplier registration, irrespective of whether they have licensed Supplier
Lifecycle Management (SLM) or not.
3.5.6. Release 12.2
3.5.6.1. Integration with Oracle Flow Manufacturing to View and Edit E-Kanbans
Oracle iSupplier Portal integrates with the E-Kanban feature of Oracle Flow
Manufacturing. Suppliers can now use iSupplier Portal to view a summary of their E-
Kanbans and update the status on their E-Kanbans.
For more information, consult the Manufacturing RCD.
3.5.6.2. Capture of Additional Supplier Contact Details

Oracle iSupplier Portal now offers the following new fields to capture supplier contact
information: URL, Alternate Contact Name, Alternate Area Code, and Alternate Phone
Extension. Prospective suppliers can use these fields during registration. Buyers can
populate and update these fields for each contact on the Supplier Profile. Suppliers can
also update these fields when they submit a profile change request.
3.5.7. Release 12.2.6
3.5.7.1. Cancelation of ASN Shipment Line Functionality for Suppliers

Previously, suppliers were allowed to cancel an entire shipment notice only before the
receiving was completed for the shipment notice. Individual shipments in the shipment
notices could not be canceled.
Now, suppliers can cancel individual shipments or lines after submission, and delete a
shipment from the shipment notice even after receiving, as long as those shipments have
not been received.
Example: There are two shipments in a shipment notice and the buyer has received the
first shipment, but not the second. In this scenario, the supplier can delete the second
shipment only.
For more information, consult the Manufacturing RCD.
3.5.7.2. New ASN / ASBN Barcode Report for Suppliers

After submitting an ASN / ASBN, suppliers can now download and print a shipment
report and include it along with their outbound shipment. The report lists all the contents
of the shipment, as registered on the ASN or ASBN, and contains the shipment number in
a barcode format. Efficiency of receiving on the customer’s side will improve, because
receiving personnel now scan the barcode instead of having to search by manually
entering the shipment number or PO number.
3.5.7.3. Enhancements to Work Confirmations

Suppliers can create work-confirmations through iSupplier Portal to request payment for
work completed on a Complex Services Purchase Order. The pages and notifications
used in this process have been enhanced to ensure that the supplier and the approver have
access to more the information they need to process the work-confirmations.
Work Confirmation Approval Workflow Enhancements
Two features of the Approvals Management Engine (AME) are now supported in the
Work Confirmation Approval Workflow to improve the completeness and usability of the
approval process:
o Request More Information
o Forward Work Confirmation approval notification to another user
Current and Pending Approvers in the Action History Region
Users can view current and pending approvers if the Work Confirmation document is
undergoing an AME approval process. Approver details and the approval sequence are
available in the Action History.
The Action History can be viewed in the Purchasing Professional Buyers Work Center
and iSupplier Portal internal views.
Comment Capture During Resubmission of Rejected Work Confirmations
The creator of a work confirmation can provide comments during resubmission of a
rejected work confirmation. The approver can view the comments during re-approval of
the work confirmation.
View Errors for Failed Work Confirmations
The buyer and project manager can now view the validation failures and errors of failed
work confirmations. This feature provides visibility into transaction failures and helps in
taking corrective action.
Errors for a failed work confirmation can be viewed through the Purchasing Professional
Buyers Work Center and the iSupplier Portal internal view.
View Attachments During Work Confirmation Creation
The buyer can associate To Receiver attachments at the pay-item level during the
authoring of Complex purchase order documents. The creators and approvers of work
confirmations can view the To Receiver attachments in the purchase order.
Viewing of To Receiver attachments during Work Confirmation creation is possible
through the Purchasing Professional Buyers Work Center and iSupplier Portal internal
view.
An Oracle Services Procurement license is required to use the Work Confirmations
functionality provided within the Advanced Procurement suite of applications.
3.5.8. Release 12.2.8
3.5.8.1. Supplier Broker/Representative User Account

A new Supplier Broker user account allows an individual user to be granted iSupplier
Portal access to the details for multiple unrelated supplier’s transactional details. The
Broker User can be granted access to all the regular pages within iSupplier Portal but is
provided with additional fields to allow them to filter the transaction data or actions they
can take to specific Supplier/Sites.
The Supplier Broker User can manage Orders, Shipments and Invoices (View Only).
A buyer Administrator is required to initially setup the Broker User account on behalf of
the individual who will be representing multiple suppliers. Administrators at each
Supplier can then authorize the Broker User to act on their behalf and grant them access
to their transactional data.
The Broker User themselves, a Supplier Administrator or a Buyer Administrator can
remove the Broker User’s association to a specific supplier.
This feature is also available in Release 12.1.3+.
3.5.9. Release 12.2.9
3.5.9.1. Enhanced Password Security for iSupplier Portal Supplier Users

This enhancement provides improved password security to the external users of iSupplier
portal. When the iSupplier portal supplier user is created for the first time or if the
password is reset either by the buyer administrator or supplier administrator, a password
generation link is sent to the supplier users which would remain active for a specified
period of time. Supplier users can visit this link to enter their new password.
3.5.10. Release 12.2.10
3.5.10.1. Visibility to Related Contracts and Repository Deliverables

Supplier users can now view all related contracts in the context of a purchase order. This
helps the supplier user track/view related contracts like master agreements, umbrella
agreements etc. In addition, supplier users can now view all the repository deliverables in
addition to the purchase order deliverables.
3.5.10.2. Address Status for Supplier User

Supplier users can now, on the Address Book, track the status of the address that they
created or updated and submitted for approval.
3.6. Oracle Procurement Contracts

3.6.1. Overview
Oracle Procurement Contracts is the enterprise application that creates and enforces
better purchasing contracts. It is a key component of Oracle Advanced Procurement, the
integrated suite that dramatically cuts supply management costs.
3.6.2. Release 12.0.2 (RUP2)
3.6.2.1. User-Defined Variables with PL/SQL Procedures as Source

Oracle Procurement Contracts supports the embedding of system variables and user-
defined variables in clause text or in Contract Expert rules. System variables are defined
by the application and the values are obtained from attributes such as payment terms on
the Oracle Purchasing and Oracle Sourcing documents. User-defined variables are
defined in the Contract Terms Library, and the values are provided by users when they
author contract terms and conditions.
Contracts customers have requested the ability to create user-defined variables whose
values can be obtained from descriptive flexfields, custom tables, or even a purchase
agreement or RFQ. With Release 12.0.2 RUP2, user-defined variable values can now be
obtained from any data source. The data source is encapsulated as a custom PL/SQL
procedure that is associated with the user-defined variable definition. As a user authors
contract terms and conditions, the system automatically obtains the values from the data
source, eliminating the need for users to manually enter them.
3.6.3. Release 12.1.1
3.6.3.1. Structured Terms Authoring in Contract Repository

The Contract Repository module enables customers to easily manage all their contracts
online. It provides basic contract management capabilities and global, secure visibility to
key stakeholders. Users can create repository contracts by capturing key attributes about
the contract such as contract party, dates, amount, and so on, and managing the document
files associated with the contract. Users can also track key deliverables and contract
expiration.
With Release 12.1.1, users can now author structured terms and conditions while creating
a Repository contract. These terms are based on standard templates, clauses, and policies
defined in the contract terms library. Users can also use the Contract Expert feature to
bring in additional clauses that may be required based on the business terms of the
particular contract. The contract can then be printed for signature, or exported to
Microsoft Word for redlining and collaboration with the external party. The deviations
report functionality will provide a quick overview of all policy violations in the contract.
Structured terms authoring promotes standards-based contract authoring and reduces the
overall time-to-contract. Risks associated with non-standard contracts are mitigated by
ensuring that approvers have visibility into all policy violations.
3.6.3.2. Secure Enterprise Search – Desupported

Business and legal users sometimes wish to find contracts that contain a certain word or
phrase. Oracle Procurement Contracts now leverages Oracle’s Secure Enterprise Search
to better search against procurement, sales, and repository contracts. Business and legal
users can perform full-text queries in conjunction with structured data queries.
Secure Enterprise Search provides flexibility to match user-entered keywords to both

structured text such as contract terms and unstructured text such as that contained in
attached documents. Additional structured contract attributes may be used to further
refine the search, and include: contract number, contract name, supplier/customer/party
name, contract status, start date, and end date.
This feature requires licensing of Oracle Secure Enterprise Search (SES).
Integration with search using Oracle Secure Enterprise Search (SES) is no longer
supported. A native Oracle Text approach is now being used for content including
Repository Contracts and Purchasing documents with contract terms. For more
information see the Release 12.2.7 Oracle Procurement Contracts feature “Content
Search and Enhanced Advanced Search”. This search functionality does not require
licensing of SES.
3.6.3.3. Deliverable Payment Holds

Engineering and Construction (E&C) firms have unique requirements regarding
subcontractor management, subcontractor payment, and customer billing. In this industry,
Pay when Paid is a common payment term under which sub-contractors are not paid until
the customer pays the general contractor. In addition, it is sometimes necessary to require
subcontractors to maintain specific insurance coverage and work-related certifications.
The general contractor frequently reserves the right to withhold payments to
subcontractors until proof of insurance or proof of certifications has been provided. The
following features enable users to track such requirements and to automate the payment
hold process.
This feature requires additional products to be licensed for the full functionality described
below, including Oracle Payables and Oracle Services Procurement.
Payment Hold Deliverables
The tracking of insurance and certification requirements is often a cumbersome manual
process. Specified deliverables are used to track these requirements. The Initiate Payment
Holds functionality enables users to initiate payment holds on all future invoices when a
deliverable approaches its due date or when a deliverable becomes overdue. For example,
a subcontractor may be required to be licensed yearly. To ensure that licensing happens,
the buyer or project manager can define a deliverable to hold all payments if the
subcontractor fails to renew the license.
Payables Integration
In Release 12.1.1, new hold and release reasons are included in Oracle Payables. A PO
Deliverable hold can be placed on all supplier invoices that match a purchase order which
has a nearly-due or overdue deliverable with payment hold terms.
Releases may be automatic or manual. A concurrent process automates the release of PO
Deliverable payment holds. The process is submitted automatically when the user updates
the due date for a deliverable that is within the defined payment hold terms. Project
managers can also use the Subcontractor Payment Management Workbench to manage
deliverables. A Payment Hold Status and Payment Indicator allow users to quickly see
whether all deliverables have been met and determine whether payments can be made to
the subcontractor. Project managers can override the automatic payment holds caused by
overdue purchase order deliverables.
Support for Pay when Paid Scenarios
Many construction firms adhere to a Pay when Paid policy for subcontract agreements in
order to manage cash flow for a project. Specifically, construction companies will hold
the payment of subcontractor bills until the construction firm has been paid by the
customer. Now, a Pay when Paid payment term may be specified for a subcontract to
automatically place holds on all subcontractor invoices under that subcontract until the
corresponding customer payment is received.
A new Subcontract Payment Controls workbench allows the project manager to manage
these holds, with visibility into both the customer invoices and the associated
subcontractor invoices. The project manager is alerted by workflow notifications once the
customer payment is received and can then automatically or manually release the
corresponding subcontractor invoices. The associations between the customer invoices
and the subcontractor invoices may be automatically maintained based on the billing of
project expenditures in the case of a cost-plus contract, or manually maintained for a
fixed price contract.
3.6.4. Release 12.1.2
3.6.4.1. Individual Clause Authoring in Microsoft Word

Legal clauses are typically managed in rich text documents. Organizations using Oracle
E-Business Suite for their enterprise contract management need to be able to create and
update clauses using a rich text editor like Microsoft Word.
With Release 12.1.2, users can create and edit clauses in Microsoft Word, leveraging its
additional formatting features. Import of clause text from and export of clause text to
Microsoft Word have been incorporated into both the Contract Terms Library and the
Contract Authoring Flow. The following formatting features will be preserved as defined
in Microsoft Word:
• Bold, italic, text color, and underlines
• Standard bullets available in Microsoft Word
• Numbering schemes (roman numerals, alphabets, numbers) and their indents,
including hanging indents
• List items with non-numbered text between them
• Indent and tabs (Tab spacing is determined based on style sheet information.)
• Line spacing
• Text alignment (left, right, and center justification)
• Table formatting
• Hyperlinks, page breaks, and symbols defined in Unicode
This feature requires Microsoft Word Professional 2003 or later.
3.6.4.2. Project Manager Dashboard for Maintenance of Procurement Deliverables

A new feature in Release 12.1.1 provides support for the tracking and monitoring of
subcontract deliverables that place automatic holds on subcontractor invoices in the case
of non-compliance. For example, if a subcontractor fails to provide an insurance
certificate according to the subcontract terms, holds are automatically placed on incoming
invoices based on the contractual deliverable. When the subcontractor complies with the
terms, the hold is released.
Also in Release 12.1.1, a new Payment Controls Workbench in Oracle Projects allows the
project manager to view a checklist of all subcontract deliverables to assist in evaluating
the subcontractor status prior to releasing monthly progress payments.
Project managers are frequently responsible for subcontractor management. In Release
12.1.2, the Payment Controls Workbench has been enhanced to allow project managers to
directly update subcontract deliverables. A project manager with proper security
privileges can update existing deliverables or define new deliverables to track future
subcontractor obligations. A project manager can also apply payment holds even when
the Pay when Paid attribute has not been checked.
This feature has a prerequisite of Oracle Projects.
3.6.5. Release 12.1.3+
3.6.5.1. Multiple Templates for One Sourcing or Purchasing Document

A buyer or contract administrator may apply a contract template to quickly draft a
compliant legal contract as part of a sourcing or purchasing document. A contract
template may include internal and supplier deliverables to encourage execution of a
standardized and complete process. Now, the buyer can add multiple templates to these
contracts. All clauses and deliverables from new templates flow into the document. Each
template that has been applied can be viewed as part of the contract record for easy
identification by a buyer or contract administrator.
Contract Expert rules specified in the original template continue to govern exclusively.
For instance, if a new template is added that contains Contract Expert rules, these rules
will not be retained as part of the contract.
3.6.5.2. APIs for Importing Templates, Rules, Questions and Constants

It is sometimes necessary to migrate elements from the Contract Terms Library from one
environment to another. For instance, you might graduate templates and rules that were
created in a test instance into production. It can be time-consuming to reproduce these
elements in a new or different environment.
Now, APIs can be used by technical staff to efficiently upload and create new entities.
New APIs include:
• Templates
• Rules
• Questions and Constants
APIs can be used to create new entities and update existing templates and rules. These
APIs return error and warning messages to simplify troubleshooting.
3.6.5.3. New Clause Descriptor Field
A clause descriptor field appears on the Contract Template, Rules Definition, and
Contract Terms pages. This field can be updated from the Contract Template and Rules
Definition pages. The field is hidden by default, and references a user-defined lookup for
the list of values.
3.6.5.4. Clause Mandatory Attribute at Rule Level

Now, when defining a rule, it is possible to specify whether a clause suggested by the
Contract Expert is mandatory or optional. If this attribute is undefined at the clause level,
the template-level setup will be used to determine whether a clause suggested by Contract
Expert should be added as mandatory or optional.
3.6.5.5. Clause Section Placement by Contract Expert

Previously, when a clause was added to a contract through Contract Expert, it was added
to the default section. Now, a contract administrator can add the clause to an appropriate
based on the attributes of the contract. When creating the clause, the contract
administrator can insert a variable such as the contract printing format (see image below).
When the clause is added to the document by the Contract Expert, the section to which it
is added depends on the value of the variable in the document.
3.6.5.6. Deletion of Provisional Sections from Solicitation to Award

There are some clauses that are specific to a sourcing (solicitation) document and should
not move onto the final contract. These are called provisional clauses. Now, the user can
indicate that certain sections are provisional. Provisional sections and their clauses do not
flow to the award document when the award contract is created from the solicitation
document.
3.6.5.7. Instruction Text

Clauses in a document may contain the URLs of external websites at which additional
information is available. A destination URL can be added in the instruction text of the
clause with the appropriate HTML tags. This makes the URL available as a hyperlink,
which will be available for the user to click from the clause details page.
3.6.5.8. Multi-Row Variables

Previously, the Variable field in a contract clause only accepted single values. Now you
can provide multiple values for a single variable in the form of a matrix. For example, the
variable contact number can have three columns—Country, City, and Number—with
multiple rows. You can now leverage the UDA (User Defined Attribute) framework to
set up attributes groups and then refer to these groups in multi-row variables.
The variable creation page allows the user to designate a variable as multi-row and to
associate attributes and RTF printing templates with them. These variables, when
available in a contract for a sourcing or purchasing document, allow the user to enter
multiple rows for a given variable. This information will be printed in the PDF document
according to the defined RTF template. This feature is available for buyer-updatable
variables and does not support PL/SQL values.
3.6.5.9. Display of and Sort by Clause Number

A clause number may be used by contracting professionals for many purposes. Now, the
clause number can be used for searching, updating, or adding clauses. The clause number
has been added to the Contract Terms page, the Search Results page for clauses, and the
summary page after Contract Expert is run.
It is also necessary to sort the clauses in a section by clause number. You can simply
click a button to sort all of the clauses in a section. This is currently optimized for the
federal clause numbering scheme, as follows:
<NUMBER 1>. <NUMBER 2>-<NUMBER 3><Some text>
Search is an alphanumeric sort on the clause number. A code hook is provided, enabling
customers to embed desired sorting logic (for example, a different numbering scheme),
which will be called when sorting occurs.
3.6.5.10. Contract Expert Performance Improvements

The Contract Expert engine now provides improved performance for the complete flow
including a faster user interface and better formatting of the question and answer fields.
There is no change to the Contract Expert process itself.
3.6.5.11. Contract Expert History

Contract Expert History allows buyers to view the Contract Expert questions, the
responses provided, and the resultant policy deviations and net clause additions. For
revisions to orders or amendments in a sourcing document, the can enter the amendment
description and also view it in the Contract Expert summary page. This capability
simplifies audit requirements and provides details about the responses and changes in
different revisions and amendments.
3.6.5.12. Contract Expert Test Workbench

You can now simulate rule scenarios in Contract Expert to test rules setup. This feature
allows you to view the rules setup and validate the evaluation results.
You can create a scenario, enter variable values, and provide answers to questions. When
you complete the process, the rule results are displayed so that you can check the clauses
and policy deviations. You can also generate a PDF file containing the conditions and
result of the rule simulation. Based on the conditions, the rule is evaluated as true or
false.
3.6.5.13. Delete Function for Multiple Clauses, Sections and Deliverables

A delete function on the Contract Terms page allows users to delete multiple clauses,
sections, and deliverables from a draft document. Clauses marked as mandatory cannot
be deleted.
3.6.5.14. Defaulting Rules for Contract Administrator

Previously, the Check Contract Administrator warning was displayed when a user
validated the contract terms or tried to publish or submit for approval a sourcing or
purchasing document that had contract terms added to the document. For purchasing
documents, users can now provide the default value for the contract administrator using
the profile option OKC: Default Contract Administrator for Contract Terms. The warning
message is no longer displayed for a sourcing document, though the feature is still
available.
3.6.5.15. Purge Process for Repository Contracts
The contract administrator can purge selected contracts using the Purge Repository
Contracts concurrent program. A contract can be purged in this way only if the status of
the contract is Terminated, Cancelled, or Rejected, or if the contract has expired. This
concurrent program deletes the selected contracts and all related entities.
3.6.5.16. Microsoft Word Certification for Clause and Document Authoring

The following versions of Microsoft Word have been certified for clause authoring and
the contract terms synchronization process for document authoring:
• MS Word 2010
• MS Word 2013
• MS Word 2016
Note that the Microsoft version used for editing can be any of the above as long as the
document is saved as Microsoft Word 2003 XML format for uploading into the
application.
This feature is forward-ported to 12.2.
3.6.5.17. Repository Contracts Printing Enhancement

Repository contracts now supports both the RTF template and BI Publisher data template
for XML generation for printing the contracts thereby making modifying the look and
feel of the contract simpler. An administrator can specify the template for a given
contract type using the contract type setup page.
3.6.6. Release 12.2
3.6.6.1. Repository Contracts Configurability Enhancements

Repository contracts now provides greater configurability to the contracting professional.
The contract administrator can now control the different entities that are available for
each contract type. Custom signature and approval workflows may be defined
individually for each contract type, which enhances the applicability of repository
contracts in different business scenarios. Customers can leverage repository contracts to
integrate them within their existing business flows in different application modules.
Repository contracts also support UDA (User Defined Attributes) pages, so each contract
can contain multiple additional pages to capture specific business information. This
allows the repository contracts to be used for modeling different document management
requirements along with their own process lifecycle.
3.6.6.2. User-Defined Attribute Support for Deliverables

The Deliverables feature supports the creation of User-Defined Attributes (UDA) pages,
allowing each contract to contain multiple pages to capture specific business information.
This allows deliverables to be used for modeling different document management
requirements along with meeting requirements for each contract’s process lifecycle.
3.6.7. Release 12.2.4
3.6.7.1. Repository Contracts Printing Enhancement

UDA (User Defined Attributes) fields may be used to capture additional data for each
contract type. The contract type setup page now allows the contract administrator to
specify the manner in which UDA attributes are printed by selecting appropriate data and
layout templates.
3.6.7.2. Print UDA with Deliverables

Contract deliverables may be enhanced by using UDA (User Defined Attributes) to
significantly extend deliverable information that can be captured. When printing
contracts, the XML that is generated now contains UDA. Users can now display
Deliverable UDA information when printing Contract Terms. This feature applies to
Deliverables in both Procurement Contracts and Contract Repository.
3.6.8. Release 12.2.5
3.6.8.1. Update of User-Defined Attributes on Approved Contracts

Repository contract users can add information to or update the existing values of user-
defined attributes of the contract even after the contract is approved. Users can configure
whether these user-defined attribute groups are read-only or can be updated based on the
status of the contract. The statuses for which this can be configured are Pending
Approval, Approved, Pending Signature, Signed, Terminated, and Cancelled.
3.6.9. Release 12.2.6
3.6.9.1. Related Contracts in Purchasing and Contract Repository

Contract users can define and track related contracts in both Oracle Purchasing and
Contract Repository.
• Repository contracts can be related to Oracle Purchasing documents, expanding
functionality which previously allowed Repository contracts to be related only to
other Repository contracts.
• Purchasing documents can be related to one or more Repository contracts.
Related Contracts allow users to drill-down to view relevant contracts. If a related
contract is outside a user’s assigned access the contract will appear with header level
information only, without drill-down access to contract details.
Contract users can search for contracts to relate using expanded functionality, such as
additional search criteria and flexible search combinations. Contracts that can be related
now include Global Blanket Purchase Agreements, Contract Purchase Agreements, and
Purchase Orders in Oracle Purchasing, whether or not they include contract terms.
Related contracts can reference a contract belonging to any supplier. This flexibility is
important when, for example, a master agreement is signed with the corporate office of a
parent company and individual contracts are signed with subsidiaries that operate under
different names in different geographies. Relating contracts helps organize contracts even
when they lack a common supplier name.
3.6.9.2. Contract Hierarchy

Contracts may be related with hierarchical information indicating the relationship of a
parent or child (i.e. master contract and subcontract). Contract users can navigate through
related contracts in H-Grid hierarchy format to show related contracts at a parent, child,
or peer level. Related contracts can be expanded to show any additional related contracts
of their own, and so on. For example, a buyer may navigate through related contracts to
identify all contracts governed by a shared master agreement.
3.6.9.3. Advanced Search Enhancements for Contract Hierarchy
Advanced Search can be accessed from Contract Repository.
Advanced Search expands understanding of related contracts with centralized search
functionality. Search results include the following scope:
o Repository contracts
o Purchasing documents (GBPA, CPA, and POs) that contain one of the following
conditions:
 Add Contract Terms has been selected.
 A related contract is defined.
A Show Hierarchy link in the search results displays related contracts.
3.6.10. Release 12.2.7
3.6.10.1. Content Search

For many releases, Advanced Search in Contracts Repository has allowed users to search
contracts against either Repository Contracts or Purchasing documents that containing
contract terms. For example, users can search for supplier=VisionCorp, and see the
BPAs, POs, and Repository Contracts for VisionCorp. Starting in Release 12.2.6 users
can search against both Repository Contracts and Purchasing documents in a single
search.
With Content Search users can identify text matches by searching in the contract wording
itself. As an alternative to Advanced Search, Content Search allows users to search using
text or Supplier Name or Contract Name strings to locate all contracts where there is a
textual match. Each contract file with a match display a snippet, displaying words prior
and after the first instance of matched text. Contract files can be downloaded directly for
further investigation. Sample use cases:
• List all contracts and negotiations involving a supplier with a name beginning
with: Vision
• Find contracts with suppliers located in France
• Show whether contract #73030 or any of its contract documents contains the
string “network access”
Scope of indexed documents make this feature useful to Procurement Buyers, Contract
Administrators, and Managers. The scope includes:
• Contract Repository (All contracts, including Intent of Sell, Buy, and Other)
• Purchasing documents with contract terms: Global Blanket Purchase
Agreements, Contract Purchase Agreements, and Purchase Orders.
• Sourcing negotiations with contract terms
• Contract Documents files
3.6.11. Release 12.2.10
3.6.11.1. Print Full Clause Text of Include by Reference Clauses

With this enhancement, contract administrators can decide to print the full text of a clause
created as IBR (Include by Reference) in the library.
3.7. Oracle Purchasing
3.7.1. Overview
Oracle Purchasing is the application for procurement professionals that streamlines
purchase order processing while strengthening policy compliance. It is a key component
of Oracle Advanced Procurement, the integrated suite that dramatically cuts supply
management costs.
3.7.2. Release 12.0.2 (RUP2)
3.7.2.1. Integration with Oracle Transportation Management

Oracle E-Business Suite integrates with Oracle Transportation Management to enable
transportation features and functionality in existing products including Oracle Order
Management, Oracle Shipping Execution, Oracle Payables, Oracle Warehouse
Management, and Oracle Purchasing.
Oracle Transportation Management combines transportation planning and execution

with freight payment, inbound freight logistics, and freight rating and routing. Oracle
Transportation Management adds the following features and enhancements to Oracle
Purchasing:
 Carrier selection and tender
 Freight rating and routing
 Actual ship quantities update and re-rate
 Freight payment, freight payment audit, and approval
 Visible in-transit statuses
 Inbound carrier selection
 Inbound in-transit statuses
3.7.2.2. APIs for Oracle iSetup

APIs make it easier for customers to move setup data between Oracle E-Business Suite
instances. Oracle iSetup automates the setup and management of this data. The iSetup
migrator moves setup data across instances. Each business entity supported by iSetup
requires an API created by the owning product team to handle export and import of setup
data.
3.7.3. Release 12.0.6 (RUP6)
3.7.3.1. Contract Commitments Integration with Oracle Self-Service Purchasing

(Oracle Public Sector Financials International)
Contract Commitments with Dual Budgetary Control is now integrated with Oracle Self-
Service Purchasing. Users can now create purchase orders and perform funds check and
funds reserve using the self-service version of Oracle Purchasing, when using Contract
Commitments with the Dual Budgetary Control feature enabled.
3.7.4. Release 12.1.1
3.7.4.1. Purchase Order Mass Update

Oracle Purchasing includes a new capability to mass update buyer, approver, and deliver-
to person information in purchase orders and preparer, requester, and approver
information on requisitions in order to streamline the process of maintaining
organizational changes.
Users can mass close purchase documents using the new program Mass Close of
Purchase Document. The mass close functionality applies to purchase orders that have
been fully processed—that is, for which batch processing has been completed—and to
purchase orders that need to be manually closed. The program is applicable to standard
purchase orders, blanket purchase agreements, planned purchase orders, and contract
agreement and blanket releases.
3.7.4.2. Contract Reference from Any Supplier Site for GCPA

Contracts can be referenced from any valid supplier sites while creating standard
purchase orders and requisitions. This allows broader use of global contract purchase
agreements (GCPAs), such as for suppliers with many valid sites in a single master
agreement.
Additionally, a profile option has been added to allow a requisition or standard purchase
order to reference a GCPA from any supplier site when the GCPA is being amended. By
default, the profile option is set to No to preserve current behavior.
3.7.4.3. FPDS-NG Integration

Most US Federal Government agencies must track and report their contract activity in a
variety of ways, including publishing certain contract activity to the Federal Procurement
Data System – Next Generation (FPDS-NG). Oracle Purchasing Release 12.1.1 supports
integration with FPDS-NG by ensuring that required contract and vendor data elements
are captured and that submission data passes all required FPDS-NG validations.
3.7.5. Release 12.1.2
3.7.5.1. Purchase Order Pricing Enhancement

Oracle Purchasing has extended its integration with Oracle Advanced Pricing to provide
greater granularity and flexibility in pricing orders and agreements. The extended
integration also provides greater transparency to how prices are determined for orders and
agreements. Oracle Purchasing users can now:
• View the pricing modifier information for a purchase order or GBPA line and
view the pre-calculated price adjustments applied by the price engine.
• Manually enter a price modifier, change the modifier rate, and recalculate the
price.
• Query existing manual modifiers and apply them to a purchase order and GBPA
unit price.
• Change the modifier rate and apply changes to a purchase order or GBPA line.
These new features give the buyer accurate view of pricing information, increased
flexibility in pricing an order, and streamlined supplier communication on prices.
3.7.5.2. Project Security Within Oracle Purchasing

In project-centered industries like Engineering and Construction, it is common for buyers
to be assigned to projects rather than to commodities or item categories. Buyers only
have authority to transact on behalf of the projects to which they are assigned. To help
enforce this business rule, Oracle Purchasing is introducing project-level security. When
the new security option is enabled, procurement users are allowed to view and update
only procurement documents that are related to their assigned projects.
This feature has a prerequisite of Oracle Projects.
3.7.5.3. Procurement Web Services for Oracle Purchasing
This feature exposes business logic contained within user forms through Java APIs.
These web services are cataloged in the Oracle Integration Repository and can be
browsed through the Oracle Integration Repository browser interface under the respective
product family node. By clicking on a business entity in the Integration Repository, you
can view a full description, a list of web services for that business entity, and a
description of the web service. The description of parameters can be viewed from the
XSD definition of the service available from the generated WSDL.
With Release 12.1.2, the following web services are provided for Oracle Purchasing:
• Purchase order (PO): Cancel PO, Create PO, Delete PO, Approve PO, Query PO,
Update PO
• Requisition: Create Requisition, Delete Requisition, Query Requisition, Update
Requisition.
These web services support requisitions in Oracle iProcurement as well as in Oracle
Purchasing.
3.7.6. Release 12.1.3
3.7.6.1. Oracle Landed Cost Management Integration
Oracle Landed Cost Management (LCM) gives organizations visibility into their
extended supply chain costs including transportation, handling fees, regulatory duties,
and taxes, and helps them determine the landed cost of material for transactional
purposes. This enables organizations to have better control over procurement costs, to
maximize profits, to increase competitiveness, and to ensure that complex trade activities
are compliant with regulatory mandates.
This integration allows Oracle Purchasing users to simulate landed costs at the creation of
purchase orders, enabling better procurement decisions based on the estimated landed
cost of the items.
3.7.6.2. Asset Lifecycle Management Integration
In Release 12.1.2, the implementation of encumbrance reversal for Oracle Supply Chain
Management was limited to Inventory and Expense Receiving transactions. In Release
12.1.3, this functionality has been extended to purchase orders with a destination of Shop
Floor, for which the distributions will be created under WIP transactions. Oracle
Purchasing supports encumbering funds for purchase orders that are generated from
Oracle Enterprise Asset Management (with a shop floor destination) during the approval
process.
All public sector organizations, including municipal, state, provincial, and federal
government organizations, are required to encumber or reserve funds that have been
committed to a supply purchase order. Therefore, prior to approval of any purchasing
document, the available funds must be checked and reserved against the available budget
for the specified account code combination. This enhancement is key for budgetary
control.
3.7.7. Release 12.1.3+
3.7.7.1. Encumbered Document Revisions Without Un-Reserving Funds

Users may now create revisions for approved and reserved purchasing documents without
first un-reserving funds. Permitted changes include changes to quantities and tax
attributes. When the revision is approved, the system automatically adjusts the amount
reserved by calculating the difference between the reserved amount and the document
amount. Users may also manually reserve an increase or decrease in the document
amount as well as view encumbrance-related accounting entries for a purchase order or
GBPA document. This feature is supported in Oracle Application Framework pages only
and not in the Oracle Forms interface.
3.7.7.2. Approvals Management Engine for Purchase Order Approvals

Oracle Purchasing users now have the option to use the Approvals Management Engine
(AME) for approving purchase order documents. Approvers can be defined either in
parallel or in sequential manner using AME. AME also brings in multiple voting methods
for approving purchase order documents. Enterprises can use the predefined AME
transaction type and purchase order workflow process or they can create a custom
transaction type and workflow process based on their business requirements. Buyers can
add ad hoc approvers and electronic signatories using the Approval Options page. The
AME process can also be used to add multiple reviewers and electronic signatories to the
approval hierarchy.
3.7.7.3. Current and Pending Approvers in Action History Region

Users can view current and pending approvers if an order document is undergoing an
AME approval process. Approver details and approval sequence are available in the
Action History. The system also tracks reminders sent to the approver. If there is no
response from an approver after two reminders, the approval process times out, a
Timeout action is recorded, and the approver’s supervisor is notified.
3.7.7.4. Withdrawal of Purchase Order After Submission for Approval

Buyers using the Professional Buyers Work Center may now withdraw a purchase order
that is in the approval queue in with a status of In Process or Pre-Approved. Depending
on control options, an approver may receive an FYI notification giving the reason for
withdrawal. This feature is supported in Oracle Application Framework pages only and
not in the Oracle Forms interface.
3.7.7.5. Configurable Notification in Purchase Order

The PO Approval Notification region can be configured according to your business
needs. You can add or remove columns in the header and in the lines region and you can
control what approvers can view in the notification. You can also modify the text in the
notification email.
3.7.7.6. Outside Processing Lines in Global Blanket Purchase Agreements

Oracle Purchasing now allows global blanket purchase agreement (GBPA) lines to have
items that are defined as Outside Processing Items. When standard purchase orders are
created against these GBPAs, these items can be ordered and delivered to a Shop Floor
destination.
3.7.7.7. Support for Importing Complex Purchase Orders
Oracle Purchasing users can now import complex purchase orders using the Purchasing
Document Open Interface (PDOI).
3.7.7.8. New Approved Supplier List APIs

Oracle Purchasing now comes with APIs for the creation of approved supplier lists
(ASLs) through direct data upload. You can use these API to create new ASLs as well as
to update existing ASLs. The APIs come with error and warning messages to simplify
troubleshooting.
3.7.7.9. Buyer Work Center Session Preferences

Oracle Purchasing now provides user preferences for setting default values in the Buyer
Work Center. Default values for various attributes can be specified in the Preferences
page of the Buyer Work Center for quick and easy creation of purchase orders. These
values are used when a new purchase order is created, thereby reducing repeated data
entry.
3.7.7.10. Purchasing Document Open Interface Enhancements

Several enhancements are now offered with the Purchasing Document Open Interface
(PDOI). Features include the ability to:
• Import the requisition reference numbers of purchase documents.
• Import the global blanket purchase agreement and GCPA reference numbers in
purchase documents.
• Utilize Advance Pricing setup when importing purchase documents.
• Import contract agreements using the Import Contract Purchase Agreements
concurrent program.
Users can also provide contract purchase agreement references while using the
AutoCreate process to create purchase orders.
3.7.7.11. Business Service Object (BSO) Web Service

Oracle Purchasing now comes with a Business Service Object (BSO) web service for
creating and updating in bulk all types of orders and agreements. You can use this web
service to create and update orders and agreements during integration with third party
systems.
3.7.7.12. Promised Date Calculation Based on Lead Time

At times the promised date is not provided by the user for new purchase order lines. In
these cases, Oracle Purchasing now references the lead time specified in the blanket
purchase agreement line to automatically populate the promised date on the
corresponding purchase order lines.
3.7.7.13. Purchase Order Approval On the Go
Oracle Mobile Approvals for Oracle E-Business Suite is a smartphone application that
enables employees and managers to respond on the go to pending approval requests.
From a smartphone, anywhere and anytime, employees and managers can take quick
action on approval requests for expenses, requisitions, purchase orders, recruitment
vacancies and offers, and more.
Buyers and managers can quickly filter approval requests by sender or by subject, review
header and line details, view action history and comments, and respond with an approval
or rejection, right from a smartphone.
For a full description, refer to the E-Business Suite Applications Technology Release
Content Document.
3.7.7.14. Enabling GBPA in Supplier Scheduling

Oracle Purchasing enables users to view expected delivery dates based on the shipping
schedule and the planning schedule for standard purchase orders that reference GBPAs.
Key features include:
• Population of supplier schedules with firm orders (standard purchase orders created
referencing global blanket purchase agreements) during shipping schedule generation
• Consideration of standard purchase orders (firm orders) that reference GBPAs during
calculation of CUM Quantity
• Viewing of supplier schedules in iSupplier Portal for firm orders created referencing
GBPAs
3.7.7.15. Support for Multiple Communication Modes in Purchasing Documents

Oracle Purchasing enables users to select multiple communication methods to transmit
purchasing documents to the supplier. The communication process is streamlined to
automatically communicate the purchasing document once it is approved. Key features
include:
• Multiple communication methods
• Multiple defaulting methods for communication during purchase order revision,
communication, and cancellation
This feature increases flexibility and adds efficiency to the process of communicating
purchase orders to suppliers.
3.7.8. Release 12.2
3.7.8.1. Automatic Updates to Encumbrance (General Ledger) Date

Buyers can specify an encumbrance date for each distribution against a line during
purchase order creation. If this date is within a closed period, and is therefore invalid,
then the application automatically updates the date to the system date. This feature
requires a profile value setting to be activated.
3.7.8.2. Support for Additional Extension Hooks
Oracle Purchasing provides additional extension hooks that enable usage of custom
validations for the purchase order submission process. Buyers can now make changes to
the target document during the AutoCreate flow.
3.7.9. Release 12.2.4
3.7.9.1. Spreadsheet-Based Authoring of Purchase Order Lines

Purchasing users can now use Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to create or modify purchase
order lines, schedules and distributions. At the purchase order header level, users can
author lines, schedules and distributions in Excel and import these additions into the
document. This feature may also be used at the line, schedule, pay item, and distribution
levels. This spreadsheet-based authoring uses Web ADI setup for users to specify the
columns and their order sequence of display for authoring the purchase order.
3.7.10. Release 12.2.5
3.7.10.1. Support for Oracle Process Manufacturing Outside Processing Items

Oracle Purchasing supports outside processing in that it enables users to create, approve
and receive outside processing items that are then placed on requisitions and purchase
orders associated to the batches that are created in Oracle Process Manufacturing. Users
can specify or view outside processing batch-related details in requisitions and also in
purchase orders.
3.7.10.2. Enhancements to Purchase Order Business Service Object Web Service

The Purchase Order Business Service Object (BSO) web service has been enhanced to
include:
• Query of a purchase order document
• The control actions Cancel, Close, Open, Close for Invoice/Open for Invoice, Close
for Receiving/Open for Receiving, Finally Close, Freeze/Unfreeze, Place on Hold/
Release and Delete
• The update of a value to NULL with the help of special constants
In addition, the following Oracle Services Procurement features added in 12.2.4 are also
now supported through web services as well:
o Creating purchase orders with both schedules and pay items
o Linking Schedules to pay items
o Giving Advance as percentage
3.7.11. Release 12.2.6
3.7.11.1. Configurable Defaulting Rule for Acknowledgement Due Date

Purchasing users can now configure an Acknowledgment Due Date offset, which will be
used to calculate and default the Acknowledgment Due Date when purchasing documents
are approved. This will eliminate the need for manual intervention in tracking supplier
acceptances purchasing documents that are automatically created either through
AutoCreate or through the Create Document workflow.
The offset is defined as the number of days to be added to the approval date in order to
calculate and default the acknowledgment due date. This offset can be specified either in
Purchasing Options for all documents created in a specific operating unit, or at a supplier
site for all documents issued to a specific supplier and supplier site.
Acknowledgment Due Date offset is also supported in the Supplier Import interface and
APIs at the supplier site.
3.7.11.2. Promised Date and Shipment Date Synchronization for Drop Ship
Orders
Drop shipment enables companies to optimize order fulfillment to customers, reduce
costs, and maintain a competitive advantage. In this process, a company sells products to
its customers, but does not directly stock and/or distribute the products; rather the
company serves as a sales agent and delegates the manufacturing and/or distribution of
the product to outsourced suppliers, who in turn deliver it directly to the customer.
There are scenarios in which suppliers can meet the requirements of a purchase order if
some modifications are made to the shipment schedule. Suppliers may have
circumstances, such as capacity constraints that change their required production
schedule, that allow them to meet requirements only if delivery dates are changed. The
adjustment is indicated in changes to the promised date.
Now companies and their suppliers can make changes to the promised date; the changed
promised date will be validated and if valid, the modified promised date in the purchase
order document will be defaulted as the Schedule Ship/Arrival Date in the sales order.
3.7.11.3. Purchase Order Approval Notification Enhancements

Approvers of purchasing documents can view header level attachments and the line level
charge account in the approval notification.
Key features include viewing all types of header attachments and the charge account of
the purchase order line in approval, reviewer, signer and purchase order approval
reminder notifications.
3.7.11.4. Notification of Purchase Order Creation

The requester can be notified when a requisition is converted to a purchase order.
Notification mileposts include:
• A requisition is converted to a purchase order.
• A purchase order document is created when the requisition is approved.
Requesters can opt in or out of these notifications.
• A requisition document is assigned or reassigned to a buyer.
3.7.11.5. Related Contracts

For customers using Procurement Contracts, Related Contracts allows users to define and
track related contracts stored in Contract Repository. Related Contracts allow users to
reference contracts hierarchically (i.e. linking a Master Agreement in the Contract
Repository to a Blanket Agreement) and peer-level (i.e. linking a Non-Disclosure
Document to a Blanket Agreement). Users can search the Contract Repository from
Purchasing, drill down on Related Contracts to view a contract, and even identify related
contracts in other business units to identify the existence of a contract and buyer name.
For more information see Related Contracts in Purchasing and Contract Repository,
Contract Hierarchy, and Advanced Search Enhancements for Contract Hierarchy under
Procurement Contracts.
3.7.12. Release 12.2.7
3.7.12.1. AutoCreate Multiple Requisitions to a Single Purchase Order

With the help of a new concurrent program ‘Create Standard Purchase Orders’, multiple
requisition lines can be automatically grouped to create purchase order(s) based on
parameters such as ‘Vendor’, ‘Source Document’, ‘Suggested Buyer’, ‘Currency’, etc.
In addition, the new concurrent program also honors the existing capabilities of ‘Create
document workflow’ and ‘Purchase Document Open Interface’ (PDOI) such as ‘Order
lines grouping’ and ‘PO creation based on purchasing organization in case of centralized
procurement’.
Key benefits include:
• Group similar requirements and create single purchase order so that buyers can
have better visibility and track the purchase order more effectively
• Optimize price in case of a release against a blanket agreement having a price
break on Quantity.
3.7.12.2. Validate BPA Line Amount Agreed During Order/Release Submission

Purchase Orders and Releases are now validated against BPA line amount agreed. The
key benefit of this feature is that the buyers can now control total agreed amount even at
BPA line level.
Example: Buyer creates an agreement with 2 items, the first for 5,000 USD (i.e.
computer's accessories, to be used for all departments), and the second for 1,000 USD
(i.e. single laptop). Meaning, buyers can buy up to one laptop. Buyer can specify the
amount agreed amount for 'computer accessories' and 'laptop' as $5000USD and
$1000USD respectively.
With the new enhancement, system prevents users to create Purchase Order with amount
more than 5,000 USD against agreement line 1 (i.e. computer's accessories) and it
prevents users to create Purchase Order with amount more than 1,000 USD against
agreement line 2 (Laptop).
3.7.12.3. Enhanced Control Over Purchase Order Approval Notification Actions

A purchasing administrator can hide or show ‘Forward’ and ‘Approve and Forward’
options in the Purchase Order Approval notification through a profile option. This
enhancement helps approvers satisfy organization policies and compliance requirements.
3.7.12.4. New requester notifications for Purchase Order status updates

Requesters can now opt to receive notifications that provide status updates for the
Purchase Orders generated for the items on their requisitions. As appropriate, they can
receive updates that let them know when an item has been placed onto a Draft Purchase
Order and confirmation when that Purchase Order has been approved. Requesters can
also choose to opt-out of the notifications.
3.7.12.5. Add all Lines of Requisition to the Order Document at Once

Buyers can add all lines of requisition on to an order document with one click. It
improves the user experience and saves considerable time for buyer.
3.7.12.6. Content Search and Enhanced Advanced Search
For customers using Procurement Contracts, new search features allow buyers, contract
administrators, and business users search against all contracts in Purchasing, Contract
Repository, and Sourcing in one location.
With Content Search licensees of Procurement Contracts now have additional power to
locate text matches in contract wording itself. Content Search allows users to search
using text strings or Supplier Name strings to locate all contracts where there is a textual
match. Each contract file with a match display a snippet, displaying words prior and
after the first instance of matched text. Contract files can be downloaded directly for
further investigation.
For more information see Content Search and Enhanced Advanced Search under
3.7.13. Release 12.2.8
3.7.13.1. Maintain Notes from Buyer Work Center

Notes enable Buyers to track tasks, ideas and discussions against individual purchasing
documents. Notes also enable collaboration and help organize the workload within the
procurement team. For example, a certain requisition in the pool might require a series of
tasks such as estimating overall demand, performing market research, checking price or
availability, and evaluating viable alternatives.
Notes can be created for requisition lines from demand workbench and requesters can
view and update notes from view requisition details. Notes can also be maintained at
document and line level within purchasing documents, purchase orders and agreements.
3.7.13.2. Purchase order rejection notifications for requester
Requesters can opt to receive notifications that provide status updates for the Purchase
Orders generated for the items on their requisitions. They can receive updates when the
requested item is placed onto a draft purchase order and confirmation when the purchase
order is approved. With this enhancement, requesters will receive updates that let them
know when an item that has been placed onto a Purchase Order is rejected.
3.7.14. Release 12.2.9
3.7.14.1. User-Defined Attribute support for Purchase Orders

Customers can now leverage the UDA (User Defined Attribute) framework to set up
attributes groups and then refer to these groups in purchase orders to capture additional
information specific to their business.
3.7.14.2. Ability to view and compare changes before approving Purchase Order
Revision
Buyers can now compare the changes made in current unapproved revision with previous
revisions.
Approvers can review changes made in current revision before approving the revision.
They can do this from the approval notification.
3.7.15. Release 12.2.10
3.7.15.1. Improvements to Schedule Split Action for Professional Buyers

Buyers, using Buyer Works Center, can now split schedules and maintain backing
requisition references on the new schedule.
Buyers can also change the Ship-To Organization on a completely open schedule –
distribution accounts will be regenerated as a result. Cancellation of a schedule will
always recreate demand if the demand (requisition line) is obligated using multiple
schedules.
3.7.15.2. Ability to Populate VMI Flag in Manually Created Requisitions

Based on the VMI flag in the Item Master and ASL setup, manually created requisitions
will now be updated as VMI requisition, which will then convert to standard purchase
orders with VMI flag. The demand from the purchase order will be visible in
collaborative planner for both supplier and buyer.
3.7.15.3. Interface Intragovernmental Transactions to G-Invoicing

G-Invoicing (G-INV) is a web-based application created to efficiently manage
Intragovernmental (Intragov) Buy/Sell transactions between two federal agencies from
the agreement of the General Terms & Conditions (GT&Cs) to the IPAC payment
notification. The United States Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service
offers this G-Invoicing to all Federal agencies.
G-Invoicing solution in CLM or core Purchasing help agencies to exchange GT&C,

Orders and attachment information to and from G-Invoicing using REST services
specified by FIDS (Federal Intragovernmental Data Standards).
GT&C (General Terms & Conditions) is an Intra-agency agreement between requesting

agency and servicing agency that will be created in G-Invoicing application and can be
imported/pulled into CLM or Core Purchasing.
IGT Order (Intragovernmental Order) is a fiscal obligation between agencies that can be
initiated in CLM or core Purchasing and send/push to G-Invoicing for servicing agency
to review and approval. Once the order is accepted, the servicing agency information will
be pulled and synced to the existing order.
3.8. Oracle Procurement Command Center

3.8.1. Overview
Oracle Procurement Command Center enables procurement professionals to align
procurement strategy with the business strategy of the organization, while enabling cross-
document actions. Oracle Procurement Command Center provides buyers with relevant
insights to discover, prioritize, and resolve issues before they affect business, to identify
cost saving opportunities, to improve customer satisfaction, and to improve category
management.
Oracle Procurement Command Center feature leverages the Enterprise Command Center
framework technology and is available at no additional cost to licensed users of Oracle
Purchasing. It can be applied to Release 12.2.4 and above.
3.8.2. Release 12.2.9+
Release 12.2 V3
3.8.2.1. Procurement Operations Dashboard

Procurement Operations Dashboard helps buyers gain end-to-end visibility into the status
of procurement. Buyers get powerful insights to drive timely and well informed decision
making. Focus of procurement operations dashoard is to help buyers take actions on
exceptions before they impact the business.
Buyers get separate view of requisitions, orders and agreements, which are associated
such that related information like requisitions backing the orders, or source agreements
for orders is available seamlessly while navigating between the three pages.
3.8.2.2. Indirect Procurement Dashboard

Indirect Procurement Dashboard enables buyers to analyze the buying behaviors of
requesters within the organization from both requisitions and expense reports. Reviewing
requester feedback helps buyers update purchasing documents and refine the available
catalog to better meet business needs. Buyers can also:
• Analyze reviews and ratings provided by requesters on the catalog items
available in iProcurement, and initiate necessary corrective action
• Act on specific feedback coming in from requesters
• Gain insights into catalog usage and refine catalog content
• Review off-contract spend behavior (including spend from Oracle iExpenses)
and identify cost-saving opportunities
3.8.2.3. Supplier Analysis Dashboard

Supplier Analysis provides a view of all purchasing activities in an aggregate, thus
enabling buyers to manage the supply risk. Supplier Analysis provides performance
criteria and extended supplier profile to zero in on the best set of suppliers to meet
business objectives.
3.8.3. Release 12.2.9++

Release 12.2 V4
3.8.3.1. Enhancements to Procurement Operations Dashboard

The enhanced Requisitions dashboard enables Buyers/Administrators to:
Identify and resolve issues before they start to affect a business
• Manage the work queue by acting on requisitions based on priority
• Manage workload by assigning or reassigning requisitions within the team.
• Find the best suppliers for requisitions.
• Create RFQs or purchase orders for requisitions.
The following table describes the actions that can be taken on one or more of the
documents listed in the results tables.
Result Table Action Description
Lines Reassign Use this action to reassign a set of requisition lines

Requisition from one buyer to another. When this action is
selected, the Reassign Requisition Lines page
appears to complete the action.
Lines Add to Select one or more requisition lines and add them to
Document the Document Builder to create a RFQ or a purchase
Builder order. Only requisitions with a status of In Pool can
be added to the Document Builder. If the requisition
is sourced to a suggested supplier or multiple
suggested suppliers, then suppliers are also added to
the Document Builder along with the requisitions.
3.7.3.1.2 Enhancements to Orders dashboard:

Utilize additional metrics to determine supplier and order performance. Use metrics like
On-Time Delivery, Quality Rating, and Price Compliance to determine the procurement
health.
In the Orders tab, select one or more rows and click the Options icon to perform the
following actions on the selection.
Orders Place on Hold Use this action to place the selected orders on
hold.
Use this action to remove hold on the selected
Orders Remove Hold
orders.
Orders Cancel Order Use this action to cancel the selected orders.
Use this action to place a freeze on the
Orders Freeze
selected orders.
Orders Unfreeze Use this action to remove freeze on the
selected orders.
Orders Bulk Update Use this action to add or modify multiple

Header purchase orders at a time using the Oracle
Web Applications Desktop Integrator (Web
ADI) integration with Microsoft Excel. See
Managing Bulk Update of Procurement Data
Using Oracle Web ADI for more information.
Use this action to review the status of multiple
Orders View Bulk Update
updated purchase orders using the View Bulk
Status
Update Requests page. See Managing Bulk
Update of Procurement Data Using Oracle
Web ADI for more information.
Use this action to add or modify multiple
Lines Bulk Update Lines
purchase order lines at a time using the Oracle
Web Applications Desktop Integrator (Web
ADI) integration with Microsoft Excel. See
Lines View Bulk Update
updated purchase order lines using the View
Status
Bulk Update Requests page. See Managing
Bulk Update of Procurement Data Using
Oracle Web ADI for more information.
Use this action to cancel the selected
Schedules Cancel Shipment
shipments. When you select this action, the
Cancel page for order or orders appears to
complete the task.
Utilize additional metrics to determine supplier and order performance. Use metrics like
On-Time Delivery, Quality Rating, and Price Compliance to determine the procurement
health.
Buyers can take several actions on the Order right from the command center. These
actions can be taken on one or more Orders. Actions like Freeze, UnFreeze, Place on
Hold, Remove from Hold, Cancel Order, Cancel Shipment etc.
In addition to this, now buyers can utilize the Oracle Web Applications Desktop
Integrator (Web ADI) integration with Microsoft Excel to update one or more Orders or
Order lines.
3.7.3.1.3 Enhancements to Agreements dashboard:

In the Agreements tab, select one or more rows and click the Options icon to perform the
following actions on the selection.
Agreements Place on Hold Use this action to place the selected

Agreements on hold.
Use this action to remove hold on the selected
Agreements Remove Hold
Agreements.
Agreements Cancel Agreement Use this action to cancel the selected
Agreements.
Use this action to place a freeze on the
Agreements Freeze
selected Agreements.
Agreements Unfreeze Use this action to remove freeze on the

selected Agreements.
Use this action to add or modify multiple
Agreements Bulk Update
agreements using the Oracle Web
Header
Applications Desktop Integrator (Web ADI)
integration with Microsoft Excel. See
Agreements View Bulk Update
updated agreements using the View Bulk
Status
Update Requests page. See Managing Bulk
Update of Procurement Data Using Oracle
Web ADI for more information.
Buyers can take several actions on the Agreements right from the command center. These
actions can be taken on one or more Agreements. Actions like Freeze, UnFreeze, Place
on Hold, Remove from Hold, Cancel Agreement.
In addition to this, now buyers can utilize the Oracle Web Applications Desktop
Integrator (Web ADI) integration with Microsoft Excel to update one or more
Agreements.
3.8.3.2. Enhancements to Indirect Procurement Dashboard

The following table describes the actions available when you select the Options icon in
the results tables. Select one or more rows and click the Options icon to act on your
selection.

Use this action to close review comments.
Reviews Close Reviews
Use this action to close feedback records.
Feedback Close Feedback
Buyers can reduce their work queue by closing Reviews and Feedback they have
actioned on. They can do that directly from the dashboard by taking the action at row
level for a review or feedback.
3.8.3.3. Enhanced Actions in the Supplier Analysis Dashboard

You can perform the following row-level actions:
1. Supplier (Results Table)
Add as Sources of Supply: This action is applicable to buyers using Project Procurement
Command Center and is used to analyze suppliers for a plan line and then add them as
sources of supply.
2. Purchase Orders (Result Table)
Add to PO: This action is applicable to buyers using the Procurement Command Center.
The first step of this action is to click the link icon in the Analyze Supplier column for a
requisition line in the Requisitions dashboard. Use this action to add suppliers to purchase
orders.
3. Agreements (Result Table)
The Add as Sources of Supply action is applicable to project buyers using the Project
Procurement Command Center. When you click the link icon in the Add as Sources of
Supply column for an agreement line, the Create Sources of Supply page appears.
4. Negotiations (Result Table)
Add to Negotiation: This action is applicable to buyers using the Procurement Command
Center. The first step of this action is to click the link icon in the Analyze Supplier
column for a requisition line in the Requisitions dashboard. Use this action to add
suppliers to a negotiation.
If you try this action without having a requisition line in context, then the dashboard
displays an error. If the requisition line is valid, then you can add the requisition line to
the negotiation along with the supplier.
The following table describes the actions available when you select the Options icon in
the results tables. Select one or more rows and click the Options icon to act on your
selection.

The starting point for this action is the creation
Suppliers Add to Negotiation
of a request for quote (RFQ) in Oracle
Sourcing. Create an RFQ to be able to add
suppliers. For a negotiation that is at the Draft
status, add suppliers to the negotiation from
the Sourcing pages using the Add Suppliers
button. Analyze the suppliers, select them, and
then add them using the Add to Negotiation
action.
Use this action to add suppliers to requisition
Suppliers Add to Document
lines using the Document Builder.
Builder
Use this action to add multiple agreements
Agreements Add to Document
(contract purchase agreements and blanket
Builder
purchase agreements) to the Document
Builder. When an agreement is added, the
action automatically brings in suppliers too.
This action is applicable to project buyers who
Agreement Compare with
are analyzing suppliers using Project
Lines Demand
Procurement Command Center.
Use this action to compare agreement lines

with procurement plan lines. If plan lines are
not available, then the dashboard displays an
error.
Buyers can now add Suppliers and Agreements as Source of Supply to plan lines.
Requisition lines can directly be added to existing Purchase orders and Negotiations.
Document builder is now available in supplier analysis, buyers can add suppliers and
agreements to it and continue with document creation.
3.8.3.4. Item Analysis Dashboard

The Item Analysis dashboard is centered upon items that have been ordered for
procurement. The dashboard brings in historical structured and unstructured data from
purchasing document attachments about an item and makes it available in a way that
enables quick decision making.
3.8.3.5. Strategic Sourcing Dashboard

Buyers and procurement managers can use the Strategic Sourcing dashboard to view
aggregate information from sourcing negotiations to track and mitigate risks in achieving
strategic objectives. They can:
• Search across negotiations and drill down to the underlying document, or
navigate to other dashboards of the Procurement Command Center in the context
of a purchasing document
• Track negotiation cycle-times and savings achieved on each negotiation
• Identify work load of buyers and sourcing team
3.8.4. Release 12.2.10
Release 12.2 V5
3.8.4.1. Employee Shopping Search Tracker
A new dashboard has been introduced to display all of the search activity carried out by
employees during shopping sessions in the iProcurement Consumer-Like Shopping
pages. This dashboard provides detailed insight into the searches, refinements and
filtering used by users to locate catalog content that they then add to their shopping cart.
The dashboard information is intended to help Buyers and Catalog Administrators to
better understand user shopping behavior and to use this insight to help refine and update
the content made available to employees. As well as highlighting overall usage of the
shopping application, the dashboard will help answer key questions for content
administrators;
o Are there goods/services that employees are trying to find that are unavailable in
the existing catalog content?
o Are there goods/services that employees struggle to find even with the new search
capability?
By leveraging these insights, catalog administrators will be able to better manage their
existing content and plan for the addition of new content.
3.9. Oracle Mobile Procurement for Oracle E-Business Suite

With Oracle Mobile Procurement for Oracle E-Business Suite, buyers and Oracle
Purchasing users can monitor purchase orders and take actions on the go.
• Track purchase orders requiring attention (in a status of On Hold, Rejected,
Delayed, Pending Approval) and drill into details
• Search purchase orders based on key attributes (Supplier, Item, Requester, Buyer,
dates)
• Monitor alerts for shipment delays
• Collaborate in transaction context using device features like email, phone and
text.
Oracle Mobile Procurement for Oracle E-Business Suite is compatible with Oracle E-
Business Suite 12.1.3 and 12.2.3 and above. To use this app, you must be a user of Oracle
Purchasing, with mobile services configured on the server side by your administrator.
3.9.1.1. Mobile Foundation 2.1 Updates

• Improvements in login and configuration flow
• Ability to change the URL without having to reinstall the app
• Diagnostics improvements
3.9.1.2. Accessibility Improvements
Improvements were made in the Purchase Order Details page, related information
messages, the contextual tab bar, and the person contact card.
3.9.2.1. Android Support

In previous versions, Oracle Mobile Procurement for Oracle E-Business Suite was
available only for iOS devices. Starting with version 1.2.0, the app is now available for
Android devices as well.

• Changes to support both iOS and Android on the same client code
• Ability to update the server URL from the Connection Details page

• Support for enterprise distribution
• Customization support for corporate branding
• Support for Web SSO authentication to delegate authentication to Oracle Access
Manager (OAM)
3.9.3.2. Translation Support

This app is available in the following languages: Brazilian Portuguese, Canadian French,
Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin American Spanish, Simplified
Chinese and Spanish.

• User installation and usage metrics for administrators
• Uptake of Oracle Mobile Application Framework (MAF) 2.2.2

• Enhanced user security with two-factor authentication
• Ability to open external links in the app
• Ability to easily clear user credential fields in the Sign-In page
2.3.1

• Ability to import custom CA or self-signed server certificates to standard apps
for TLS connections to Oracle E-Business Suite
• Ability to download the mobile app configuration automatically from the server
2.4.0
Oracle is discontinuing Oracle Mobile Procurement from Oracle E-Business Suite Mobile
Release 8.0 and onwards. Oracle will support this app, but will not deliver any new
updates to the app.
• The app remains on the Apple App Store and Google Play with the latest client
version delivered in 2017.
• The corresponding MAA file for the latest client version is available on the
Oracle Software Delivery Cloud.
• Oracle will continue to deliver REST services for selected functionality in this
app for use in custom app development.
Customers who have installed this app will continue to receive technical support --
including access to online support tools, knowledge bases, pre-existing fixes, and service
request resolution -- for as long as they operate the app. Error correction support is no
longer available for this app.
Additionally, Oracle will not certify this app with any further operating system updates,
new devices, or new Oracle E-Business Suite releases beyond Release 12.2.7. Oracle will
continue to assist you to the best of our ability; however, we are unable to provide any
new fixes.
3.10. Oracle Project Procurement Command Center

3.10.1. Overview
With Oracle Project Procurement Command Center, project teams, project managers, and
project buyers can establish and measure strategic project objectives and drive project
procurement planning, decision-making, and execution throughout the project lifecycle.
The command center brings together project and procurement information that is critical
to aligning strategy with planning and execution.
The Oracle Project Procurement Command Center feature is available at no additional
cost to licensed users of any Oracle Purchasing or Oracle Projects module. It can be
applied to Release 12.2.4 and above.
3.10.2. Release 12.2.9++

Release 12.2 V4
3.10.2.1. Procurement Plan Dashboard

The Procurement Plan dashboard allows Project Managers to plan work schedules,
manage cost, and track progress across different projects. The dashboard shows data in
the context of a single project. It helps users to:
• Create and manage project procurement plans, which list all items and services
needed for a project along with the estimated timeframe
• Initiate requisitions using a shopping cart
• Update procurement plan lines or statuses to improve collaboration with project
buyers
• Track procurement progress for projects
• Review project schedules, budgets, and forecasts
• Compile and act on key project measures affected by the procurement plan status
3.10.2.2. Project Procurement Dashboard

The project buyer is responsible for ensuring that a project is successfully executed and
all the objectives of the project are met. To facilitate these goals, this dashboard allows a
buyer to see the procurement plans for all the projects for which they are responsible, and
provides information to help the project buyer manage all procurement activities on each
project.
The project buyer can use the dashboard to:
• Review project procurement plans
• Analyze suppliers to use for given plan lines
• Review sources of supply
• Update procurement plan lines
• Create sources of supply
3.10.2.3. Item Analysis Dashboard

The Item Analysis dashboard is centered upon items that have been ordered for
procurement. The dashboard brings in historical structured and unstructured data from
purchasing document attachments about an item and makes it available in a way that
enables quick decision making.
3.10.2.4. Supplier Analysis Dashboard

The Supplier Analysis dashboard provides an aggregate view of all purchasing activities,
thus enabling buyers to manage supply risk. It provides access to performance criteria
and extended supplier profile details to zero in on the best set of suppliers to meet
business objectives. View Oracle Procurement Command Center for more details on
supplier analysis.
3.11. Oracle Project Procurement Command Center Plus

3.11.1. Overview
Oracle Project Procurement Command Center Plus enables project managers and project
buyers to collaborate and align their activities when planning, tracking and managing the
acquisition of products, materials and services needed to complete a project. Built using
the power of Endeca for EBS, the application integrates project management information
from Oracle Project Planning and Control, project cost information from Oracle Project
Costing and procurement documents, supplier and buyer information from Oracle
Sourcing and Procurement. This combined information provides key insights, metrics and
access to common actions necessary to support decisions and ensure strategic alignment
of procurement activities with the project’s objectives.
Use Project Procurement’s project procurement plan to plan and track acquisitions
needed to complete your projects. Use specialized analysis tools to explore your plans
and your procurement history with suppliers and items and ensure selection of the best
options. With command centers for both project management and project buyer users
built on the same, integrated information, you can make decisions using up-to-date and
common measures that enhance project execution and minimize project wastage.
3.11.2. V5
Oracle Project Procurement Command Center Plus provides the following features:
• Enable Projects for Procurement Planning
• Create and Manage Project Procurement Plan
• Project Management Command Center View
• Project Buyer Command Center View
• Item Analysis
• Supplier Analysis
Full details about the current capabilities of Oracle Project Procurement Command
Center Plus can be found in the Projects RCD.
3.12. Oracle Services Procurement

3.12.1. Overview
Oracle Services Procurement is the application that enables complete control and
oversight for services spending. It is a key component of Oracle Advanced Procurement,
the integrated suite that dramatically cuts all supply management costs.
Oracle Services Procurement further streamlines all aspects of the acquisition process for
complex services, including:
• Negotiation of service contracts with an emphasis on terms related to contract
financing and progress payment arrangements
• Tracking of work progress against the agreed-upon schedule in the contract
• Processing of payment requests
By supporting real time online collaboration involving key stakeholders throughout the
lifecycle, organizations can significantly improve the acquisition process of services
spend.
3.12.2. Release 12.1.1
3.12.2.1. Time Reporting and Contractor Assignment Flexibility

For Oracle Services Procurement, Release 12.1.1 is focused on customer-driven
enhancements delivering greater flexibility for time reporting and contractor assignment.
Key capabilities include maximizing preferred supplier savings, cutting processing costs,
eliminating over-billing, and visibility into services spending. Oracle continues to
enhance and streamline the workflow for contingent workers by:
• Allowing multiple purchase orders and purchase order lines to be associated with
each assignment so that when workers are extended and a new requisition is
added to an existing purchase order, a new purchase order line is automatically
created.
• Enabling the worker to charge time to multiple projects referenced on a purchase
order line associated with the worker’s HR assignment.
3.12.3. Release 12.1.2
3.12.3.1. Oracle Projects – Work Confirmations

In Release 12.1.2, the workflow for work confirmations is more flexible and supports
additional ways to record and display progress. Key benefits include:
• On a work confirmation for a purchase order, to user can enter incremental or
cumulative progress values, as an absolute amount or percentage.
• Users now have the complete visibility into the progress, as they can view the
absolute and percentage values for both incremental and cumulative progress.
3.12.4. Release 12.2.4
3.12.4.1. Advances, Recoupment, and Retainage for Standard Purchase Orders

Users of standard purchase orders can now specify advance amounts against purchase
order lines. Prepayment invoices can be created and matched against these advance
amounts.
Users can also specify recoupment rates for the advances, which can be used to recoup
the advances paid while matching invoices against these purchase order lines.
The standard purchase order has also been enhanced to support the retainage
functionality. Users can specify retainage as an amount or percentage, which will be
retained for later release when invoices are matched against these shipments.
3.12.4.2. Support for Inventory Destinations in Complex Purchase Orders

Users can now specify whether a complex purchase order line requires a pay item or
schedule in a complex purchase order. With this capability in complex purchase orders,
inventory items in purchase order lines can be made delivered to inventory destinations.
Users can also mark the complex purchase order lines as Not Separately Priced or No
Charge, which allows such lines to have a zero price. Pay items can be mapped to one or
multiple schedules within a complex purchase order. The application ensures that all the
related schedule items are received before a work confirmation can be approved.
3.12.5. Release 12.2.5
3.12.5.1. Job Standardization and Rate Cards for Hiring Contingent Laborers
Hiring managers and Oracle Purchasing users can now view the rate card that provides
the details of a job and the standard rate that they should be paying for the job. The users
will also be able to view the differential rates based on rate uplifts, offshore/onshore
rates, markup-driven rates and location-driven rates. Key benefits include:
• Job standardization through support for rate card and standard rates for each job
• Benchmarking of job rates for specific jobs
• Ability to automatically identify preferred suppliers based on the hiring needs
3.12.6. Release 12.2.6
3.12.6.1. Support for Foreign Currency in Contractor Request

Hiring managers and Oracle Purchasing users can now create contractor requests in
transaction currency different from functional currency and indicate exchange rate if
desired. Key benefits include:
• Automatically create purchase orders from contractor requests in foreign
currency without agreement reference
• View hiring expenses in functional and transaction currency
3.12.6.2. Enhancements to Work Confirmations

The pages and notifications used in work confirmation processes have been enhanced to
ensure that the supplier and the approver have access to more the information they need
to process the work-confirmations. Some of the enhancements are:
• Work Confirmation Approval Workflow Enhancements
• Current and Pending Approvers in the Action History Region
• Comment Capture During Resubmission of Rejected Work Confirmations
• View Errors for Failed Work Confirmations
• View Attachments During Work Confirmation Creation
For more information on these features, refer to the iSupplier Portal section of this
document.
3.12.7. Release 12.2.10
3.12.7.1. Work Confirmation Processing using Approval Date

Work Confirmation approval may take considerable time with submission and approval
date falling in different periods. Users can now setup to use approval date for work
confirmation processing instead of submission date; mitigating any processing errors if
submission date periods are closed.
3.13. Oracle Sourcing

3.13.1. Overview
Oracle Sourcing is the enterprise application that improves the effectiveness and
efficiency of strategic sourcing. It is a key component of Oracle Advanced Procurement,
the integrated suite that dramatically cuts all supply management costs.
Oracle Sourcing enables buyers to source more of the organization’s spend at lower total
cost. Oracle Sourcing creates immediate savings through rapid deployment and ensures
long-term savings with consistent execution and compliance.
3.13.2. Release 12.1.1
3.13.2.1. Two Stage Evaluation of Requests for Quotation (RFQs)

In certain global markets, government organizations and some private sector enterprises
often follow a formal two-stage negotiation process. To help ensure fair evaluation of
bids, this process requires the submission by suppliers of bids that can be evaluated
separately for technical and commercial aspects. In Oracle Sourcing, organizations can
now evaluate suppliers’ bids in two independent stages based on the technical and
commercial aspects of the bids, ensuring a more impartial evaluation.
The first stage includes the technical evaluation of all responses to questions and
parameters pertaining to the technical aspects that are used by the sourcing organization
to evaluate the technical feasibility and capabilities of the suppliers. During this stage,
commercial aspects remain sealed so that they do not influence the decision making
process. For bids that fail the technical evaluation, the commercial part will remain
sealed. Evaluators can then analyze the commercial aspects (such as price and delivery
terms) for only those bids passing the technical stage.
3.13.2.2. Two-Stage RFQ and Surrogate Bids

The new two-stage RFQ process also includes support for surrogate bidding, which
allows a buyer to enter, in stages, bid details on behalf of a supplier. During the first
stage, the buyer can enter the surrogate quote with all of the required technical details but
without price information. Once all of the supplier bids have been received, technical
scoring is done against the requirements and attributes in RFQ. For those suppliers that
score well in the technical round, their bids will be short-listed for the commercial round.
During the commercial round, the buyer can then complete the surrogate bidding process
for those suppliers not carrying out their own bidding. The buyer can enter the
commercial terms provided by a supplier so that scoring for the commercial round can be
completed. Upon approval of a quote, it is short-listed for placing the purchase order or
contract.
3.13.2.3. Supplier Response PDF

Organizations often need to keep a physical record of a supplier’s bid response for audit,
reference, or offline review. Oracle Sourcing Release 12.1.1 adds the ability to generate a
PDF file of a supplier’s response, which allows the supplier to print the PDF for draft and
submitted bids. Buyers can also print the supplier bids to review responses offline or for
internal record-keeping.
3.13.2.4. Enhanced Spreadsheet Support

In Release 12.1.1, Oracle Sourcing provides an enhanced XML spreadsheet format to
support a standard look and feel and to streamline usability of the spreadsheets for
supplier response creation, analysis, and award. Buyers and suppliers can download all
the information in a single spreadsheet, simplifying the loading and maintaining of
spreadsheets for a negotiation.
Response – Lines
Bid Total
Calculated
Instantly
Line Filter
Predefined
List of
Link to Values
Scoring
Worksheet
Fig. 2: Line-Level Response for Suppliers

The spreadsheet for supplier response creation not only has an improved, user-friendly
look and feel, but it can provide immediate feedback to the supplier through the robust
formulas used to calculate scores, even when the supplier is not connected to the system.
The enhanced spreadsheets allow buyers and suppliers to enter data more efficiently and
reduce the number of errors during data entry in the offline environment, improving the
overall user experience.
Analysis – Lines
Overall Savings
Calculated Instantly
Side-by-Side
Bid
Comparison
Perform
What-If
Analysis
Award and Savings

Amount per Supplier
Calculated Instantly
Fig. 3: Buyer Analysis of Bid Responses from Suppliers

Buyers also have a more powerful tool to conduct analysis of supplier responses and
make smarter award decisions. Buyers can easily view totals and savings, conduct what-if
analysis of different award scenarios, and view side-by-side comparison of all elements
of supplier responses.
3.13.2.5. Countdown Clock
In fast-paced auctions, the countdown clock helps promote more competitive behavior
among suppliers. Suppliers will know the exact amount of time left to create and submit
their bids or quotes. The countdown clock updates automatically if there are changes in
the negotiation close date (for example, if Auto Extend is triggered). The performance of
the countdown clock is optimized to minimize use of network bandwidth. Buyers who
monitor the negotiations from Live Console can also see precisely how soon the
negotiation will close. Buyers who monitor supplier activities will see the time ticking
down without manually refreshing the page. In addition to auctions, the countdown clock
will apply to the negotiation types of RFQ and RFI.
3.13.2.6. Price Tier Enhancements

Suppliers may offer different unit prices depending on the volume of business that the
buyer is willing to commit for a given product or service. Typically, a supplier will
provide preferential pricing for a larger-volume purchase. Quantity-based price tiers
allow buyers to specify different price points for each quantity range on negotiations with
standard purchase order, blanket, or contract purchase agreement outcomes. Suppliers
can respond to the tier structure defined by the buyer, or they can provide their own price
tiers.
Users can define quantity-based price tiers when creating negotiations for blanket
purchase agreements. Buyers can select whether they want to have price breaks, quantity
based price tiers, or no price tiers in the negotiation. When price tiers are enabled, buyers
can define the quantity range and the target price for each tier within a line. Similarly,
suppliers can create their own price tiers when they submit a bid. The award price is
based on the tier that corresponds to the award quantity assigned to each supplier.
3.13.2.7. Cost Factor Enhancements

Cost factors allow buyers to model the total cost of a product or service. Cost factors
operate under one of three pricing basis: (1) per unit cost (2) percentage of the unit price
(3) fixed amount for the line.
This enhancement improves the calculation of the per unit total cost when fixed amount
cost factors are used and the buyer awards a supplier a quantity that is either equal to or
lower than the response quantity. Previously, Oracle Sourcing used the response quantity
to calculate the per unit total cost; now the formula utilizes the award quantity to
distribute the fixed amount cost factor, resulting in a more accurate award amount
calculation.
3.13.3. Release 12.1.2
3.13.3.1. Earnest Money Deposit

In certain global markets, particularly in APAC and EMEA, government organizations
and some private sector enterprises often follow a formal process of taking earnest money
deposits (EMD) from their suppliers. A supplier, unless exempted, has to pay the EMD
amount to the buying organization in order to participate in any sourcing negotiation.
This EMD amount is usually refunded after the negotiation is completed. Buying
organizations can leverage these capabilities to ensure that the supplier is seriously
interested in providing a competitive bid.
Oracle Sourcing supports various EMD payment methods:
• Cash
• Check (Cheque)
• Demand Draft
• Bank Guarantee
• Corporate EMD
Corporate EMD is a practice in which a supplier deposits a large amount of money with
the buying company and the EMD is adjusted against this amount.
EMD can be received by the EMD administrator through a new responsibility made
available for EMD transactions, or can be paid online by the supplier (Corporate EMD).
The EMD administrator can exempt a supplier from paying EMD, or refund or forfeit the
EMD amount, depending on the business policies.
There is an out-of-the-box integration with Oracle Financials, so that the receipt, forfeit
and refund of EMD can leverage Oracle Receivables and Oracle Payables. For customers
not using Oracle Financials, there is a non-integrated EMD deployment process where
the company can still use the EMD feature in Oracle Sourcing. There are reports
available for the buying organization to validate the EMD status and details for different
negotiations and suppliers.
This feature in Oracle Sourcing ensures that the end-to-end sourcing process for the
buying organization can be performed using Oracle Sourcing, and customers need not
rely on processes outside the application to complete their sourcing negotiations. This
shortens the sourcing cycle, which otherwise can lead to delays in receiving and returning
the EMD amount and reduce the productivity of the buying organization due to manual
checks and coordination. Also, all EMD-related information is retained in the application
and can be leveraged for future reference and audit requirements.
3.13.4. Release 12.1.3
3.13.4.1. Requester Field in the Sourcing Header

At times, there is a need to capture the name of the business owner for a negotiation or to
capture the name of an owner or sponsor different from the person running the
negotiation. The Requester field is available in the negotiation header (RFI, RFQ and
Auctions). The default value is the buyer, but it can be updated as shown in the
screenshot below.
Fig. 4: Requester Field in the Sourcing Header Page

The Requester field is hidden by default and can be made available through
personalization.
3.13.4.2. Descriptive Flex fields in Oracle Sourcing Header

Often, buyers have a need to provide additional information on the header page such as
information about the contract value or the final project approver. There are two types of
headers attributes: those visible to only to a buyer who has access to negotiation, and
those visible to both the buyer and the supplier. As shown in the figure below, there are
two descriptive flexfields in the negotiation header page that can capture these attributes:
• Additional Header Attributes (Buyer Only)
• Additional Header Attributes (Buyer & Supplier)
Fig. 5: Descriptive Flexfields in the Oracle Sourcing Header Page

The buyer can create different contexts to control the different attributes displayed. For
example, in this case, the context value Additional Supplier Information causes the
Contact Address, Contact Number, and Budget Sanctioned fields to be displayed. These
fields can be used to convey additional negotiation related information to the buyer and
supplier community.
Please note that these descriptive flexfield are not available in the application by default.
They can be made available through personalization.
3.13.4.3. Landed Cost Management (LCM) Integration

From a strategic sourcing perspective, Oracle Sourcing has offered some visibility into
the potential costs associated with product acquisition. However, at purchase order
creation, users need even more refined insight. The integration of Oracle Sourcing with
Oracle Landed Cost Management (LCM) enables users to make better tactical decisions
about how to source an item. Additionally, it gives an organization better and earlier
visibility into potential liabilities. For more expensive items such as heavier or bulkier
goods, users can run through multiple scenarios and compare the potential results before
firming up the estimate. Then, once they prepare to receive an item, they can use this
estimate as the basis for that receipt.
3.13.5. Release 12.1.3+
3.13.5.1. Online Discussions Attachments

Buyers and suppliers can now upload attachments in the context of an online discussion.
This is especially useful for highlighting information during the negotiation process. For
example, the buyer may want to forward additional technical clarification to suppliers
during a negotiation to procure complex machinery.
In addition, for sealed negotiations, supplier users can now send messages exclusively to
the buyer. This allows clarification of unique queries without sending every message to
all participants. Buyers can respond to all suppliers or only to the sender, as needed.
3.13.5.2. Terms and Conditions Controls

The Terms and Conditions display can now be controlled by the sourcing administrator
with new settings. The page can be displayed to a bidder as required by the organization’s
business policies:
• Before creating an offer
• Before accessing the negotiation document
• Never
The explicit supplier acceptance of terms and conditions can be captured before allowing
the supplier to proceed further.
To accommodate specific terms and conditions across business entities, the system allows
for terms and conditions to be created for each operating unit. Finally, attachments to
terms and conditions enable the inclusion of additional information.
3.13.5.3. Lot Price Summation

Certain negotiations use a lot hierarchy to organize bidding lines. For lots, the actual
award happens at the parent lot level with detailed bid information collected at the child
(or lot lines) level.
Sourcing professionals can now view a lot price calculated as the sum of the price for
each lot line in the lot. For example, for basic bills of materials, the item (lot) level
costing is naturally a summation of the individual components (lot lines).
3.13.5.4. Remove Supervisor from Collaboration Team

By default, the buyer’s supervisor is added to the collaboration team when a negotiation
is created. Sometimes, especially for negotiations in which the total amount is less than a
certain threshold value, it is not necessary to add the supervisor to the collaboration team.
Now, the buyer can remove the supervisor by clicking the Remove icon.
3.13.5.5. Sort and Delete Suppliers from Invited Suppliers Page

In previous releases, the Invited Suppliers page allowed deletion of invited suppliers one
record at a time. Now, multiple suppliers may be removed at once. In addition, suppliers
can now be sorted alphabetically by supplier name for easier navigation to the desired
supplier record.
3.13.5.6. Cancel Closed Negotiations

Certain negotiations maybe desirable to cancel because they hold no historical value,
including negotiations no longer needed due to changes in demand requirement or
negotiations used for training. Now, users granted functional access can cancel a
negotiation document at any status.
3.13.6. Release 12.2
3.13.6.1. Add Requisition Lines to a Draft Negotiation

Currently, buyers can select requisition lines in Demand Workbench and use them to
create a draft negotiation or an amendment negotiation document. Buyers can also select
requisition lines and create a new draft negotiation using the Document Builder.
However, buyers may want to add some additional requisition lines to the negotiation.
With this release, buyers can use Demand Workbench to select requisition lines, provide
the negotiation number, and add lines to the negotiation. Alternatively, buyers can
navigate to the Demand Workbench page from within a draft negotiation by selecting the
requisition lines from the Lines tab. This enables buyers to add demand to the draft
negotiation during the negotiation creation process.
3.13.6.2. Response Withdrawal

Oracle Sourcing now enables suppliers to withdraw responses submitted on an RFI or
RFQ. A new negotiation control enables the buyer to determine whether suppliers can
withdraw submitted responses for a particular negotiation. Suppliers can withdraw
submitted responses only as long as the negotiation is open for bidding. Surrogate
withdrawal, in which the sourcing buyer withdraws surrogate responses on behalf of the
supplier, is also possible.
3.13.6.3. Track Amendment Acknowledgements

The Supplier Activities Page now shows a chronological log of all supplier activities on
the negotiation. Sourcing buyers can now track supplier acknowledgements for
amendments made to a negotiation.
3.13.7. Release 12.2.2
3.13.7.1. Staggered Awards

Sometimes sourcing awards are desired only for part of a negotiation. In these cases,
optimal timing for awarding different parts of the negotiation occurs at different times.
For example, a large project scenario may involve a negotiation with many lines, with the
entire project in one document. A single award timeframe may be too early for the
decision on certain lines.
With staggered awards, a sourcing professional can evaluate and award one or more
lines, and later revisit the negotiation and award additional lines. The staggered award
process allows the buyer to award different lines at different points in time. New awards
can be used to create a new purchase order or agreement in Oracle Purchasing.
3.13.7.2. Import of Price Breaks

A new spreadsheet upload enables the buyer to create price tiers when creating a
negotiation. Support for both price tiers and price breaks makes spreadsheet use more
effective. Price breaks uploaded via spreadsheet may reduce manual effort of updating
line-level price breaks, especially for complex negotiations or negotiations with a very
large number of lines. As before, price breaks on awarded bids may automatically
generate blanket purchase agreements in Oracle Purchasing for rapid implementation of
negotiated terms.
3.13.7.3. Negative Cost Factors

Cost factors are typically positive values which are added to the bid price for a line to
help the buyer understand the total effective cost in competitive bidding scenarios. To
expand this valuable capability, the buyer may now define negative cost factors, which
decrement the total cost for a line. For example, a bidder may want to submit a rebate or
discount as a cost factor to improve the competitiveness of a bid.
3.13.7.4. Sourcing APIs

Many sources of demand can automatically populate a negotiation in Oracle Sourcing
with relevant, integrated data. Organizations can now leverage an API to directly create a
draft negotiation document through direct data upload of information available outside
the system. The API can be used to create RFIs, RFQs, and auctions in Draft status.
3.13.8. Release 12.2.4
3.13.8.1. Mass Update of Buyers

It is sometimes necessary to change the buyer on a negotiation document. For example, if
a buyer leaves the organization, their negotiations must be reassigned. A new concurrent
program now allows you to add a new buyer to existing negotiation documents based on
the parameter values provided.
3.13.8.2. Surrogate Quotes for Suppliers Without User Account

Organizations that use surrogate quotes may not provide each supplier user with access to
Oracle Sourcing. Buyers can now create surrogate quotes for a supplier that does not
have a user account in the system. Notifications for such supplier bids are sent to the
email address specified for the supplier contact.
3.13.9. Release 12.2.5
3.13.9.1. Multiple Active Offers

Oracle Sourcing now allows suppliers to provide multiple responses for an RFI, RFQ, or
auction document. The supplier can either submit a new active response or revise an
existing response. The buyer can evaluate all active responses side by side even if they
are from the same supplier. Each active response, when fully or partially awarded, will
result in a separate award document. This feature is also available for surrogate
responses. A control option in the Controls page allows a buyer to decide whether to
accept multiple active responses.
3.13.9.2. Alternate Lines

A buyer can now allow a supplier responding to a negotiation to provide alternate lines
for specific negotiation lines. The supplier can specify whether the alternate lines are for
an existing negotiation line or for the negotiation itself. The supplier can specify one-to-
one, one-to-many and many-to-one relationships between the alternate lines and the
existing negotiation lines. The buyer can review the alternate lines within the response
document and evaluate them during analysis. The buyer can award the alternate lines and
determine if those lines are linked to any backing purchase requisitions, thus allocating
the appropriate fund source from the purchase requisition line distributions, resulting in
the appropriate purchase requisition split.
3.13.9.3. Sourcing Initiatives

Sourcing Initiatives is a new feature that enables Oracle Sourcing buyers and Oracle
Procurement managers to define, track and achieve strategic goals or objectives by
driving various tasks across the organization through a simple but effective collaboration
platform. Using Sourcing Initiatives, buyers or procurement managers can:
• Define SMART goals or objectives for the procurement teams, measure progress,
and achieve these goals by driving various initiatives in the organization.
• Break initiatives into smaller tasks and assign them to various cross-functional
stake-holders; drive collaboration and involvement from those participants to add
value to the initiative.
• Use extensive workflows and notifications to drive each task and initiative to
completion, and meet the objectives set by the organization.
• Use pre-defined initiative templates and task lists to quickly create and drive
initiatives.
3.13.10. Release 12.2.6
3.13.10.1. Alternate Negotiation Terms

Buyers can offer suppliers an alternative to accepting terms that allows supplier users to
participate. For example, a buying organization may wish to allow all bidders to
participate, planning to gather terms acceptance later, or a buying organization may pre-
validate suppliers through a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA), making
negotiation terms redundant.
Through configuration, two choices may be offered to supplier uses. The first choice is “I
accept the terms and conditions put forth in the Confidentiality Agreement on behalf of
my company.” The alternate choice may read “I do not have the authority to accept terms
and conditions but would like provisional permission to participate.” This message can be
changed through personalization to meet the requirements of the buying organization.
Alternate terms acceptance can prevent mandatory terms acceptance from hindering
supplier entry into a negotiation.
3.13.10.2. Enhancements to Sourcing Initiatives

Enhancements to Sourcing Initiatives in this release include the following:
• If the outcome of a task is to draft a negotiation, the task owner can associate the
negotiation with the task to improve traceability and to tie the negotiation to one
or more strategic objectives.
• An initiative owner can now define simple dependencies between tasks to
enforce task sequence. Task owners have increased visibility into these
dependencies when, for instance, a task is activated before a prerequisite task is
completed, or when a task with one or more dependent tasks is delayed or placed
on hold.
• To increase compliance in task progress reporting, an initiative owner can specify
how often the progress on a task should be reported. Tasks on which progress has
not been reported within the stipulated time will be highlighted. Reminder
notifications automatically notify task owners when task progress is not reported
frequently enough.
• Additional initiative and task status is captured. For instance, if an initiative is
delayed, the initiative owner can review its status and add a message that
indicates how to overcome the delay using steps taken downstream.
• Strategic objectives can now have a start value and a target value. Use these
values to set the pace to achieve a strategic goal. Assign strategic objectives to
initiatives to measure the success of each initiative in achieving the goal set by
the objective.
• The Initiatives tab has been enhanced for improved user experience. It is now
easier for users to review overdue tasks for an initiative directly from the
initiative. Users will also see contextual messages when viewing an initiative or
task.
3.13.10.3. Sourcing Collaborator Responsibility

The Sourcing Collaborator responsibility simplifies administration of the “Procurement
Collaborator” license. Procurement Collaborator licenses business users for Sourcing,
excluding only the ability to create a new negotiation. For example, the standard
Sourcing Collaborator responsibility allows users to define requirements, add lines,
participate on a scoring team, and create a negotiation award.
3.13.11. Release 12.2.7
3.13.11.1. Flexible Default Outcome for Sourcing Document Builder

Previously the Document Builder in the Sourcing Requirements Tab defaulted an
Outcome of Blanket Agreement.
Now customers can set up a Profile Value for the Outcome default: Blanket Agreement
or Purchase Order. Customers may also choose not to default a value, in which case the
user must select an Outcome
3.13.11.2. Add to existing Blanket Purchase Agreement

Users can specify that an awarded quote be added to an existing Blanket Purchase
Agreement rather than always creating a new agreement. During the Complete Award
step, users can choose a new option: to update a BPA with an awarded bid rather than
create a new BPA.
Example use cases:
• Users can use this feature to help consolidate supplier agreements
• Users can renegotiate Purchasing BPAs and amend the current BPA rather than
creating a new agreement. If the negotiation source was a Purchasing BPA, an
award made to the incumbent supplier will default to the source BPA number.
When a user adds to an existing BPA all line information is copied to new lines in the
BPA. Header level attachments are added to the BPA but negotiation header information
will not update the BPA.
3.13.11.3. Content Search

For customers using Procurement Contracts, new search features offer search against all
contracts in Purchasing, Contract Repository, and Sourcing in one location. With Content
Search users now have additional power to locate text matches in contract wording
itself. Content Search allows users to search using text strings or Supplier Name strings
to locate all contracts where there is a textual match. Each contract file with a match
display a snippet, displaying words prior and after the first instance of matched
text. Content Search includes Contract Repository and Purchasing documents and
Sourcing negotiations that contain contract terms.
For more information see Content Search and Enhanced Advanced Search features under
3.13.11.4. Apply Templates on Draft Negotiations

Consistent availability of Negotiation Templates makes it easier to maintain standards
defined in templates. To avoid replacing active data, when applying a template the
current data takes precedence over data defined in the template, (An exception is template
negotiation style, which does replace a different style specified on a draft negotiation).
Applying a template is now available if a template has not already applied for the
following:
• On draft negotiations, such as created through copy or document builder
• Creating a RFX from a Purchasing BPA (renegotiating an agreement)
3.13.12. Release 12.2.8
3.13.12.1. Re-award Negotiation

Buyers may sometimes need to reopen an Award after it has been closed. This can
happen when a winning supplier withdraws or when there is a breakdown in post-award
negotiations causing a selected supplier to be rejected. In these circumstances, the next
best supplier's bid (or possibly that of another bidder) is often granted the award. If a
sourcing user chooses the COMPLETE action for a negotiation, or does not choose
Create PO in the Complete Award process, it freezes the negotiation without a way to
undo this action.
This enhancement provides privileged users with the flexibility to unlock the negotiation
and adjust the award, create a new award, or revise one or more awards. With this
feature, Buyers are required to manually cancel any PO document generated by the
original award so that any re-award can be properly tied to the appropriate backing
requisition, maintaining the integrity of the integrated sourcing process.
3.13.13. Release 12.2.9
3.13.13.1. Approvals Management Engine for Negotiation Approvals

Oracle Sourcing users now have the option to use the Approvals Management Engine
(AME) for approving negotiation documents like RFI, RFQ and Auction before
publishing them. Approvers can be defined either in parallel or in sequential manner
using AME. Enterprises can use the predefined AME transaction type or can create a
custom transaction type based on their business requirements. Buyers can add ad hoc
approvers using the Approval Options page.
3.13.13.2. Online Negotiation of Contract Terms with Suppliers
Oracle Sourcing now provides the ability for suppliers to download, redline and upload
the contract terms when creating a Response/Bid/Quote for a corresponding
RFI/RFQ/Auction. Suppliers can alternatively directly edit the clauses in the contract
terms section or can add new clauses.
Buyers have the ability to review the contract terms red lined by the supplier by
generating a report that will provide a quick overview of all changes done to the contract
terms by the supplier.
3.13.13.3. Default Sorting when Rank Indicator is Win/Lose

When the Rank Indicator for Negotiations is set as Win/Lose, the Analyze Line page now
dislays, by default, the Winning quote first followed by the Losing quotes, sorted by
Price in ascending order.
3.13.14. Release 12.2.10
3.13.14.1. Online Discussions Enhancements
Enable buyers to send common messages to suppliers and collaborative team members as
well as reply to their own messages. Attachments category is made message recipient
dependent. Attachments will now be carried forward during replies. Amendments to
include the original online discussion of the source document, which means that the
discussion threads will be copied on to the amendment during amendment creation. The
message text format has been improved and sorted based on date, time and message
owner.
Suppliers to have the ability to send private messages to the owner of the
document/buyer.
3.14. Oracle Sourcing Optimization

3.14.1. Overview
When allocating business to suppliers, buyers often must strive to meet multiple
purchasing goals and business policies. For example:
• Award at least 10% business to minority-owned suppliers.
• No single supplier should get more than 80% of the total business.
• At least half of the business should go to incumbent suppliers.
It can be challenging to achieve maximum savings while meeting such business policies,
particularly if there are many line items and a large number of competitive bids.
Oracle Sourcing Optimization can help by allowing the buyer to create scenarios that are
then automatically optimized to determine the best award that adheres to the policies and
goals defined in the scenario. This results in better and faster award decisions.
3.14.2. Release 12.1.1
3.14.2.1. Oracle Sourcing Optimization Enhancements

Oracle Sourcing Optimization has several enhancements to assist buyers in making
optimal award decisions.
Buyers can now determine a constraint priority for award optimization by indicating the
importance of each constraint. Setting up priorities enables the optimization engine to
identify which constraints can be automatically relaxed when no other solution exists. By
automatically relaxing a constraint, the engine may find an acceptable solution, saving
the buyer time and avoiding an iterative process of optimization.
The cost of a constraint is the difference in price, cost, or score that occurs in an
optimized award solution compared to what would be achievable were that constraint
removed. Buyers typically want to evaluate the cost of adherence to a particular business
constraint. That is, by how much did the constraint results in a more expensive award?
Upon optimizing a scenario, Oracle Sourcing simplifies the cost-of-constraint analysis by
allowing buyers to select a constraint to evaluate, and returning the cost associated with
that constraint.
Buyers can view award optimization scenarios side by side to compare the results of
different optimization approaches. Buyers will select scenarios that they want to compare
and Oracle Sourcing will show the award amounts and savings for those scenarios. When
reviewing optimization results, buyers can see the effects of changes made to the
optimization criteria and weightings
With quantity-based constraints, buyers can now indicate award allocation not only in
terms of award amount, but also in terms of award quantity, allowing for more control
over the optimization constraints. For example, a constraint might specify that 15% of all
units should be awarded to minority-owned suppliers.
3.14.2.2. Price Tier Optimization
Suppliers typically have their own price tiers that meet their business needs. Analyzing
dissimilar tier structures is a very complex and time consuming activity. This process is
greatly streamlined by the use of Oracle Sourcing Optimization. When Oracle Sourcing
Optimization is used to find the best award scenario in a negotiation, the optimization
engine analyzes all combinations of price tiers submitted by suppliers to determine the
best award recommendation. Award quantities specified in the award recommendation
are used to assign the correct unit price to the resulting purchasing documents.
3.14.2.3. Supplier Incentives

Suppliers often provide incentives to increase the business transacted with the buying
organization. The incentives can be in the form of a fixed amount (for example, a signing
bonus), a tiered rebate structure (for example, rebates that occur when a predetermined
level of business is reached), or both. These additional savings through incentives may
directly impact the award decisions that buyers make. How much business a buyer
awards to each supplier determines whether additional rebates apply and, therefore, the
additional savings that need to be factored in the award scenario analysis.
Oracle Sourcing Optimization allows buyers to enter the incentives given by suppliers.
Buyers can enter the current total spend and rebate percentage for each supplier, and the
rebate structure for any extra award made on top of the current spend. In addition, a fixed
amount incentive can be specified to account for a signing or transition bonus. Oracle
Sourcing Optimization uses these values to calculate the additional savings yielded by the
incentives, and adds the amount to the total savings in the award scenario. Buyers can
then use the information to make more informed award decisions.
3.15. Oracle Spend Classification

3.15.1. Overview
One of the biggest benefits from business intelligence applications that analyze spend
derives from the consolidation of spend data from multiple sources. Whether from many
sources or just one, it is generally true that spending data is inadequately categorized for
use by procurement. One reason is an emphasis on recording accounting information,
which often reveals little of the purchasing category. In most organizations, a majority of
spend data is not categorized, is categorized incorrectly, or is categorized as
miscellaneous. This leads to a skewed picture of the breakdown of spend, resulting in
poor visibility to identify saving opportunities.
Oracle Procurement and Spend Analytics (P&SA) includes adaptors that load data from
many sources, including Oracle E-Business Suite 11i9, 11i10, R12, Oracle PeopleSoft
Enterprise 8.9, 9.0, legacy, and other sources.
Spend Classification processes the data contained in P&SA and predicts appropriate
category information for each invoice line. To be able to make predictions, Spend
Classification uses existing categorized data from PS&A as a knowledge base. Features
in Spend Classification allow data stewards to test and validate the learning performance,
ensuring the knowledge base is performing classification at adequate levels. Once the
knowledge base has been built, the product can be used to classify spend data residing in
P&SA.
Fig. 6: Oracle Spend Classification, Classification Summary Page
3.15.2. Release 12.1.2
3.15.2.1. Integration with Oracle Procurement and Spend Analytics 7.9.6

Spend Classification is integrated with Oracle Procurement and Spend Analytics 7.9.6
(P&SA), a component of Oracle Business Intelligence Applications. It processes data
from P&SA tables for invoice, purchasing, and requisition information. After Spend
Classification predicts purchasing categories for spend lines, it reassigns categories in
P&SA, where it has a high confidence rating of a successful match.
3.15.2.2. Knowledge Base Creation and Incremental Updates

Spend Classification uses a sample of existing and accurately categorized spend data to
learn successful categorization based on a wide range of an organization’s data. The
product allows the users to enrich the knowledge base with incremental data as data
evolves to increase classification accuracy over time.
3.15.2.3. Multiple Knowledge Bases

Spend Classification provides functionality to create a standard knowledge base that can
predict categories at various levels of the purchasing category hierarchy.
Spend Classification uses Oracle Data Mining as its engine for predictive analytics.
Advanced users may use Data Mining to create any of the alternate supported Data
Mining knowledge bases, and then reference these knowledge bases from Spend
Classification to process future spend data.
3.15.2.4. Easy to Use User Interface

Spend Classification uses Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition, a component
of Oracle Fusion Middleware, for its user interface. Pages provide dynamic sorting of
data, column level search, and filters. Users can drill down to segments of data directly
from various key performance indicators (KPIs) defined for classification results.
Fig. 7: Oracle Spend Classification, Classification Details Page
3.15.2.5. Export and Import to Excel

Spend Classification integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Excel. It allows users to export
all data to Excel for offline processing. If manual updates are made in Excel, the Excel
file can be uploaded into Oracle Business Intelligence Applications. For example, this
ability might be used when a user manually reassigns categories.
3.15.2.6. Classification of Data into Multiple Taxonomies

Spend Classification can categorize spend data into multiple category taxonomies.
Category taxonomies that are supported include:
• The category setup in a source financials system
• UNSPSC
• Three additional custom category taxonomies
There is no restriction on the number of levels defined for a category hierarchy.
3.15.2.7. Inline Commodity Classification

At times, requesters may need to order off-catalog and create a Non Catalog Request.
When a requester describes a non-catalog purchase, there is a high likelihood of the
purchase not being classified into an existing commodity hierarchy. This results in
misclassification of spend information, contract leakage, lower compliance, and poor
internal controls.
From R12.1.1 forward, a requester creating a Non-Catalog Request can choose from a list
of possible categories for the purchase being made. After the requester clicks Add to
Cart, they can view a suggested best-fit category along with a list of alternate categories.
The requester then picks the appropriate category and continues checking out. The same
window can also be used to parse the complete Category hierarchy. This functionality
uses the Oracle Spend Classification in real time to determine possible purchasing
categories for the item ordered. This capability allows even unstructured requests to be
categorized appropriately, aiding downstream spend analysis.
3.15.3. Release 12.2
3.15.3.1. Reclassification of Historical Data

Currently, Spend Classification supports classifying a batch against a particular
taxonomy once, and can reclassify a batch up to a maximum of five times, each time
against a knowledge base with a different taxonomy.
With this release, Spend Classification can be used to reclassify a previously classified
batch or a range of data belonging to a previously classified batch, as required, against a
knowledge base with the same taxonomy. This feature provides the flexibility to
reclassify the batch if the earlier classification is not satisfactory.
3.15.3.2. Asynchronous Approval Flow

Asynchronous approval flow enables approval of classified batches in parallel, thus
allowing users to perform other tasks while the batch is being approved. As in previous
releases, users can monitor the approval status of batches submitted for approval through
the Approval Activity Log under the Monitor Activity tab.
3.15.3.3. Enhanced Training Data Upload

Using Spend Classification, users can now upload data set files as large as 100MB, and
can specify a threshold of the number of errors up to which the upload should continue. If
the number of errors exceeds the threshold, then the upload stops and the errors can be
viewed in a log file.
The Data Template can be downloaded directly from the application, where the format
for dates and numbers can be specified. Additionally, the Category Codes instead of the
Category IDs can be entered in the template. This saves users considerable time as they
can avoid checking database tables to determine mappings for Category IDs.
The datasets that are uploaded can be deleted on the Configuration, Manage Datasets tab.
This enables users to free up database space by purging large datasets that are no longer
in use.
3.15.3.4. Enhanced Tracking Capabilities

An enhanced tracking capability now monitors the progress of the knowledge base
creation, enrichment, and classification processes. During the execution of any of these
processes, an indicator reminds analysts of the current step of the process and, for certain
steps, the percentage of completion. Historical data for each process can now be tracked
individually on the Monitor Activity page. Similarly, during the Dataset Upload process,
the system indicates the status of the data upload.
3.15.3.5. Improvements in Analyzing Batches and Excel to Export

When viewing KPIs that pertain to the classification process, analysts now see
information about the batch for which data is being analyzed. Should an analyst decide,
during batch analysis, to filter the transactions within the batch, a count of transactions
resulting from any query is now displayed. This helps the analyst to decide whether the
filtered subset of data is appropriately sized or if it should be filtered further.
Also available is the ability to export only the filtered rows to Excel. With the count of
transactions now available in the filtered data set, analysts can estimate the time it would
take to export to Excel, based on past experience. Spend Classification analysis provides
analysts the best and second-best predicted classification codes, with corresponding
confidence levels. Now analysts can export these values at each level of the taxonomy
structure. This provides access to knowledge base prediction patterns at each level of the
taxonomy for additional evaluation and analysis.
3.15.3.6. Increased Flexibility in Resetting Data

Now, when analyzing classified data, it is possible to reset the classification code for
certain records. Analysts can select transactions records by specific classification codes in
order to reset the classification code for specific records.
3.15.3.7. Deletable Classification Batches
Users can now delete classification batches that are no longer required for any business
function, such as a batch created after an unsuccessful classification run.
3.15.3.8. Run Classification on Selected Transactions
Prior to this feature, when a classification run was initiated, the application created a
single batch and picked up all eligible transactions. This sometimes created a huge
classification batch.
Now users can specify the set of transactions that need to be classified, leading to
manageable batch sizes. Smaller batches lead to improved query performance, reduced
download time, quicker batch analysis, and faster approval and reset.
3.15.3.9. Simplified User Interface
Spend Classification now comes with a simplified user interface. Most key functions
such as creating a knowledge base, enriching a knowledge base, and initiating a
classification run are centrally organized around the Dataset entity. In addition, users can
now view the entire history of actions performed in the context of each entity.
3.15.3.10. Reset Prevention for Transactions in Classified, Unapproved Batches
The ability to reset dataset transactions that were part of a classified but unapproved
batch was possible in earlier releases. However, this could be confusing because once the
batch was approved, all transactions within the batch were stamped with the predicted
category codes.
Now the application ignores resetting transactions that are part of a classified,
unapproved batch.
3.16. Oracle Supplier Hub

3.16.1. Overview
Many organizations track supplier data in multiple ways, driven by the needs of different
business units or unconnected business processes. The result is disparate supplier
definitions that make it difficult to have a complete and coherent summary of each
trading partner.
Oracle Supplier Hub is an application that provides a portfolio of Master Data
Management tools to enable organizations to better manage their supplier master records
centrally. Built on the foundational technology used to support mastering of customer
information, Supplier Hub can be used by organizations that need to aggregate supplier
data from a range of application systems and also by those running a single Oracle E-
Business Suite instance.
Supplier Hub consolidates supplier information from disparate systems and business lines
into a single repository, provides cleansing and third party enrichment tools for effective
data management, and provides the resulting single-point-of-truth supplier data as a
service to consuming applications, enterprise business processes, and decision support
systems.
Supplier Hub is a complementary solution to Oracle Supplier Lifecycle Management
(SLM). It can be implemented to extend SLM capabilities by providing comprehensive
quality management functionality to cleanse the underlying supplier identity information
that has been enriched through the SLM tools.
Deployment of Supplier Hub enables organizations to have a consistent understanding of
the trading partners that they use to procure the various goods and services required to
support their business. This clarity is essential for effective analysis of spending patterns
so that appropriate tactical and strategic decisions can be made about specific supplier
relationships and overall company procurement policies.
3.16.2. Release 12.1.3

Oracle Supplier Hub provides the following features:
• Supplier Master Profile
• Supplier Classification Management
• Supplier Hierarchy Management
• Supplier Data Import and Source Management
• Supplier Data Quality Management
• Supplier D&B Data Enrichment
• Supplier Data Publication and Synchronization
Full details about the current capabilities of Oracle Supplier Hub can be found in the
Master Data Management RCD.
3.17. Oracle Supplier Lifecycle Management

3.17.1. Overview
Oracle Supplier Lifecycle Management (SLM) provides an extensive set of features to
support the qualification, profile management, and performance assessment of suppliers,
as well as tools to track ongoing supplier compliance with corporate and legal
requirements. Utilizing these capabilities, organizations can exercise proper control over
suppliers throughout the lifecycle of their relationship with the organization—from initial
discovery through qualification and on-boarding, to ongoing maintenance and possible
obsolescence.
A key factor in improving the quality of an organization’s supplier master file is to
establish proper processes to formally qualify different types of prospective suppliers.
Supplier Lifecycle Management enables all of the information needed to assess a
prospect to be gathered and then routed through the organization to ensure efficient
review of the supplier’s credentials.
Once a supplier has been approved, SLM also enables organizations to gather feedback
from key stakeholders as part of an overall supplier performance tracking process. In
addition, Supplier Lifecycle Management also allows key stakeholders to identify and
track critical compliance documents and attributes that need to be gathered from suppliers
on a periodic basis in order for the two parties to maintain an active business relationship.
3.17.2. Release 12.1.1+
3.17.2.1. 360° Supplier View

One of the challenges of managing supplier information is that the pieces of information
gathered about a supplier can be stored in a variety of applications and systems. This data
disbursement can hamper organizations as they look to review supplier performance or to
comply with audit requirements.
Supplier Lifecycle Management provides a repository for storing information from
disparate sources and then enables a 360° view of the data for the key business users in
the organization. Users have access to basic supplier information such as Address,
Contact, Business/Diversity Classification, General Classification, Product and Services
Category, and Banking Details, and can review qualification and on-going evaluation
details for the supplier, view key documents that have been included in the supplier’s
profile, and check the status of deliverables that the supplier is required to provide to
maintain their status within the system.
3.17.2.2. Supplier Search

To assist administrators charged with managing the vendor master for their organizations,
Advanced Search capabilities enable them to efficiently find and retrieve suppliers.
The Advanced Search enables any of the standard and extended profile attributes to be
used as search criteria. The results can be viewed using multiple display formats. The
profile information retrieved from the search can be exported in spreadsheet format,
modified, and then re-imported, so that mass data changes to be handled efficiently. The
Advanced Search criteria and display formats can be personalized both at the
administrator level and at the business-user level.
3.17.2.3. Supplier Profile Management (Including Self-Service)

Most organizations maintain a team of administrators to deal with the flow of updates
from trading partners containing changes to their company profile details. To make this
process more efficient, Supplier Lifecycle Management extends existing iSupplier Portal
functionality to enable supplier users to be given online access to maintain a wider range
of their own profile details.
The supplier user can maintain standard company profile details including Address,
Contacts, Business Diversity Classifications, Products and Services Category, and
Banking Details. Changes they provide can then be reviewed by internal administrators
before approval.
Suppliers can also access qualification and on-going compliance information that they are
required to provide to the buying organization to maintain their status in the system.
3.17.2.4. Extended Supplier Profile

To better understand the capabilities of suppliers in key product categories, Supplier
Lifecycle Management utilizes user defined attributes to enable administrators to add an
unlimited range of attributes to the supplier definition and to group these into logical
profile sections. Typically, this is the sort of information stored in paper-based systems
that are maintained by different departments throughout an organization. In addition to
the attribute name, administrators can add descriptive text to explain the purpose of the
attribute.
Fine-grained access control tools allow administrators to manage which users can have
access to the individual attributes in the extended set of profile details. This is particularly
important when sensitive information is stored in the profile and access needs to be
restricted to appropriate users either internally or at the supplier.
3.17.2.5. Registration and On-Boarding of New Suppliers

To help manage the stream of inquiries that come from supplier prospects interested in
doing business, many companies now use their corporate websites to have potential
suppliers register their interest in establishing a business relationship. This allows the
organization to gather key information that can be used to determine the suitability of a
potential trading partner.
Supplier Lifecycle Management provides a supplier registration feature that can be
configured by business unit to gather the data elements required to assess each
prospective supplier request. The registration form can be configured to include Address,
Contacts, Business Classification, Product and Services Category, Banking Details, and
any of the Extended Supplier Profile attributes. The prospective supplier can also upload
attachments.
To support sophisticated and conditional qualification procedures, administrators can also
establish Request for Information (RFI) documents that use a questionnaire format to
capture various profile and compliance information from the prospect.
In addition to the walk-up process, buyers can pre-register and send invitations to
prospective suppliers, requesting that they provide additional details for pre-qualification
and approval using the self-service capability.
To support complex or lengthy supplier registration, prospective suppliers can save a
draft registration request at any time, and return to it at a later date. Once a prospective
supplier has registered, their request is routed through an approval hierarchy for review.
3.17.2.6. Qualification Management

For many organizations, the processes for assessing new supplier relationships are
cumbersome and inefficient. In an effort to ensure that business gets done, companies
often support multiple channels for receiving new supplier requests and then follow a
very limited or haphazard procedure to review supplier credentials. Oftentimes, this is a
poorly coordinated manual process that requires tasks to be sequenced and tracked across
multiple departments as credit checks are carried out, customer references called, quality
standards reviewed, and production facilities inspected.
Supplier Lifecycle Management leverages the Approval Management Engine to enable
companies to generate customized approval flows for supplier requests and registrations.
The details for each new supplier can be passed to multiple stakeholders across many
departments within the buying organization. Approvers are notified when they are
required to review a request and can check graphically the overall approval status for a
given request.
As part of the approval routing, Supplier Lifecycle Management includes the
qualification information collected from the supplier as well as incremental feedback
provided by business users who assess the request. This allows basic supplier profile and
qualification details to be gathered, deliverables like insurance certificates and Code of
Conduct documents to be stored, and products-and-services information to be recorded
within the qualification packet.
The buying organization can apply business rules that will customize the approval flow
based on details in the request.
When a registration request is approved or rejected, the supplier is automatically notified
by email. Following approval, the qualification details provided by a supplier become
part of their profile, which can be updated at a later date.
3.17.2.7. Compliance and Profile Audits

While there are regulatory requirements for some types of organization to keep key
supplier profile elements up to date, this is also an important process for many non-
regulated organizations that are looking to meet corporate social responsibility standards
that they have set for themselves.
Supplier Lifecycle Management enables administrators to utilize the RFI tools to define
supplier compliance and profile information, gather it on an anniversary basis, and store
and manage the supplier responses in the supplier master profile record.
3.17.2.8. Performance Evaluation

Employees who interact with suppliers can provide insightful feedback on soft
performance metrics for the supplier. Being able to canvas opinion from these key
stakeholders and to use the information as part of the overall assessment of a supplier’s
performance is a key part of any collaborative program to improve supplier relationships.
Supplier Lifecycle Management allows administrators to generate internal RFI
documents that can be sent to key personnel to evaluate and score specific aspects of a
supplier’s performance. This allows stakeholders in a diverse range of departments, such
as Procurement, Finance, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Quality, Design, and Legal, to
combine their opinions into a supplier performance rating.
The feedback gathered is stored in the supplier profile, enabling performance trends to be
tracked and risk to be effectively managed.
3.17.2.9. Supplier Notifications

To assist with supplier communication, Supplier Lifecycle Management provides tools to
allow notifications to be selectively communicated to a company’s supply base.
Administrators enter notification information and then use search tools to generate the list
of suppliers to receive the message.
3.17.3. Release 12.1.3+
3.17.3.1. Mandatory Internal Requirements

Previously, requirements sent to the internal evaluation team could not be marked as
mandatory, making it challenging to get complete responses from the evaluation team in
a single iteration.
With this enhancement, the administrator can define internal requirements as mandatory
or optional. Each evaluation team member must respond to mandatory requirements
before submitting responses. This capability increases the efficiency of the internal
evaluation process.
This feature is also provided for Sourcing.
3.17.3.2. Contact–Address Association
Prior to this release, when creating a registration request, a prospective supplier could not
associate an address with a contact. This was done by an administrator within the buyer’s
organization once the supplier was registered.
This feature streamlines the registration process by enabling the prospective supplier to
associate an address with a contact during registration process. All addresses defined by
the supplier in the system are available for association.
This feature is also provided for iSupplier Portal.
3.17.3.3. Keyword Search

Keyword search for a supplier is now possible within Supplier Lifecycle Management. In
a keyword search, the system searches across primary and user-defined attributes of a
supplier, matching the words provided by the user with their occurrences in these fields.
For example, a search with keywords John Doe and Canada will return a list of all
suppliers with these keywords in either their primary or user-defined attributes.
3.17.3.4. Default User Creation

This enhancement allows the buyer administrator to control the default account creation
for supplier contacts. In prior releases, a user account was created by default for the
supplier contact whose details were provided during the registration process. Now the
buyer administrator can decide whether a user account should be created.
3.17.3.5. Reinstatement of Rejected Supplier Requests

Prior to this release, if a supplier registration request was rejected, it was not possible to
make updates to the registration request and resubmit the request. Therefore, if a buying
organization wanted to reconsider the supplier later, the supplier had to re-register.
Now buying organizations can reconsider rejected suppliers by re-opening earlier rejected
requests and asking for specific additional details from suppliers. Suppliers do need to go
through the registration process again, thus saving them time and effort. This also allows
the buying organization to work closely and efficiently with suppliers to handle their
registration requests.
3.17.3.6. Registration Approval Workflow Enhancements

Oracle Approvals Management Engine (AME) is now available for the registration
approval process. Key features of AME like forwarding, re-assigning, and vacation rules
are available. If AME is enabled, action notifications are sent to users according to the
workflow definitions. In addition, AME approvals are represented graphically for quick
comprehension.
3.17.3.7. Streamlined Prospective Supplier Registration Process
The prospective supplier registration process has been revamped to make it more
structured and organized. Usability enhancements allow suppliers to more quickly and
easily register themselves.
3.17.3.8. Link to Prospective Supplier Registration Status

Prior to this release, suppliers were notified only after their registration request was either
approved or rejected. Until this point, there was no way for the supplier to determine the
status of a registration request.
Now a registration link is sent to the prospective supplier as soon as the supplier registers
with the buying organization. Using this link, the supplier can track the status of the
registration request and take appropriate action depending on the status.
3.17.3.9. Pre-Qualification Template and Dependent Questions

Prior to this enhancement, only one questionnaire list, also known as a Pre-Qualification
Template, could be attached to a registration request. This did not allow flexibility in the
questions asked of the prospective suppliers. With the latest release of Oracle Supplier
Lifecycle Management, based on the supplier’s Profile, the system dynamically attaches
one or more questionnaire lists to the registration request. The administrator can then also
add or remove a questionnaire list.
Besides the modifications to the Pre-Qualification Template functionality, the application
also now supports dependent questions. The questions a supplier is asked will be based
on their responses to previous questions, thus making the entire questionnaire presented
to a supplier during the registration process relevant to them.
3.17.4. Release 12.2.4
3.17.4.1. Registration Approval Workflow Enhancements

Two AME features are now supported in the Registration Approval Workflow:
• Ad hoc approvers
• FYI notifications
These features improve the reach and completeness of this approval process.
3.17.4.2. Approval History on Supplier Profile

The approval history for a supplier now appears on the supplier’s profile page. This helps
internal users track the history of the supplier record, such as who approved or rejected
the supplier and when.
3.17.5. Release 12.2.5
3.17.5.1. Automated Assessment Process

Oracle Supplier Lifecycle Management now provides the capability to create a touchless
automated end-to-end flow for assessments, eliminating the need for manual intervention
to move an assessment from one phase to the next. This is possible for the following
phases:
• Assessment Initiation
• Locking of Scores
• Assessment Completion
This ability enables automatic creation of profile audit and performance evaluation
assessments, and takes these assessments to completion without manual intervention. It
allows the assessment creation from Oracle Purchasing, if for example a purchase order
should be followed by a performance evaluation or profile audit for the supplier.
3.17.5.2. Dynamic Invitation List

An invitation list is a list of suppliers that can be attached to an assessment. Static
invitation list cannot be modified. They do not allow for the addition or removal of
suppliers, limiting the reusability of the lists. To address this issue, dynamic invitation
lists have been introduced. Unlike the static invitation list, a dynamic list doesn’t store the
names of the suppliers, but stores the search criteria on which the list is based. Thus,
whenever a dynamic list is used, it includes all suppliers in the system that meet the list
criteria at that instant in time.
3.17.5.3. Sequential and Parallel Routing of Scoring

Sequential and parallel routing of the scoring of suppliers allows one to determine the
order in which the various scoring teams should provide their scores. Whereas some
teams can provide scores at the same time (parallel), others can do so only after some
initial assessments have been made. The parallel and sequential routing of scoring is
based on pre-defined conditions in Supplier Lifecycle Management. This functionality is
helpful if, for instance, a supplier should be rejected if they fail to attain a minimum score
in a certain section. If this happens, then the supplier is rejected at that stage and no other
teams are required to enter their scores, thus eliminating unnecessary work.
Oracle SLM now provides the overall scoring picture for a supplier by displaying the
aggregate scores at the supplier level, whereas previously, the scores were aggregated
only at the response level.
3.17.5.4. Update Evaluation After Submission

An evaluator might want to update an evaluation after submission for various reasons,
such as to rectify a mistake. This was not possible in earlier releases. Now, an evaluator
can update a response anytime during the assessment cycle. Appropriate warnings are
given to an evaluator who attempts to update a response after scoring has been
completed.
3.17.6. Release 12.2.6
3.17.6.1. Support for Bind Variables in Products and Services Configuration

Oracle Supplier Lifecycle Management now allows you to configure products and service
categories that use value sets containing bind variables. Bind variables are typically used
to define category segments that are dependent on each other. When selecting segments,
if you select a segment containing a bind variable, also pull in the segment that is
referenced by the bind variable.
3.17.7. Release 12.2.7
3.17.7.1. Improved Automated Recurring Assessments

Oracle Supplier Lifecycle Management now provides an improved process of creating
Recurring Assessments Rules. Users can directly associate a Static or Dynamic Supplier
List to the Recurring Assessment Rule, specify a Start Date for assessment creation,
specify days after which they want the assessment to be Published, Closed and
Completed etc. This process ensures that all Assessments governed by a Recurring
Assessment Rule are executed with minimal or zero manual intervention.
3.17.7.2. Contact Purpose, Address Purpose and Associated Notifications

Prior to this release, Suppliers/Buyers could not assign a specific Purpose to a particular
Contact or Address. For large organisations with multiple divisions or departments,
Buyers may want to know the exact contact person for specific communications, for e.g.
Technical Contact or 24x7 Emergency Contact. This enhancement provides the ability for
both Buyers and Suppliers to assign Purposes to Contacts and additional Purposes to
Addresses.
3.17.7.3. Execute Dynamic Supplier Lists

Prior to this enhancement, users used the update flow to view the list of suppliers
included in a Dynamic Supplier List. This enhancement provides users with the ability to
invoke a Dynamic Supplier List easily with the click of a button. Additionally, users will
be able to see the Date and Time of the last execution of the list along with the number of
suppliers that were returned in the last execution. This information is useful when
associating a Dynamic Supplier List to an Assessment.
3.17.7.4. Initiate Supplier Onboarding through Non-Catalog Requests and Spot-

Buy Purchases
When requesters create a Non-Catalog Request or Contractor Requests through
iProcurement, requesters can now invite prospective suppliers to register through the self-
service supplier registration flow. The supplier has to fill in registration information and
submit it for internal approvals, as configured through Supplier Lifecycle Management.
Requesters with spot-buy privileges can directly create suppliers in the supplier master
while creating a spot-buy Purchase Order from iProcurement.
For more details, refer to the features titled New Supplier Onboarding for Non-Catalog
Request & Contractor Request, and New Supplier Creation for Spot Buy Purchases in
iProcurement.
3.17.8. Release 12.2.9
3.17.8.1. Approvals Management Engine for Assessment Approvals

Oracle Supplier Lifecycle Management users now have the option to use the Approvals
Management Engine (AME) for approving assessment documents before publishing
them. Approvers can be defined either in parallel or in sequential manner using AME.
Enterprises can use the predefined AME transaction type or can create a custom
transaction type based on their business requirements. Buyers can add ad hoc approvers
using the Approval Options page.
3.17.9. Release 12.2.10
3.17.9.1. Invoice Event for Recurring Assessments

When creating a Recurring Assessment, users now have the option to trigger an
assessment based on an Invoice. For example, users may trigger a Recurring Assessment
for all paid invoices for a particular supplier or supplier list that are greater than a
threshold amount (invoice amount). This assessment might be used internally to assess
the payment terms of the supplier and other factors.
3.17.9.2. Address Validation in Supplier Registration Pages

All the supplier registration and supplier profile pages where addresses can be created or
updated, now have all the address validations in place. Based on the address style created,
the specific validations are reflected in all the address pages.
This feature is also available in Release 12.1.3+.
3.18. Oracle Business Network

In October 2019, the Oracle Supplier Network platform was rebranded to the
Oracle Business Network.
3.18.1. Overview
The Oracle Business Network (OBN) enables Oracle Purchasing customers and their
suppliers to accelerate collaboration and deliver significant efficiency savings by
conducting business electronically. Buying organizations can achieve quick cost savings
by leveraging the community of enabled suppliers on OBN, where thousands of XML
transactions are exchanged daily.
An Oracle-run service utilizing an internet-based hub transaction model, OBN provides a
wide range of features that are designed to ease the challenges of electronic messaging.
• Single Connection: OBN is a messaging hub, so each organization need only
setup a single connection to get access to the community of buyers and suppliers.
• Multiple Document and Transformation Support: The buying organization and its
suppliers can exchange purchase orders, purchase order acknowledgments,
purchase order change requests, advanced shipment notices, and invoices that can
be automatically converted between OAG and cXML formats.
• Self-Testing: Trading partners do not have to coordinate connectivity testing.
Instead, OBN allows each partner to utilize a test hub to send and receive sample
documents to validate their connection.
• Supplier Punch-in access to multiple customer Oracle iSupplier Portal
applications.
3.18.2. Version 5.0
3.18.2.1. Consolidated Hub Administration

Streamlined account administration tools allow administrators to manage all the
messaging configurations for both their test and production transactions from a single
account login. Users no longer migrate account setup between hubs. Instead, users
control separate transaction delivery parameters centrally for routing over the OBN Test
Hub and the OBN Production Hub.
3.18.2.2. Production Routing Controls

Users can restrict specific trading partners from exchanging production messages.
3.18.2.3. UTF-8 Support

UTF-8 message encoding enables OBN to route messages containing multibyte
languages.
3.19. Oracle Procurement Command Center Plus

3.19.1. Overview
Oracle Procurement Command Center Plus enables procurement professionals to align
procurement strategy with the business strategy of the organization, while enabling cross-
document actions. The Procurement Command Center Plus is a key component of Oracle
Advanced Procurement, the integrated suite that dramatically cuts supply management
costs.
Procurement teams across industries need to transform their function from being support-
focused to assuming value creation. Procurement alignment with other business functions
can be a key enabler for business success by providing the supplier expertise and
partnerships necessary to differentiate a company’s offerings from the competition.
Oracle Procurement Command Center Plus equips you with tools to support this
transformation within your company. Using the power of Oracle Information Discovery,
Oracle Procurement Command Center Plus provides buyers with relevant insights to
discover, prioritize, and resolve issues before they affect business, to identify cost saving
opportunities, to improve customer satisfaction, and to improve category management.
3.19.2. V6
3.19.2.1. Procurement Operations Dashboard

The Operations Dashboard helps buyers gain end-to-end visibility into the status of
procurement. For example, a buyer can view the backing requisition for a purchase order
line, the agreement line from which the purchase order line was sourced, the RFX award
from which the agreement line was created, and open supplier deliverables.
Full Procurement Lifecycle
Using this dashboard, buyers can filter and see relationships across all of the following
domains:
• Requisitions
• Purchase Orders
• Global Blanket Agreements and Contract Agreements
• Negotiations
• Deliverables
By viewing related documents, buyers can quickly assess individual document flows end-
to-end and can evaluate important related documents. The buyer can quickly review all
procurement activities pertaining to them, discover issues, and resolve them before
business is affected.
With graphs, buyers can visualize agreement utilization status and take action to
terminate, renegotiate, or extend documents as needed.
Requisition Management
Requisition management is a critical customer service area. Buyers can review and
prioritize requisitions based on business needs. Buyers can also manage requisition
workload and other document workload using Action Items.
Integrated Payables Information
Buyers can respond more quickly to purchase order and agreement performance by
monitoring these documents beyond the bounds of procurement. Buyers can track
ordered, shipped, received, and invoiced quantities and amounts, can quickly zero in on
invoice holds and overdue payments, and can track procurement contracts deliverables.
3.19.2.2. Indirect Procurement Dashboard

The Indirect Procurement Dashboard enables buyers to analyze the buying behaviors of
requesters within the organization from both requisitions and expense reports. Reviewing
requester feedback helps buyers update purchasing documents and refine the available
catalog to better meet business needs. Buyers can also:
• Analyze reviews and ratings provided by requesters on the catalog items
available in iProcurement, and initiate necessary corrective action.
• Act on specific feedback coming in from requesters.
• Gain insights into catalog usage and refine catalog content.
• Review off-contract spend behavior (including spend from Oracle iExpenses)
and identify cost-saving opportunities.
3.19.2.3. Action Items

Action Items organizes workload within a procurement team. For example, a certain
requisition in the pool might require a series of tasks such as estimating overall demand,
performing market research, checking price and availability, evaluating viable
alternatives et cetera. A certain buyer may be a specialist in one of these areas. Action
Items allow buyers to assign tasks to others within the procurement team with a target
completion date, to create visibility into ownership, and to track tasks to completion.
Buyers can create action items against the following:
• Requisition line in the pool
• Open purchase order header
• Purchase order line
• Agreement header
• Agreement line
• Review or a feedback record (in iProcurement)
3.19.2.4. Item Analysis

Buyers use Item Analysis to explore the history of items used in the organization,
including on-time delivery, quality, and item suitability. Items requested in the requisition
can be compared to other item performance measures to ensure the best item fit for the
requester.
3.19.2.5. Supplier Analysis

Supplier Analysis provides supplier history for goods or services used in your
organization. Past performance, including on-time delivery, quality, and supplier
capabilities can be evaluated or compared to the items requested in the requisition to
ensure that the best suppliers are selected.
3.19.3. V7
3.19.3.1. New Strategic Sourcing Dashboard

The Strategic Sourcing Dashboard aggregates information from sourcing Negotiations,
Initiatives and Strategic Objectives to help track and mitigate risks in achieving strategic
objectives. Buyers and procurement managers gain improved visibility into the status and
progress on all strategic objectives, initiatives that have been setup to meet strategic
objectives, and negotiations that are conducted while executing these initiatives.
The Strategic Sourcing Dashboard provides the following capabilities:
• Search across negotiations, responses, initiatives and objectives. Drill-down into
the respective document, or navigate to other dashboards of the Procurement
Command Center Plus in context.
• Identify a risk index based on the significance and risk-level of each open task on
an initiative.
• Track negotiation cycle-times and savings achieved on each negotiation.
• Measure delay on a task, initiative or objective by comparing planned progress to
actual progress reported.
3.19.3.2. Support for Document Security

In addition to multi-organization access control (MOAC), Procurement Command Center
Plus now supports document security provisions such as private and hierarchy.
Item and Supplier Analysis dashboards are not limited by document security due to their
scope and purpose.
3.19.3.3. Support for Additional Supplier Performance Data Points

Supplier Analysis, Procurement Operations, and Indirect Procurement Dashboards now
display catalog review ratings from Oracle iProcurement and supplier performance
evaluation ratings from Oracle Supplier Lifecycle Management. This widens the
spectrum of supplier and catalog performance information available to buyers.
3.19.3.4. Web ADI Support for Bulk-Updating Purchase Orders
Procurement Operations Dashboard now employs Web ADI to enable buyers to multi-
select headers, lines or shipments from multiple purchase orders, and to make bulk
changes using a spreadsheet interface, and to send these updates back to Oracle
Purchasing in one step.
Oracle Purchasing automatically submits approval workflows and notifies approved
changes to suppliers simultaneously for all affected purchasing documents.
3.19.3.5. Buyer Notes (Action Items) Enhancements

Buyer Notes (formerly called Action Items) now tracks forecasted completion date and
planned completion date. Any difference between forecasted and planned can constitute a
delay, and this delay can be predictive of a delay in the overall delivery for the item or
service.
3.19.3.6. User Experience Improvements

All dashboards have been enhanced to improve user experience. For example:
• Descriptive flexfield support allows buyers to filter purchasing documents using
descriptive flexfield attributes.
• Clickable metrics panels allow for immediate action on documents that have
exceptions.
• More drilldown and integration actions allow seamless movement across
dashboards to zero in on to specific documents that need action.
• Tag clouds on the Indirect Procurement Dashboard give users better insight on
catalog reviews.
3.19.4. V8
3.19.4.1. Support for Partial Search

Partial search indexes certain attributes to enable wildcard search. Buyers can use
wildcard search in the search box on all the dashboards within Procurement Command
Center.
Example:
• Search for PO12* to find all POs starting with PO12
• Search for *Piping* to find suppliers which have piping in their name, or
categories which have the word piping within the description)
• Search for *LLC to find all suppliers whose name ends with LLC

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Oracle E-Business Suite

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Prepared by Oracle E-Business Suite Product Development

Last Updated: February 9, 2021

Copyright © 2011, 2021, Oracle and/or its affiliates.

2.1. Purpose of Document

3.1. Oracle iProcurement

3.1.2.1. Change Management for Internal Requisitions

3.1.3.1. Inline Commodity Classification

3.1.4.1. Information Template Enhancements

3.1.4.3. Dual Budgetary Control Support

3.1.4.4. Attachment Support in Change Order Process

3.1.4.5. Account Generator Support in Requisition Import

3.1.4.6. Requisition Update PL/SQL API

3.1.4.7. Requisition Approval On the Go

3.1.4.8. Attachment Support in Desktop Receipts

3.1.4.9. Requisition Change Order Enhancements

3.1.4.10. Return of Selected Requisition Lines

3.1.4.11. Internal and External Descriptors

3.1.4.12. Custom Attributes for Direct Punchout

3.1.4.13. Search Capability for Smart Forms

3.1.5.1. Automatic Updates to Encumbrance (General Ledger) Date

3.1.6.1. One-Step Checkout

3.1.7.1. Reuse of Smart Forms Across Operating Units

3.1.7.2. Retention of One-Time Addresses

3.1.7.3. Generation of Default Requisition Need-by Date

3.1.8.1. Withdrawal of Requester-Initiated Change Requests

3.1.8.2. Support for Foreign Currency in Catalog Request

3.1.8.3. Spot Buy for Privileged Requesters

3.1.8.4. Enhanced Non-Catalog & Contractor Request Flows

3.1.9.2. New Supplier Creation for Spot Buy Purchases

3.1.9.3. View Charge Account Details in the Requisition Approval Notification

3.1.9.4. Shopping Cart User Interface Improvements

3.1.9.5. New Requester Notifications for Purchase Order Status Updates

3.1.9.6. Web Services for Requisition Creation

3.1.10.1. Option to Register a Supplier for Non-Catalog Request & Contractor

3.1.10.2. Option to Register a Supplier for Spot Buy Purchases

3.1.10.3. List Price for an Item in Requisition from Master Organization

3.1.10.4. Ability to Split Distributions in Catalog Requisitions

3.1.11.2. Improvements in iProcurement Receiving Pages

3.1.11.3. Multiple PO Numbers in Requisition Summary page

3.1.11.4. Ability to Identify Spot Buy Requisitions

3.1.11.5. Ability to Change Item Description in iProcurement

3.1.11.6. Ability to Search Requisition Lines Based on Internal Item Number

3.1.12.1. Improved Store & Content Zone Search Options in Catalog

3.2. Oracle iProcurement Consumer-like Shopping

The Oracle iProcurement Consumer-like shopping feature is available at no additional

3.2.2. Release 12.2.8+

The following functionality requires Oracle Enterprise Command Center Framework

3.2.2.1. Universal Catalogs Search

3.2.2.2. Advanced Filtering

3.2.2.3. Item Comparison

3.2.2.4. Ratings and Reviews for Items and Services

3.2.2.5. Preferred Item Indicators

3.2.3.1. New Homepage for iProcurement Consumer-like Shopping

Oracle iProcurement Consumer-like Shopping now offers an enhanced homepage with a

3.2.3.2. Relevance Ranking in Results page

3.2.4.1. Homepage updates

3.2.4.2. Auto-Suggest matching catalog items for non-catalog requests

3.2.5. Release 12.2.10

3.2.5.1. Highly Rated Items

3.3. Oracle iProcurement Information Discovery Plus

3.3.2.1. Universal Catalogs Search