Oracle Retail Merchandising System (RMS) - Consolidated Frequently Asked Questions

While there is no end of RMS related questions but you can find below some of the frequently asked questions compiled from various Oracle Retail Sources that you may want to refer. Keep visiting this page for further updates. Do let me know if you any specific questions that should be covered here.

Foundations

What are Seasons and Phases?

A season is a specific selling period during the year, and a Phase is a smaller time period within a season. A season may have multiple phases. However while creating a season if a phase is not created under it then a phase with same name and dates as the season is automatically created for the season. For example, a season has to have at least one phase under it.

Seasons and phases are used in Replenishment.  The items are on replenishment during the dates of the selected season and phase.

Should Phase dates be within Season dates?

The phase dates need not necessarily be always within season dates. This is because sometimes you may have items crossing seasons. For instance, sometimes you can have a transitional phase that bridges the two seasons. There are some items which transcend from one season to another and hence are associated to a phase which lies in both seasons.

RMS only uses Season and Phases as attributes or to do things such as create item lists and allows overlaps because they have no critical functionality based on those seasons or phases.

Items

What are Concession Items?

Concession Items are items that are not owned by the retailer but are captured for future use.  The supplier rents a space from the retailer, and the retailer never owns the items.

What are Consignment Items?

Consignment Items are items that are purchased from the supplier only when the items are sold to a customer.

What Are the Differences Between Consignment and Concession Items in Retail Merchandising System (RMS)?

RMS record sales for both types of items.  Purchase Orders (PO) and invoices can be created for Consignment Items, and the PO's are added in the Stock Ledger.  One can change the rate for Consignment Items, while same cannot be done for Concession Items.

Concession item is similar to Consignment item but differs in the way sales are processed.

	Consignment Item	Concession Item
Purchase Orders (PO's)	Created for sold Items	Not created for sold Items
Invoice documents	Generated for sold Items	Not generated for sold Items
Stock Ledger (SL)	PO's recorded in SL	No SL Impact
Temporary Rate Changes	Consignment Rate can be changed Temporarily using a Promotion	Concession Rate cannot be changed Temporarily
Accounts Receivable and Payable	No Accounts Receivable and Payable records are recorded	Accounts Receivable and Payable records are recorded for the item/supplier/calendar period

Should Concession items create TRAN_DATA records?

All the Merchandise Operations Management (MOM) products ensure that no inventory updates can happen for a concession item.  These validations are handled at the application level.

For example, in Retail Warehouse Management System (RWMS)/Store Inventory Management (SIM), the application does not allow a concession item to be added as a part of any transaction. The same applies for RMS as well.

How can Concession items create TRAN_DATA records for inventory transactions that are interfaced into RMS?

Using scripts to manually generate these transactions will create such records.  Since item type validation is conducted at the application level, RMS does not validate for the item type at the package level again while consuming data from an external system (RWMS/SIM).  If external systems other than SIM/RWMS are used, make sure that these systems validate that no transactions are done on these items.

What is a Sellable Complex Pack Item?

A sellable pack is a pack item that consists of multiple items that are sold as one item.  These items are generally sold as one unit as a benefit to the consumer, either in convenience or price savings.  The strategy is, therefore, to encourage the customer to purchase more.

What are the component items for the Sellable Pack Item?

The pack can contain different items and/or multiples of the same item. 
Component items can come from different departments. Also, component items can come from multiple suppliers/origin countries. 

How does Retail Merchandising System (RMS) settle the retail price of the Sellable Pack Item?

The retail price will default to the sum of the cost of the components plus the pack's department's markup, but can be changed. 

Can we order or transfer a Sellable Pack Item?

The Sellable Pack cannot be ordered or transferred unless the pack is set up as both sellable and orderable. 

How to track inventory of Sellable Pack Item?

Inventory is kept and viewed at the component item level.  Pack "inventory" can be viewed when manually requested, but is not held in Retail Merchandising System (RMS).  RMS allows users to view the inventory of Sellable Complex Pack Items through the Sellablle Pack Build (packbld) screen in the Inventory Menu. 

How will Retail Merchandising System (RMS) handle discounts on Sellable Pack Items?

If the retail of the pack provides a discount, the discount is prorated across the component items at the time of sale and will show as a markdown on the stock ledger. 
If the retail of the pack is greater than the sum of the retail of the components, the overage will be prorated across the component items at the time of sale.

For a COMPLEX PACK with PACK TYPE as VENDOR, should the vendor pack cost change when component item cost changes are done? 

The Vendor Pack cost is not based on the component costs.  Vendor packs are groups of items that come in packs predefined by the vendor. The vendor determines the cost of the pack.

If the PACK TYPE is BUYER , then will the component item cost change affect the BUYER pack cost?

The Buyer Pack Cost equals the sum of the cost of the components. Buyer packs are a pack of items that a buyer groups together to simplify the ordering process.

Why does not the unit cost (UNIT_COST) updated in the ITEM_LOC_SOH table for a vendor pack item after a cost change?

Pack items will not have a unit cost stored in the ITEM_LOC_SOH table. Stock for a pack item is determined at the component level and therefore a unit cost is not applicable for a pack item. Hence the unit cost is not updated in the ITEM_LOC_SOH table for a vendor pack item after a cost change.

What packages or functions in RMS use UNIT_COST column in the ITEM_LOC_SOH table?

In general, UNIT_COST column in the ITEM_LOC_SOH table is updated and used when the STD_AV_IND = 'S' in SYSTEM_OPTIONS table, otherwise AV_COST is used (i.e., STD_AV_IND = 'A'  SYSTEM_OPTIONS table). The following list of modules use column UNIT_COST in the ITEM_LOC_SOH table for different purposes:
costextb.pls
delitemb.pls
invadjb.pls
ioattrb.pls
itappb.pls
lkitemsqlb.pls
lkstexeb.pls
mrt.pc
stkupld.pc

On a Simple VAT (SVAT) environment you have store and warehouse under the same VAT region and you range one item to store as well as warehouse via SITMAIN batch, Why the taxable_ind is 'N' for warehouse while it is 'Y' for store?

Taxable indicator (taxable_ind) is sent to the Point Of Service (ORPOS) system, this is not applicable for warehouses. Because ITEM_LOC table is maintained for both store and warehouse locations, at warehouses RMS assigns a default value which will not be used for anything.

What is the significance of creating 'loc=0' record on PRICE_HIST table during the item approval? 

Loc=0 record in PRICE_HIST gives the initial base retail for the item. This is for reporting or audit purposes only.

What is Reclassification?
Reclassification is the process through which an item or item list is moved from one
department/class/subclass to another.

• Reclassification is initiated on-line individually or using an Item List
• An effective date is specified.
• Reclassification occurs in the overnight batch
• Items are reclassified the night before the effective date.

What checks are performed in Retail Merchandising System (RMS) for an item under Reclassification?

• RMS will check to see if the item has the UDA (User Defined Attributes) that is required for the new Merchandise hierarchy, if it does not the item will be rejected.
• RMS will check to see if the item has default UDA's, if it does not, it will still reclassify the item but, a warning message will be written to a report.
• If the item is on any not-yet-processed "unit and value" stock count. If it is, it can not be reclassified. 
• If the item is part of a consignment department and it is being reclassified to a non-consignment department and vice versa reclassification fails.
• If the item is forecastable, RMS will check to ensure the new merchandise hierarchy has a domain in Retail Demand Forecasting (RDF). If a domain is not associated with the new merchandise hierarchy, the reclassification will be rejected. If there is a domain change in RDF, RMS will write all store sales history for the item to the forecasting download.
• The item exists in another reclassification event.
• If the item level of the item is not equal to 1, then it cannot be reclassified. .
• One or more items on the reclassification event exist on approved partially received orders.
• If item is in a simple pack, it will fail reclassification. The item can only be reclassified along with its component item. 
• If item is a pack item, it cannot be reclassified from merchandise to consignment department. 

What transactions are affected due to Reclassification?

• Inserts records into the Point Of Sale (POS) download and writes a transaction code.
• Inserts records into TRAN_DATA with an in and out record.
• The Open To Buy(OTB) is updated to reflect changes.
• History, such as sales history, is NOT moved.
• Stock Ledger transactions are created to move the current on-hand inventory from the old merchandise hierarchy to the new merchandise hierarchy.

Can you create a merchandise reclassification in RMS without specifying an item or item list?

You can setup a dynamic item list and select all items in the class to be included in it and then use the item list to reclassify the class.  You cannot reclassify all the items in a class without using an item list.  After you setup the dynamic item list, there is an option to 'Use' the item list, and it will allow the user to select a reclassification.

What is the use of Pending Merchandise Hierarchy?

The use of Pending Merchandise Hierarchy is to change the structure of the merchandise hierarchy itself. For example, suppose you have the following hierarchy:

Dept 1: Class 1001: Subclass 101
Dept 1: Class 1002: Subclass 201
Dept 2: Class 2001: Subclass 211

Now suppose you want to move Class 1002 into Dept 2.
Using Pending Merchandise Hierarchy you can make this move so the structure will look like this:

Dept 1: Class 1001: Subclass 101
Dept 2: Class 1002: Subclass 201
Dept 2: Class 2001: Subclass 211

A item reclassification is different.  It could be used to move the items between departments,
but it would not affect the structure of the merchandise hierarchy itself.

The Pending Merchandise Hierarchy in RMS does not have a "New" option. There are only "View" and "Edit" options.  So, how do you use the functionality of Pending Merchandise Hierarchy in RMS?

The Pending Merchandise Hierarchy form was originally designed to handle changes/additions to the Merchandise Hierarchy where RMS was not the System of Record for the Merchandise Hierarchy.  Hence the absence of a 'New' option.  The changes that the form allows you to view/edit should be populated in the PEND_MERCH_HIER table via an external API. 
The section in your operations guide on the Cremhierdly batch (Create Merchandise Hierarchy Daily) has more details on the processing of this these hierarchy updates.

What is a ticket?
A ticket is a tag that is affixed to an item in the store. The purpose of the ticket is to carry information on the item that cannot be usually depicted on the product.

What does it contain?
A ticket contains important information about the product. Information like the item code, price of the product, particular instructions for handling the product, etc:

What is a ticket in RMS?
In RMS the ticketing functionality allows the retailer to specify the type of information the ticket should contain as regards the product.

Where does ticketing happen?
The setting of the format of the ticket or making the ticket type as well as manual initiation of requisitioning a ticket happens in RMS. While the actual printing of the tickets are done by an external application viz; Avery

What is auto generation of tickets?
Auto generation or auto printing of tickets is the process by which a specified ticket type is automatically printed when the item associated with it through a purchase order gets
-Approved
-Received
-Undergoes a permanent price change

What is a Ticket type?
A ticket type broadly defining the characteristics of a ticket according to the nature of information it contains, and the nature of the item it is meant to get affixed on.

How are items associated to a ticket type?
Individual items can be associated to tickets through the Request Ticket window in RMS. Multiple items are associated through the help of an item list or a Purchase order through the same window.

Purchase Orders, Costs & EDI

What is the functionality behind the "Routing Location" in RMS?

Some retailers require a Routing Location for consolidation of Import Orders.  These are distribution centers which are not cross dock locations and also not stock holding locations.  Items are not received at these routing locations; the locations are only used for consolidation purposes.  From an inventory perspective, a Routing Location is outside the RMS definition of a regular store or warehouse location. Therefore, it will be created as part of the Outside Location functionality.

What is the significance of "Routing Location" field on the Purchase Order (PO) screen?

The Order Header Maintenance has been amended with a new field called "Routing Location" from RMS 13.1.x onwards.   This will serve as the "Ship To" location for consolidation purposes. 

What are the limitations to the "Routing Location" functionality on the PO screen?

Previous versions of RMS (versions prior to RMS 13.1.1.3) were designed to default the routing location only if the following criteria were satisfied:

• Order should be an import order.
• Order should have all Stores and no Warehouse (WH).
• Order should have items attached to it.

Under what conditions would the "Routing Location" be populated on the PO screen?

If a supplier/supplier site is associated to a routing location, the same will be defaulted at the order header as soon as the supplier/supplier site is added.  Validation to check if the order is an import order has been removed (i.e., there is no need to validate whether or not the order is an import order).

What are the new functionalities introduced for "Routing Location"?

• The "Routing Location" field om the Purchase Order screen is editable.  This field is editable for all order types.
• Even if defaulted, the user has the option to remove the routing location.
• The value in this field is not mandatory.
• There is no validation on the location type.
• Users will be able to add a routing location even if it is not associated at supplier/supplier site level.

How is Total ELC calculated?

ELC calculation logic is based on the values of ELC_COMP.CALC_BASIS and ELC_COMP.COST_BASIS.

ELC_COMP.CALC_BASIS decides whether the expense component is calculated on per-unit basis or value basis. ELC_COMP.COST_BASIS decides whether expense is calculated on Supplier cost or Order cost. 
If COST_BASIS is 'S', ITEM_SUPPLIER_COUNTRY.UNIT_COST is used to calculate expense. If COST_BASIS is 'O', ORDLOC.UNIT_COST is used. 

Table ELC_COMP stores details of expense components along with rates, currency, cost_basis, calc_basis, etc. Table ORDLOC_EXP stores expense value at order, item, location and expense component level.

Is there a table where the Total ELC inclusive the ELC cost components is stored?

There is no table that stores Total ELC value by summing up all components.

Total expense is displayed on ORDHEAD by summing up individual component expense values.

Will Total ELC be calculated when the items are received in the warehouse?

Yes. This is based on the fact that the ELC costs are pretty much determined at item setup, but those costs are only updated when receiving happens

Does the ELC for an approved & not received Purchase order get updated when cost change extracted?

Whenever cost changes are extracted for an item, accordingly all the cost components dependent on supplier cost get updated (ITEM_EXP_DETAIL).   If RECALC_ORDER_IND is 'Y' for the cost change, then all the orders for the item which are approved and not yet received get updated with the new unit cost and corresponding expenses.  Thus, Estimated Landed Cost (ELC) also gets updated.  If RECALC_ORDER_IND is 'N' for the cost change, then order cost does not get updated.

What is the base cost for calculating order cost as well as the estimated landed cost?

The base cost for the order is ITEM_SUPP_COUNTRY_LOC.UNIT_COST. The landed cost for a purchase order will be (ITEM_SUPP_COUNTRY_LOC.UNIT_COST) X ORDER Quantity + Expenses.

How is the Cost component Total Expense Zone (TEXPZ) calculated?

TEXPZ (Total Expense Zone) – This component will be used to store the total of the expenses for each Item/Supplier/Zone/Discharge Port combination. It will total all expenses that have an Expense Type of ‘Zone’ within the Item Expenses dialog.  This total will be added together with the Total Expense Country, the Total Duty, and the item’s Unit Cost to come up with the Total Estimated Landed Cost of the Item/Supplier/Country combination

What is EDI?

EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) provides a method for retailers and suppliers to transmit business documents. EDI translation programs convert outgoing and incoming files to the appropriate flat file or EDI format. 

RMS EDI programs either create an output file if the data is being transmitted to the supplier or accept an input file initiated by the supplier. In all cases, the file is translated by the customer's EDI translation software application. 

How to use EDI?

You must indicate which EDI transactions are supported by the supplier. If the supplier requests product activity, you can indicate whether the data should be transmitted on a daily or weekly basis. 

Also you should indicate the variance allowed for cost changes by monetary amount and by percentage. Cost changes received from the supplier that are within the tolerated range are automatically approved by the system after you accept changes.

Where are the daily sales information held before being transmitted to the supplier?

EDI_DAILY_SALES holds daily sales information for SKUs of suppliers transmitting daily EDI activity reports. It will hold sales quantities of SKUs at the location and the transaction date level. 

The table will only hold information regarding regular sales. It will be populated during the processing of POSUPLD. 

Records will be purged according to the EDI_DAILY_RPT_LAG indicator on SYSTEM_OPTIONS.

If EDI functionality is not used, how can RMS be stopped from holding data in EDI_DAILY_SALES table?

Setting the EDI_SALES_RPT_FREQ in SUPS table to 'W', Sales and stock information will be downloaded weekly, so EDI_DAILY_SALES will not be updated.

How is the EDI_DAILY_SALES deleted?

Running the post processing for EDIDLPRD patch will delete data from the EDI_DAILY_SALES table.

Where and how can we set up the data in HTS_IMPORT_COUNTRY_SETUP table in Oracle Retail Merchandising System (RMS) Release 13.1.x?

The setup must be done manually, as it varies from country to country.  The basic steps are as follows:

1. Make an entry into HTS_IMPORT_COUNTRY_SETUP table for the country.  (Back-end entry)
2. Create a Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) chapter from the HTS Heading Maintenance Window [htshead].
3. Create Quota Category.
4. Create required HTS from the Harmonized Tariff Schedule Window [hts].

A typical entry in the HTS_IMPORT_COUNTRY_SETUP would be:

INSERT INTO HTS_IMPORT_COUNTRY_SETUP VALUES ('IN', 'FMXXXX"."XXXX"."XX', 4);

Where columns are Import Country ID, HTS Format Mask, HTS Heading Length.

Is there an on-line or GUI form to do this?

No, prior to RMS Release 13.1.x, HTS was configured for one country.  From RMS Release 13.1.x onwards, HTS has been generalized for use by any country.

What value should be used for the HTS_FORMAT_MASK?

As this value depends on the country, you should to consult your business team to determine the proper format. 

What is the difference between internal finisher and external finisher? 

Internal finishers are part of the warehouse where some tasks are performed on the merchandise. These are not used to store merchandise. Internal finishers have much of the same functionality of a normal virtual warehouse in Retail Merchandising System (RMS) except for the following:

1. It cannot be attached to Stores as the Default Warehouse

2. It cannot be the From Location nor the To Location of a Transfer. It can only be selected as a middle point on a 2 legged transfer

3. Can be part of Allocation

4. Cannot order to an Internal Finisher

5. Cannot Replenish To/From an Internal Finisher

External finishers on the other hand are created as Partners. External finishers are finishing location not part of the organizational hierarchy. External finishers are included as a location within the Item/Location Inventory (ITEM_LOC_SOH) table providing full range of inventory buckets to review.

Why are deals not applied for DSD (Direct Store Delivery) purchase orders when the unit cost is changed manually? 

The Retail Merchandising System (RMS) Purchase Order dialog prompts the user with a "Yes/No" message asking if manual costs should be overwritten when applying deals on ORDHEAD form. However, same user interaction is not provided for DSD orders created through the Application Programming Interface (API). The assumption with DSD orders is that the receiving location (store) has a better idea what the supplier's cost is at the time of receiving than does the corporate system so RMS don't override any cost that were manually entered because the end result may be a higher cost. Any changes to this process will have to be built on a custom basis because they will not be applicable to the business processes of all clients.

What are the conditions to generate an Unit & Amount StockCount regarding item status and SOH value?

To generate a Unit & Amount Stockcount you have to implement the follow conditions:

1. 3rd Party Stock Count - Unit and Amount Option should be Set to "NO" under store admin.

2. Only sellable items can be counted.

3. Items with status of A, C, D, Q, I  will be on the Stock Count for any SOH.

4. Items with status I & D will only be on the Stock Count if there is negative or positive SOH, not 0 SOH.

5. Nonranged items should not appear on the stock count.

6. Nonsellable packs will not appear on the stock count.

7. Is mandatory to have have item location records.

Is there anyway to revert items back to 'A'ctive status when they have been accidentally set to Pending Delete?

When an item is deleted from itemmaster screen, the item_master.status for that item will still be what it was previously. If Active, item_master.status will still be 'A'. However, it will have a record in DAILY_PURGE. Whatever items those are in DAILY_PURGE will have status in the itemmaster screen as 'Delete Pending'. We do not have a form/process/functionality within RMS to remove the item from *Delete Pending*. Item will be deleted from the tables during dlyprg.pc batch run. But it will have to go through some validations before it can be deleted. Those that failed validation will not be purged and an entry will be inserted into DAILY_PURGE_ERROR_LOG. If you do not want to delete the item, you can remove the corresponding record from DAILY_PURGE and DAILY_PURGE_ERROR_LOG tables.

For cost method of accounting, what should be posted to the financial system for ending inventory calculations for the following transactions TOTAL_COST or TOTAL_RETAIL?

For the cost method or the retail method we require both TOTAL_COST as well as TOTAL_RETAIL fields.

For the cost method of accounting we calculate the ending inventory at cost as well as ending inventory at retail.

The ending inventory at cost, using TOTAL_COST:

BOM Inventory

+ Purchases

- RTV?s

- Net Sales

+ Transfers In

+ Book Transfer In

- Transfers Out

Book Transfer Out

+ Up-charges in/out

- Shrinkage

+ Reclass In

- Reclass Out

- Cost Variances

= Ending Inventory

Ending inventory at retail, using TOTAL_RETAIL:

•  BOM Inventory

+ Purchase

- RTV?s

+ Markups

+ Transfers In

+ Book Transfer In

- Transfers Out

- Book Transfer Out

+ Reclass In

- Reclass Out

- Net Sales

- Markdowns

- Promo Markdowns

- Clearance Markdowns

+ Markdown Cancels

- Employee Discounts

+ Inventory Adjustments

= Ending Inventory

The values mentioned are the ones used in the calculation of ending inventory at cost. That calculation would use the Total Cost only. The result of that calculation would be written to MONTH_DATA.CLS_STK_COST. Some of those transactions also have a retail value that is used in the calculation of ending inventory at retail.

General Ledger monthly download "fifgldn3" sends these values to the financial system

How do I change the Supplier on a saved or approved PO?

The system does not allow Supplier update on a saved or  approved PO. You will need to cancel the PO and create  a new PO with the correct Supplier.

Can you setup a different Purchase Order type default for the PO form?

The Purchase Orders form always defaults a PO type of 'Standard Purchase Order'. Although the default value cannot be changed, the user can change the type once the form opens.

How do I get a value to default  for  the Ship-To and Bill-To fields on the PO header?

The default values for Default Ship to and Bill  on the PO header are defined in the Supplier Purchasing region of the Financial options form.

Setup/organizations/Financial options->   Supplier-Purchasing alternate region

Define the Ship to and Bill to fields

When does a Purchase Order line get Closure Status 'Closed for Receiving'?

Purchasing automatically closes shipments for receiving and invoicing based on Tolerances that you specify in the Purchasing Options window. Once all shipments for a given line are received and invoiced within these tolerances, purchasing automatically closes the line 

When does a Purchase order get the Closure Status 'Closed'?

When all lines for a given header are closed, Purchasing automatically closes 

the document.

What is the difference between the control actions 'On Hold' and 'Freeze' for a Purchase order?

You can place a Purchase order 'On hold' only at the header level. This 

unapproves the purchase order while preventing printing, receiving, invoicing, and future approval until you remove the hold. You can 'Freeze' only at the header and release level. You freeze a Purchase order when you want to prevent any future modifications to the Purchase order. When you freeze a Purchase order, you can still receive and pay for goods you already ordered. If you use a Requisition template or AutoSource to source requisition lines from a Purchase order line, Purchasing does not automatically update the corresponding sourcing information when you freeze a purchase order with which you source requisition lines. If you freeze a purchase order, you have to update the corresponding information in the Requisition Templates or the AutoSource Rules window.

What is the difference between the Field 'Firm' in the 'Terms and Conditions' window and in the alternate region 'more' in the PO shipments? 

The field 'Firm' in the 'Terms and Conditions' indicates that the 

Purchase order is firm. Firm your purchase order when you want to indicate to 

Master Scheduling/MRP or your manufacturing application that it should not 

reschedule this purchase order. The Field 'Firm' in the alternate region 'more' in the  PO shipments indicates that the Purchase order shipment is firm. Firm your purchase order shipment when you want to indicate to Master Scheduling/MRP or your manufacturing application that it should not reschedule this purchase order shipment .

How do you change the unit price on a  PO line  once the line has been received or invoiced?

Oracle Purchasing will not allow unit price update on Inventory line items

when the line is received or billed because accounting transactions have already taken place.   The difference between the PO price and invoice price will be recorded in the Invoice Price Variance Account which will show up on the Invoice Price Variance report.  If you have mistakenly entered the incorrect price on the PO, then you can workaround this by cancelling or backing out the invoice and processing a return on the receipt which will allow unit price update.

Is there a security model for approving purchase orders based on the buyer's login ID within a certain amount ?

By doing the below steps, you will assign an amount to the buyer which he can not approve an order that exceeds this amount.
    Login to RMS
      Navigate: Control > Setup > User Role Privileges
        Set the required amount in the 'User Role Privileges' screen.

Is it available to have two level approval that can be done on a purchase order? There is no two level approval

Replenishment

What is the difference between automatic and semi-automatic replenishment?

Automatic replenishment causes automatic creations of orders and automatic approvals of those orders. Approvals are handled through the RPLAPPRV batch.   Semi- automatic replenishment causes automatic creations of orders, but orders need to be manually approved.



Which orders are purged due to Inventory Management Supplier Minimum Constraint?

- The RPLAPPRV batch will look through all orders created, but will only approve automatic replenishment related orders.  It also will purge orders if Inventory Management Supplier has a minimum order constraint and order purge below minimum is set.

- The RPLAPPRV batch differentiates between automatic and semi-automatic replenishment-created orders using the ORD_INV_MGMT.ORD_APPROVE_IND flag.  If ORD_APPROVE_IND  = 'Y', then the order was created in the replenishment process with the intention of being approved during the order approval validation process (Automatic); otherwise it will not (Semi-Automatic).

Exactly what RMS data tables/data fields are needed as inputs for the DC Replenishment Min/Max Calculation? Specifically looking at how on-order (PO) and on-hand (stock) totals per item per location.

The replenishment batch Rplext.pc looks into the REPL_ITEM_LOC and ITEM_LOC_SOH tables to determine the Recommended Order Quantity (ROQ) in the ORDTEMP table. Batch Rplbld.pc further generates orders. Inventory availability at warehouses (for DC replenishment) is calculated by the Rplext.pc batch based on details in ITEM_LOC_SOH table.

With respect to the quantity counts for On-Order and Alloc_out, are POs and Allocations for the physical warehouses part of the calculation or just those for virtual warehouses?

When the multi-channel indicator is Y, the retailer maintains inventory for virtual warehouses
and the physical warehouse is non-stockholding. On-order and Alloc-out count will be for virtual warehouse only.

Where in the system is the designation of multi-channel versus not?

You would set MULTICHANNEL_IND in SYSTEM_OPTIONS.

How do existing outstanding purchase orders play into the calculation?   If Stock on Hand (SOH) is less than the minimum the user has set, but there are already outstanding POs to bring it to the MAX they have set, does the calculation need to account for that? How does this work?

The replenishment batch considers the on-order quantity to suggest ROQ. It calculates order quantity based on the delivery date of the replenishment order and the "Not Before Date" of Purchase Orders.

The available calculation includes On_order, Alloc_in, Alloc_out, and Dist_qty.  These are not part of the ITEM_LOC_SOH table. Exactly what populates these four items?

Availability calculation looks into ORDLOC, ORDHEAD, ALLOC_HEAD and ALLOC_DETAIL to calculate On_order, Alloc_in and Alloc_out quantities. 

See the query details below:

ORDER

cursor C_ON_ORDER_ITEM is 
select nvl(sum(l.qty_ordered - nvl(l.qty_received,0)),0) 
from ordhead h, 
ordloc l 
where l.item = I_item 
and l.location = nvl(I_loc, l.location) 
and l.loc_type = nvl(I_loc_type, l.loc_type) 
and l.order_no = h.order_no 
and h.status = 'A' 
and l.qty_ordered > nvl(l.qty_received,0) 
and (h.not_before_date < I_date or (I_date is NULL)) 
and NOT (I_all_orders = 'N' and h.include_on_order_ind = 'N'); 

cursor C_ON_ORDER_PACK is 
select /*+ index(l) index(p) */ nvl(sum(p.pack_item_qty * 
(l.qty_ordered - nvl(l.qty_received,0))),0) 
from ordhead h, 
ordloc l, 
packitem_breakout p 
where l.location = nvl(I_loc, l.location) 
and l.loc_type = nvl(I_loc_type, l.loc_type) 
and l.order_no = h.order_no 
and h.status = 'A' 
and l.qty_ordered > nvl(l.qty_received,0) 
and (h.not_before_date < I_date or (I_date is NULL)) 
and NOT (I_all_orders = 'N' and h.include_on_order_ind = 'N') 
and l.item = pack_no 
and p.item = I_item;

 ALLOC

cursor C_GET_ALLOC_IN_ITEM_2 is 
select NVL(sum(alloc_in_qty),0) 
from rpl_alloc_in_tmp 
where item = I_item 
and (to_loc = I_loc or I_loc is null) 
and (to_loc_type = I_loc_type or I_loc_type is null) 
and NVL(I_date, not_before_date) >= not_before_date ; 

cursor C_GET_ALLOC_IN_PACK is 
select NVL(sum(p.pack_item_qty * 
(d.qty_allocated - NVL(d.qty_transferred,0))),0) 
from alloc_detail d, 
alloc_header h, 
packitem_breakout p 
where p.pack_no = h.item 
and p.item = I_item 
and d.alloc_no = h.alloc_no 
and h.status in ('A', 'R') 
and d.qty_allocated > NVL(d.qty_transferred,0) 
and (d.to_loc = I_loc or I_loc is null) 
and (d.to_loc_type = I_loc_type or I_loc_type is null) 
and (exists (select 'x' 
from ordhead o 
where o.order_no = h.order_no 
and o.status in ('A', 'C') 
and NVL(I_date, o.not_before_date) >= o.not_before_date 
and not (I_all_orders = 'N' and o.include_on_order_ind = 'N')) or 
exists (select 'x' 
from alloc_header h1 
where h1.alloc_no = h.order_no 
and h1.status in ('A', 'R') 
and NVL(I_date, h1.release_date) = h1.release_date) or 
exists (select 'x' 
from tsfhead t 
where t.tsf_no = h.order_no 
and t.status in ('A','S','P','L','C') 
and t.not_after_date is null 
union 
select 'x' 
from tsfhead t 
where t.tsf_no = h.order_no 
and t.status in ('A','S','P','L','C') 
and t.not_after_date is not null 
and NVL(I_date, t.not_after_date) <= t.not_after_date));

Does RMS use Dist_Qty for ROQ determination in Warehouse Stocked, Min-Max Method for Warehouse Replenishment?

Yes, RMS uses Dist_qty in the net inventory calculation, which impacts the ROQ calculation. 
The function called "GET_LOC_CURRENT_AVAIL" from Reqext.pc gets the current stock for the warehouse (wh) before generating the tsf.

When looking at inventory inputs, is RMS looking at values for the physical or for the virtual warehouse or does it depend on the specific input?

The inventory is checked at the source warehouse, which is a stock-holding location. So in a multi-channel environment it would be a virtual warehouse.

When using the Dynamic replenishment method for a warehouse, upon reviewing the replenishment results, why do some columns have NULL values?

For the Dynamic replenishment method, the Warehouse (WH) need is calculated using a different method than for that used for Constant, Min/Max, and Floating Point replenishment methods. 

1. With the Dynamic method, the attributes set up for the WH are used to determine the needs of all the individual stores that are set up with a WH Stocked replenishment strategy and that are using the WH as their sourcing WH. 
2. A recommended order quantity (ROQ) is generated for each store, resulting in a total ROQ for all stores. 
3. This total need is then compared to the available inventory at the WH. 
4. If the available inventory cannot cover the total need, an ROQ is generated for the WH for the difference between the available inventory and the total need. 
5. When determining the individual ROQ of the stores, it does not matter which replenishment method the stores themselves are using, as long as they have forecasts. 
6. As a result, some fields such as inventory selling days forecast, lead time forecast, safety stock, review time forecast, etc. are NULL in case of Dynamic replenishment for WH since they are not of any relevance.

If you have an item that is on Dynamic replenishment at the warehouse and some stores have a replenishment method other than dynamic, how does warehouse replenishment account for those locations?

1. When determining the individual ROQ of stores, it does not matter which replenishment method the stores themselves are using, as long as they have forecasts. 
2. The attributes of the WH are used to determine the ROQ for each store. 
3. This will allow the WH to use one replenishment method to stock the WH (during the supplier cycle) and the stores to use a different replenishment method for WH to store ordering (during the store cycle).

What is the difference between internal finisher and external finisher?

Internal finishers are part of the warehouse where some tasks are performed on the merchandise. These are not used to store merchandise. Internal finishers have much of the same functionality of a normal virtual warehouse in Retail Merchandising System (RMS) except for the following:

1. It can not be attached to Stores as the Default Warehouse

2. It can not be the From Location nor the To Location of a Transfer. It can only be selected as a middle point on a 2 legged transfer

3. Can be part of Allocation

4. Can not order to an Internal Finisher

5. Can not Replenish To/From an Internal Finisher

External finishers on the other hand are created as Partners. External finishers are finishing location not part of the organizational hierarchy. External finishers are included as a location within the Item/Location Inventory (ITEM_LOC_SOH) table providing full range of inventory buckets to review.

Why are deals not applied for DSD (Direct Store Delivery) purchase orders when the unit cost is changed manually?

The Retail Merchandising System (RMS) Purchase Order dialog prompts the user with a "Yes/No" message asking if manual costs should be overwritten when applying deals on ORDHEAD form. However, same user interaction is not provided for DSD orders created through the Application Programming Interface (API). The assumption with DSD orders is that the receiving location (store) has a better idea what the supplier's cost is at the time of receiving than does the corporate system so RMS don't override any cost that were manually entered because the end result may be a higher cost. Any changes to this process will have to be built on a custom basis because they will not be applicable to the business processes of all clients.

What are the conditions to generate an Unit & Amount StockCount regarding item status and SOH value?

To generate a Unit & Amount Stockcount you have to implement the follow conditions:

1. 3rd Party Stock Count - Unit and Amount Option should be Set to "NO" under store admin.

2. Only sellable items can be counted.

3. Items with status of A, C, D, Q, I  will be on the Stock Count for any SOH.

4. Items with status I & D will only be on the Stock Count if there is negative or positive SOH, not 0 SOH.

5. Nonranged items should not appear on the stock count.

6. Nonsellable packs will not appear on the stock count.

7. Is mandatory to have have item location records.

Is there anyway to revert items back to 'A'ctive status when they have been accidentally set to Pending Delete?

When an item is deleted from itemmaster screen, the item_master.status for that item will still be what it was previously. If Active, item_master.status will still be 'A'. However, it will have a record in DAILY_PURGE.

Whatever items those are in DAILY_PURGE will have status in the itemmaster screen as 'Delete Pending'.

We do not have a form/process/functionality within RMS to remove the item from *Delete Pending*.

Item will be deleted from the tables during dlyprg.pc batch run. But it will have to go through some validations before it can be deleted. Those that failed validation will not be purged and an entry will be inserted into DAILY_PURGE_ERROR_LOG.

If you do not want to delete the item, you can remove the corresponding record from DAILY_PURGE and DAILY_PURGE_ERROR_LOG tables.

For cost method of accounting, what should be posted to the financial system for ending inventory calculations for the following transactions TOTAL_COST or TOTAL_RETAIL?

For the cost method or the retail method we require both TOTAL_COST as well as TOTAL_RETAIL fields.

For the cost method of accounting we calculate the ending inventory at cost as well as ending inventory at retail.

The ending inventory at cost, using TOTAL_COST:

•           BOM Inventory

+ Purchases

- RTV?s

- Net Sales

+ Transfers In

+ Book Transfer In

- Transfers Out

Book Transfer Out

+ Up-charges in/out

- Shrinkage

+ Reclass In

- Reclass Out

- Cost Variances

= Ending Inventory

Ending inventory at retail, using TOTAL_RETAIL:

•           BOM Inventory

+ Purchase

- RTV?s

+ Markups

+ Transfers In

+ Book Transfer In

- Transfers Out

- Book Transfer Out

+ Reclass In

- Reclass Out

- Net Sales

- Markdowns

- Promo Markdowns

- Clearance Markdowns

+ Markdown Cancels

- Employee Discounts

+ Inventory Adjustments

= Ending Inventory

The values mentioned are the ones used in the calculation of ending inventory at cost. That calculation would use the Total Cost only. The result of that calculation would be written to MONTH_DATA.CLS_STK_COST. Some of those transactions also have a retail value that is used in the calculation of ending inventory at retail.

General Ledger monthly download "fifgldn3" sends these values to the financial system

How do I change the Supplier on a saved or approved PO?

The system does not allow Supplier update on a saved or approved PO. You will need to cancel the PO and create a new PO with the correct Supplier.

Can you setup a different Purchase Order type default for the PO form?

The Purchase Orders form always defaults a PO type of 'Standard Purchase Order'. Although the default value cannot be changed, the user can change the type once

the form opens.

How do I get a value to default for the Ship-To and Bill-To fields on the PO header?

The default values for Default Ship to and Bill on the PO header are defined in the Supplier Purchasing region of the Financial options form.

Setup/organizations/Financial options->   Supplier-Purchasing alternate region

Define the Ship to and Bill to fields

When does a Purchase Order line get Closure Status 'Closed for Receiving'?

Purchasing automatically closes shipments for receiving and invoicing based on Tolerances that you specify in the Purchasing Options window. Once all shipments for a given line are received and invoiced within these tolerances, purchasing automatically closes the line 

When does a Purchase order get the Closure Status 'Closed'?

When all lines for a given header are closed, Purchasing automatically closes 

the document.

What is the difference between the control actions 'On Hold' and 'Freeze' for a Purchase order?

You can place a Purchase order 'On hold' only at the header level. This unapproves the purchase order while preventing printing, receiving, invoicing, and future approval until you remove the hold. You can 'Freeze' only at the header and release level. You freeze a Purchase order when you want to prevent any future modifications to the Purchase order. When you freeze a Purchase order, you can still receive and pay for goods you already ordered. If you use a Requisition template or AutoSource to source requisition lines from a Purchase order line, Purchasing does not automatically update the corresponding sourcing information when you freeze a purchase order with which you source requisition lines. If you freeze a purchase order, you have to update the corresponding information in the Requisition Templates or the AutoSource Rules window.

What is the difference between the Field 'Firm' in the 'Terms and Conditions’ window and in the alternate region 'more' in the PO shipments?

The field 'Firm' in the 'Terms and Conditions' indicates that the Purchase order is firm. Firm your purchase order when you want to indicate to Master Scheduling/MRP or your manufacturing application that it should not reschedule this purchase order The Field 'Firm' in the alternate region 'more' in the PO shipments indicates that the Purchase order shipment is firm. Firm your purchase order shipment when you want to indicate to Master Scheduling/MRP or your manufacturing application that it should not reschedule this purchase order shipment.

Is there a security model for approving purchase orders based on the buyer's login ID within a certain amount?
By doing the below steps, you will assign an amount to the buyer which he cannot approve an order that exceeds this amount.
Login to RMS
Navigate: Control > Setup > User Role Privileges
Set the required amount in the 'User Role Privileges' screen.

Is it available to have two level approval that can be done on purchase order?

There is no two level approval
How do you change the unit price on a PO line once the line has been received or invoiced?
Oracle Purchasing will not allow unit price update on Inventory line items when the line is received or billed because accounting transactions have already taken place. The difference between the PO price and invoice price will be recorded in the Invoice Price Variance Account which will show up on the Invoice Price Variance report. If you have mistakenly entered the incorrect price on the PO, then you can work around this by cancelling or backing out the invoice and processing a return on the receipt which will allow unit price update.

Stock Count

Why do some transactions update the stock counts while others do not?

In Store Inventory Management (SIM): 
Some transactions can happen during a Unit & Amount (U&A) stock count while other transactions should be prevented from happening during a count. Sales and inventory adjustments can update the snapshot; sales because SIM cannot control that information unlike all the receiving and shipping transactions, and inventory adjustments because these sometimes are required in case something breaks during the count. 

In Retail Price Management (RPM): 
The behavior should be consistent across the transaction types.  Customers using SIM will want to avoid updating the snapshot, as SIM does not do this.

What is the impact of COGS_IND on the Stock Count process?

COGS_IND = 'Y' causes RMS to write tran_code 23 instead of tran_code 22 for the inventory adjustment.  Tran_code 23 is considered in the stock ledger inventory calculations, while 22 is not (in case of budgeted shrinkage).

If COGS_IND='Y' for unit count must affect stock ledger, then is it true that there would be NO difference between Unit and Unit & Amount (U&A) count result?

Not necessarily. U&A does an overlay of SIM and RMS.  The SIM cycle count only sends variances, so if there is any discrepancy between SIM and RMS this will not be resolved.  Similarly, U&A does an  overlay of the RMS stock ledger, so if there is any discrepancy between RMS stock ledger and RMS  inventory (ITEM_LOC_SOH) then again the result would differ. 

Where and how can we configure the Unit Count Inventory Adjustment reason codes in RMS?

RMS has an Inventory Adjustment Reason Code Maintenance Window [rsninvad].  This window allows you to maintain a list of reasons for inventory adjustments.  Reasons are used to indicate why the total stock on hand should be increased or decreased.  For example, you may need to decrease the stock on hand due to shrinkage.  To navigate to this window:

From the main menu, select Control => Setup => Inventory Adjustment Reason => Edit (or View).   The Inventory Adjustment Reason Code Maintenance window opens, allowing you to Add/Maintain or View inventory adjustment reason codes.
 

In SIM, is there any process whereby SKUs not entering the count would be defaulted to zero?

For U&A all items that have been extracted and are not counted will default to zero and be considered counted.

What is the impact of delaying the authorization process?

At a high level, the impact will be in the sense that inventory will not be accurate until the authorization is processed.  In addition, RMS cannot start the amount part of the stock count.

- The main impact is with regard to late-posting transactions. Ideally this should just mean sales, as other transactions flow from SIM to RMS in real time. Late-posting sales would update the snapshot if they are entered prior to authorizing the count. 
- Inventory/stock ledger overlay will not occur until after authorization. 
- Between the count and the date of authorization, the average cost of the item may change, which may impact the cost of inventory. 

In SIM, we can set up a product group with variance in value as a %.  How does SIM see variance in value when value and cost information are all held in RMS?

Variance % is a percentage discrepancy of units. SUOM variance is a number of units discrepancy. 

The Variance Value is a percent (%) calculated on the counted units times their current retail value upon  approval of the physical counted quantity.  The retail value is the price calculated in SIM, which can be a regular price, promotion, or clearance price, depending on which price event is active.

RMS UI & BI Publisher

Is there a way to change the RMS application forms color, to change the application look and feel?  

The configurable properties ('colorScheme' and 'lookAndFeel') on the WebLogic Server side "formsweb.cfg" file can be used to change the Forms color.  Do note, however, that only the form applet is managed by the "formsweb.cfg" file.  Each RMS individual form is overlaid on top of the basic Form design, so the changes will not be highly visible (as they are masked).   In addition, the RMS application forms designs are not managed centrally.   So if required, you would need to change each form's color individually through the Form Builder by updating the color palette.

How can we standardize/set up the screen color of individual RMS forms?

Perform these steps:

1. Save the color palette in your local machine.
2. In Forms Builder, open the Form requiring the color change.
3. Select [Edit] -> [Preferences].
4. Enable the 'Select Color Mode' on General Tab and click OK.
5. Open the main campus.
6. Select [Edit] -> [Import] -> [Color Palette].
7. Select the color palette which was saved in Step 1 and click OK.
8. Save the campus and compile the respective form.

How can we modify the RMS application's window title?  By default it is 'Oracle Retail Merchandising System'.

The RMS Forms window title comes from the startup form "rtkstrt.fmb".  Here is the exact navigation:

rtkstrt.fmb -> Program Units -> P_FORM_STARTUP* (Procedure Body)

...
  Set_Window_Property(FORMS_MDI_WINDOW, TITLE, 'Oracle Retail Merchandising System');
... 

You can update this title as per your requirements and re-deploy the form.

Are the Saved Search User Specific?

Yes, it is specific to application user.

Where are the Search Criteria in a Saved Search stored to (DB / File etc., )?

These are stored in the metadata service repository.

Can the View Columns be defaulted to certain values against an User (or) Application within a Screen? Lets take an example of manage Order. By default in the Result section shows 10 columns. Now user manage the columns and choose another column to be shown in the Result section. Will this change in view in the Result section be saved ?

Add the search criteria. Then change the result area as per your requirement. You save the search criteria. This in addition to saving the search criteria, will also save the result section.

Is it required to have BI Publisher to generate RMS reports?

BI Publisher is required in version 13.0.1 or later.  With the RMS 13.0.1 release, reports have been rewritten using BI Publisher and RDF reports have been discontinued.

Where is the Report Repository in BI Publisher?

Report Repository needs to be set up as "File System" type and its value is set to the folder where Admin, DemoFiles, Reports, Tools and Users folders are created.  This can be viewed by clicking on the Admin tab and then Report Repository under System Maintenance for BI Publisher.

How do we define environmental variables while setting up RMS for BI Publisher?

This is explained in chapter 12 on "Setting up Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher" in "RMS 13.0.1 Back-end Configuration and Operations Guide - Volume 3".  RMS.env file should have environmental variables set up as in the example below:

ORACLE_RMS_REPORTS_HOST=http://mspps003.us.oracle.com:7777/ 
ORACLE_RMS_REPORTS_SERVER=xmlpserver 
ORACLE_RMS_RWSERVER=xmlpserver/Guest/rms13/

All the files and directories from STAGING_DIR/rms/application/rms13/reports/* need to be copied to Reports/Guest/rms13 folder on BI Publisher. Port 7777 in the example is the HTTP listen port as defined in /Apache/Apache/conf/httpd.conf file for BI Publisher.

Note:- While opening BI publisher reports from RMS application, if it fails with error "FRM-92020:invalid URL" please confirm above settings in .env file.

Can the data source name be different than 'RMS13' while setting up the JDBC connection on BI Publisher?

In all reports, there is a .xdo. Those xdo files have a default data source set to "RMS13" out of the box.  Therefore it is required to set up the JDBC connection with a data source name of "RMS13" when using reports out of the box.  The data source name in .xdo file needs to match with the data source name defined for the JDBC connection.

Which version of Business Intelligence (BI) Publisher is required for RMS 13.0.x reports?

BI Publisher 10.1.3.3 Enterprise Edition bundled with Oracle Business Intelligence Suite Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) 10.1.3.3 is required.

Which version of Business Intelligence (BI) Publisher is required for RMS 13.1.x reports?

For RMS version 13.1 or RMS version 13.1.1, Oracle BI Publisher version 10.1.3.4.0 is required.

— Share It —

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+
• Linkedin
• Pin It

About Nagesh Mishra

Nagesh Mishra - A Passionate Oracle Retail Certified Professional with more than 17 years of overall experience in IT industry and more than 15 years of domain expertise in Oracle Retail Applications. Worked extensively in diversified fields of Product Implementation, Business Consulting, Pre-Sales, Application Software Development, Maintenance and Support and Re-Engineering Oracle Retail projects.