End-to-End Basic Configs on Learn Oracle OTM

Domain, Items, Locations, and Equipment

Sat, 22 Aug 2020 05:25:00 +0000

This is the first in a series of eight posts that walk through a complete OTM end-to-end transaction flow — from initial setup through planning, tendering, invoicing, and cost allocation. Each post builds on the previous one. Use this series as a starting point and refer to OTM Help documentation to explore each topic in depth.

Recommendation for new OTM consultants: If you are early in your OTM career, the single most effective way to build confidence is to complete this entire series hands-on in a non-production environment. Step through each post in order, create every object yourself, and verify the results — rather than just reading through them. You will make mistakes, and that is exactly the point: troubleshooting your own configuration teaches you far more than any documentation can.

You do not need to create a new Domain. Skip the Domain creation step and work inside your existing business domain instead. Everything else — Items, Locations, Equipment, Service Providers, Rates, Itineraries, Bulk Plan, Tender, Invoice, and Voucher Allocation — can be built and tested within your current domain without affecting production data.

Business Scenario:

Itinerary

Sat, 22 Aug 2020 04:32:00 +0000

An Itinerary defines the route OTM Bulk Plan uses to move freight — the origin region, destination region, transport mode, and equipment types for each leg. Bulk Plan matches order release origins and destinations against itinerary lanes to determine which route to use. Without a matching itinerary, planning will fail.

For the TCRP scenario we defined four itineraries — three single-leg and one multi-leg. Refer to the business scenario for the full network diagram.

Service Provider and Rates

Sat, 22 Aug 2020 04:43:00 +0000

OTM models carrier contracting in two layers: a Rate Offering (the contract — who, what transport mode, what service level) and Rate Records (the lanes — source, destination, and cost). Bulk Plan uses Rate Offerings and Rate Records to select a carrier and calculate freight cost for each shipment leg.

Service Provider:

A Service Provider (carrier) must exist in OTM before a Rate Offering can be created. Each carrier requires a SCAC code — the four-letter industry identifier that uniquely distinguishes them.

Business Numbers, Planning Parameter

Sat, 22 Aug 2020 04:47:00 +0000

Business Numbers:

OTM auto-generates IDs for business objects — shipments, order releases, invoices — using Business Number Rules. By default, shipments get a simple sequential number (e.g. 01001). A custom rule lets you embed the date, a prefix, or a domain-specific sequence into the generated ID, making it easier to identify records and align with your organisation’s numbering conventions.

The default shipment number looks like this:

Bulk Plan

Sat, 22 Aug 2020 04:52:00 +0000

Bulk Plan is OTM’s automated planning engine. It reads Order Release or Order Movements, matches them against the Itineraries and Rate Records configured in earlier posts, and creates optimised Shipments with carrier assignments and freight cost.

Create an Order Base:

An Order Base (Purchase Order) represents a buying commitment for a quantity of goods. Order Releases drawn from it represent shipments of specific quantities.

Order Management > Purchase Order > Order Base > New

Enter the following details for the TCRP scenario:

Tender Process

Sat, 22 Aug 2020 04:55:00 +0000

After Bulk Plan creates Shipments, the next step is to notify the carrier — this is called Tendering. The carrier receives the shipment details (pickup time, locations, equipment), then accepts or rejects the tender. If rejected, OTM automatically re-tenders to the next available carrier on the lane.

Shipment status after Bulk Plan:

When shipments are first created by Bulk Plan, their Secure Resources status is SECURE_RESOURCES_NOT_STARTED, meaning no tender has been sent yet.

Invoicing

Sat, 22 Aug 2020 04:57:00 +0000

Once shipment execution is completed, the carrier sends a freight charge invoice for settlement. OTM can validate the invoice cost against the planned shipment cost, approve it, and then allocate that cost back to the originating Order Releases or Purchase Orders.

The three steps are: Match → Approve → Allocate.

Invoice Matching:

A Match Rule identifies which shipment corresponds to an incoming carrier invoice, by comparing reference numbers and the Service Provider. In this scenario the invoice carries the Shipment ID (SID) as a reference number, which is matched to the same reference on the shipment record.

Voucher Allocation

Sat, 22 Aug 2020 04:59:00 +0000

After an invoice is approved, OTM creates a Voucher record for it. Voucher Allocation distributes the total freight cost across the Order Releases on the shipment — proportionally by weight or volume — so each PO or Order Release line carries its share of the freight charge.

Voucher record after invoice approval:

OTM automatically creates the voucher once the invoice is approved:

At this point the ALLOCATION_VOUCHER status on the voucher is NOT ALLOCATED: