The 2024 InsureTech Connect (ITC) conference was truly exhilarating, with key takeaways impacting the insurance industry. Each year, it continues to improve, offering more relevant content, valuable industry connections, and opportunities to delve into emerging technologies.

This year’s event was no exception, showcasing the importance of personalization to the customer, tech-driven relationship management, and AI-driven underwriting processes. The industry is constantly evolving, and ITC displays the alignment of everyone within the insurance industry surrounding the same purpose.

The Road Ahead: Transformative Trends

As I reflect on ITC and my experience, it is evident the progression of the industry is remarkable. Here are a few key takeaways from my perspective that will shape our industry roadmap:

1. Personalization at Scale

We’ve spoken for many years about the need to drive greater personalization across our interactions in our industry. We know that customers engage with companies that demonstrate authentic knowledge of their relationship. This year, we saw great examples of how companies are treating personalization, not as an incremental initiative, but rather embedding it at key moments in the insurance experience, particularly underwriting and claims.

For example, New York Life highlighted how personalization is driving generational loyalty. We’ve been working with industry leading insurers to help drive personalization across the distribution network: carriers to agents and the final policyholder.

Success In Action: Our client wanted to integrate better contact center technology to improve internal processes and allow for personalized, proactive messaging to clients. We implemented Twilio Flex and leveraged its outbound notification capabilities to support customized messaging while also integrating their cloud-based outbound dialer and workforce management suite. The insurer now has optimized agent productivity and agent-customer communication, as well as newfound access to real-time application data across the entire contact center.

2. Holistic, Well-Connected Distribution Network

Insurance has always had a complex distribution network across platforms, partnerships, carriers, agents, producers, and more. Leveraging technology to manage these relationships opens opportunities to gain real-time insights and implement effective strategies, fostering holistic solutions and moving away from point solutions. Managing this complexity and maximizing the value of this network requires a good business and digital transformation strategy.

Our proprietary Envision process has been leading the way to help carriers navigate this complex system with proprietary strategy tools, historical industry data, and best practices.

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Process Automation

Not surprisingly, AI permeated many of the presentations and demos across the session. AI Offers insurers unique decisioning throughout the value chain to create differentiation. It was evident that while we often talk about AI as an overarching technology, the use cases were more point solutions across the insurance value chain. Moreover, AI is not here to replace the human, but rather assist the human. By automating the mundane process activities, mindshare and human capital can be invested toward more value-added activity and critical problems to improve customer experience. Because these point solutions are available across many disparate groups, organizational mandates demand safe and ethical use of AI models.

Our PACE framework provides a holistic approach to responsibly operationalize AI across an organization. It empowers organizations to unlock the benefits of AI while proactively addressing risks.

Our industry continues to evolve in delivering its noble purpose – to protect individual’s and businesses’ property, liability, and financial obligations. Technology is certainly an enabler of this purpose, but transformation must be managed to be effective.

Perficient Is Driving Success and Innovation in Insurance

Want to know the now, new, and next of digital transformation in insurance? Contact us and let us help you meet the challenges of today and seize the opportunities of tomorrow in the insurance industry.

Problem Statement:

Oracle Fusion Costing Distribution process will treat the Outside Processing (OSP) as ordinary items (Direct Material/Material).  If you are procuring direct items to work orders or have an outside service provided in a sub-assembly as a work order step, Oracle Cost Management solution will cost the two “items” as Direct Material given the Cost Component Mappings.  Also, if this is a standard costed assembly, OSP Portion will be shown as ordinary material at the standard cost definition of the item.  If in the beginning OSP Items are setup as regular items then identifying and reporting on OSP work and associating different costing methods can be a challenge.

There is a way to account for OSP charges separately.

Solution/Create:

• Cost Category and define the OSP items under this Cost Category.
• A new Cost element and have a new Component Group
• A new Cost Profile and associate the newly created Component Group
• Cost Profile Defaulting Rule

Results:

This approach will provide greater flexibility on setting a different cost method to OSP items.

Ability to define actual cost for OSP Items and see their variances in manufacturing as opposed to Procurement. (If the OSP is defined as standard costed item, the variance will be seen as Price Purchase Variance, if the OSP is defined as actual costed item, then the variance will be on the Work Order.  Did you know that you can define a standard cost for an item that has an Actual Costing profile!)

See the OSP Portion of the assembly cost as a separate cost element in Cost Rollup

Report and analyze OSP Cost in Work Order Cost separately

Contact

Contact Mehmet Erisen at Perficient for more information on how Perficient can help you implement Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain Management solutions

www.oracle.com 

www.perficient.com

Customizing IBM Sterling Store Engagement allows businesses to tailor the application to their specific needs, enhancing both functionality and user experience. This guide provides advanced tips and strategies for technical stakeholders who are involved in customizing the UI components of the IBM Sterling Store Engagement application. Here are some useful tips to start with the customization efforts.

Understanding the Architecture

Before you start customizing IBM Sterling Store Engagement, it’s essential to have a deep understanding of its architecture. The platform is built on a modular framework that leverages microservices, allowing for flexible and scalable customizations. Familiarize yourself with the key components, including the front-end (UI layer), back-end services, and the communication protocols between them. Knowing how these pieces interact will help you identify the best points for integration and customization. This foundational knowledge ensures that your customizations are both effective and maintainable, reducing the risk of conflicts and enhancing the overall stability of your deployment.

Directory Layout of the application

Understanding the UI structure

Before customizing UI components, familiarize yourself with the existing structure and layout of IBM Sterling Store Engagement. Identify the components you wish to modify or extend based on your business needs.

Customizing UI Component

To add a new flow in the UI, go to the <store-temp> directory, and run the following command:

yarn new-extension-feature –module-name=<module-name> –port=<port>

• Creates a new Angular application with prefix “isf” under <store-temp>/extensions/features/<module-name>.
• Installs single-spa-angular.
• Generates main.single-spa.ts in the src folder.
• Creates a lazy-loaded module with <module-name> in the src/app folder.
• Updates src/app-routing.module.ts with:
  – A route for the lazy-loaded module.
  – An EmptyRouteComponent for unmatched routes.
• Adds start and build scripts to package.json.
• Registers the application in <store-temp>/extensions/override-static-assets/root-config/custom/import-map.json.
• Generates i18n folders in src/assets for localization, including an empty en.json in src/assets/<module-name>/i18n.
• Sets up TranslateModule to load the appropriate translation bundle JSON files.

HTML and CSS Customization

Locate Component Files: Navigate to the relevant component directories in your project structure. Update the HTML templates (.html files) to reflect new layouts or incorporate additional functionality. Adjust CSS (.scss files) to match your brand’s design guidelines or improve visual appeal. Leverage Angular Material for consistent UI elements if applicable.

Enhancing Functionality of Angular Components and Services

Extend Component Logic: If required, extend TypeScript (*.ts) files to add or modify component behavior. Write the Business logic to invoke the mashup. Here’s a sample code snippet.

Service.ts file

import { Injectable } from '@angular/core';
import { MashupService, WizardService, AppCtxStore } from '@store/core';

@Injectable()
export class ExtnCustomDataService {

  private MASHUP_NAME = 'extn_isf_getOrderList';
  constructor(
    private _mashupService: MashupService,
  ) { }

  public getOrderList(input) {
    return this. _mashupService.callMashup(this. MASHUP_NAME, input,
      {'handleMashupError': true, 'showMask': false }).then(
        mashupOutput => this. _mashupService.getMashupOutput(mashupOutput, this. MASHUP_NAME),
        mashupError => Promise.reject(mashupError));
  }
}

Component.ts file

this._extnCustomDataService. getOrderList (inputMashup).then((output) => {
 //logic to handle the mashup output
});

Navigation to routes

Managing routing efficiently is key to a smooth user experience. Here’s how to handle routing. The new routes are present in <store-temp>/extensions/root-config/custom.

{"type": "route",
    "path": "shell/module_name",
    "routes": [
      {
        "type": "application",
        "name": "module_name"
      }
    ]
  }

Communication with different components

Angular components can communicate with each other in the following ways:

• Parent to Child: Using @Input() decorator to pass data from a parent component to a child component.
• Child to Parent: Using @Output() decorator and EventEmitter to send data from a child component to a parent component.
• Sibling Components: Using a shared service to exchange data and messages.
• Unrelated Components: Also using a shared service for data exchange.
• Component Interaction via ViewChild: Accessing child component methods and properties using @ViewChild decorator in the parent component.

Working with Mashups

Mashup layer is used for XAPI calls for handling data in the backend layer. Each XAPI call and multiple XAPI call are always called under one transaction. Each multiple XAPI is under one transaction. The mashup layer is a mixture of XAPIs and other mashups.

New custom Mashups

Save the Custom Mashups:
– Place your custom mashup files in the <runtime>/extensions/isf/webpages/mashupxmls/ directory.
– Ensure that each file name ends with _mashups.xml.Naming Convention:
– Use the following format for the mashup ID: extn_isf.<module_name>.<component_name>.<task>.

Overriding mashups

Extend an application-provided mashup by using the override extensibility, copy the existing mashups into files with names suffixed _overridemashups.xml in the <runtime>/extensions/isf/webpages/mashupxmls/ directory.

Incrementing mashups

Extend mashups incrementally, when you need attributes to be added to the mashup input or output, copy the existing mashup into files with names suffixed _incrementalmashups.xml in the <runtime>/extensions/isf/webpages/mashupxmls/ directory.

Copy the updated mashup file to appserver- /smcfs.ear/isf.war/extn/mashupxmls

restart the app-server to validate your changes.

Testing

To locally verify the new flow, start the application by running the following command,

• yarn start-app

Reference Links:

• IBM Sterling Store Engagement (Next-generation) – IBM Documentation
• Working with mashups – IBM Documentation
• Adding a new view and portlet – IBM Documentation
• Customizing micro front-end architecture-based user interface – IBM Documentation

Customers are demanding a personalized experience, and manufacturing is no different. One-size-fits-all manufacturing is now becoming a thing of the past. Today, we are seeing a decline in the mass production of identical products in exchange for personalization and niche products. As consumers intensify their expectations for on-demand personalization and delivery within days of purchase, marketplaces that offer wide ranges of options without sacrificing price or availability, like Amazon, have been capitalizing on this shift in customer behavior.

To achieve low costs while offering high availability and personalized products, manufacturers must alter their operations to be flexible, focusing on creating a wider range of products that share common underlying components or production processes. Perficient is committed to advising manufacturers as they face these new challenges outlined in Forrester’s recent report, “Key Steps to Develop Your Manufacturing Operations Management Vision.”

Our Manufacturing Operations Management Capabilities

Forrester interviewed several service providers and manufacturers to gain a holistic understanding of the current state of manufacturing operations management (MOM). The report outlines the importance of achieving variety while maintaining low cost and high availability to thrive in this new landscape. Ultimately, Forrester concluded that exploiting economies of scope – where the unit price of a product decreases as the variety increases – is the solution.

According to Forrester, “To thrive in fragmented and restless markets, manufacturers must compete on economies of scope, sharing fixed costs between multiple product or asset variants to deliver the innovation, choice, and personalization that will win, serve, and retain customers.” Further, Forrester stated, “… to compete with innovation, manufacturers must modernize their supply chain and manufacturing operations to manage — at scale and velocity — the digital thread that links design, manufacture, and the ongoing operation and maintenance of assets… and boost manufacturing execution system (MES) interoperability with enterprise resource planning (ERP) scheduling solutions…”

We believe Perficient is uniquely poised as an end-to-end digital consultancy with deep industry expertise to partner with manufacturing brands embarking on this journey. Our established practices, from supply chain to commerce, offer a customized strategy that meets the organization in its current state and execution that secures long-term success. Our supply chain experts routinely help organizations in sales and operations planning, strategic sourcing and spend control, procure to pay, inventory and materials management, operations continuation, risk management, end-to-end supply chain visibility, and more.

Finally, our partnerships with the other technology providers listed in Forrester’s report, such as Oracle and SAP, further equip us with the expertise needed to help brands navigate their modernization.

Perficient’s Manufacturing Industry Expertise

Forrester interviewed leaders from Perficient’s manufacturing and supply chain teams while researching this report. Kevin Espinosa, manufacturing industry lead at Perficient, remarked:

“We believe our participation as a company interviewed for the report on Manufacturing Operations Management is a testament to how critical our industry expertise is for manufacturing companies working to transform their operations and meet their customers needs.”

Perficient is excited to continue to share thought leadership and perspective on emerging trends in manufacturing operations management. For more information, download “Key Steps to Develop Your Manufacturing Operations Management Vision,” (available for purchase or to Forrester subscribers) or contact our manufacturing and supply chain experts today.

IBM OMS (Order Management System) upgrade process is to update an existing OMS system to a newer version. This upgrade can involve updating only OMS application or other dependent applications or software’s. The primary goal of an OMS upgrade is to improve the efficiency, scalability, and performance of order processing.

Multi-hop upgrade is to upgrade an existing OMS system or legacy IBM OMS application through multiple versions to a newer version. This type of upgrade is necessary when upgrading a much older version to the latest version (Example: IBM OMS 9.1 to OMS10.0). Multi-hop upgrades are very complex due to significant changes in the OMS software architecture, database schema, and other dependent software’s. These types of upgrades also allow us to mitigate the risk by applying and validating gradual upgrades.

 Multi-hop upgrade steps:

 1. Impact Analysis and Assessment

Analysis and Assessment plays a very important role in any upgrade, and these are much more important for multi-Hop as most of the dependent applications / software’s requires upgrades to be compatible with OMS latest versions. Careful verification of IBM OMS software’s compatible matrix is mandatory to plan and upgrade all the required software’s (Example: Linux OS, Java, Database, Application Server etc..).

Example:

2. POC / Environment setup

Preparing upgrades steps, upgrade scripts and executing those steps on a POC environment is important to reduce the risk and smooth upgrade process for higher environments.

POC Environment upgrade steps to upgrade in a multi-hop upgrade mode:

• 1. Setup a new Linux      box/environment same as existing DEV/QA box.
  2. Modify the sandbox.cfg, jdbc.properties to point to POC Database Schema.
  3. Build and deploy the new .ear file.
  4. Bring up the existing OMS application, agent, and integration servers on the POC environment.
  5. Run a high-level validation and make sure the current OMS application is up and running on POC box.
  6. Download and Copy OMS software’s, fix pack’s into POC environment.
  7. Install OMS software (Example: OMS 9.5) and execute OMS upgrade steps.
  8. Build and deploy a new OMS ear.
  9. Run high-level validations and make sure OMS upgrade is complete and OMS application is up and running on newer version.
  10. Create a snapshot of OMS Linux box.
  11. Take the OMS DB Backup / Create DB Restore points.
  12. Install OMS latest version (Example: OMS 10.0) and execute OMS upgrade steps.
  13. Run high-level validations and make sure OMS 10.0 upgrade is complete and OMS application is up and running on newer version.
  14. Bring up all the Agent and Integration servers and validate order flow.
  15. Monitor the transactional data flow, exceptions, alerts etc.

3. Executing upgrades in multi-hope mode in all the required environments

After the successful completion of multi-hop upgrade on POC environments, follow the same steps and upgrade other higher environments like, DEV, QA, Master Config, Pre-Production).

 4. Go-Live preparation, Production downtime and upgrade

Multi-hop upgrades typically take much longer time than the regular updates hence it is very important to plan for Production downtime, setting expectations with the business on the downtime. During the go-live window executing upgrade steps and verifying log files, output of each step is very crucial to avoid issues or risk of reverting back everything.

5. Rollback strategy

Planning rollback options and executing them on one or more lower environments is important as the multi-hop upgrade is very complex and incase if the entire upgrade needs to be reverted due to any issue or time constraints with respect to the production downtime window.

6. Post-Production validation and support

Validating all the critical interfaces, functionalities are very important as upgrades can contain significant changes in the OMS architecture, database schema, user interfaces, and functionalities. Identifying all the critical scenarios that are required to be covered will help us to plan the Production Go-Live and Rollback strategies.

Introducing Order Hub: Complete Fulfillment Network Management Solution

Order Hub, part of the IBM® Sterling Order Management System, is the ultimate tool for fulfillment and order management professionals. With its intuitive interface, contextual data, and key performance metrics, Order Hub empowers users to seamlessly translate business goals into actionable steps within their fulfillment network.

Monitoring Network with Ease

Order Hub allows users to effortlessly view various metrics and monitor nodes, orders, and shipments across the network. Stay on top of performance with customizable alert rules that help identify SLA and progress risks, all conveniently displayed on the workspace.

Take Control of Operations

Gain deep insights into nodes and orders with Order Hub’s extensive details. From changing node capacity to reassigning pending order releases, users have the power to optimize operations and maximize efficiency. Manage inventory effortlessly, from viewing item and SKU details to performing actions like moving inventory across nodes, adjusting safe stock, and setting fulfillment options.

Experience Seamless Management

With Order Hub, managing the fulfillment network has never been easier. Stay ahead of the curve and streamline the operations with this powerful interface designed to meet the needs of today’s dynamic business environment.

Unlock the full potential of fulfillment network with Order Hub – the comprehensive solution for modern order and fulfillment management.

Pre-requisite:

• Upgrade to IBM® Sterling Order Management System Software version 10.0.2209.1 or later: The latest version OMS software is required to access Order Hub, now available for on-premises installations since September 2022.
• Set up Nginx web server: Install Nginx on any server to serve the Order Hub UI content, allowing users to make REST API calls to the application server. Nginx’s efficient asset serving and caching capabilities enhance performance, while its deployment flexibility ensures seamless integration with the existing infrastructure.

A Step-by-Step Guide for Installation

1. Install nginx web server.
2. Install OrderHub:

• <INSTALL_DIR>/repository/orderhub

Here <INSTALL_DIR> is the Sterling OMS installation home directory.

• Extract the orderhub archive by running the following command:

tar xf orderhub.tar

• Grant the orderhub setup script the execute (x) permission by running the following command:

chmod +x orderhub-setup.sh

• Make a copy of the oh-setup.properties.sample file as oh-setup.properties by running the following command:

cp oh-setup.properties.sample oh-setup.properties

• Update the oh-setup.properties file.
  • Uncomment the HTML_DIRECTORY and CONFIG_DIRECTORY properties that are applicable to the operating system. If necessary, update them to point to installed web server’s HTML and configuration directories.
  • Update the OMS_APPSERVER_HOST property to point to the OMS environment.

• Run the Order Hub setup script:

./orderhub-setup.sh

• Go to /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf and add server details:

For https: add Port No., server_name, certificate and certificate_key for user application.

• Add below properties to:

<INSTALL_DIR>/properties/customer_overrides.properties

# Order Hub UI

xapirest.servlet.cors.enabled=true

xapirest.servlet.cors.allow.credentials=true

xapirest.servlet.jwt.auth.enabled=true

yfs.yfs.jwt.oms.verify.keyloader=jkstruststore

yfs.api.security.token.enabled=Y

• Configure JWT authentication:
  • Locate or create a keystore.
    • To create a keystore run the following command:

For example:

keytool -genkey -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -keystore jwtkeystore.jks -validity 365 -storetype JKS

-alias oms-default-jwt -storepass secret4ever -keypass secret4ever -dname “CN=oms, OU=oms, O=oms, L=oms, S=oms, C=US”

Where:

-keystore provides the keystore name, for example, key.jks.

-alias describes the alias name that is configured as part of JWT properties of Sterling Order Management System Software.

-storepass and -keypass provides the password for keystore.

• Add JVM system startup properties:

For example:

 -Dycp.jwt.auth.keyStore=/var/oms/keystore/jwtkeystore.jks

-Dycp.jwt.auth.keyStorePassword=secret4ever

-Dycp.jwt.auth.trustStore=/var/oms/keystore/jwtkeystore.jks

-Dycp.jwt.auth.trustStorePassword=secret4ever

• Set property in customer_override_properties file as:

yfs.api.security.token.enabled=Y

• Start or restart the web server.

Access Order Hub from the applicable URL:

http://<hostname>:<port>/order-management

https://<hostname>:<port>/order-management

Where hostname is the host name where the web server is running, and port is the port number that is configured in the web server configuration.

References:

• https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/order-management-sw/10.0?topic=hub-setting-up-order
• https://nginx.org/en/linux_packages.html

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is a financial estimate that helps consumers and enterprise managers determine direct and indirect costs of a product or system. It goes beyond the initial purchase price to consider other costs involved in procurement, operations, and maintenance over the system’s life. In the B2B market, understanding TCO is crucial as it impacts the return on investment and ultimately the bottom line.

Integrated WMS and OMS: A Game Changer

Warehouse Management System (WMS) and Order Management System (OMS) are two critical systems in the supply chain. When integrated, they form a powerful tool that enhances efficiency, reduces errors, and improves customer satisfaction.

An integrated OMS and WMS provide real-time visibility into inventory levels, order status, and warehouse operations. This integration ensures fast delivery at the lowest possible cost and eliminates the risk of overpromising.

Pre-built Capabilities vs. Self-built: A Comparison

Choosing between pre-built capabilities and self-built solutions in WMS and OMS depends on several factors, including the organization’s specific requirements, budget, and timeline.

Pre-built solutions offer faster implementation times and are often more cost-effective overall. They come equipped with tried-and-tested functionalities, reducing the time spent on research and development.

On the other hand, self-built solutions offer the promise of tailor-made functionality but come with the burden of development time, cost, and certain competitive weaknesses.

Scope Controls and Associated Risks

The integration of WMS and OMS brings about scope controls, which are necessary to ensure the project stays within the defined scope. However, it also comes with associated risks. This includes the potential for scope creep, integration challenges, and the need for continuous system maintenance and upgrades.

Optimizing and Leveraging Extensibility Framework from Korber

Brands are optimizing and leveraging the extensibility framework from Korber to enhance their supply chain operations. This involves using the framework to extend and customize the functionality of their WMS and OMS without impacting the scalability of the solution or incurring excessive costs.

Conclusion

Understanding the TCO in the B2B market and the benefits of integrating WMS and OMS can help businesses make informed decisions that enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction. Whether choosing pre-built capabilities or opting for self-built solutions, businesses must consider their specific needs, budget, and long-term goals. Leveraging frameworks like Korber can provide the flexibility and extensibility needed to meet the evolving demands of the market.

Providing accurate estimated delivery dates on your website is more than just a nice-to-have feature – it’s a crucial sales and customer experience driver that can significantly impact top-line sales while controlling bottom-line costs.

The Delivery Date Difference

Research shows that buyers who are given accurate delivery timeframes upfront are 7% more likely to complete their purchase. That’s an astounding 700 basis point increase in conversion rates just from displaying accurate dates, instead of date-ranges.

In today’s impatient world, buyers want an accurate promise made for when their order will arrive. Conversely, uncertain delivery timelines create frustration and cart abandonment. Trust is what’s at stake, and promises made that aren’t kept erode your brand’s value.

Providing clarity manages expectations and increases the likelihood of conversion. Customers appreciate the transparency and know they can continue to trust you.

The Operational Obstacle Course

While the benefits are clear, successfully displaying accurate delivery dates for orders is a monumental challenge involving interdependent systems across the entire supply chain. Here’s just a glimpse of the complex logistics:

• Order Management System – Capturing up-to-date inventory data, processing rules, order prioritization, etc.
• Labor Scheduling – Having enough warehouse/distribution staff for timely order fulfillment.
• Distribution Carriers – Integration with carrier tracking and ETAs based on destination.
• Manufacturing Visibility – For companies producing goods, insight into real-time production status.

Even a small hiccup or lack of data synchronization between these nodes can snowball and throw off your entire delivery date calculation. The underlying data, more importantly the dynamic nature of that data, is also a main cause of delays in the delivery promise. The effect is a well-intended effort to ensure a timely delivery that without the proper controls is dependent on a well-integrated set of systems and their underlying data.

The Competitive Advantage

Implementing an accurate, reliable delivery date system may seem daunting. But those who invest to get it right gain a powerful competitive advantage over peers still defaulting to vague “5-8 business day” shipment windows.

By bridging potential gaps between order management, production, warehouse management, distribution, and logistics systems, suppliers can provide the real-time delivery transparency that buyers crave. And capture more of that 7% revenue boost from increased conversion rates.

The Path to Precise Delivery Dates

While complex, confidently displaying delivery dates is an attainable goal.

It starts with a thorough assessment of your existing IT systems, data streams, process flows, and potential integration hurdles. Creating calculated, defensible delivery estimates also requires accurately modeling historical transit times and real-world delays from issues like weather events.

With a clear map of technical requirements and proactively designing fallback reporting when exceptions occur, companies can deploy delivery date capabilities that delight customers and drive more sales versus leaving that revenue on the table.

For many companies, going at it alone seems to be the best route given limited financial and human capital. While we’re all being asked to do more with less, this approach may backfire, as the path to showing delivery dates and continuing to optimize on the promise is ripe with risk along the way.

There’s no sense in going at it alone if you’re able to access guidance from a firm with specialization in this specific area. Supply chain technology partners that have delivered similar solutions can provide expertise in tying together multi-vendor systems, identifying risk areas, configuring data mappings, and optimizing delivery date logic for your unique business.

Contact us today to discuss how we can implement robust, accurate delivery date capabilities.

SCM | Supply Chain Management
Migration to the Cloud – August 2023 Go Live!

Caldera Medical, INC.

Business Challenge + Opportunity

Migrate existing footprint and business processes from Microsoft NAV into Oracle ERP and SCM Cloud (Fusion).  In addition to migrating Caldera Medical to Oracle Cloud for their Finance (ERP) and SCM needs (Procurement, Inventory, Order Management, Manufacturing) the solution needed to be U.S. Food & Drug Administration 21 CFR 11 Compliant.

Achievements:

• Sunset Microsoft NAV
• Transformed and converted Inventory Items from NAV to Oracle Fusion
• Streamlined the manufacturing process and created Item Structures and Work Definitions and migrated to Oracle Fusion cloud
• Implemented Oracle Procure to Pay solution in support of Caldera’s business process
• Created Industry specific custom Accounts Receivables invoice using product traceability
• Implemented Oracle SCM e-Signatures for compliance purposes for Item Management, Work Definitions, Manufacturing and Inventory processes
• Implemented Order Management with freight carrier integration to populate the shipping charges and generating shipment labels automatically
• Achieved costing control using standard costing and cost rollups
• Empowered the business by providing Oracle Transactional BI reports to Caldera’s business needs
• Two-way Salesforce integration for Customer maintenance and Sales Order data

Contact Mehmet Erisen at Perficient for more introspection of this phenomenal achievement.  Congratulations to Caldera Medical and their entire staff!

www.oracle.com

www.perficient.com

In the dynamic landscape of e-commerce, the demand for flexible and tailored solutions has never been more pronounced. IBM Sterling Store 2.0 stands as a robust platform, offering a comprehensive suite of features for businesses striving to enhance their online retail experiences. However, the true potential of this platform lies in the hands of adept application developers who can harness the power of customization. In this blog, we delve into the realm of IBM Sterling Store 2.0 customization, unraveling a collection of invaluable tips and tricks for application developers. Whether you are embarking on a new customization project or seeking to optimize an existing implementation, these insights aim to empower developers with the knowledge needed to navigate the intricacies of IBM Sterling Store 2.0 customization effectively.

Installing the Dependencies:

It is crucial to install essential UI dependencies, including Yarn, Angular, and Lerna. To ensure a smooth integration, be mindful of the accurate versions required, which undergo regular updates corresponding to IBM OMS version upgrades. For precise and up-to-date information on these dependency versions, it is highly recommended to refer the IBM documentation.

Recommended IDE:

You can use any IDE or development tools of your choice. However, it is recommended that you use the Microsoft Visual Studio Code IDE to have a similar development experience as that of the product application developers.

Bash Based Terminals:

Angular project development commonly relies on the Angular CLI and npm scripts, both crafted to function seamlessly within a command-line environment. GitBash, a Bash Terminal, stands out as a powerful and consistent interface, unlike what command prompt or PowerShell provides.

Browser compatibility settings:

When starting the development server for the IBM Sterling Store 2.0, it is recommended that you launch the Google Chrome browser in the web security disabled mode. This is to ensure that your browser does not block any cross-origin HTTP requests made from your local Sterling Store Engagement application.

• For windows, run the following command:

          chrome.exe –user-data-dir=”C:\tmp” –disable-web-security

• For Mac, run the following command:

    open /Applications/Google\ Chrome.app –args –disable-web-security –user-data-dir=/tmp

Mashup Endpoint settings:

Designed with flexibility in mind, IBM Sterling Store 2.0 allows you to serve your local micro-frontend applications using your client’s development or QA environment. Alternatively, you have the option to serve the applications directly from your local Devtoolkit. To accomplish the latter, follow the steps outlined below.

• Update the hostname and port in app-config-overrides.json.

• Update the Mashup Endpoint in webpack.config.js (inside store-root-app).

Local Development Server:

As all the micro-frontend applications are running locally, it results in a high memory consumption. Due to which you might experience performance degradation. And at times, the application might not respond. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you first set serveAllAppsFromLocal=false in app-config-overrides.json and then develop customizations.

Local Development Server Port:

If, after initiating the Development Server successfully, you encounter a persistent white screen during the page load, it is advisable to double-check the local port configuration. Occasionally, the designated port might already be in use by another application, such as a client VPN or other development servers, causing the issue. In such instances, redirect your micro-frontend application to an available port and proceed by restarting the server.

• update the port in app-config.json.

• update the port in webpack.config.js (inside store-root-app).

Store 2.0 Modules that does not support customization:

Modules located in the following directory do not support customization.

• packages/apps/store-root-app
• packages/libs/common-components
• Applications defined in core-import-map.json.

Extending the application provided Screens:

• Extend the home screen of IBM Sterling Store 2.0 using the CLI command: (example).

              yarn override-route –module-Name=home-extn –override-Module-Name=home

             –override-Component-Folder-Name=portlets-page –port=5006

• The CLI command only copies the files that are present in the component folder. If the extended component imports files that are outside of the component folder, ensure that you manually copy such files to the appropriate location within the new extension application. Also, ensure that you import and declare in the <store-temp>/extensions/features/<module-name>/src/app/features/<module-name>/<module-name>.module.ts extension module file.

Extending the application provided Modals:

It is similar to extending the application provided screens but here are a few tips for developers.

• If you’ve already extended an application that offers screens with modals as child folders, there’s no need to extend those modals separately if you intend to customize them.
• If you are extending a modal that has not been customized previously, you can utilize the following script to override the specific modal. Override the Identify Customer modal in IBM Sterling Store 2.0 using the CLI command: (example).

           yarn override-modal –application-provided-modal-id=functional-components.identify-customer-modal

• The CLI command copies only the files that are present in the component folder. If the extended component imports files outside of the component folder, ensure that you manually copy such files to the appropriate location within the new modal component folder. Also, ensure that you import and declare in the app.module.ts file that is present in the <store-temp>/extensions/features/override_modals/src/app folder.
• If the application-provided modal sends data to the parent screen, the custom modal must also send data to the parent screen. Ensure that you retain the original data model schema without modifying the type or removing any attributes from the data object.

Extending the mashups:

Mashups need to be copied to <runtime>/extensions/isf/webpages/mashupxmls/ for extensibility.

• For incremental modifications limited to input or output attributes, extend the mashups by appending “_incrementalmashups.xml” to the existing mashup file.
• To override the API with a service or incorporate custom mashup class updates or additions, extend the mashups by appending “_overridemashups.xml.” to the existing mashup file.
  

Extending and packaging the custom mashup classes:

• Within the mashup layer, mashup classes constitute an intermediate Java framework layer, offering enhanced flexibility for data manipulation or the invocation of additional mashups. This capability proves invaluable in addressing complex business use cases.

 Eg- Highlighted below is the class you can extend; create a custom class by extending this class and update the name of the custom class accordingly.

• Create a JAR file for your custom mashup classes and ensure jar is copied inside <Runtime>/repository/eardata/isf/extn/WEB-INF/lib. Once EAR is built, it will be copied to appropriate location required by the WAR.

Debugging the customizations:

• The appMode=dev property is not supported.
• You can debug the application-provided source code and customization code only in the local development environment. Eg- You can leverage the VS code Debugging option to start the instance in debugging mode.

• Create a Launch.json file as a prerequisite:

In the ever-evolving landscape of e-commerce, the ability to adapt and tailor solutions to meet unique business requirements is paramount. IBM Sterling Store 2.0, with its myriad features, opens the door to endless possibilities for application developers. By embracing the tips and tricks elucidated in this blog, developers can not only unlock the full potential of the platform but also streamline their customization processes. As businesses continue to strive for differentiation and excellence in the digital marketplace, the art of customization becomes a key differentiator. Armed with these insights, application developers can embark on their customization journeys with confidence, ensuring that IBM Sterling Store 2.0 becomes a canvas for innovation and a catalyst for elevated online retail experiences.

In the dynamic world of business-to-business (B2B) distribution, mastering the art of distribution can be both rewarding and challenging. Distributors play a crucial role in the supply chain, acting as intermediaries between manufacturers and end customers.

Turning B2B challenges into opportunities often requires a proactive, adaptable, and innovative approach. It’s essential to stay customer-focused, monitor industry trends, and be open to change to remain competitive and thrive in the ever-evolving B2B landscape.

Perficient recently took place in Optimizely’s B2B Summit. We spoke alongside experts at Optimizely and TestEquity and addressed how economic headwinds across 2022 and 2023 have impacted the growth of B2B vendors. We covered industry insights and actionable tips to optimize the B2B commerce experience all of which we will dive into below.

We’ll explore key strategies to help you master B2B as a distributor and transform abundant challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation.

• Changing Customer Needs: Know, adapt, and evolve with your customers. Tailor offers according to emerging trends and customer pain points through market research. Explore the idea of using CRM systems to drive customer retention and referrals to better understand and cater to customer needs, which are more cost-effective.
• Data Security Concerns: Invest in robust data security measures to reassure customers. Emphasize your commitment to protecting sensitive information as a competitive advantage.
• Lack of Innovation: Encourage, generate, and implement ideas that can lead to new products or services. Foster a culture of innovation within your organization.
• Limited Marketing Resources: Leverage digital marketing and social media to cost-effectively reach a broader audience. Collaborate with complementary businesses for co-marketing opportunities.
• Environmental Sustainability Demands: Develop eco-friendly products or services and highlight your commitment to sustainability as a unique selling point.
• Global Expansion Challenges: Identify overseas markets with high growth potential and adapt your strategy to cater to local preferences and regulations.
• Technological Advancements: Embrace emerging technologies like AI, IoT, and blockchain to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and gain a competitive edge.

Leveraging technologies that allow buyers and sellers to stay connected is more important now than ever. Punchout is a procurement technology solution that plays a significant role in helping B2B businesses achieve business growth.

Streamlined Procurement Process:

• Many B2B businesses struggle with complex and time-consuming procurement processes. Punchout streamlines this by allowing buyers to access a supplier’s catalog directly from their procurement system. This simplifies the ordering process, leading to quicker transactions and reduced administrative overhead.

Improved Customer Experience:

• Providing an intuitive punchout experience enhances customer satisfaction. Buyers can easily browse, compare, and purchase products within their procurement systems, leading to higher retention rates and increased wallet share.

Increasing Wallet Share, Retention, and Loyalty:

• B2B companies can grow their business by offering punchout catalogs that integrate seamlessly with buyers’ procurement systems. This makes it convenient for existing customers to continue doing business and attracts new customers looking for streamlined procurement solutions.

Customized Offerings:

1. • With punchout, suppliers can offer customized catalogs and pricing to individual buyers or specific customer groups. This personalization can lead to higher sales and loyalty as it caters to each customer’s unique needs.

Data-Driven Insights:

1. • Punchout systems generate data on buyer behavior and preferences. Suppliers can analyze this data to gain insights into customer needs and purchasing patterns, enabling them to make data-driven decisions to improve their offerings and marketing strategies.

Reduced Errors and Discrepancies:

1. • Punchout systems help eliminate errors and discrepancies in the procurement process, such as incorrect product orders or pricing disputes. This leads to smoother transactions and improved customer relationships.

Increased Efficiency for Procurement Teams:

1. • Procurement teams can use punchout to simplify the purchasing process and focus on more strategic tasks, such as supplier negotiations and cost savings initiatives, ultimately driving efficiency and cost reductions.

Competitive Advantage:

1. • Offering punchout capabilities can give a supplier a competitive edge in the B2B market. It shows a commitment to making the procurement process easier for customers, which can attract businesses looking for modern and efficient suppliers.

Integration with e-Commerce Platforms:

1. • Many B2B businesses are expanding their online presence. Punchout can integrate with e-commerce platforms, allowing suppliers to extend their reach and sell products seamlessly through various channels.

Cross-Selling and Upselling:

1. • Suppliers can use punchout to suggest complementary products or upsell higher-margin items, increasing the average order value and revenue.

Supply Chain Visibility:

1. • By integrating punchout systems with supply chain management tools, suppliers can provide buyers with real-time visibility into inventory levels, order statuses, and shipping information, enhancing trust and transparency.

Compliance and Governance:

1. • Punchout can support compliance with procurement policies and governance requirements. This makes it easier for buyers to ensure they are adhering to internal and external regulations.

In summary, punchout solutions can help B2B businesses address various growth challenges by improving the procurement process, enhancing customer experiences, providing data-driven insights, and increasing operational efficiency. Implementing punchout capabilities strategically can lead to business growth opportunities and a competitive advantage in the B2B marketplace.

If you’d like to learn more, click here to watch our recent webinar with Optimizely and TestEquity, which dives deeper into the art of mastering B2B as a distributor. Also, read more about the impact of punchout between buyers and sellers here.

Failure to address these challenges up front could result in reputational damage and diminished brand impact. In this article, we cover key areas that require careful consideration when reevaluating channel strategies to ensure a seamless shift to D2C success.

1. Refined Channel Strategy

This initial step involves meticulous product selection and assortment planning. Conducting a margin analysis for the product lineup is imperative, with strategies evolving around initial categories and subsequent expansions. Beyond the physical attributes of products, other factors like ease of presentation, content creation, and ongoing product data management hold the potential to be decisive factors in digital channel conversions.

The D2C model, in contrast to wholesale, necessitates heightened product lifecycle management and product master data administration. Additional time may be needed to set up items before activating, and several processes may need to be reviewed and reconsidered based on requirements around product activation.

2. Precision In Inventory Management and Availability

Alongside a curated product list, a critical assessment revolves around inventory management and the formulation of publishing rulesets.

Unlike conventional ERP solutions, these rules often reside within an Order Management System (OMS). Incorporating a D2C channel into the mix can complicate inventory tracking, particularly if the wholesale and consumer inventories coexist. This complexity extends to warehouse management systems, potentially requiring virtual segmentation tracking and intricate inventory availability rules governance.

Establishing an initial conservative inventory availability strategy is prudent, reducing the risk of over-promising and subsequently jeopardizing customer retention.

3. Navigating Order Processing Complexity and Customer Service

Once products are curated and inventory is streamlined, executing orders and managing the extended supply chain come to the forefront. Shifting from manufacturing order profiles with numerous lines to D2C profiles averaging one to two lines necessitates a recalibration of support systems. Evaluating new call-center functionalities becomes pivotal, especially if items are prone to delays, damages, or customer dissatisfaction, necessitating appeasements or discounts.

Payment integration and security certifications also merit consideration as payment modes transition from invoicing in B2B models to credit cards, PayPal, and gift cards in a direct model.

4. Returns and Refunds Capabilities

Return and refund policies stand as substantial distinctions between wholesale and D2C models. Designing a D2C returns policy encompassing return timelines, fees, and inventory disposition impacts inventory management and operational support. Customer service representatives handling Returns Merchandise Authorization (RMA) processes must adapt to new screens and procedures. Payment refund dynamics differ significantly, with D2C refunds being immediate compared to wholesale returns that often influence account balances.

5. Enhancing Operational and Sales Reporting

The introduction of complexity warrants a comprehensive review of sales and operational reporting. Modifications can range from minor additions to dashboards to a complete overhaul of reporting structures. D2C businesses require faster data flows, necessitating intraday reporting and real-time alerts to address operational challenges promptly.

6. Integration Technology as the Backbone

Underpinning these operational considerations lies a technological transformation. Shifting from batch-driven, large-file exchanges between legacy systems to API-driven synchronous integrations introduces the need for integration platforms. This transition not only streamlines data management but also aligns with operational support strategies.

The shift from wholesale to D2C models offers manifold benefits while introducing an array of integration challenges. By meticulously addressing inventory management, order processing, customer service, and technological integration, manufacturing companies can navigate these hurdles and establish a thriving D2C presence, fortifying brand impact, and customer relationships.

Click here to learn more about our strategic position on Direct to Consumer for Manufacturing, or to schedule a briefing with our team.