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Tablespace Model and Migration Utility


The Oracle Applications Tablespace Model (OATM) uses twelve consolidated tablespaces^(including three system tablespaces: temporary, system and undo segments) and provides support for locally managed tablespaces. OATM was introduced in Release 11i.10. In prior 11i releases of the E-Business Suite, each product was allocated two tablespaces, one for data and one for indexes.
The Migration Utility is a menu-based PERL program and a series of sizing estimate reports that enables conversion of E-Business Suite applications schemas either in a single comprehensive migration or a phased, schema-by-schema migration. In general Oracle recommends performing a single comprehensive migration, however this requires a sufficient amount of down time and disk space. Oracle does not support partial migration of tablespaces. You must still migrate all schemas when performing a phased schema-by-schema migration.
With OATM, each database object is mapped to a tablespace based on its Input/Output characteristics, which include object size, life span, access methods and locking granularity. This model allows for easier maintenance, and reduced space usage for the E-Business Suite.
Migrating database objects to OATM provides the following benefits:

  1. Fewer and more consolidated tablespaces
  2. Locally Managed Tablespaces
  3. Accounts for the I/O characteristics of an object
  4. Reclaims space after migration
  5. Real Application Cluster (RAC) Support

The advantages of OATM’s product tablespaces are best understood in terms of the tablespace model that preceded it. This model contained two tablespaces for each Oracle Applications product. One tablespace was allocated for tables and one for indexes. In this model, the standard naming convention for tablespaces contained the product’s Oracle schema name with a suffix of either “D” for “Data” tablespaces or “X” for “Index” tablespaces. For example, the tablespaces APD and APX were the default tablespaces for Oracle Payables tables and indexes, respectively.
In contrast to the previous tablespace model, OATM contains nine default tablespaces for applications objects in addition to Undo, Temp and System database tablespaces. Indexes on transaction tables are held in a separate tablespace dedicated for transaction table indexes whereas all other indexes are held in the same tablespace as the parent/base table.
All Oracle Applications product schemas now have a default tablespace set to point to the TRANSACTION_TABLES tablespace type for data objects and the TRANSACTION_INDEXES tablespace type for index objects.
^A tablespace is a database storage unit that groups related logical structures together. The database data files are stored in tablespaces.

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Measure Supply Chain Performance

Given the increased attention and scrutiny your investors are applying to the supply chain’s impact on a company’s financial performance, you need a yardstick to clearly measure your Supply Chain performance. One of the most followed and detailed performance metrics are encompassed in the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model. The SCOR model provides an industry-standard approach to analyze, design, and implement changes to improve performance throughout five integrated supply chain processes — plan, source, make, deliver and return

Plan
Assess supply resources; aggregate and prioritize demand requirements; plan inventory for Distribution, production, and material requirements; and plan rough-cut capacity
Source
Receive, inspect, store, hold, issue, and authorize payment for raw materials and purchased finished goods
Make
Request and receive material; manufacture and test product

Deliver
Execute order management processes; generate quotations; configure product; create and maintain a customer database; maintain a product/price database; manage accounts receivable, credits, collections, and invoicing; execute warehouse processes, including pick, pack, and configure; create customer-specific packaging/labeling; consolidate orders; ship products; manage transportation processes and import/export
Return

Process defective, warranty, and excess returns, including authorization, scheduling, inspection, transfer, warranty administration, receiving and verifying defective products, disposition, and replacement

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Creating warranty contract

When individuals or business buy products or equipments, manufacturers provide free warranty coverage for certain period of time. Oracle Applications provides a functionality to create warranty contracts on each serviceable products shipped from the manufacturer. 
To achieve the above functionality, you need to setup on the below:
1. Define Coverage (Service Contracts)
2. Mark the finished product as Install base trackeable & Enabled contract coverage (Inventory)
3. Define warranty item with warranty period (Inventory)
4. Include warranty item in the Finished Product Bill of Material (BOM)

Once you ship the finished product, it would create an item instance and subsequently create a warranty contract

Related Profile Options
OKS: Consolidate Warranty for Multiple Orders
Determines if an order for products with warranties, sold in Order Management, should be consolidated when the service contract is created. Similar warranties are grouped on a single contract rather than creating separate contracts
OKS: Contracts Validation Source
Allows the user to define the organization information that should be referenced when automatically creating a contract
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CRM For beginners

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a process or methodology used to learn more about customers’ needs and behaviors in order to develop stronger relationships with them. CRM helps businesses gain insight into the behavior of customers. This in turn can help businesses to Provide better customer service, Increase customer revenues, Discover new customers,
Cross sell/Up Sell products more effectively, Help sales staff close deals faster,Make call centers more efficient and Simplify marketing and sales processes. CRM is more than just technology, its a strategy. It is about the interactions of the entire business with your customers.

Typically a CRM solution would cover broad areas of Marketing, Sales and Service.

Things are looking bright for CRM professionals over the next year, according to a number of recent reports, job boards and industry developments. Year 2007 has seen couple of postponement of CRM projects just for the simple reason of unavailability of skilled consultants. That shortage of skills seems to be translating into increased pay for those that have them. Last year, the financial services industry had the most demand for CRM jobs, followed by manufacturing and healthcare & then services.

Major players in the CRM domain are SAP, Oracle and Microsoft. With Siebel, Oracle CRM and Peoplesoft CRM customers to serve, it seems that Oracle would be busy in serving the huge client base as well as getting them togther.

Oracle’s acquisition of Siebel will hit SAP hard and make it more difficult for Microsoft to make inroads into the enterprise market. So its all going to be interesting !

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Oracle Cost Management – Standard costing

Standard costing is used by Customers who employ predetermined costs for valuing inventory and for charging material, resource, overhead, period close, and job close and schedule complete transactions. Differences between standard costs and actual costs are recorded as variances.

Manufacturing industries typically use standard costing. Costs of items can be shared across organizations using standard costing.

The unit cost of any item is the sum of the costs of all the cost elements.
There are 5 cost elements, which are defined as follows:

1. Material — The raw material/component cost at the lowest level of the bill of
material determined from the unit cost of the component item.

2. Material Overhead — The overhead cost of material, which can be used for any costs attributed to direct material costs.

3. Resource — Direct costs, such as people (labor), machines, space, or miscellaneous charges, required to manufacture products.

4. Overhead — The overhead cost of resource and outside processing, which is
used as a means to allocate department costs or activities.

5. Outside Processing — This is the cost of outside processing purchased from a supplier.

Sub-elements can be used as smaller classifications of the cost elements. Each cost element must be associated with one or more sub-elements. An amount or rate is attached to each sub element.

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