Oracle Configurator

Oracle Configurator is a strategic guided selling and configuration product providing next generation, state-of-the-art Configurator technology with Oracle Configurator, customers can configure custom products and services that meet their needs. Through an interactive guided selling session, customer requirements are gathered and mapped to a set of product options. As the customer provides information, follow-on questions and options are focused to include only the choices that meet the customers’ requirements. Oracle Configurator interactive configuration engine provides real-time feedback about the impact of each selection in the form of prompts and warning messages that guide the customer to a valid solution.

Oracle Configurator application integrates with Oracle CRM and Supply Chain Management so you can offer guided selling to your customers. It actively gathers customer requirements and  then maps them to a set of product or service options. Oracle Configurator supports Internet sales and telesales as well as other channels.

Oracle Configurator consists of the following:

• The CZ schema: A subschema within the Oracle Applications database that stores configuration model data.
• Oracle Configurator Developer: An application based on the Oracle Applications (OA) Framework that is used to develop a configuration model and a configurator.
• The runtime Oracle Configurator: The end-user environment in which users configure orderable products or service

If you are installing Oracle Applications Release 12 for the first time, the CZ schema, Oracle Configurator Developer, and the runtime Oracle Configurator are installed by running Oracle Rapid Install. If you are upgrading an existing Oracle Configurator installation, see Upgrading to this Release.

Oracle Configurator & Configurator Developer
Oracle Configurator Developer is an Oracle Applications product that enables you to rapidly develop a configuration model and a configurator.

A configurator is the part of an application that provides custom configuration capabilities. A configurator is usually launched from a host application, such as Oracle Order Management or iStore, and displays the selected configuration model to the end user. During an Oracle Configurator session, an end user makes selections and specifies requirements for the product or service being configured. At the end of a configuration session, the Oracle Application dialog page is displayed before the host application returns to the foreground. Oracle Configurator collects the customer's requirements and, using the Model definition and rules you defined in Configurator Developer, ensures that the end user creates a valid configuration.

• A configurator can be thought of as a selling tool. The Model bill serves as a guide to selecting configuration options. A configuration created during an Oracle Configurator session is based on an already existing Model bill and results in a standard manufacturing bill of materials. Configurations do not have to be based on existing Model bills of material, although that is currently necessary for ordering and downstream ERP applications

• Oracle Configurator Developer consists of a Repository and a Workbench. These areas provide the tools you use when creating and maintaining configuration models.

Repository
Use the areas of the Configurator Developer Repository to organize Models and manage objects such as Effectivity Sets, Usages, UI Templates, Items and Item Types, Properties, Configurator Extensions, and Model Publications

Workbench
The different areas of the Configurator Developer Workbench provide tools for creating, modifying, and testing Model structure, configuration rules, and UI definitions. In the User Interface area, for example, you can generate a User Interface that is based on the Model structure, and then edit it to meet your product's unique requirements.

Hierarchical Structure
Oracle Configurator Developer displays many objects, such as the Model, configuration rules, and a generated User Interface, in a hierarchy. This structure shows how elements are related to each other and indicates which objects contain other objects. When an object contains other objects, a parent and child relationship exists between them. For example, within a Model, Component A contains Feature X, Y, and Z. In this relationship, Component A is the parent and the Features are its children.

Each object within the Model structure is called a node. The node at the top of this structure is always a Model, and is called the root node. The Rules area of the Workbench and the User Interface area of the Workbench also display objects in a hierarchy (for example, rules, Folders, and UI elements), to indicate how they are organized and their relationship to other objects.