At Walpole Partnership we have made a selection of the key Release highlights of Oracle CPQ Cloud 24C & 24D. They are as follows:
Add Unconfigured Models to a Transaction (Line-Item Grid)
With this feature, users can streamline the process of managing and configuring models by adding them to transactions through REST API web services, even if they haven’t been configured yet. The unconfigured state icon “O” helps keep track of items that still need configuration, and the ability to reconfigure these models directly from the Line-Item Grid can significantly improve efficiency and user experience.
This feature provides a consistent method to add unconfigured models to a transaction.
Cascade child models in system configuration initialisation
In Oracle CPQ Release 24C, cascading child models during system configuration initialisation typically involves setting up and managing the relationships between various entities or models within the system. This can be crucial for ensuring that configurations are properly initialised and that the relationships between different configurations are correctly established.
Previously, system configuration initialisation would add child models, but customers with large systems had to navigate to every child model to initialise the rules execution. Oracle CPQ 24C provides the ability to initialise rules for child models during system configuration initialisation. During system configuration, any child models which are added will automatically be configured with their default values.
New models added to a System Configuration are immediately configured using default and rule-defined values.
- Automatic configuration will continue for descendant models added by the new model’s rules.
- Each configured System Model is marked with the appropriate status icon in the System Navigation Panel.
Triggering rules for cascading child models during system configuration initialization reduces errors and the amount of time required to configure large system configurations.
Product Search
Oracle CPQ 24C integrates various product search mechanisms, including Quick Add, Simple, and Advanced Parts Search to offer enhanced usability and functionality for product search. The product search UI includes a prominent search bar, advanced filtering options, auto-suggestions, and the ability to sort and filter results.
The new product search improves productivity and delivers a seamless and user-centric product search experience allowing users to easily locate the right products for their customers from a single, cohesive platform.
Commerce Cloud Self-Service Portal – CPQ Integration
The Oracle Commerce Cloud (OCC) Self-Service Portal – CPQ Integration provides a seamless connection between Oracle’s eCommerce platform and the Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) application. This integration enhances customer experience by allowing users to configure complex products, generate accurate quotes, and make purchases directly through the self-service portal of Oracle Commerce Cloud.
Dynamic Attribute-Based Matrix Pricing for Price Model and Price Agreements
This feature enables Oracle CPQ users to define and manage prices dynamically based on a wide array of attributes. It supports a more flexible approach to pricing by allowing for complex conditional pricing rules.
The Price Model feature offers more flexibility in defining pricing rules and conditions. In version 24C, Oracle CPQ provides enhancements to make price models more adaptive and scalable.
Oracle CPQ 24C’s Dynamic Attribute-Based Matrix Pricing and Price Agreements are designed to help businesses manage complex pricing strategies with flexibility and precision. These features support dynamic pricing scenarios where multiple factors influence the final price, and they ensure that contract terms and special agreements are consistently applied during the quoting process.
Support BML Scripting Before and After Pricing Engine Calculations
In Oracle CPQ 24C (2024 release), enhancements related to Before and After Pricing Engine Calculations introduce new capabilities for configuring and customizing the pricing process using BML (BigMachines Language) scripts. These features allow administrators to execute BML scripts at different points during the pricing calculation process, improving flexibility and control over pricing logic
Key Benefits include:
- Fine-tuned control over pricing logic by pre-processing data.
- Avoids complex rework after pricing calculations by adjusting data at the source.
- Helps implement custom business rules, like price overrides or specific discount conditions.
The Before and After Pricing Engine Calculations feature in Oracle CPQ 24C offers powerful tools for customising and refining pricing logic using BML scripting. By allowing scripts to execute at different stages of the pricing workflow, Oracle CPQ provides greater flexibility to meet specific business pricing needs while maintaining the integrity and performance of the pricing engine.
This feature is a key enhancement for businesses that require advanced pricing configurations and want to ensure full control over every step of the pricing calculation process.
Add Favourite Products to a Transaction
In Oracle CPQ 24D, the “Add Favourite Products to a Transaction” feature allows users to quickly add frequently used or saved products to a transaction from their list of favourites. This simplifies the quote-building process, especially for sales teams who regularly work with specific product sets.
CPQ Favourites allows customers to save, share, and add favourite products to a transaction. Beginning in Oracle CPQ 24D customers can retrieve and add favourite products to a transaction using REST API web services.
This feature provides support to consistently add favourite products to a transaction.
Commerce Standard Process Enhancements
Oracle CPQ 24D provides Standard Process support for the following:
- A default Deal Analytics tab is automatically added to the transaction layout when a new Standard Process is created.
- Keyword Search is automatically enabled when a new Standard Process is created.
- The Document Designer Proposal Document template is now available in the Standard Process for new site installations.
- The “Add From Favorites” main document action is now available on the transaction layout when a new Standard Process is created. This action allows users to quickly access their Favourites List directly from the Transaction UI.
The Standard Process provides out-of the box functionality for analytics, keyword search, proposal documents, and favourites.
Performance Debugger for Configuration Actions
Beginning in Oracle CPQ 24D, administrators can use the new Performance Debugger REST API to create granular performance logs for Configuration Configure and Upgrade actions. The log will record the Time (in milliseconds) for the associated rule conditions and actions. They can then use bulk download services to retrieve a CSV format log for analysis.
The Performance Debugger allows administrators to create logs to analyze the performance of Configuration actions.
Create and Migrate Packages via CLI
In Oracle CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) 24D, creating and migrating packages via the CLI (Command Line Interface) is an essential feature for automating and managing the configuration and deployment of packages across different environments, such as development, staging, and production.
The Oracle CPQ Developer Toolkit allows administrators and developers to manage CPQ technical artifacts. The Developer Toolkit is a combination of Command Line Interface (CLI) and open REST APIs that allow customers to communicate with their CPQ sites. The Developer Toolkit is enabled to be used with Commerce and Util BML Libraries. This client-side tool can change the way administrators work with BML code. Refer to Oracle CPQ Developer Toolkit for detailed information.
Beginning in Oracle CPQ 24D, the Developer Toolkit CLI can also be used to create, list, download, and migrate packages. Customers may want to automate their tasks using the Developer Toolkit commands. This can reduce the amount of time spent performing migration tasks via the Oracle CPQ User Interface. The CPQ Developer Toolkit CLI supports the following CLI commands and migration activities.
Share Quote Proposal Documents with Oracle Commerce Cloud Self-Service Portal Buyers
Oracle CPQ 24D introduces a key enhancement that allows the sharing of quote proposal documents with Oracle Commerce Cloud (OCC) Self-Service Portal buyers. With this feature, buyers can now view and request proposal documents directly from the portal. Here’s how it works:
- Requesting Proposal Documents: OCC buyers can request proposal documents for a quote in the Acceptance phase. Once the request is made, Oracle CPQ automatically generates the document and sends it to the buyer through the Self-Service Portal.
- Cart Integration: Buyers can also request documents for products in their Self-Service Portal cart. When this request is made, CPQ generates a new quote, attaches the proposal document, and directs the buyer to the quote list for review.
- Efficiency Boost: This functionality increases convenience for buyers and helps streamline the sales process for sellers, reducing the overall cost of sales.
To utilise this feature, you’ll need to enable it via the Oracle CPQ administration settings. It is not active by default and requires setup before becoming available to users.
This is just one of the enhancements in CPQ 24D aimed at improving integration with the Oracle Commerce Cloud and creating a more seamless buyer experience.
Support JSON Format for DocuSign Connect Messages
In Oracle CPQ’s 24D release, a key feature introduced is the support for JSON format for DocuSign Connect messages. This enhancement allows DocuSign to send event notifications to Oracle CPQ in both XML and JSON formats. Previously, only XML was supported, but with this update, you can now use JSON to receive event-based notifications, such as when an eSignature envelope is signed or declined.
The messages are validated using DocuSign’s HMAC security protocol, and a secure “Connect Key” from DocuSign is required for authenticating these messages. JSON support applies to both Simple Integration Model (SIM) and Aggregate modes, offering more flexibility in integration setups
This feature needs to be enabled by the administrator within Oracle CPQ for it to be used, and can be set up through the Oracle CPQ Admin Portal.
Download Oracle CPQ Business Metrics to .CSV File
In Oracle CPQ 24D, you can now download business metrics, such as API, Login, and Quote metrics, directly to a .CSV file. This functionality is aimed at FullAccess users with administrative permissions and allows for easy access to these metrics over 24-hour UTC intervals. Key metrics available for export include:
- API Metrics: Track web services usage, eCommerce interactions, and disk space consumption.
- Login Metrics: Monitor internal and partner user activity, including login percentages and active users.
- Quote Metrics: Analyze the number of quotes created, both internal and partner, and evaluate quote performance with response time data.
To enable this feature, administrators need access to either General Site Settings (for API and Login metrics) or Commerce Settings (for Quote metrics). This provides valuable data for troubleshooting, performance analysis, and tracking system usage.
Please get in touch to receive our Fixed Scope package offer to implement this new functionality in your Oracle CPQ Cloud environments.
