Order flow process for direct sales

The order process is composed of various steps. The following section outlines at a high level the flow of an order from placing an order to shipping it to the customer. In the direct sales business model, the order flow is the same whether it is a consumer direct or B2B direct store.

This diagram shows the Order flow process for the direct sales business model.

Where applicable, tasks that can be completed using the graphical user interface provided within the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator are indicated in the detailed steps below. In addition, to accomplish the same tasks as using the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, you can optionally write an application that calls corresponding WebSphere MQ messages.

  1. Place an order. A customer or an administrator who has the authority to act on behalf of the customer (such as a Customer Service Provider or reseller administrator) places an order with the store. Placing an order involves browsing the online catalog, selecting one or more products for the order, and providing billing, shipping, and offline payment information. Once the customer or administrator completes the order checkout sequence (for example, by clicking Submit on the store's checkout page), the order moves from P state (pending with products in the shopping cart) to M state (pending payment approval).
  2. Approve the order (B2B direct). If the contract requires that the order be approved, the buyer approver reviews the order for the purchase amount and approves the order.
  3. Approve payment for the order. Once the order has been placed, the next step is to approve payment for the order, using WebSphere Commerce Payments if configured, or a customized payment solution. Offline payments are automatically approved and the order moves from M state (pending payment approval) to C state (approved and ready to be released to fulfillment). In the case of manual approval, using the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, do the following:
    1. Select Operations > Approve Payment.
    2. Select the check box next to the order you want to work with and click Approve Payment. WebSphere Commerce Payments launches.
    Note that if the order contains products that are to be back-ordered, then the order moves to B state (back-ordered). A reauthorization for the full amount will be done when all back-ordered products are allocated.
  4. Release the order to fulfillment. Using the WebSphere Commerce Administration Console, you can release the order by doing the following:
    1. Log onto the store.
    2. Select Configuration > Scheduler.
    3. Select New and then the ReleaseToFulfillment job command.
    4. Complete the fields for the scheduled job. Click OK.
  5. Create a pick batch for all orders released to the specified fulfillment center. Pick batches must be created for all fulfillment centers, including the store. Once you receive the products from the store, you can then pick and pack them for delivery to customers. All releases for the selected fulfillment center are placed in one batch; pick slips (which list all products to be picked based on the fulfillment center) are created for each pick batch and packing slips (which list all products in each release) are generated for the releases. To create a pick batch, using the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, select Operations > Pick Batches > Create Next to create the pick batch.

    The pick batch is created for all currently released orders in that fulfillment center. If you receive more than 100 orders a day, consider using an MQ message to generate pick slips rather than the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator to print pick slips one at a time from the Web browser. For more information on MQ messages, see the topic "Inbound fulfillment integration messages" in the WebSphere Commerce Development online help.

  6. View and print pick ticket. Using the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, for each fulfillment center, do the following:
    1. Select Operations > Pick Batches.
    2. Select the check box next to the pick batch you want to work with and click View Pick Ticket.
    3. Click Print.
  7. View and print packaging slip. Using the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, for each fulfillment center, do the following:
    1. Select Operations > Pick Batches.
    2. Select the check box next to the pick batch you want to work and click Packing Slips.
    3. Select a packing slip from the list and click View.
    4. Click Print.
  8. Pick and pack products specified in the pick ticket and packaging slip. Products specified in the pick ticket are then manually picked from the fulfillment center, and products are packed according to the instructions in the packing slips. Typically, these actions are completed after the products are received from the appropriate distributors.
  9. Create package. Using the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, for each fulfillment center, do the following:
    1. Select Operations > Release Ready to Ship.
    2. Select the check box next to the release you want to work with and click Packages.
    3. Click New and provide appropriate package information.
  10. Ship goods. Ship the order to the customer.
  11. Confirm shipment has been sent. Using the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, for each fulfillment center, the shipment of the order can be confirmed. Select Operations > Release Ready to Ship, select the check box next to the release you want to work with, and click Confirm Shipment. Once you have verified the shipment on the system, the status of the order changes to Shipped.