Generic InstalledProduct business object

The generic InstalledProduct business object contains information on products that have been installed at customer sites. This business object is useful when you manage an install base that requires information to be sent between separate systems. InstalledProduct can represent a system or product for which you manage and monitor services and costs.

In addition to synchronizing installed product information, IBM collaboration templates can use InstalledProduct to verify or synchronize data about the installed item, the site at which it is installed, and the customer who has installed it. In addition to providing the generic InstalledProduct business object template, IBM also provides generic InstallShipment. Generic InstallShipment is based on a typical ERP delivery or shipping document.

The generic InstalledProduct business object is used by both the InstalledProductSync and ProductInstallation collaboration templates.The generic InstallShipment business object is used only by the ProductInstallation collaboration template.

For more information on when and how to use the InstalledProductSync and ProductInstallation collaboration templates, see their reference pages.

Business object structure

InstalledProduct is a hierarchical business object. Figure 1 illustrates its relationship to its child business objects.

Figure 1. Generic InstalledProduct business object structure

InstalledProduct contains unique identifiers for the installed product, the site at which the product is installed, the product being installed, the parent of the installed product (used for hierarchical installation of items), the company that distributed the product, the sales representative and sales representative contact at the company that sold the product, the vendor, and the asset tracking number.

InstalledProduct also contains such information about the product as its description, type and category, status, plant, revision number, warranty number, quantity, unit of measure, sales order number and sales order line item number, purchase order number, serial number, lot number, location, gross and net weights and their units of measure, size, and manufacturing data.

InstalledProduct contains the dates the product was shipped, installed, registered, acquired, and the dates when its warranty begins and ends.

InstalledProduct contains the following child business objects:

Business object attributes
Child business object Description Cardinality
Address Contains exact physical location data for the installed product.
ContactRef Contains information about any contacts for the installed product n
CharacteristicRef Contains information about characteristics of the installed product; for example, the characteristics of a computer might include its operating system and the software installed. n
RelatedCustomerRef Contains the unique identifier of the related customer as well as its type (Customer or CustomerPartner), status, and whether it is the primary customer. Also contains the RoleUsage child business object. n
RoleUsage Contained by RelatedCustomerRef, contains the role that the customer or vendor plays in regard to the installed product; example roles are SoldTo, ShipTo, and BillTo. n

Supported verbs

The generic InstalledProduct business object supports the following verbs:

Examining the object

For a listing of the generic InstalledProduct business object's attributes, use System Manager or Process Designer Express.

Related Reference

Copyright IBM Corp. 1997, 2004