The ARInvoiceSync collaboration template synchronizes accounts-receivable invoice information from a Customer Interaction Management (CIM) application into an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application. The collaboration is intended to ensure that information from accounting and general ledger (GL) transactions is accurately posted into the appropriate financial accounts of a single application, such as SAP, that serves as a system of record.
The collaboration is designed to synchronize information into the application that serves as a system of record, but not to extract information out of that application.
ARInvoiceSync uses the generic ARInvoice business object, which represents accounts-receivable invoice information in a Finance system application.
Although it synchronizes only ARInvoice business object data, ARInvoiceSync can be configured to call the appropriate collaborations to verify or synchronize the following related business objects:
Business object | Related collaboration properties | Called collaborations |
---|---|---|
Customer | VERIFY_SYNC_CUSTOMERS | CustomerSync CustomerWrapper |
Item Item Basic Item Order Item Planning |
VERIFY_SYNC_ITEM ITEM_TYPE | ItemSync ItemWrapper |
Note: If you configure ARInvoiceSync to synchronize Customer, CustomerPartner, or Item, create and bind the appropriate collaboration objects before you configure ARInvoiceSync. For more information, see Collaboration object setup.
This section includes information on port bindings and required steps for setting up collaboration objects based on ARInvoice. For information on standard features, ports, and configuration properties for collaboration templates, see the Collaboration Development Guide. For general information on creating collaboration objects, see the System Implementation Guide.
Figure 1 illustrates ARInvoice's ports, as they are displayed in System Manager or Process Designer Express The tables that follow Figure 1 provide information about each port.
Figure 1. ARInvoiceSync collaboration object ports
Note: To prevent the collaboration object from using a port, bind that port to the Port connector. Binding the port indicates that the port is unused without causing the collaboration object to provide additional functionality.
Business object | Bound to | Function | Verbs used |
---|---|---|---|
ARInvoice | The destination application's connector | Sends a reference-valued business object to retrieve the full-valued business object. The result determines the verb to use when synchronizing the ARInvoice. |
Retrieve |
Business object | Bound to | Function | Verbs used |
---|---|---|---|
ARInvoice | Source application's connector or calling collaboration. | Receives the triggering business object. At the end of a synchronous call, this port also returns the triggering business object to the source application when the collaboration ends successfully. |
Create Retrieve Update Delete |
Business object | Bound to | Function | Verbs used |
---|---|---|---|
ARInvoice | The destination application's connector |
Sends the triggering business object out of the collaboration Note: This collaboration template is designed to support only the Create and Delete verbs. Because it follows collaboration standards and contains the Update scenario, you can use it to process updates if you modify the business object to use the Update verb. |
Create Update Delete |
Business object | Bound to | Function | Verbs used |
---|---|---|---|
CustomerPartner |
The From port of CustomerPartnerWrapper (if verifying or synchronizing) Port connector (if not verifying or synchronizing). |
Used to send a reference-valued CustomerPartner business object for verification or synchronization. |
Sync Exists |
Business object | Bound to | Function | Verbs used |
---|---|---|---|
Customer |
The From port of CustomerWrapper (if verifying or synchronizing). Destination application's connector or the Port connector (if not verifying or synchronizing). |
Used to send a reference-valued Customer business object for verification or synchronization. |
Sync Exists |
Business object | Bound to | Function | Verbs used |
---|---|---|---|
Any of the generic item business objects, such as Item, ItemBasic, or ItemPlanning. |
The From port of ItemWrapper (if verifying or synchronizing) Port connector (if not verifying or synchronizing). |
Used to send a reference-valued Item business object for verification or synchronization. |
Sync Exists |
To set up ARInvoiceSync as a stand-alone collaboration object, follow these steps:
To verify or synchronize related Customers, CustomerPartners, or items as part of the ARInvoiceSync process, you can create any combination of the following collaboration-object groups:
Verify | Synchronize | Required collaborations |
---|---|---|
Customers | ARInvoiceSync, CustomerWrapper | |
Customers | ARInvoiceSync, CustomerWrapper, CustomerSync | |
CustomerPartners | ARInvoiceSync, CustomerPartnerWrapper | |
CustomerPartners | ARInvoiceSync, CustomerPartnerWrapper, CustomerPartnerSync | |
Items | ARInvoiceSync, ItemWrapper | |
Items | ARInvoiceSync, ItemWrapper, ItemSync |
Creating collaboration objects
The following procedure describes the initial steps for setting up ARInvoiceSync as part of a collaboration-object group. For the purpose of this example, these steps assume you want to synchronize the ARInvoice business object and its related Customers and Items.
The steps provided below assume that you have already created collaboration objects from the templates for ARInvoiceSync and for each required wrapper and synchronization collaboration. For example, to synchronize ARInvoice and related Items and Customers, you have created collaboration objects for ARInvoiceSync, ItemWrapper, ItemSync, CustomerWrapper, and CustomerSync. The following steps complete the setup procedure for synchronizing ARInvoice, Items, and Customers:
This section illustrates the process logic for this collaboration template:
Figure 2 illustrates ARInvoiceSync's process logic.
Figure 2. ARInvoiceSync collaboration template's process logic
This collaboration template uses the following standard collaboration business processes:
For information on these processes, see the Collaboration Development Guide.
Figures 3 and 4 show the VERIFY_SYNC process.
Figure 3. ARInvoiceSync collaboration process for verifying or synchronizing customers and CustomerPartners
Figure 4. ARInvoiceSync collaboration process for verifying or synchronizing items
Note: For a collaboration to process ItemBasic, ItemOrder, and ItemPlanning successfully, your installation's repository must contain the following business objects:
When ARInvoiceSync sends the ARInvoice business object with the Update verb to the destination, the synchronization updates relationships to Customers or Items, but it does not actually create, update or delete a Customer or Item.
For example, when an ARInvoice deletes a reference to a Customer or Item, the application does not delete the Customer or Item (neither physical nor logical delete). The application simply removes the reference to the Customer or Item; it removes the relationship to the Customer or Item without removing the Customer or Item.
Figure 5 illustrates data for ARInvoice #100 that has been synchronized by ARInvoiceSync. Both the source and destination applications contain the same ARInvoiceLineItems with the same three related Customers or Items.
Figure 5. Invoice data before deletion of references to items
Figure 6 illustrates the same primary ARInvoice after the source application has deleted one of its related Customers or Items. The deletion of the child business object triggers the source connector to send the ARInvoice business object with the Update verb to ARInvoiceSync. The graphic illustrates the state of the ARInvoice business object as ARInvoiceSync sends it to the destination application, before the destination application has removed the reference to the related Customer or Item.
Figure 6. Invoice data after the source application has deleted references to items
Figure 7 illustrates the state of the ARInvoice business object after deletion of the reference to the related Item in the destination application.
Figure 7. ARInvoice data after synchronization in the destination application
InterChange Server Express can roll back a transaction when any step in a transactional collaboration fails. For example, when ARInvoiceSync is a member of a collaboration-object group that participates in a transactional collaboration, its actions are one subtransactional step of a larger transaction. If any step in the collaboration-object group's business process fails, the transactional collaboration details how InterChange Server Express rolls back the processing of every collaboration in the group.
When a ARInvoiceSync collaboration object is used independently of other collaboration objects or the collaboration object's From port is bound to a source application rather than to another collaboration, its process comprises a single transactional step. In such a situation, it is not necessary to perform rollback.
To cause a collaboration object or a collaboration-object group to perform rollback requires modifying the collaboration template. To understand transaction processing in the IBM WebSphere Business Integration Server Express Plus system, see the System Implementation Guide. For information on adding transaction processing to the collaboration template, see the Collaboration Development Guide.
To extend the collaboration object to handle transaction processing, complete the following steps:
This section describes the standard properties and collaboration template-specific properties for this collaboration template:
This collaboration template uses the following standard configuration properties for collaboration templates:
For information on these configuration properties, see the Collaboration Development Guide.
In addition to its standard configuration properties, this collaboration template has the configuration properties described below.
Property name and explanation | Possible values | Default value |
---|---|---|
ITEM_TYPE Set to the type of generic Item whose existence should be synchronized or verified before the collaboration synchronizes the ARInvoice business object. If its VERIFY_SYNC_ITEM property evaluates to "sync" or "verify", ARInvoiceSync uses the value of this property to determine the type of item to be synchronized or verified. |
Item, ItemBasic, ItemOrder, ItemPlanning | Item |
VERIFY_SYNC_CUSTOMERS Set to "sync" to cause ARInvoiceSync to synchronize the related Customer or CustomerPartner in the destination application. ARInvoiceSync performs the following process:
Set to "verify" to cause ARInvoiceSync to verify the related Customer or CustomerPartner in the destination application. ARInvoiceSync performs the following process:
Set to "neither" to cause ARInvoiceSync to create the ARInvoice business object without first synchronizing or verifying the related Customer or CustomerPartner in the destination application. |
neither, sync, verify |
neither |
VERIFY_SYNC_ITEM Set to "sync" to synchronize related items in the destination application. ARInvoiceSync copies ItemId (and other interesting attribute values) from the ARInvoice business object and creates the type of generic business object specified in the ITEM_TYPE property. ARInvoiceSync sends the business object with the Sync verb to ItemWrapper. In turn, ItemWrapper retrieves values for all attributes from the source application and sends the business object with the Create verb to ItemSync. If ItemSync fails to create the related item, ARInvoiceSync handles the error as specified in its INFORMATIONAL_EXCEPTIONS property. Set to "verify" to cause ARInvoiceSync to verify related items in the destination application. ARInvoiceSync copies the ItemId from the ARInvoice business object and creates the type of generic business object specified in the ITEM_TYPE property. ARInvoiceSync sends the business object with the Exists verb to ItemWrapper. In turn, ItemWrapper retrieves the business object from the destination application. If ItemWrapper fails to retrieve a related item, ARInvoiceSync handles the error as specified in its INFORMATIONAL_EXCEPTIONS property. Set to "neither" to cause ARInvoiceSync to synchronize the triggering ARInvoice business object without first synchronizing related items or verifying existing related items in the destination application. |
neither, sync, verify | neither |
To view an explanation of the messages of this collaboration template, launch the Log Viewer and open the collaboration template's message file. To launch the Log Viewer and open the collaboration template's message file:
To upgrade to a newer version of the collaboration, perform the following steps: