The order flow process in the hosting business model is similar to that of the direct sales business model, in that an order is placed, payment is approved, and the order is released to fulfillment. The primary difference is the type of catalog that is used in the hosting business model. For example, partitioned catalogs are used by independent hosted stores. In contrast, hosted stores can also use a shared catalog that is preloaded as a master catalog by the site administrator. Merchants can select the products from the shared catalog and optionally create store-specific products for sale in their own hosted stores.
To illustrate, this is an example of the order flow process for hosted stores in the hosting business model.
Some tasks that can be completed using the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator are indicated in the steps below. More likely, however, applications are written to call WebSphere MQ messages to accomplish the same function (such as pick batch creation) in a more automated fashion.
- Place an order. A shopper places an order on a hosted storefront Web site and selects one or more products to purchase. After the shopper completes the order checkout sequence, the order moves from a Pending state (P) to M state (pending payment approval).
- View orders. A hosted store administrator, such as a Seller or Operations Manager, logs on to the Commerce Hosting Hub and uses the manage store link to access the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator to view recently placed orders.
- Approve payment for the order. Payment authorization and capture are handled by the merchant.
- Release the order to fulfillment. (This step is transparent to the merchant.) The Site Administrator sets up a scheduled job to take care of releasing the orders for fulfillment on all hosted stores. The Site Administrator must use the WebSphere Commerce Administration Console to schedule the job:
- Log onto the WebSphere Commerce Administration Console.
- Select manage the site.
- Select Configuration > Scheduler.
- Select New and then select the ExecuteSpecifiedCommandForHostedStores job command.
- In the Job parameters field, type
commandName=ReleaseToFulfillment
- Complete the fields for the scheduled job. Click OK.
- Create a pick batch for all orders released to the specified fulfillment center. Pick batches must be created for all fulfillment centers. The WebSphere Commerce Accelerator can be used to generate the pick slips, or more likely, MQ messages can be used to automate the generation of the pick slips. For more information on MQ messages, see the topic "Inbound fulfillment integration messages" in the WebSphere Commerce Development online help.
- View and print pick ticket. Using the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, for each fulfillment center, you can work with pick batches and print pick tickets.
- View and print packaging slip. Using the WebSphere Commerce Accelerator, for each fulfillment center, you can work with and print packing slips.
- 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.
- Create package. WebSphere Commerce Accelerator can be used to create package information.
- Ship goods. The merchant completes the shipment confirmation and the order is shipped to the customer.
- Confirm shipment has been sent. The shipment of the order can be confirmed through an order status message.