Oracle Business Network - A Primer

Are you still utilizing the traditional B2B cXML model to transmit POs from your EBS system to vendor systems? Are you looking for an end-to-end automated solution for inbound invoices?
Are you trapped in an endless cycle of transmission errors?

Oracle Business Network (OBN) is here to help you.

OBN (formerly known as Oracle Supplier Network a.k.a. OSN/OSuN) is a cloud-based supplier registration and messaging service provided to Oracle customers and their trading partners. It is free and works seamlessly with Oracle Fusion, E-Business Suite, and PeopleSoft applications. It lets customers exchange business documents with their trading partners.


Let's see what are the Traditional B2B approach and challenges:

• Configure each vendor for outbound transactions like PO transmission
  
  
• Import certificates for each vendor
  
  
• IP whitelisting may be needed
  
  
• Transmission/Handshake errors
  
  
• No monitoring tool except Workflow monitor in EBS
  
  
• No option of performing self tests
  
  
• No easy administration features
  
  
• High maintenance

Oracle Business Network Benefits over these challenges:

• One configuration for all vendors
  
  
• OBN certificates and OBN IP address only
  
  
• Transmission/handshake errors eliminated
  
  
• Excellent monitoring features for inbound as well as outbound transactions
  
  
• Option to perform self-tests for inbound as well as outbound transactions
  
  
• Easy administration
  
  
• Very low maintenance
  
  
• Free to use for all customers and trading partners
  
  
• Hosted by Oracle Outsourcing to provide a high availability connection for trading partner collaboration
  
  
• Simplifies the administrative burden of creating and managing a complex multi-point integration infrastructure

Oracle Business Network Structure / Process

• Oracle customers (EBS) communicate with OBN via OAG XML standard for inbound and outbound messages
  
  
• OAG XML = Oracle Applications Group XML standard
  
  
• This facilitates messaging without any customizations or custom maps
  
  
• Trading partners can choose from one of the common standards supported by OBN such as cXML
  
  
• Real time message transformer in OBN converts messages from OAG XML to destination XML standard
  
  
• This eliminates additional cost and effort of multiple standards and configurations on either sides

Pre-Transform Document (OAG XML)

When a document is sent from EBS to OBN, it appears under Pre-Transform Document section.
Below is a sample for the same:

Post-Transform Document (cXML)

OBN transform the Pre-document into Post-document and it appears under Post-Transform Document section.
Below is a sample for the same:

This way, we don't have to configure various cXML documents on EBS side in order to send them to various trading partners. Instead, we maintain a uniform configuration for all the vendors and send the documents in OAG XML format to OBN and OBN takes care of transforming them to cXML and send to the corresponding trading partners.

This uniform approach eliminates transmission/handshake errors and gives us more control over monitoring and resubmission of error transactions.

In Oracle EBS, the XML Gateway is used to integrate with OBN and exchange the messages/documents.

In Oracle Fusion Cloud, the Collaboration Messaging Framework (CMK) is used to integrate with OBN and exchange the messages/documents.