Oracle Apps - FAQ's - Interview Questions

Oracle Apps - FAQ's - Interview Questions

Would like to share some FAQ in Oracle Apps

What is the Flexfield? What are the types of Flexfield? 
Flex Field is “Flexible Field”. A Flexfield is made up of Segments. Each segment has a name that can be assigned and has set of valid values.

There are two types of Flex field

1. Key Flexfields

2. Descriptive Flexfields

What are the tables related to Flexfield?
1. FND_FLEX_VALUES 
2. FND_FLEX_VALUE_SETS 
3. FND_FLEX_VALUES_TL 

What are the types of Value sets? 
1. None 
2. Table 
3. Special 
4. Pair 
5. Dependent 
6. Independent 
7. Translatable Dependent 
8. Translatable Independent

What are the Special and Pair Flexfield? 

Special – Value Sets uses Flex field itself

Pair – Two Flex Fields together specifies a range of valid values.

What are the Flexfield Qualifiers? 
A Flex field qualifier identifies a particular segment of a key flex field.

What are the Segment Qualifiers?
A Segment Qualifier identifies a particular type of value in a single segment of a key flex field.

What are the different Level of Profiles? 
User Profiles are used to set options that affect the applications behaviour. A Collection of changeable options that affect the way your applications run Modify Product Specific variables Gives Control over certain Oracle Applications features.

What is Concurrent Programming? 
Concurrent Processing in Oracle Apps simultaneously executes programs running in the Background with online operations to fully utilize your hardware capacity. Use Concurrent Programming for Long Running – Data intensive tasks such as Posting a Journal or generating a report.

What is the Role of Concurrent Managers?  
A Concurrent Manager is a component of concurrent processing that monitors and runs tasks without tying up the system.

What are Request Sets? 
Request set is a collection of Reports / Programs that is to be group together and can be submitted to run is a single interaction.

What is Standard Request Submission (SRS Feature)?
SRS provides with a set of windows for running reports and Programs and a set of windows for creating groups of reports and programs to run together. Features Specify whether reports or programs in a request set run sequentially or simultaneously Specify whether to continue with a request set if a report or program in a sequential set fails View a log file Specify alternative requests based on completion status of previously run requests in a request set.

What is an interface?
In terms of oracle applications interface is a communication channel that allows the data to move in and out of the system.

How many types of interfaces are there?
1. Inbound Interfaces
2. Outbound Interfaces

Inbound Interface:

The one which allows data to get into oracle application from outside is called inbound interface.
Outbound Interface:

The one which allows data to get data from oracle applications to other systems is called outbound interface.

What is the difference between Open Interface & API's?
Open Interface:
There is no much difference between the open other than the way we load data.
In case of open interface the data is loaded in to open interface table like GL_INTERFACE or Sales Order Interface (OE_ORDER_HEADERS_IFACE_ALL).
Run the interface import program.
This will validate the data and put it into oracle applications. All the invalid records are marked as Error.
One thing is there are GUI Screens available for most of these interface where to check the error message correct it there only and resubmit the interface.
From the technical perspective there are Error tables available for each interface

API:
API's are the oracle built packages where the validation logic is wrapped inside a package and the data is passed as parameters to the API.
Most of these API’s use the PLSQL tables as parameters to take the advantage of bulk binding concepts for faster loading data.
They will have the two OUT parameters to throw back the error code and message in case of data validation failure
APIs' are comparatively faster than open interfaces.
If an API's and open interface are available it is better to load through API's. If the records are more.

What are alerts? What are the different types of alerts?

Alerts immediately informs the database activity as it happens. Can periodically trigger off events as and when required can take predefined actions and allows to define distribution list can keep history of the exceptions and actions taken against them.

There are two types of alerts.

1. Event Alerts

2. Periodic Alerts

Defining Location in Oracle Inventory

Defining Location in Oracle Inventory

Would like to share this post on how to a define a Location in Oracle Inventory.

Location:

Locations are physical site location / address details. The addresses of external organizations that are to be maintained in system, such as employment agencies, tax authorities, and insurance or benefits carriers and also when setting up internal or external organizations, the address can be picked from a list of these locations.

Locations are shared across Business Groups in Oracle HRMS and with two other Oracle applications: Inventory and Purchasing Modules.

Define Location:

Navigation:

India Local Inventory > Oracle Inventory > Setup > Organizations > Locations

1. Header:

Global Check box:

Enabling Global Check box means when the location to be global location and to be available to all Business Groups. Note – Once Global check box enabled cannot be amended for the set location.

Name & Description:

Define the name of the location and a description if required.

Inactive Address:

Locations once defined, cannot be deleted. But can be inactive by defining the Inactive date

2. Address Details Tab:

Select an address style from the list, a window opens based on the address style selected.

Define the address information in the window.

3. Shipping Details Tab:

Contact: Optional contact name for the location Name.

Ship-To Location: Usually this is same as the location name.

Ship-To Site: Select this option to make the location Name a valid Ship-to organization on a purchase order or requisition.

Bill-To Site: Select this option to make the location Name a valid bill–to site. The Bill–To Site, which is used by Payables, is specified on a purchase order header.

Receiving Site: Select this option to make the location a valid receiving Location when creating a receipt or receiving transaction.

Office Site: Select this option to indicate that this location Name is an office site, such as a field office.

Internal Site: Select this option to make the location a valid internal ship–to location when creating an internal requisition.

Selecting the check boxes means that you are making the location Name a valid location in the list of values on a Purchasing document. For example, selecting Ship–To Site makes the location name a valid choice in the list of values for the Ship–To field on a purchase order header.

4. Other Details Tab:

Inventory Organization: Select an Inventory Organization from the list of values, which indicates that the location is linked with the selected inventory organization. If no inventory org is selected, then the location becomes available on purchasing documents in all organizations.

Oracle R12 – How to create a Menu Function to launch a concurrent request, request group and request set?

Oracle R12 – How to create a Menu Function to launch a concurrent request, request group and request set?

Business Need:

To run either a request/program or a request set or a request group using a menu option instead of selecting the view > request functionality.

1. Create a New Request Group:

Navigation:

System Administrator > Security > Responsibility > Request

Create a request group with multiple requests (can be standard / custom reports), here I have grouped 3 standard reports as a request group.

2. Create a Form Function:

Navigation:

System Administrator > Application > Function

Create a form function and define the required details as below.

 

3. Create a Menu Function:

Navigation:

System Administrator > Application > Menu

Create a Menu and attach the newly created Function to the Menu

4. Attach the Menu to the Responsibility:

Navigation:

System Administrator > Security > Responsibility > Define

Attach the newly created Menu to the Responsibility

5. Run the request/program or a request set or a request group using a menu option:

Navigate to the responsibility and click the Menu.

Now Submit a New Request form will be displayed, click the OK button and in the LOV the attached reports will be available.

Thus a request/program or a request set or a request group can be run using a menu option. 

Oracle R12 – Purchasing Module – Base Tables

Oracle R12 – Purchasing Module – Base Tables

Would like to share few Base table names & purpose of tables used in Oracle Purchasing Module:

Table Name	Purpose
po_req_distribution_all	Stores the information about the accounting distributions associated with each requisition line.
po_requisitions_headers_all	Stores the information about requisition headers.
po_requisition_lines_all	Stores the information about requisition lines.
po_distributions_all	Contains the accounting distribution information for every purchase order shipment line.
po_headers_all	Contains header information for your purchasing documents
po_lines_all	Stores current information about each purchase order line.
po_action_history	Stores all the Approvals notification Status
po_vendors	Stores information about the suppliers
po_vendor_sites_all	Stores information about the supplier sites.
po_vendor_contacts	Stores Supplier Contacts, supplier site and contact information
rcv_shipment_headers	Stores common information about the source of your receipts or expected receipts
rcv_shipment_lines	Stores information about items that have been shipped and/or received from a specific receipt source and also about the default destination for intransit shipments.
rcv_transactions	Stores historical information about receiving transactions that is performed
mtl_material_transactions	Stores a record of every material transaction or cost update performed in the Inventory.
po_releases_all	Contains the information about blanket and planned purchase order releases.
po_approval_list_headers	List of approvers for the purchasing document. Used for requisition approvals only
po_approval_list_lines	Contains the approval list lines for the requisition approval list.
po_document_types_all_b	Default, control, and option information you provide to customize Oracle Purchasing document management

Oracle Warehouse Management System (WMS)

Oracle Warehouse Management System (WMS):

The below lists the attributes in Oracle Inventory – Organization parameters to be setup for warehouse related organizations.

Oracle Inventory - Organization Parameters Setup for WMS enabled Organization:

1. Inventory Parameters Tab:

2. Costing Information Tab:

3. Revision, Lot, Serial And LPN Tab:

4. Warehouse Tab:

5. Warehouse Task Management Tab:

Oracle R12 Inventory – Important Profile Options

Oracle R12 Inventory – Important Profile Options:

Oracle R12 – Important Profile Options and the values set during Business Group to Inventory Org creation.

Oracle Order Management - Order to Cash Cycle (O2C) - Data Flow

Oracle Order Management - O2C Cycle - Data Flow for a Standard sales order.

During each step of an O2C cycle the datas are flown to the respective (important) tables:

Oracle Order Management – Item Attributes required for an Item to process in Back to Back Order

Oracle Order Management – Item Attributes required for an Item to process in Back to Back Order (B2B Order)

Below Item attributes are required for an item to process in Back to Back Order (B2B):

Oracle Order Management – Item Attributes required for an Item to process in Drop Shipment Order

Oracle Order Management – Item Attributes required for an Item to process in Drop Shipment Order

Below Item attributes are required for an item to process in Drop Shipment Orders:

Oracle Order Management – Item Attributes required for an Item to process in Internal Sales Orders (ISO)

Oracle Order Management – Item Attributes required for an Item to process in Internal Sales Orders (ISO)

Below Item attributes are required for an item to process in Internal Sales Order:

Oracle Order Management - Step by Step Line Status for various business scenario with workflow details

Oracle Order Management:

Step by Step Line Status for various business scenario with workflow details

Oracle Order Management - Tax calculation stages that occur in Sales Order

Oracle Order Management - Tax calculation stages that occur in Sales Order

In Oracle Order Management - Tax calculation can be controlled at the order header level during any one of the below events only.

At the time of

1. Order Entry (or)

2. Order Booking (or)

3. Invoicing

This is specified when Order Types are created in the Order Management Transaction Types window that when to calculate the tax for an entire order.

Navigation:

India Local Order Management > Oracle Order Management > Setup > Transaction Types > Define > Finance Tab

  

Order Entry:

With tax calculation at Entry, tax is calculated as each order line is entered. This tax calculation is used, for example, in businesses that requires the user performing order entry to view the total of the order, including tax, so it can be quoted to a customer. To include tax in Commitment Applied Amount, set the tax event to Entry.

 

Order Booking:

When tax calculation occurs at Booking, tax is calculated on each of the booked order lines. This tax calculation option is used, for example, in business that require tax visibility for booked orders, but who want to increase order entry input times by not calculating tax at entry.

Invoicing:

When tax calculation occurs at Invoicing, no tax calculations will occur within Order Management. Tax calculation will occur in Oracle Receivables when the order or order line is invoiced.