WebSphere Commerce integration architecture

In this section, we discuss the WebSphere Commerce DOM architecture for integrating with SSFS.

2.4.1 Built-in DOM store and inventory integration

WebSphere Commerce, together with SSFS, enables sellers to interact with their customers by providing end-to-end functions to take and manage orders.

WebSphere Commerce is the selling engine, displaying products and providing marketing and promotional tools and features to lead a customer to place an order. Once the order is placed, SSFS manages the order and inventory through the various components required to fulfill that order.

Message interactions from WebSphere Commerce to SSFS shows the types of interactions available from WebSphere Commerce to SSFS, finally, to the ERP systems, as demonstrated in Figure 2-5.

Figure 2-5 Message interactions from WebSphere Commerce to SSFS

Enterprise Service Bus SSFS

DYNAMIC INVENTORY CHECK / ORDER PROMISING INVENTORY CACHE REFRESH

The SSFS to WebSphere Commerce integration architecture implements an Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), which is explained further in 2.5, “Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)” on page 36. Refer to the WebSphere Commerce Info Center for further discussions on how WebSphere Commerce integrates with external systems.

Searching in WebSphere Commerce Info Center V7 for DOM will provide links that describe WebSphere Commerce's business functions and integration services to SSFS that will provide improved overall end to end business functions using out of the box functionality. Important business functions provided that enrich the Commerce Order Capture process are:

򐂰 Store component, which brings in the concept of the multiple physical stores and the attributes for each store. Examples of individual store’s attribute and business functions are:

– Defining the logical model of physical stores and geographical regions – Providing services to locate physical stores by geocode and distance,

geographical region, or store attribute

– Locally storing physical store data within the WebSphere Commerce database with no need to upload any data to the mapping service provider – Integration support for searching by address, map display, and driving

directions with mapping service providers (for example, Google Maps, MapQuest, Yahoo Maps)

A detailed mapping service provider integration example can be found in Building Multi-channel Applications with WebSphere Commerce,

SG24-7787. See “Related publications” on page 243.

򐂰 Inventory component, which:

– Defines the logical model of inventory availability and inventory requirements

– Provides services to retrieve the inventory availability of products online and in-store and process inventory requirements (that is, reserve inventory)

– Can delegate requests to SSFS via the ExternalInventoryFacadeClient – Can cache inventory availability locally using the WebSphere Commerce

inventory cache

The inventory availability master information typically resides in the responsibility of backend inventory management systems (SSFS).

However, some backend inventory management systems might have performance, scalability, and availability limitations. The inventory

component and its services are designed with caching support to address these limitations. That is, the inventory availability of an item at a location

can be cached by the component, either in memory or in the database, depending on configuration.

An inventory cache might become an important consideration to page browsing performance if the retailer has a large product assortment and number of store locations and the costs of importing all inventory

availability records into the database outweighs the savings from caching the information. During the checkout process, when the shopper has decided to place the order, the specific inventory cache and inventory data in DOM could be updated accordingly.

򐂰 Order component:

– Order logical model, commands, and services updated to support checkout flows that tie an order to a specific physical store’s inventory managed by SSFS, and other attributes for the physical store (for example, buy-online-pick-up-in-store).

– New payment method to support pay in-store.

– Transferring of submitted orders to SSFS via the ExternalOrderFacadeClient.

– SSFS can sync (push) order statuses to WebSphere Commerce using the order component’s SyncOrder service.

2.4.2 WebSphere Commerce DOM integration specifics

As of WebSphere Commerce Version 6 Feature Pack 5, generic DOM integration is part of the cross-channel integration solutions. It is a back-end system integration that, as of WebSphere Commerce Version 7 Feature Pack 2, provides pre-built assets that support integration to SSFS built with WebSphere Commerce DOM integration components.

Inventory management

WebSphere Commerce DOM integration provides a new inventory component with SOA services to check inventory availability and process inventory requirements, including caching and DOM integration capabilities.

Cache management

There is greater flexibility in the inventory cache, which can use a distributed object cache mechanism in WebSphere Application Server or WebSphere Commerce databases through different configurations.

In the WebSphere Application Server distributed object cache mechanism, the DOM inventories are cached in the memory. The memory cache can serve the

inventory request with a quicker response. In a cluster environment, the inventory caches are synchronized between different cluster members.

With the WebSphere Commerce database cache, the DOM inventory records are resident in DB2 databases or Oracle databases. WebSphere Commerce has supplied an efficient approach to access these databases by way of a data service layer (DSL).

There is an extended version of the dynamic cache monitor, which can help monitor the distributed object caches.

Whether the local DOM inventory cache is in memory or in database, it is configured in the WebSphere Commerce database. Store administrators can change these configurations to change the cache locations.

See “Related publications” on page 243 to for references for WebSphere Commerce caching and DSL.

Store location management

A new store component with services for store location gives WebSphere Commerce online shoppers the capability to find nearby stores based on entered locations. The shoppers can then pick up merchandise after they shop online or can go to the stores directly for shopping.

The enhancement of catalog browsing enables the shoppers to view product availability for the certain stores. Before a shopper can see the availability, shoppers need to use Store location feature to select their favorite stores.

They can also select their favorite stores in the product detailed information display page.

Note: There are other caching strategies not used by DOM, but that are necessary for other non-functional requirements. They are:

򐂰 Cachespec.xml directives with servlet caching enabled

򐂰 Command caching

򐂰 Registry caching

򐂰 Web services caching

Buy-online-pick-up-in-store support (BOPIS) is provided with this Commerce implementation. With this, the online shoppers can buy online and pick up the merchandise in their favorite store (Figure 2-6).

Figure 2-6 Sterling Commerce integration view

2.4.3 Subsystem end-to-end flow

In the end-to-end solution, SSFS is an external order management system (DOM) to Commerce responsible for processing the order, editing the order, releasing the order to the appropriate fulfillment system, and managing returns.

In most cases, inventory will be also be managed by this external system. SSFS provides a comprehensive coverage of the order life cycle, from capture to fulfillment across channels.

With WebSphere Commerce DOM integration, the orders are captured from the WebSphere online storefront. These orders are transferred to SSFS by WebSphere Commerce order web services. The orders status can be changed in SSFS and synchronized back to WebSphere Commerce for management purposes. Store ComponentInventory Component

ExternalInventoryFaçadeClient

External Façade Clients ExternalOrderFaçadeClient

Order Component