Open APIs

 View Only
  • 1.  TMF637 Product Quanity

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Dec 07, 2022 05:00
    Hi,

    we have a dilemma regarding product quantity in terms of product inventory (TMF637) API.

    Quantity is a part of both, quoting/pre-ordering and ordering APIs:
    - TMF648 (quote mgmt.) has quoteItem with quantity attribute
    - TMF622 (product ordering) has a productOrderItem with quantity attribute
    - TMF663 (shopping cart) has a cartItem with quantity attribute

    The question is how to translate (pre)ordering quantity into product inventory instances once the order is completed. In most cases, each instance requires a product record due to unique values (e.g. serial number, MAC, username, phone number etc.). But there are cases, where multiple product instances are unnecessary and the quantity attribute would be useful on the product instance.

    A real example would be an installation product where a UTP cable is a bundled (sub)product with a configurable quantity. E.g. if my installation requires 17 meters of cable, I don't want to persist 17 instances of UTP cable product, but only 1 product instance with a quantity of 17.

    ------------------------------
    Bostjan Keber
    Marand Software
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: TMF637 Product Quanity

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Dec 12, 2022 03:29
    Hi Bostjan
    Hopefully this previous discussion on the same topic will help you.
    https://engage.tmforum.org/communities/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?GroupId=31&MessageKey=bc585338-20dd-462f-8ae3-ea167f5d8ad3&CommunityKey=d543b8ba-9d3a-4121-85ce-5b68e6c31ce5

    ------------------------------
    Jonathan Goldberg
    Amdocs Management Limited
    Any opinions and statements made by me on this forum are purely personal, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the TM Forum or my employer.
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: TMF637 Product Quanity

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Dec 12, 2022 05:55
    Hi Jonathan,
    thank you for the link. I saw this thread before, but I believe it doesn't answer my question.

    In our case, we are looking for a product inventory attribute to store quantities of "non-serializable" products.

    Real-world examples include:
    - installation product where 17 m of UTP cable was used at the customer's premises (we need to store 17 m as a quantity)
    - collocation rental charged by sq meter, e.g. 3 sqm of collocation space (we need to store 3 sqm as a quantity)

    In both cases, an individual product (1 sqm of collocation or 1 m of UTP cable) has no specific distinguishable attributes.

    ------------------------------
    Bostjan Keber
    Marand, software ltd
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: TMF637 Product Quanity

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Dec 12, 2022 06:43
    Thanks Bostjan for clarifying, I'm afraid I had misunderstood your use case, apologies.
    The way you have described it, these items would best be described using characteristics. So:
    • For the cable case you would have a product specification called (say) Installation, with a characteristic specification called (say) cableLength of type number. At order delivery time, you would determine the actual amount of cable used, and populate the characteristic value in the order and in the product inventory with 17.
    • For the rental case, you would have a product specification called (say) Rental, with a characteristic specification called (say) meterage, again of type number. At ordering time, you would offer the customer a choice of rental space options, and populate the characteristic value in the in the order and in the product inventory with 3
    Hope this makes sense

    ------------------------------
    Jonathan Goldberg
    Amdocs Management Limited
    Any opinions and statements made by me on this forum are purely personal, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the TM Forum or my employer.
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: TMF637 Product Quanity

    TM Forum Member
    Posted Dec 12, 2022 06:50
    Thanks, Jonathan! Yes, it makes perfect sense.

    ------------------------------
    Bostjan Keber
    Marand, software ltd
    ------------------------------