GNM_SLM_Customer_Maintenance_TS

• 1. .Introduction

     1. Purpose

The document GNM_SLM_Customer_Management_FS.docx is the functional specification that describes what features RCS has in relation to syndication customers.

This document is one of a set of technical specifications that provide details of how those functions are implemented in RCS.

• 1. Scope

This document focusses on maintaining Customer data. Other documents describe features to search for customers and customer reporting.

This document is intended as a high-level technical document outlining how the relevant business functions are implemented in terms of software modules.

Importantly, this document does not aim to provide the level of detail that would be required in a programming specification in areas such as program structure, detailed business rules, data integrity, validation, locking considerations, data security, and calls to/from other software modules, performance considerations, and so forth.

For details of program logic and coding, the reader should refer to the program files themselves.

• 1. .Customers screen

Customers are created and maintained in the Customers screen. This screen is accessed from the following menu option:

Syndication → Customers

This opens the Oracle Form named rcs_cust_010_pc.fmb

The above screen allows the user to maintain the data shown.

• 1. Contact details

Each Customer must have one billing address, and may have any number of contact addresses.

• 1. Billing address

The billing address is mandatory. When the Customer’s details are sent to Oracle AR, when a fee is due, only the billing address is sent as that is all that is needed in Oracle. Once sent, the billing address is locked in SLM and can only be changed in Oracle. Any subsequent change in Oracle is applied to the data in SLM by means of automated interfaces with Oracle, as described in another document.

• 1. Contact address (if different)

Contact addresses can be recorded if they are different to the billing address. This contact data is used by syndication sales personnel to contact the customer. This data is never sent to Oracle AR and can always be maintained in SLM.

• 1. Change history

Depending on which data the cursor is on, the “Change history” button will display a history of changes made to the Customer data, the Billing address, or a Contact address. This will include changes, where applicable, that have been passed through from Oracle AR. An example of the Customer change history window is shown below – changes are always highlighted in red:

The user can scroll through a history of changes by using the buttons at the bottom of the screen.

• 1. Rights profiles

A Rights profile in SLM is a default set of rights applied to a request/licence when the customer registers their interest in using GNM content. This is a time-saving device, which is useful for regular customers as it ensures a customer’s normal rights are applied to a new request when it is recorded. The rights can of course be changed on any individual request as specified by the Customer.

Customers can have different sets of normal or default rights over time, and so rights profiles have a start date.

At the bottom of the Customers screen there is a minimized window labelled “Rights profile” and this is where the highlighted Customer’s rights profile is maintained:

• 1. Fee profiles

A Fee profile is a default set of fees (service fee and licence fee) that is applied to a request/licence when the customer registers their interest in using GNM content. This is a time-saving device which is useful for regular customers as it ensures a customer’s normal fees are applied to a request when it is recorded. The fees on a request can then be changed as appropriate.

Customers can have different sets of fees over time, and so fee profiles have a start date.

At the bottom of the Customers screen there is a minimized window labelled “Fee profile” and this is where the highlighted Customer’s fee profile is maintained:

• 1. .Customer details popup window

In various other screens within SLM a pop-up window entitled “Customer details” is available by pressing a button labelled “Customer”. This window displays the Customer details as well as any address details, and saves the user from having to open the Customers screen to see them.

Examples of screen that have this window are:

• • Review a customer’s requests;

  • Pending sales; and

  • Find a customer (here the button is labelled “Show”).

The data in this window can be maintained according to the same rules described above for the Customers screen.

• 1. .Customer approvals screen

The RCS Administrator manages a queue of new Customers that need to be approved. The purpose of approval is to ensure the quality of the data, provide an opportunity to identify duplicates, and to consider whether a customer belongs to a publishing group.

This screen is accessed from the following menu option:

Syndication → Approve Customers

It is also accessible from a button the RCS Administrator’s welcome screen dashboard.

This opens the Oracle Form named rcs_cust_010_pc.fmb in a mode that only shows the Customers awaiting approval.

For unapproved Customers the AR status information is replaced with a status of the Customer, highlighting any potential conflicts with other Customer data, as shown above.

The RCS Administrator can change the data as required, and then presses “Approve new..” button to approve the Customer record. This will release it to be sent to Oracle AR.

• 1. .Customer changes to review

When changes are made to a Customer’s details in Oracle AR they are sent through to SLM to ensure it is kept synchronised.

To assure the quality of the data these changes are put in a queue that is reviewed by the RCS administrator. The changes awaiting approval are visible in the Customer changes to review screen. This screen is accessed from this menu option:

Syndication → Customer changes to review

This opens the Oracle Form named rcs_cust_010_pc.fmb but in a mode that only shows Customers with unapproved changes.

An “Approved changes” button at the bottom of the screen allows the RCS administrator to approve the changes.

The RCS administrator can make minor changes to the Customer name in this screen, but only in terms of changing uppercase / lowercase letters in the name. This is because Oracle historically stored all names in uppercase, whereas SLM has always used mixed case. So when, for example, the interface sends SLM a new name such as “TC MEDIA INC” then SLM may automatically convert that to “Tc Media Inc” and the RCS Administrator might then correct it to “TC Media Inc”. Such changes are rare, but it is important to get Customer names right!

• 1. .Publishing groups

A master list of publishing groups is maintained. A publishing group is the legal entity that may own a number of publications that may each be a customer in SLM.

This screen is accessed from the following menu option:

Syndication → Publishing groups

This opens the Oracle Form named rcs_pgro_010_pc.fmb

The Publishing groups defined here can be linked to any number of customers in the Customers screen.

End of Document