Quick Reference Guide:Email and Fax Delivery Options in Oracle EBS R12

Introducing Oracle’s new “Submit Request Delivery Options”

What is this new Delivery Options button?According to Oracle’s release notes, the R12.1.3 release makes the following functionality available:“When submitting concurrent requests, users can now choose to have the request output delivered using BI Publisher’s Delivery Manager. The output can be automatically emailed, faxed, sent to an IPP printer, or delivered using FTP or SFTP.” ~ Section 4.1.3.3. of Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.1 Content Document.

So, what does this mean for users?The hook in to BIP Delivery Manager means that users can reduce manual intervention and the need for custom code in order to automate delivery of single/ad hoc reports to a final location (e.g. a single invoice can be faxed directly from within EBS without the need to print and fax from a separate machine).

Inside R12.1.3, view the options by choosing the new “Delivery Opts” button.

This guide discusses the potential positive effects as well as the limitations of the ‘Submit Request Delivery Options’ button. After reading it, you will have a better understanding about whether or not native Oracle functionality can meet your business needs for delivering documents from EBS R12.

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Inside the Delivery Options Screen

Oracle offers four points of integration with BI Publisher and four corresponding tabs:1. IPP Print – allows users to select any number of IPP Printers to print the results of a concurrent

request.2. Email – allows delivery of a report via email.3. Fax – allows automated delivery of a report via fax.4. FTP – allows users to transfer Concurrent Request output to a remote host using FTP or SFTP.

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This screen allows users to:Execute printing upon completion of a concurrent request, without accessing the Upon Completion form.

IPP Printer Tab: Users can select IPP printers to print results of a concurrent request

What is IPP Print vs. Regular EBS Printing functionality?IPP stands for Internet Printing Protocol and is an open standard for printing. CUPS (Common UNIX Printing System) is the most common consumer of IPP and is an open source printing system. Printers are setup within CUPS and then printed to as normal. The ‘Regular Print’ functionality of EBS is a bit different, while it can utilize CUPS it does not typically communicate directly over IPP. EBS has traditionally used drivers and styles to setup how to print to the system print spooler. When using this new functionality, your current print drivers/styles/types that are setup in EBS will not be used.

More details: The Lowe Down Blog – R12.1.3 Delivery Options: IPP 4

Impact of the IPP Printing Tab Functionality

Potential positive impact:

• In some business cases, the ability to set up print instructions and fax/email/ftp instructions from the same location may improve the user experience.

The impact of this tab will prove minimal for most users. This is largely due to the fact that standard report printing is likely in place wherever printing would be desired.

Limitations:

• When using the IPP tab to set up a print job, standard printing is still executed upon completion of the concurrent request. Unless the standard print information is removed from the system, the job will print twice.

• This means that:o if an organization wants to use the IPP Print

tab, system configuration will take a different approach; all printers will need to be specified using the new printer definition form.

o users will need to be retrained to correctly specify printers for the functionality to work.

• Further, the new tab does not take into account any of the more robust processing and configuration that EBS Print Drivers and Styles make possible such as choose paper size, initializing strings, and running custom programs.

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Email Tab:Users can deliver a report via email from any application

Functionality

• For each recipient row (To/CC), a new email is sent to the defined recipients. The behavior of the delivered email is as follows:

1. If the report being delivered is TEXT based, then the email message body contains the report contents.

2. If the report being delivered is NON-TEXT, the email message body is blank and the report is added as an attachment to the email. The attachment name is derived from the Concurrent Program Short Name and Request ID. For example:POXPRPOP_12345676_1.PDF

More details: The Lowe Down Blog – R12.1.3 Delivery Options: Email 6

Impact of the Email Tab Functionality

Potential positive impacts:

• Sending reports via email is no longer limited to PO Approval and other select modules – reports can be emailed from any application within EBS.

• Users will be able to receive any email bounce backs that may have been missed by specifying a “from” email address on the form.

Limitations:

• Not ideal for delivering high volume of documents; No bursting functionality is associated with this form.

• Email formatting isn’t consistent across EBS – it depends on the report type.

• The form does not allow for hardcoded information about the email content or sender – nothing is configurable on the fly.

• When a non-text based report email is sent, an attachment is generated (as mentioned in the previous slide); the attachment names are derived from Oracle information and not user friendly or configurable.

• Setting up the report to email only, without also printing the report, requires an extra step and a confusing user experience.

This option provides new functionality that was otherwise not available across EBS. There are limitations, but users should benefit from this addition.

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Fax Tab:Allows delivery of the report via fax

This screen allows users to specify:

• Fax Server – Which IPP server to use that has fax capabilities.

• Username – Some IPP servers require authentication, this field allows for the passing of a username.

• Password – Use this field to specify the password for the username entered in the previous field.

• Fax Number – Where to actually send the fax!

More details: The Lowe Down Blog – R12.1.3 Delivery Options: Fax 8

Impact of the Fax Tab Functionality

Potential positive impact:

• Good option to deliver one-off documents if you can manage the exceptions manually – no more walking to the fax machine in this scenario.

Limitations:

• Not ideal for delivering high volume of documents.• Bursting is not available!• No audit trail for documents that have been faxed.• Faxes that fail will not be automatically retried.• There is no hook-in to network or internet-based

fax servers.• Very little meta-data is available with the fax

output.

Like email, this tab provides some new functionality, however the benefit will be determined on a case by case basis. It’s good for delivering a few one-off or ad hoc documents; for higher volume delivery, you’re better off looking at alternative solutions.

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FTP Tab:Allows users to transfer Concurrent Request output to a remote host

This screen allows users to specify:

• Server – Where the data is to be transferred.

• Port – Port on which the FTP/SFTP server is listening.

• User – User login on the server in question.

• Pwd – Password for user on the server.

• Remote Dir – Directory on remote server to place concurrent program output.

• Secure – Checkbox to denote SFTP vs FTP.

More details: The Lowe Down Blog – R12.1.3 Delivery Options: FTP 10

Impact of the FTP Tab Functionality

Potential positive impact:

• Companies who have FTP programs that are being called to deliver concurrent program data to remote hosts such as banks, logistics companies, etc, could potentially remove the need for managing a customization using the form.

Limitations:

• There is no way to name the file on the remote machine.

• If there is a typo in the configuration, the concurrent process will still complete successfully. There is little indication if something in the data has been entered incorrectly. Thus, it is difficult to determine true status of the document following the FTP request.

The FTP tab functionality is very straight forward. If delivering data via FTP is currently a business requirement, it’s worth a look. If not, keep the functionality in mind for future uses.

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How does the new functionality rate?

• The Good News: Oracle is recognizing users’ need for multiple transmission methods. This new ‘Delivery Opts’ button offers a delivery mechanism native within Oracle EBS for delivering BI Publisher reports.

• But . . . : In order to burst and deliver high volumes of reports or to get robust delivery options and reporting, a specialized third-party application is your best option.

• Conclusion: Though Oracle is making moves in the right direction, at this time, the delivery options aren’t likely to meet the bulk of users’ business needs. Advanced document delivery (email, fax, print, and archiving) still may still require extensive coding and personnel resources or the implementation of 3rd party products like the AventX Oracle Connector from STR Software.

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Advanced Document Delivery from Oracle EBS R12

STR Software develops document delivery applications that extend Oracle’s delivery manager to meet your advanced business needs. The AventX Oracle Connector allows users to:

• Print reports with attachments• Manage document delivery without leaving Oracle• View delivery status within EBS• Burst reports without complex coding• & more

Contact STR Software for more information about advanced document delivery from Oracle EBS.

This guide was created from information posted on the STR Software blog. Visit for more details on the new functionality and other

BI Publisher-related news and tips.Questions or comments? Email: brent.lowe@strsoftware.com or leave your thoughts on the blog.

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