Part 1: Design Patterns for Salesforce Order Capture Mechanism

Written by Kedar Budukh , Salesforce Solution Architect at Cloobees .

Introduction

For Salesforce 'Lead-to-Cash' (L2C) or 'Order-to-Cash' (O2C) project implementations in the Communications sector (or any other industry), the order capture is at the heart of the sales process and is an essential step which bridges the customer onboarding process with order submission and then fulfilment process. Typically, the order capture business process includes the following operations either by the internal sales agent of an organisation or by the customer:?

• Browse product offers, discounts and promotions (B2B and B2C)?
• Select and configure product offers (B2B and B2C)?
• Quote creation (mostly B2B)?
• Price/Discount negotiation (mostly B2B)?
• Contract creation/ e-signature (B2B, B2C in some cases)?
• Order creation (B2B and B2C)?
• Order submission or checkout (B2B and B2C)?

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Salesforce Industries (SFI) along with the OmniStudio platform offers multiple ways to implement a Commercial Order Management (COM) system to efficiently and accurately capture the customer order for timely fulfilment and to avoid any order fallout scenarios.??

In various industries, clients present unique requirements to capture and optimise the customer order process. For instance, retail companies aspire to deliver an omnichannel experience, enhancing customer satisfaction by facilitating order creation across multiple platforms. On the other hand, B2B-exclusive clients often prefer order capture through assisted channels, given the intricate nature of their products and the prolonged sales cycle.

In contrast, B2C-exclusive service providers streamline the ordering experience by enabling customers to place orders directly through their online portal. This approach eliminates the necessity for a dedicated sales agent journey, as sales professionals can seamlessly utilise the same online buying pathway.

The series of articles focused on this topic, which we will publish each day this week, endeavours to present a range of design patterns for order capture, employing diverse APIs, techniques, and technologies. It is essential to note that no singular design pattern is universally favoured or disfavored, as applicability varies based on specific requirements.

The forthcoming content will meticulously outline the advantages and drawbacks associated with each proposed mechanism. By providing a comprehensive list of pros and cons, this article aims to assist fellow Architects in making informed decisions when selecting the most suitable approach for their projects.

Architects are encouraged to conduct a thorough evaluation of each option vis-à-vis their project requirements before implementing any specific design pattern. This discerning approach ensures optimal alignment between the chosen methodology and the unique demands of their implementation.

Approaches for Order Acquisition

An Architect can design the Order Capture process using SFI capabilities based on the following four options:

Option 1 - Order Capture using OOTB Industries Cart through record navigation.

This option is one of the simplest designs to capture the order which does not need any development.?

• As part of this option, once the Customer onboarding process is completed and a Customer account record is created, the Agent will create a new order from the account record-detailed page-related list.??
• The Agent will be able to browse and add products to the Cart through the ‘Configure’ (CPQ) action button which launches the standard Industries Cart.??
• Agents can browse products from the product list, discounts and promotions from their respective tabs.??
• The Agent has the option to configure, clone or delete the products added to the Cart from the Cart’s standard functionality.??
• There is an option to use either the Angular Cart or the LWC Cart. Salesforce will discontinue the support for the Angular Cart soon (but exact dates are not yet published) as Angular is a technology which is on the verge of being obsolete and the LWC Cart is based on the latest and more futuristic mechanism of FlexCards embedded into the LWC components (read more on Angular Vs LWC at the end of this article).?
• The Agent can navigate to order decomposition and orchestration pages once the order is submitted.?

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Pros of Option 1:?

• Since the users will be mostly using the OOTB UI, navigating from record to record to follow the sales process, there is no additional development required for this solution option apart from designing the page layouts of Account, Contact, Opportunity, Quote and Order objects.?
• Since there is no development required for this option, the solution can be readily deployed as soon as the product configurations, CPQ rules, pricing, etc, are implemented.?
• This option uses a standard OOTB Industries Cart.?

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Cons for Option 1:?

• This order mechanism is not a user-friendly option when the user needs to navigate from record to record.?
• The sales process and order capture journey will not be seamless with more clicks required by end users on multiple screens taking a long time to complete the required operations.?
• Users need to follow a specific sequence while navigating through the disjoint journey.?
• Developers will have to mostly rely on trigger-like customisation options to implement any supporting processes to run in the background as the user creates and enriches information in the account and other records.?
• Users need to have knowledge of Salesforce functionality to be comfortable using this option.?

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The Difference between Angular Cart and LWC Cart:??

There is confusion amongst the architectural community to propose the soon-to-be retiring but proven Angular Cart functionality or more futuristic but immature LWC Cart functionality.?The following points are a brief description of the pros and cons of both types of cart functionalities:

• It is important to note that Angular Cart is proven, rich in functionalities and with no known major defects as it has been used for a long time, since the inception of the Salesforce CPQ. So in my experience, the majority of Clients prefer to use Angular Cart.?
• LWC Cart is flexible and easy to modify through FlexCards but is not yet mature. I have observed a few bugs which prevent users from using some major functionalities. The LWC cart will evolve over a period of time and will eventually replace the Angular Cart completely.?
• Irrespective of the Angular Cart or LWC Cart, it is possible to customise the Cart functionality either by modifying the SF Cards for the Angular Cart or by modifying the FlexCards for the LWC Cart.?

Thank you for delving into the insights presented in today's article on Design Patterns for Order Capture Mechanisms. I trust that the information provided has been valuable to you. Stay tuned for tomorrow's publication, where we will unveil Option 2, offering further exploration into innovative design patterns. Your continued engagement is appreciated, and we look forward to sharing more insights with you. ??