2017

Learn about 2017 IBM Sterling Fulfillment Optimizer with Watson releases.

1 November 2017

Feature Description
Job monitoring Fulfillment Optimizer now has a monitoring feature for jobs so that an alert is raised if a job is not completed within the expected time. An alert is raised in the following scenarios:
  • A dependent job does not run after the preceding job is completed.
  • A job is not completed within the expected time frame.
  • A manifest file not picked by filemonitor.
Fulfillment Optimizer Disaster Recovery The following improvements are made to the Fulfillment Optimizer Disaster Recovery:
  • After data backup to Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) is completed, the respective hive partitions are created and the HDFS folders are linked to each partition.
  • Repository settings are updated to use a recovery flag.
Content Management The following directories and data are removed as part of the Fulfillment Optimizer clean up activity:
  • Aspera job folders are cleaned up after the CSV files inside the job folders are archived and moved to the /{tenant}/content_management/content_type/ directory.
  • Data in the MongoDB collections is archived for the mentioned retention period and then deleted.
Docker container enhancements Various improvements are made to the Docker container which include monitoring the docker container status and health check.

4 October 2017

Feature Description
Optimization parameters You can now specify the capacity in Releases. By default, the capacity is calculated in Units.

To specify the capacity in Releases, contact your IBM Representative.

You must also set the Node capacity configurations and set the Average number of units per release for each of the node types.
Runtime adapter response enhanced The Fulfillment Optimizer runtime adapter response now contains the Carrier Information.

The response contains the Carrier Information only if isExternalNode is set as N in the request and if RejectChoice is N.

Use isExternalNode to identify assignments that are fulfilled from vendor (direct ship-to vendor) nodes.
  • Valid values are Y or N.
  • By default, the value is considered as N if it is not specified.
  • If isExternalNode is set to Y, the assignment is not considered for optimization.
Use IsPredefinedNode to identify order lines where the shipping node is already selected for sourcing and optimization is not required.
  • Valid values are Y or N.
  • By default, the value is considered as N if it is not specified.

30 August 2017

Feature Description
Enhanced troubleshooting Additional error codes and error messages have been added to Fulfillment Optimizer to identify problems and find their solutions.
Other Enhancements The following enhancements have been made in this release:
  • Out of sequence files for Inventory data feed are now handled in the application.
  • Duplicates for Replenishment and Markdown data feed are now handled in the application.
  • Alphanumeric characters are now allowed for SKU and Node ID.
  • Updates have been made to the optimization model for replenishment calculation.
  • Improvements have been made to the releases upgrade process.

3 August 2017

Feature Description
Fulfillment Optimizer runtime adapter The Fulfillment Optimizer runtime adapter has been updated. You must download the 17.2.1 version of the adapter from IBM Fix Central and install it.
Note: The web client is now called the runtime adapter and the MFT client is now called the file adapter.
New data feed types The following data types have been added:
  • Fulfillment network cutoff
  • Fulfillment network non-working calendar
  • Node carrier availability SLA
  • Shipping dimension weight factor
  • Shipping transit days
  • Shipping rate card

30 June 2017

Feature Description
Fulfillment Optimizer The product name has changed to Fulfillment Optimizer
Fulfillment Optimizer The documentation has been restricted for this release, including the new sections:
  • Getting started with Fulfillment Optimizer
  • Learn about Fulfillment Optimizer
New data feed types The following data types have been added:
  • Processing cost
  • Markdown calendar
  • T-log
  • Inventory availability
  • Replenishment
  • Markdown candidate
Optimization parameters The following optimization parameters can be updated or edited in the PDT dashboard:
  • Inventory
  • Processing cost
Rank API The rank API returns a ranked set of nodes based on SKU availability and applicable costs calculated at node level, such as capacity and shipping cost.

9 June 2017

Feature Description
Data feed automation The ingestion of the following data feed types has been automated:
  • Fulfillment network (FN)
  • Stock keeping unit (SKU)
  • OMS SKU
  • Service level agreement (SLA)

March 2017

Feature Description
New Dashboard KPI The dashboard now shows the percentage of orders processed through Fulfillment Optimizer
Top 5 busiest stores in the Dashboard The Top 5 busiest stores section of the Dashboard now displays the following information for the five busiest stores:
  • Units assigned to the store
  • Capacity utilization percentage of the store
  • Number of backlog days required to process units according to the available capacity
Optimization Parameters Omni-channel executives can use the parameter optimization workspace to optimize business goals and to balance node coefficients. You can balance business objectives and adapt to changes in your fulfillment network at any time and within minutes.

You can complete the following tasks without assistance from IT:

  • Select from a set of commonly occurring optimization parameters and deploy one of them for order optimization based on business priorities for a specific time period.
  • Balance business objectives that impact the optimization parameters and deploy for order optimization.
Note: User administrators must assign permission to Business Analyst users to allow them to deploy parameters for optimization.

The Optimize parameter workspace was added, as well as screens related to optimization parameters and node balancing coefficients.

For more information, see Managing parameters.