2782355 - Commerce (Pricing Model) Best Practices - Learning Administration

• Course Pricing Model - Commerce Module (Course Catalogue Pricing)
• This KB article will help resolve issues with configuring commerce.

Image/data in this KBA is from SAP internal systems, sample data, or demo systems. Any resemblance to real data is purely coincidental.

SAP SuccessFactors Learning Management System

What are SAP SuccessFactors Commerce and Commerce Capabilities?

• The Commerce capabilities in SuccessFactors Learning is a set of available functions and tools that allows customers to:
• Track resource costs incurred in the delivery of training as well as the tuition (pricing) charged for a user in attending or launching a training event. 

• Commerce supports chargeback for internal learners with no additional licensing.
• It includes tracking the cost of Enrolment and Delivery with costs centres being charged and profit centres credited.
• There is no exchange of money in SuccessFactors Learning.

Why use the Commerce Capabilities?

• Tracking the costs and pricing associated with learning will enable you to:
• Maintain detailed records of what it costs to deliver a training event.
• Keep records of how much a user/organisation is spending on training.
• Potential to transfer financial transactional data to a 3rd party Financial Information System.

Overview of Commerce Functionality

1. Track costs to develop/deliver training:

• Track development cost of an item.
• Track resource costs to deliver a scheduled offering.

2. Charge a price to the user:

• Charge users for launching an eLearning item or registering into a scheduled offering.
• Catalog determines the price displayed to users!!!

3. Support for multiple currencies
4. Reports - Out-of-box for reports on commerce data

•  Item Data – Displays item total cost and default price.
•  Scheduled Offering Data – Displays offering total cost and individual resource costs.
•  User Costs
•  Learning History – Displays user tuition cost.
•  Reporting on additional commerce data requires a custom report.

 Pricing Hierarchy Process

Main Concepts of Pricing

• Every item/scheduled offering can be assigned a default published price/currency (tuition).
• Different price/currency combinations can be assigned to an item or scheduled offering based on the catalog to which the item/scheduled offering is added.
• There is a hierarchy in the LMS for pricing; at each level of the hierarchy, the price (tuition) is inherited from the parent, but may be overridden.
• When items are created, they are automatically given a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) and added to the master inventory.
• The Master Inventory contains all items and their scheduled offerings.
• Users “purchase” items/scheduled offerings by registering for a scheduled offering or launching an online item that has a price associated with the item in the catalog to which the user has access.

Master Inventory

• The master inventory stores all items and materials available in the application and sets their default price.
• Catalogs are populated from the master inventory.

Adding Prices to Items

• The price for an item is set on the Pricing tab of the item record.
• The default price is the price/currency that is applied to the item when it is added to catalogs.
• An item can have multiple price /currency combinations, and users see the price in their preferred currency if available.
• If their preferred currency is not available, the default price/currency displays.
• The default price is simply an informational field, allowing you to store other pricing information as needed.
• Check the Scheduled Offering Can Override Item Prices checkbox in order to allow an admin to change the price for each scheduled offering if desired.

Making Items Available for Purchase

• Once a default price for an item is set, configure how to charge users.
• SuccessFactors Learning records debits and credits, but no actual cash exchanges are made within accounts.
• If you wish to charge users, then account codes must be used.
• Each transaction is called a chargeback.
• When an account code receives a credit, it is referred to as a profit center.
• When the account code is debited, it is referred to as a cost center.
• On the item record, the Chargeback tab is used to indicate the purchasing option and how the chargeback will be applied.

Making an Item Available to Users

• Once a default price for an item is set, configure how to charge users.
• Users access items through a catalog.
• The Catalogs tab from the related area of the item record allows the addition of an item to multiple catalogs so that different groups of users can access it.
• Administrators can change the price/currency of the item in each catalog so each user group is charged a different price for the item.
• If a user has access to the item through more than one catalog, they will see the price (high, low, or all) based on the global configuration settings.
• Note: Please ensure showPricingInternalUsers=true. This configuration setting is used to show/hide price related search features and indicators in specific user screens.
• When changing the price of an item in a catalog, the Catalog Price Change Assistant engages giving administrators the option of propagating the new price down to existing scheduled offerings.

Set Up Item/Offering Pricing Summary

 

• At Item > Set Pricing
• At Scheduled Offering > Set Pricing
• You can have different pricing in different catalogues.
• For chargeable items ensure that item has a rule other than “No Charge”
• Use Commerce tools to change prices:
• Catalog Price Change
• Master Inventory Price Change

Making an Item Available to Users - Price for a “free offering? How can a user see a price associated with an item with no charge?

• Items are either free or they have a charge.
• If you want to display a price in the catalog the chargeback cannot be selected as no charge.
• “No Charge” will display as “free” in the catalog even if there is a associated price set.
• Best workaround option is to set the item chargeback option to “Distribute Charges” and set the price.
• This will create an order and financial transaction, but the user will not have to provide a chargeback code as the system automatically charges it to a “dummy” account code set on the item.
• Then the item description will include the price used for informational purposes only and no charge will be applied.

Making an Item Available to Users if the same course item is in two or more course catalogs. Different pricing can be set in each catalog.

Making an Item Available to Users; however for the user, the price for the item and scheduled offerings presented will be in the default currency set for that user.

Changing the Price of a Catalog Course - Catalog Price Change Wizard

If the prices of courses in the catalogs change, you need a way to manage the change in the catalogs, particularly if users currently have pending or submitted orders. Note: Changes to price in catalog does NOT change the price in the Master Inventory!

• To implement a price change go to Commerce > Tools > Catalog Price Change
• Type a SKU or use the search page to select one from a list, and then click Next.
• Select the learning item or scheduled offering with the price change, and then click Next.
• For each currency in the currency list, change the price of the SKU, and then click Next.
• Set the new price for the SKU in Price. Set it in the currency you see in Currency. When changing the price, the Add box for the currency is automatically selected. Clear Add if you don't want to update the price at this time.
• Select the orders of the SKU that you want the price change to affect and then click Next.
• Read the summary to verify what you want to submit, and then click Finish.

Master Inventory Price Change - Master Inventory Price Change Wizard

The Master Inventory Price Change wizard changes the price of an item or scheduled offering in the Master Inventory. You can also choose to have the price change propagated to related catalogs.

• To implement a price change go to Commerce > Tools > Master Inventory Price Change
• Type a SKU or use the search page to select one from a list, and then click Next.
• Type the New Price of the item and select the related scheduled offerings of the item you want the price change to affect where applicable.
• To apply the New Price to catalogs with the selected item/material, click the Apply price change to catalogs check box. Click Next.
• Select the catalogs to be affected by the price change. Click Next.
• Select the orders of the selected item/material that you want the price change to affect. Click Next.
• The system displays a Summary of the price change. Click Finish.
• Note: Any existing “orders” placed with a purchase order cannot be changed.

Cancellation Policy – Set up Rules

• You can edit and create a cancellation policy so an administrator can associate a master inventory to a cancellation policy so the system can calculate the amount of money to charge a user if the user withdraws from a scheduled offering for an item that is associated with the catalog that is associated with the master inventory.
• Go to SAP SuccessFactors Learning administration and then go to References > Commerce > Cancellation Policies
• Click Add New
• Select Enable to enable other administrators to attach the cancellation policy to learning items and scheduled offerings.
• In the large Description box, type a description of the cancellation policy for users to read.
• Cancellation policy descriptions are shown to users before registering, purchasing, or approving learning that has the cancellation policy so that users are informed of penalties for withdrawing from a course.
• Click Apply Changes
• Next, click Rules to apply the rules to the policy.

Cancellation Policy Rules

A rule is based on the number of days entered in the Delivery Offset box. To assign a rule to a cancellation policy:

1. Enter a delivery offset value. The delivery offset is the number of days before or after the scheduled offering start date. The value of delivery offset determines which rule is applied, based on how many days before or after the scheduled offering start date that the user cancels. To enforce a rule that occurs before the start date, enter a negative number. To enforce a rule that occurs after the start date, enter a positive number. For example, if your earliest time frame is two weeks (14 days) before the course, type 14.
2. Choose the rule to go with the delivery offset. You can choose either:

• No Charge: No charge for cancellation within the delivery offset
• Charge Full Price: Full price charged for cancellation within the delivery offset
• Charge Percentage: Percentage of the full price charged for cancellation within delivery offset.
• Charge Fixed Amount: Fixed amount of money charged for cancellation within delivery offset.

Cancellation Policy Rules

Schedule Offerings - Standard Cancellation Example

Please be aware the following costs will be charged based on the withdrawal confirmation date:

• More than 30 days prior: No incurred cost
• 29 – 14 days prior: 50% of the course cost
• 13 days prior: 100% of the course cost

LMS Admin > System Admin > References  > Commerce  >  Cancellation Policies

Default Cancellation Policy for Learning Administrators

After creating cancellation policies for the first time, set the default cancellation policy for administrators who create new learning items.

Editing Cancellation Policies in Learning Items

To change the cancellation policy for learning item that has an scheduled offerings, you are prompted to manage the change through the Master Inventory wizard:

1. In each item select More from the Related menu.
2. Select a new cancellation policy in Cancellation Policy ID. Note: The cancellation policy can only be seen if the item is scheduled or has a section that can be scheduled. This is because cancellations apply to withdrawing from a schedule. If a course is online and users can take it any time, for example, they do not withdraw from it.
3. When prompted to propagate the change, select Yes.
4. Selecting Yes pushes the change to master inventory so all scheduled offerings that inherit this cancellation policy get the new policy.
5. In the Master Inventory Wizard, select the scheduled offerings based on the learning item and which should inherit the new cancellation policy.

Editing Cancellation Policies in Learning Items

Cancellation Reasons

Users can select from among a list of cancellation reasons when they withdraw from a scheduled offering.

• Set up a list of cancellation reasons in References > Learning > Cancellation Reasons
• Then set up a scheduled offering to require a cancellation on withdraw by setting Require Cancellation Reason in the scheduled offering.

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