Introduction

Enterprises can expand their automation process by integrating the existing self-service platforms or marketplaces with a vendor platform, where orders for new services can be placed automatically. This automation eases the activities of order placement and order fulfillment.

This user's guide walks you through the procurement life cycle of an IoT and Storage Devices order placed by the Procurement Manager of ACME using the internal Business Solution (ServiceNow). It describes how the order is placed in ServiceNow (version New York and Orlando), sourced using CloudBlue Commerce, and fulfilled at the vendor side using CloudBlue Commerce. The order is fulfilled without having the Procurement Manager browsing any other business system.

This integration between ServiceNow and CloudBlue Commerce is achieved by using Zapier.

Integration Procedure

The ServiceNow integration with CloudBlue Commerce using Zapier demonstrates the order management process between ServiceNow and CloudBlue Commerce using Zapier, when an order is placed in ServiceNow by the Enterprise System Administrator or Procurement Manager. The procedure also includes configurations required in ServiceNow and Zapier, which are prerequisites to facilitate the order management flow between the platforms.

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites are required to to integrate the two platforms using Zapier:

1. Purchase the Zap subscription: Before starting the integration, you must purchase a Zapier subscription to build the integration. Select the right subscription plan depending on the objectives you want to achieve. For more information on how to buy a new subscription, refer to the Zapier Website.
2. Create Zaps: Zaps are workflows created using the existing Zap apps that facilitate communication between two web applications. For example, when an order is placed in ServiceNow, the order data flows to CloudBlue Commerce as a request for provisioning. Also, when the request status changes in CloudBlue Commerce, the corresponding order status is updated in ServiceNow. This communication is established using Zaps. However, Zaps can also be preconfigured and published in Zapier to enable platform integrations. Such preconfigured Zaps are known as Zap templates, which are outputs of the Zap itself. In this scenario, the following two Zap templates are created.
• One for ServiceNow to CloudBlue Commerce flow that is captures the order data in ServiceNow and transmits the data to CloudBlue Commerce.
• One for CloudBlue Commerce to ServiceNow flow that synchronizes the order statuses between CloudBlue Commerce and ServiceNow.
3. Add an activation tile on the ServiceNow home page: Activation tiles are customized widgets available on the ServiceNow home page for a specific service ordered by the Enterprise System Administrator or the Procurement Manager. Tiles help ServiceNow users to view service activation requests from CloudBlue Commerce. It also enables users to activate the service by using the activation link in the tile and provide the requested information. However, to leverage the benefits of the tile, users must add a new activation tile on the ServiceNow home page before placing an order in ServiceNow.
4. Install the Procurement Plugin: Activation of the procurement plugin provides the core procurement capabilities. For more information, refer to the ServiceNow documentation.
5. Configuring update sets: Update set is an XML file that helps to move all the configurations done in one instance of ServiceNow to another instance. Using the XML file, the configurations can be made available to all users across Business Units. For more information refer to the ServiceNow documentation.

Video Demonstration

This video provides an end-to-end demonstration of the order management flow between ServiceNow and CloudBlue Commerce. It provides a walk through on how an order is placed in ServiceNow (vendor), sourced through CloudBlue Commerce, and finally gets fulfilled in ServiceNow using CloudBlue Commerce.