SAP Hybris Tutorial : What is SAP Hybris [Complete Guide]

Complete comprehensive guide to SAP Hybris including its services, modules, features, advantages, applications, etc:

Hybris is an SAP-based platform to develop our eCommerce applications. It is a German company. It provides the omnichannel product and content management software to manage our E-commerce applications.

It provides the Customer relationship management service as well by managing the existing and the new customer data and their preferences.

The Hybris Commerce Suite organizes the data of product information, user information, and other information in multiple communication channels.

Hybris operations are Product management software, Content management software, and provide the solution for customer activities with the help of relevant modules. It helps in supporting both B2B and B2C Channels.

Click here for more reference

What is SAP Hybris

Hybris is a huge platform. It supports all the faces of business in an entity and has different cockpits to support different modules of the application. It has Hybris back office to support the Hybris management activities.

It has Hybris administrative console to support the administrative activities and also has a Product content management console to support and manage the product and catalog of the application. It has Web content management service to help in managing the web content and content slots.

It has a customer support cockpit to support and provide the solution to the customers.

• It has the Accelerator for B2B and B2C. This allows users to use the specific feature in their application. It saves the time and cost of the development of an application.
• Hybris has accelerators where we can use for learning and practice and also use the ready module in our application without spending much time developing from scratch.
• It provides the access to the user as administrator to control the banner and promo components. It helps the user to change the banner and promo component based on different occasions.
• It provides strong customer support to help the customer solve their queries and help to place the order with the help of the CS cockpit.
• It provides the business to the large enterprises and medium businesses to help and meet their needs with rich features.
• It has rich out-of-the-box features to help the customer, to build their application without putting in the extra effort.

Why Do We Prefer Hybris

Here are the reasons: 

• Hybris has the best-integrated support: It will allow the user to integrate the 3rd party tool and the web services. It has a built-in integration feature. So, users need not search for any other tool for integration purposes while using Hybris.
• It has the Omnichannel feature: It will help the customer access the application through the multichannel. So, the customer sells or shops within the different channels by using the desktop, mobile, telephone, and other channels.
• It has different cockpits: It has many cockpits to tune the different modules of the business. It has a Customer support cockpit, Web content management service, Product content management, Report cockpit, Backoffice, Hybris administrative console, Smart Edit. Cockpit concept is a built-in framework where it allows users to configure a large number of configurable components. It will help the developers to develop the common application tasks quickly and more efficiently.
• It supports multiple businesses: It provides business solutions for B2B and B2C. So, any kind of businesspeople can approach Hybris to build their application.
• Support for different countries: It supports different countries’ standards, supports different languages and currencies.
• Supports Order management services: It provides order management services to manage and track customer orders.

Features Of SAP Hybris

• Powerful search engine: It has a powerful search engine. It uses the Solr search engine to search the elements effectively.
• Wide range of promotions: It has a wide range of promotions. It has the Order level, Product level, and Shipping level promotions to support the business. It has coupon promotions.
• Catalog management: It manages the catalogs with a better approach.
• Cockpit concept: It has different cockpits to manage the different modules of the application.

Hybris Administrative Console

So first here we can discuss the menu items and their features. Here it has the Platform, Monitoring, Maintenance, Console, Azure as Main Menu.

[image source]

#1) Platform: Under the platform, we have System, Initialization, update, SQA scripts. Here we can view the tenants. In tenants, we can activate or view the JDBC SQL server. We can perform the configurations.

Here we can perform more than 3180 configurations by searching the particular key to configure any element or we can find the particular key by using the pagination. We can configure by changing the value. We can view the system environment and system properties information in the platform section.

Here we can initialize and update the system components either by selected items or all the items. We can generate the scripts for initialization and as well as for update.

#2) Monitor: Under monitor, we can monitor the database and see the data by using queries. We can create Cronjobs and set the recurring functions. We can manage the memory.

#3) Maintenance: Under maintenance, we can perform the Clean-up of junk data and not necessary data. We can Encryption data, which is more secure. And also, here we perform deployment operations.

#4) Console: Under console, we can perform the Impex import and Impex export. Impex is the process of importing and exporting the data to and from the database. Impex is the specific term from the hybris. Hybris Impex engine concerts the Impex statement into SQL. The developers perform Impex only.

#5) Azure: The last menu option is the azure. It shows us the Database usage.

Hybris Management Console

Hybris management console manages most of the applications from it. We use Backoffice instead of the Hybris management console. Backoffice is an extension/up-gradation of HMC. We can do everything in the back office that we can do in the Hybris management console. It has a different menu to handle the different configurations of the business.

[image source]

#1) System: It has a system menu to perform System configurations, Advance configurations, Personalization, API configurations, Search and navigation configurations, Cronjob operations. Here we can import and export Impex files. manage cronjobs, save queries for fetching data. Face search (Indexing – Update, Full and Delete) and many more.

#2) Catalog: It has a catalog menu to support catalog management. It configures the catalog, Categories, Products, Product Variant types, Product units. Here we can add and edit the products. We can manage the catalog and the categories.

#3) Multimedia: Multimedia menu supports the configure media, media folder, Media container, Media formats, Media contexts. Here we can add and edit the media contents.

#4) Users: Users Menu has a different type of user. It has its hierarchy level. It has Companies, User groups, Employees, Customers, Addresses, and supporting menu content. Here we can add and edit the address.

#5) Order: Next is the Order menu. It has Orders, Quotes. Here we can see the order details, order history, order entries. and also, we can see the quotes and quotes entries.

#6) Price settings: The price settings menu has Prices, Taxes, Discounts, Delivery cost settings, Payment mode settings. So here we perform the configuration for the price-related changes.

#7) Internationalization: The internationalization menu has languages, Currencies, Countries, Regions. Here we can configure the site for different country standards by changing the country, language, currencies and testing the application.

#8) Marketing: The marketing menu mainly contains the promotions, Website groups, Promotion rules, Promotion templates, Promotion modules, and also it has Coupon management, coupons, coupon code generation configuration.

Here we can set the different level coupon code including single-level and multi-level coupon codes. When it comes to promotions, we can set product level, Order level, and shipping level promotions.

#9) Web Content Management Service: The web content management service menu has content slots, page templates, website, components. Here, we can create and configure the content page. We can use the different page types and the different page templates while configuring. In the content slot, we can create and manage slots on any page based on the template configurations.

#10) Base Commerce: The base commerce menu has Base store, Order cancellation configuration, Point of Service, Warehouse, Stock level. Here it has different base stores. Under that, we have different warehouses. We can create and configure the base stores and warehouses.

We can perform the stock level settings as well. We can configure the same product for the different base stores and warehouses as well. Under the base commerce, it has the point of service. So, we can perform the point of service sell configuration settings.

#11) Deeplink URL: Deeplink URLs menu has a deep link URL, Deeplinkurl Rule.

#12) Rule engine: Rule engine has Source rules, Drools rules.

#13) Ticket system: The ticket system has Tickets, Ticket event email configuration. Here we can create the ticket for the different events and also perform the ticket event email configurations. It is mainly built for customer care people. Manage customer tickets, which are the complaints raised by customers. We can set priority, description, customer email, etc.

#14) B2B Approval: B2B Approval process menu has B2B permissions. It has a different level of permission related to B2B.

#15) B2B commerce: B2B commerce has B2B unit, B2B customer, B2B user group. Here, we can create the b2b unit. We can perform the configure on B2B customer and B2B user groups.

#16) Personalization: The personalization menu has Configurations, Triggers, Actions. Here we can perform the configurations on users in segments. In trigger, we can do personalization configurations on customization groups.

What Is A Cockpit

Cockpit NG means the Hybris Next Generation Cockpit Framework delivers a widget-based framework that makes it easy for developers to design role- and process-oriented business tools so users can be productive, no matter what tasks they need to perform.

Backoffice Feature

• We can build a customized application.
• Takes less time to build sites with pre-defined components which are ready to use.
• It enables employees to efficiently use administrative tools on mobile devices.
• It has a Generic dashboard widget. It is a container widget dedicated to building dashboards presented to users. The widget is flexible in configuration and allows for many different dashboard configurations based on the user on the page type.

Accessing & Log in to Back-office:

Access the Backoffice URL as,

The default address is https://localhost:9002/backoffice/

Login using the credentials as

• Username: admin
• Password: nimda

Product Cockpit Management 

Product content management is the platform to configure the product and product attributes. Here we can add the products, configure the products, add the categories and manage the categories. Based on this, we can see the categories’ structure in the storefront.

First, we can talk about the terminologies which we used in product cockpit management. We can see the definition of Catalog, Catalog version, Category, and Products.

[image source]

#1) Catalog: A Catalog is a list of available Catalog aware items, for example, products including attributes such as product price and product description.

#2) Catalog Version: Categories are held in catalog versions. A catalog version can represent your offered collection of products at a certain point in time. To enable, we have to maintain your collection within a basic process. You typically hold two or more catalog versions in an object called a catalog.

#3) Classifying category: Classification-based attributes are called category features, sometimes also referred to as classification attributes. Available category features can be organized independently from product catalog structures in separate classification systems, where they can be structured into classifying categories.

#4) Products: Products are the basic elements of each Catalog and have references to one or more categories and a Catalog version.

Steps to be followed to add the product into the configured category:

1. In the Back office, navigate to categories.
2. Search for the Engraving category.
3. Through the search result selected, appropriate engraving category.
4. Select the category structure.
5. In the subcategory and product section, assign the desired product.
6. Save and sync it.

Features Of Product Cockpit:

• The Hybris Product Cockpit enables you to manage the products and categories.
• It creates new products and categories.
• It edits the product attributes.
• It changes the categories of products.
• It changes product assignment.
• It will search for a product using advanced settings.
• It submits the changes for approval.
• It approves or rejects changes.

Product Cockpit Menu:

Product cockpit menu contains the default perspective for your selected cockpit is displayed once you have logged in. From the menu, you can select the following:

• Data Language: Choose the language in which the screen text should appear.
• User Group: View to which user group your user account is assigned.
• User Settings: Select which user settings you want to reset.
• Logout: Log out of the current cockpit

WCMS – Web Content Management System

Here we can talk about the accessing of WCMS, Introduction, overview, working process, configuration, main benefits.

Here we can create a content page or slot from the staged version, and we will sync the content to the online version to see in the storefront. If we create the content directly in the online version, we can see it directly in the storefront without performing the sync.

While creating a page, we can use the image, GIF, PDF from the computer system or we can use the content templates which exist in the WCMS.

In this way, we can create a new page through the WCMS cockpit. And add the Page name, Create a site logo, Banner image, slide show in the banner paragraph, and many other slot components. In WCMS we can create and modify pages like Contact us, About US, Careers, Order history, FAQ, Terms and condition, site map.

In the Hybris WCMS Cockpit, it enables the management of website content data. Using the WCMS Cockpit, we can:

• Create the web pages.
• Update the web pages.
• Add and edit the content slot.
• Add and edit the data in the content slot.
• Manage the content components.
• Synchronize the catalog pages.
• It will compose and publish the components.
• It manages the Templates.
• We can personalize the specific category, product, user.
• Enable and disable the page and page components.

WCMS Menu:

WCMS menu provides the following options:

• Data Language: We can choose the language in which the screen text should appear.
• User Group: We can view to which user group your user account is assigned.
• User Settings: Select which user settings you want to reset.
• Logout: We can log out of the current cockpit.

WCMS Page View

The WCMS Page View perspective consists of the following areas:

• Navigation area: This allows you to quickly access the user option’s menu, select a perspective, and access WCMS functions.
• Browser area: This allows you to browse and edit selected websites and web pages and their components.
• Inspector area: This allows you to view information about the selected item.
• Editor area: This allows you to edit a selected item.

Smart Edit

It’s a primary UI tooling framework, allowing customers to edit changes in a visually enhanced way. Whatever changes the user makes can be observed without the need to switch back & forth b/w your CMS & website.

[image source]

Features of Smart Edit:

• Easy to use UI: No Special training is required to use it.
• Drag and Drop Components: Components can be dragged and dropped to an empty slot that can be configured.
• Editing components In-Context: The components’ names can be edited easily.
• Personalization: Personalization of Components is much easier.
• Image upload: Images can be uploaded & removed.                    
• Management of content: We can manage the content by not removing permanently based on giving permission to access the particular user groups.
• Shared content slots: Shared content slots are content slots that are used across different pages of the site, such as the navigation bar slot or the footer slot. E.g.-Site Logo appears on all pages.
• List pages: The Page List displays all the pages in a selected catalog version. So it will display all site data in the staged and online version.
• Creation of new content pages: Creation of content pages is very easy with the help of an existing template or new user data
• Support for different roles: The user can log in as Admin who manages the data access, or user who uses from the front end and don’t have access to change or control or also we can log in as CMS manager who adds or create the content which is required for the site and user.

Types of Restrictions:

We have 4 different restrictions as below:

• Category restriction
• Time restriction
• Storefront user group restriction &
• User restriction.

Different Smart Edit Modes:

• Preview Mode: This allows you to navigate the site storefront as it will be displayed to your customers. You can proceed to the last step of the checkout.
• Basic Edit Mode: This mode allows you to perform standard editing, such as editing and adding components and page management.
• Advanced Edit Mode: This provides the same editing capabilities as Basic Edit, with more information on the page structure, managing component visibility & can also view shared slots.
• Personalization Mode: It enables you to manage the personalization of content for guest/registered users.

Promotions And Coupons

Hybris provides many promotions and coupons for the customers. Mainly, it has order level and product level promotions.

•  Order level: Activates on the shopping cart based on the order amount.
•  Product level: Activates on the product at a line level in the cart.

Features Of Hybris Promotions:

• It has Promotion templates.
• It provides Promotion management.
• We can choose the Promotion on priority. If it has multiple promotions applied for the same item
• Promotion stackability.
• It displays Promotion messages.
• It has a Rule-based engine and extensibility.
• It has Coupon management.
• It has Coupon redemption.

Creating the promotions:

1. Click on Marketing and select Promotion Rules.
2. Enter data in the mandatory fields on the Rule properties tab.
3. Click on the Conditions and Actions tab.
4. Drag and drop the conditions and actions that are reflected by the customers.
5. Choose the condition under three types of conditions.
6. Cart, Customer, General.
7. Go to the administration tab and apply the promotion condition.

SAP Hybris Applications

• We can use SAP Hybris in the eCommerce domain.
• We can use it for billing.
• We can use in the cloud-based application.
• We can use in the cloud-based service.

Advantages

• Multichannel commerce
• Omnichannel
• Catalo management
• Product Content management
• Page content management
• Slot management

Frequently Asked Questions

Q #1) Is Hybris part of SAP?

 Answer: Yes, cloud-based service and marketing services are part of the SAP administration.

Q #2) Where can we use SAP Hybris with more potential?

 Answer: We use Hybris mainly to develop E-commerce applications, large and medium enterprise billing software, etc.

Q #3) Which of the big companies use SAP Hybris? 

Answer: Many companies use SAP Hybris. the main companies are Tata group, AVG, Nestle, Levis, Reliance, and the list goes on.

Q #4) What are the Hybris accelerators?  

Answer: We have some ready modules/features which are in Hybris that we can directly use in our new e-commerce application.

Q #5) Is SAP Hybris good?

Answer: Yes, it is very good, because it has a more customized service where we can adapt easily and also user friend UI pages, where we can use in our new E-commerce applications. And it has different services to operate the different modules of the business.

Q #6) How do you define Hybris technology?

Answer: It is basically an E-commerce platform. It allows us to develop and use different business modules like B2B and B2C.

Q #7) What is Hybris wiki?

Answer: It is a tutorial for Hybris which is provided by the SAP Hybris to learn the different aspects of Hybris and operations of Hybris and it provides the user guide to use and configure each module operation.

Q #8) What are the components we have in Hybris architecture? 

Answer: It has a Database like SP, Oracle, SQL

Next is an application server. It contains a spring Hybris server. Next is Platform, which has all platform functions. Back office UI may contain the Hybris cockpits, multi-channel, customer services.

The next one is Modules, it consists of the hybris b2b commerce, b2c commerce, cross channel commerce. And the last one in the top layer has front-end application integration. It has a call canter, mobile, WCMS.

Conclusion

This is all about SAP Hybris and Hybris modules to learn and apply while using the Hybris based e-commerce application to manage the content based on the user vision and idea. So, it enriches the application view by using this Hybris service.