Home
Documentation
HCL Commerce is a high-availability, highly scalable and customizable e-commerce platform. Able to support hundreds of thousands of transactions per day, HCL Commerce allows you to do business with consumers (B2C) or directly with businesses (B2B). HCL Commerce uses cloud friendly technology to make deployment and operation both easy and efficient. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. Business users can create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog, and merchandising across all sales channels. Business users can also use AI enabled content management capabilities.
Customizing
The topics in the Customizing section describe tasks performed by an application developer to customize HCL Commerce.
Creating your custom store
After you install and set up your programming environment, you can create your custom store and customize your storefront. You must ensure that the store server is properly configured, and that your store assets are moved to the Store server.
Creating a custom store using JSP
This HCL Commerce store uses Java Server Pages (JSP) to implement the view layer of the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern.
Customizing your store
After you review the HCL Commerce store architecture and create your custom store, you can use the programming environment to customize your store.
Aurora as a B2B starter store
You can publish the Aurora starter store as a B2B store and take advantage of features that are offered by the Aurora starter store plus extra B2B capabilities. Get your B2B e-commerce site up and running faster at a lower cost by using the Aurora starter store as your starting point. With B2B-optimized features built right into the storefront, you can minimize the amount of customization that is required to provide an optimal shopping experience to your business customers.
Sample workflow for B2B organization administration and approvals
When you publish the Aurora starter store as a B2B store, the store supports workflow for the initial setup of an organization, buyer self-registration and approvals, and order approvals. By familiarizing yourself with these sample workflow, you can begin planning how to adapt these workflow for your own store.
Sample workflow for order submission and approval
The Aurora starter store supports a workflow in which a buyer submits an order and a Buyer Approver or Buyer Administrator approves the order. When the process is complete, the order is submitted for processing.

Documentation
HCL Commerce is a high-availability, highly scalable and customizable e-commerce platform. Able to support hundreds of thousands of transactions per day, HCL Commerce allows you to do business with consumers (B2C) or directly with businesses (B2B). HCL Commerce uses cloud friendly technology to make deployment and operation both easy and efficient. It provides easy-to-use tools for business users to centrally manage a cross-channel strategy. Business users can create and manage precision marketing campaigns, promotions, catalog, and merchandising across all sales channels. Business users can also use AI enabled content management capabilities.
- Getting started
  HCL Commerce has different advantages for business users, administrators and developers. HCL Commerce targets each of these roles with a tailored set of offerings so that each of your users can get maximum benefit.
- Installing and deploying
  Learn how to install and deploy HCL Commerce development environments and HCL Commerce production environments.
- Migrating
  Before you migrate to HCL Commerce Version 9, review this information to help plan and execute your migration.
- Operating
  Topics in the Operating category highlight tasks that are typically performed by business users, customer support representatives, to complete their day-to-day tasks in the operation of the HCL Commerce site.
- Integrating
  Topics in the Integrating category highlight the tasks that are commonly performed for using HCL Commerce in combination with other products.
- Administering
  Topics in the Administering category highlight tasks that are typically performed by the Site Administrator, to support daily operations of the HCL Commerce site.
- Customizing
  The topics in the Customizing section describe tasks performed by an application developer to customize HCL Commerce.
  - ***
  - Managed asset deployment
    Managed assets are files that are uploaded by business users to be used for store marketing, or to supplement products. They are added to HCL Commerce through the Assets tool or the Marketing tool in Management Center. By default, managed assets are extracted and deployed through the HCL Commerce EAR. To maintain performance in a large-scale production environment, site administrators must switch to alternative extraction and deployment methods for managed assets.
  - What's new for developers
    Learn about the new features and functions HCL Commerce offers developers.
  - HCL Commerce development environment
    HCL Commerce Developer is the development toolkit for customizing a HCL Commerce application.
  - Functional architecture
    Functional architecture provides both the set of patterns used to implement the business functionality and the frameworks in which these business functions execute.
  - Persistent object model
    HCL Commerce deals with a large amount of persistent data. There are numerous tables defined in the current database schema. Even with this extensive schema, however, you might need to extend or customize the database schema for your particular business needs.
  - Creating your custom store
    After you install and set up your programming environment, you can create your custom store and customize your storefront. You must ensure that the store server is properly configured, and that your store assets are moved to the Store server.
    - Creating a custom store using JSP
      This HCL Commerce store uses Java Server Pages (JSP) to implement the view layer of the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern.
      - Store architecture
        HCL Commerce separates individual front-end storefronts from the servers on which they rely. This architecture increases security, scalability, flexibility in server topology, and improves the ease of development and deployment of stores and store customizations.
      - Creating and configuring your custom store
        You can create and configure your custom store in your Externalized Customization workspace through the configuration and execution of a Gradle script. You can then configure your store assets, sample data, and use your Externalized Customization workspace to customize that store.
      - Customizing your store
        After you review the HCL Commerce store architecture and create your custom store, you can use the programming environment to customize your store.
        Store configuration
        Customize your storefront assets or store functionality by changing the Store server configuration, or by modifying or extending your store JavaServer Pages (JSP files) or Spring-based model-view-controller (MVC).
        Changing static HTML sample store files
        You can use the static HTML store to accelerate your web design cycle. When web designers use the static HTML store as a starting point, the cost of building user interface within the JSP files is reduced. You can modify the HTML and CSS files using your favorite web design tools and without a development environment. The changes can be incorporated into the corresponding JSP files by a store developer at a more convenient time.
        Aurora as a B2B starter store
        You can publish the Aurora starter store as a B2B store and take advantage of features that are offered by the Aurora starter store plus extra B2B capabilities. Get your B2B e-commerce site up and running faster at a lower cost by using the Aurora starter store as your starting point. With B2B-optimized features built right into the storefront, you can minimize the amount of customization that is required to provide an optimal shopping experience to your business customers.
        Sample workflow for B2B organization administration and approvals
        When you publish the Aurora starter store as a B2B store, the store supports workflow for the initial setup of an organization, buyer self-registration and approvals, and order approvals. By familiarizing yourself with these sample workflow, you can begin planning how to adapt these workflow for your own store.
        Sample workflow for new organization registration and setup
        The Aurora starter store supports a workflow that allows an organization to self-register and obtain an account with your store. This workflow involves actions that are performed by people from your store who are assigned the Seller Administrator and Account Representative roles, and the person from the buyer organization who is assigned the Buyer Administrator role.
        Sample workflow for buyer self-registration and approval
        The Aurora starter store supports a workflow in which a buyer self-registers and a Buyer Administrator approves the buyer. When the process is complete, the buyer can place orders under the organization's business account.
        Sample workflow for order submission and approval
        The Aurora starter store supports a workflow in which a buyer submits an order and a Buyer Approver or Buyer Administrator approves the order. When the process is complete, the order is submitted for processing.
        Enabling guest browsing and shopping
        In the Aurora starter store, you can enable guest browsing and shopping for B2B customers. The steps involve enabling the related policies in the Organization Administration Console and modifying a store configuration file. You can then verify that guest browsing and shopping are enabled by browsing the store catalog and placing an order as a guest customer.
        Disabling guest browsing and shopping
        In the Aurora starter store, you can disable guest browsing and shopping for B2B customers. The steps involve removing the related policies in the Organization Administration Console and modifying a store configuration file. You can then verify that guest browsing and shopping are disabled by attempting to browse the store catalog and place an order as a guest customer.
        Accessing sample organizations and user accounts to try out Aurora B2B capabilities
        When you publish the Aurora starter store as a B2B store, the store has sample organizations and user accounts that are set up for your use. You can sign in to the store by using the sample user account and then try out B2B-optimized features in the storefront.
        Store pages and features
        Customize your store's pages by completing the following tasks.
        Email messages
        You can use the provided email template JSP files as a starting point to customize your email content. The templates are provided in the crs-web > WebContent > YourStoreFrontAssetStoreDir > EmailTemplates directory.
        Search engine optimization (SEO)
        You can use one of the following solutions to optimize your store for search engine results.
    - Email templates and sitemap generator
      An email template is a pre-designed format for creating consistent emails. Notifications are messages that inform users about events or updates related to a service or application.
  - Presentation layer
    HCL Commerce uses Java Server Pages (JSP) to implement the view layer of the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern. The view layer is in charge of retrieving data from the database through the use of data beans and formatting it to meet the display requirements. The view layers determines whether the request is sent to a browser or streamed out as XML. JSP files present a clean separation between data content and presentation.
  - Controller layer
    The Controller layer is the conductor of operations for a request. It controls the transaction scope and manages the session related information for the request. The controller first dispatches to a command and then calls the appropriate view processing logic to render the response.
  - Business logic layer
    The business logic layer is the business components that provide OAGIS services to return data or start business processes. The presentation layer uses these OAGIS services to display data, or to invoke a business process. The business logic provides data required by the presentation layer. The business logic layer exists because more than just fetching and updating data is required by an application; there is also additional business logic independent of the presentation layer.
  - Persistence layer
    The interaction between the business objects and persistence layer is isolated in an object called the Business Object Mediator. Business object document (BOD) commands interact with the Business Object Mediator to handle the interaction with the logical objects and how they are persisted.
  - Business model information model
    A business model, a representation of the business processes used throughout the site, provides a sample commerce solution which includes an organization structure, default user roles and access control policies, one or more starter stores, administration tools, and business processes that demonstrate best practices. A business model can be customized to support business requirements and scenarios. HCL Commerce provides sample business models that show some common commerce solutions. These business models are created by setting up an organization hierarchy structure, access control policies, stores, and contracts that help satisfy the necessary business requirements.
  - Business models
    Before starting to develop your site with HCL Commerce, you need to determine the business model supported by HCL Commerce that best represents the purpose of your site. Usually sites created with HCL Commerce will be implemented based on of one of these business models.
  - Store data information model
    Store data is the information that is loaded into the Transaction server database, which allows your store to function. The URL Registry Entries and View Registry Entries packages are included in the diagram, but they are not database assets. These entries are presentation configuration (that is, struts actions and forwards) that must be deployed. URL registry entries are shown in the diagram to illustrate the entire store data information model. To operate properly, a store must have the data in place to support all customer activities. For example, in order for a customer to make a purchase, your store must contain a catalog of goods for sale (catalog data), the data associated with processing orders (tax and shipping data), and the inventory to fulfill the request (inventory and fulfillment data).
  - Customizing HCL Commerce
    You can extend the HCL Commerce product to fit your business needs. This topic describes the prerequisite skills and required knowledge that you need to customize business logic. After you have the required knowledge, use HCL Commerce Developer to take tutorials that guide you step-by-step through various customization scenarios.
  - Run Engine command framework
    The Run Engine command framework provides predefined commands, that you can use to change environment parameters or container configurations. This framework is built into the HCL provided Docker images.
  - Representational State Transfer (REST) services
    HCL Commerce uses Representational State Transfer (REST) services to provide a framework that can be used to develop RESTful applications on several platforms. These platforms can include web, mobile, kiosks, and social applications.
  - Web services
  - Search
    HCL Commerce comes with a powerful and fully integrated search function. The search functions in HCL Commerce provide an enriched customer experience, with features such as automatic search term suggestions and spelling correction. Since it is built on industry standards, HCL Commerce Search is highly flexible and extensible. Starter stores can use the search engine's most sophisticated features without requiring extra customization.
- Tutorials
  HCL Commerce provides many tutorials to help you customize and understand your HCL Commerce instance and stores.
- Samples
  Topics in the Samples category highlight the various samples that are provided with HCL Commerce.
- Compliance
  The following section describes how you can leverage HCL Commerce features and functionality to help your site be compliant with different privacy and security standards.
- Securing
  These topics describe the security features of HCL Commerce and how to configure these features.
- Performance
  Topics in the Performance section describe the means by which to plan, implement, test, and re-visit the optimization of HCL Commerce site performance.
- Troubleshooting
  Topics in the Troubleshooting section highlight common issues that are encountered with HCL Commerce, and how they can be addressed or mitigated.
- Reference
  Topics in the Reference section contain all of the HCL Commerce reference documentation.

HCL Commerce Enterprise

Sample workflow for order submission and approval

The Aurora starter store supports a workflow in which a buyer submits an order and a Buyer Approver or Buyer Administrator approves the order. When the process is complete, the order is submitted for processing.

This workflow applies only to organizations that enables order approvals.

Sample workflow for order submission and approval
Step	Action	Role or actor	User interface that is used
1	A buyer signs in to the store and places an order under the organization's business account. The buyer clicks the My Account link in the store header, opens the Order History page, and sees the order that is listed under the Waiting for Approval tab.	Buyer	Storefront Order History page (B2B)
2	HCL Commerce sends an automated email notification to inform the Buyer Approver and Buyer Administrator that a buyer placed an order that requires approval.	Automated email message	Store email message See Registration and approval email notifications (B2B)
3	The Buyer Approver or Buyer Administrator signs in to the store, clicks the My Account link in the store header, and opens the Orders to Approve page. The Buyer Approver or Buyer Administrator approves or rejects the order. If approved, the order is submitted for processing.	Buyer Approver Buyer Administrator	Storefront See the following store pages: Orders to Approve page Order Approval Details page
4	The buyer signs in to the store, clicks the My Account link in the store header, and opens Order History page. If the order is approved, the order is listed under the Orders tab with its status. For example, the status might be `Order received and ready for processing` or `Shipped`. If the order is rejected, the order is listed under the Orders tab with a status of `Approval denied`.	Buyer	Order History page (B2B)