B2B-Solution-Architect Sample Questions Answers

• Enable External Sharing Model to create external organization-wide defaults. This allows you to set different sharing settings for internal and external users based on profiles or roles. You can also use criteria-based sharing rules to grant access to records based on field values1.

https://architect.salesforce.com/diagrams/template-gallery/automotive-dealer-solution-architecture

When hitting governor limits due to the volume of operations on the Order object, moving automation to asynchronous Apex (e.g., using future methods, batch Apex, or Queueable Apex) is often necessary. This allows for more efficient handling of bulk operations and reduces the chance of exceeding governor limits. Salesforce provides guidelines on bulkifying code and using asynchronous operations to manage large data volumes effectively, which is essential for high-volume order processing.

 a reference architecture diagram is a document that shows the high-level view of the customer’s current infrastructure, including the systems, applications, data sources, integrations, and security layers. A reference architecture diagram also indicates which system is the system of record for each data entity and how data flows between systems.

A reference architecture diagram is useful for a Solution Architect to get an overview of the customer’s current infrastructure so they can begin the first phase of the digital transformation. A reference architecture diagram can help identify gaps, risks, dependencies, and opportunities for improvement in the existing landscape. It can also serve as a baseline for designing future state solutions that leverage Salesforce products and features.

https://www.salesforceben.com/b2c-solution-architect-certification-guide-tips/

In Universal Containers' architecture, Salesforce serves as the System of Record (SOR) for sales data such as Opportunities and Quotes, centralizing sales activities and data management. Orders, onceconfirmed, transition to the ERP system, where they are processed and fulfilled, making the ERP the SOR for order, invoice, and payment data. This delineation ensures clear data ownership and process efficiency, with Salesforce facilitating customer engagement and sales processes, and the ERP managing financial transactions and fulfillment, in line with best practices for leveraging Salesforce in a multi-system environment.

A Salesforce Center of Excellence (COE) is a centralized division within your company that oversees and manages all aspects of the Salesforce instance, including projects, maintenance, and support12. A COE acts as a central governing body for the entire organization and funnels all decision making and product ownership through a single group2. By creating a COE, you can ensure that all development decisions will be made by internal resourceswho have direct relationships with stakeholders throughout the company12.

Another benefit of creating a COE is that knowledge of the solution will stay within the organization3. A COE provides leadership, best practices, research, support and training for Salesforce3. By having an internal team that is responsible for implementing and maintaining the solution, you can avoid relying on external vendors or consultants who may not have your best interests at heart or who may leave after the project is done4.

Appointment Assistant lets Field Service customers book, confirm, reschedule, or cancel theirupcoming appointments. For Self-Service Scheduling, you only need one license per org assigned to one user. You can also customize the look and feel of your self-service scheduling pages and embed them into your Experience Cloud site.

Option B would help resellers find answers to their questions by showing them relevant articles or discussions before they create a case. This way, they can resolve their issues without contacting support13.

Option D would help resellers learn how to use the site effectively andavoid common pitfalls. This way, they can reduce errors and confusion that might lead to unnecessary cases2.

To help resellers use the site more efficiently and lower the case volume, the Solution Architect should recommend:

• B. Implement Case Deflection.This feature helps users find answers to their questions and resolve issues before submitting a case, thereby reducing case volume.
• D. Plan and conduct User Adoption Trainings for resellers on how to use the site.Training ensures that resellers are comfortable with the ecommerce site and understand how to use it effectively, which can lead to reduced case volume.

Salesforce's best practices for service cloud implementation recommend these strategies to improve user efficiency and reduce case volumes, as detailed in Service Cloud documentation and training materials.

For UC's requirements, mastering Product and Pricing data in CPQ is optimal due to CPQ's robust pricing and discounting capabilities, which align with UC's goal to expand its catalog and utilize advanced discounting. Integrating this data into B2B Commerce via Apex ensures seamless data flow and real-time updates, essential for maintaining consistent product information across platforms. Middleware integration with the ERP facilitates complex data synchronization and process orchestration, handling diverse data formats and protocols, thus supporting the end-to-end order fulfillment process efficiently.

it is important to set up the product and pricing structure in CPQ correctly and align it with the business requirements and expectations. This can affect how products are configured, quoted, priced, and ordered in CPQ and Billing, as well as how they are integrated with ERP for order fulfillment12. Getting feedback on this area early can help avoid rework or errors later.

https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=blng_overview.htm &language=en_US&type=5

Getting feedback on the Product and Pricing structure setup in CPQ should be the earliest focus. This is foundational to the CPQ process and dictates how pricing sync, discounting, and ultimately invoicing will function. Early validation with business stakeholders ensures that the CPQ solution meets business requirements and can integrate seamlessly with ERP systems. Salesforce's best practices in CPQ implementation stress the importance of early stakeholder engagement, particularly around pricing strategies and product catalog setup.

Allowing end users to interact with the solution in a controlled environment (like a sandbox) and providing them with structured testing scripts ensures that the build aligns with their requirements without disrupting the project timeline. This method enables real-time feedback and iterative improvements, ensuring the final product meets user needs. Salesforce's best practices for UAT and sandbox environments, detailed in the Salesforce Development Lifecycle Guide, support this approach by emphasizing the importance of hands-on testing and feedback in the development process.

https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/user-acceptance-testing-video/learn-about-user-acceptance-testing

To ensure high adoption by the call center team and maintain consistency in their experience, providing direct access to B2B Commerce data, such as customer carts, within the Service Console is essential. This approach allows agents to view relevant B2B Commerce information seamlessly within their familiar Service Console environment, enabling efficient issue resolution and enhancing customer support. This solution leverages the integrated capabilities of Salesforce to unify customer data across platforms, aligning with best practices for a cohesive user experience and efficient service delivery.

There are different types of performance testing, such as load testing, stress testing, endurance testing, and spike testing. Each type has a different purpose and goal.

the best type of performance testing is API load test against the full copy sandbox before go live. This type of test can help you evaluate how well your integrations handle high volumes of data and transactions from multiple sources. It can also help you validate the functionality and performance of your MuleSoft Anypoint Platform.

To perform an API load test, you need to create a test plan thatdefines the test scenarios, test data, test tools, and test metrics. You also need to submit a request for performance testing to Salesforce2 and follow their guidelines and best practices.

A full copy sandbox is a good environment for API load test because it has the same data and metadata as your production org. This can help you simulate realistic conditions and avoid data skew issues.

When dealing with large volumes of data and multiple integrations, it is important to perform load testing to ensure that the system can handle the expected load. An API load test against the full copy sandbox will simulate the expected load and help identify any performancebottlenecks before the system goes live in production. This type of testing should be performed prior to go live to ensure that the system can handle the expected load and provide a good user experience.

To track invoicing payment status and identify discrepancies in customer orders against contractual targets, integrating Salesforce Billing with the ERP system is essential. This integration allows for real-time synchronization of invoicing and payment statuses, providing UC employees with up-to-date information. Using MuleSoft for integration facilitates seamless data exchange between Salesforce and the ERP, ensuring that order information is accurately reflected in Salesforce. This setup supports efficient monitoring and management of contractual obligations and financial transactions. Salesforce Billing offers capabilities for managing invoicing and payments within the Salesforce ecosystem, while MuleSoft's Anypoint Platform enables robust API-led connectivity between systems, aligning with Salesforce's recommended practices for system integration and data management.

Salesforce CPQ is essential for configuring complex deals and managing subscriptions, addressing the needs of Direct Sales. B2B Commerce facilitates self-service capabilities for existing customers, enabling them to initiate product and service requests online. The CPQ B2B Commerce Connector bridges CPQ and B2B Commerce, ensuring seamless transition of requests from the storefront to Sales for quote finalization. This integrated solution supports AC Computers' requirement for a cohesive sales process that caters to both direct sales complexity and customer self-service convenience, aligning with Salesforce's ecosystem's capabilities to provide a comprehensive and efficient sales and service experience.

 This type of license allowsexternal users to access standard Salesforce objects such as accounts, contacts, leads, opportunities, and cases. It also enables them to collaborate with UCemployees and other partners on joint sales and service processes34.

To demonstrate that different business units can only see lead or contact records for their business unit, a Solution Architect can create a dynamic list that applies the same rules to multiple business units. The dynamic list will show the total leads and contacts in the list for each business unit, demonstrating that the data sharing rules are working correctly.

To demonstrate that Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (formerly Pardot) is correctly connected with Sales Cloud across different business units, creating dynamic lists with identical criteria in each business unit and comparing the total leads and contacts can effectively showcase proper segmentation and access control. This approach allows the Solution Architect to visually represent how marketing data and activities are appropriately partitioned and managed across the business units, ensuring that leads and contacts are only accessible by the relevant teams, in line with Salesforce's best practices for managing data in multi-business unit environments.

During the discovery workshop for Salesforce Field Service, consulting with the Field Service Manager, Business Analyst, and Field Service Agent is essential. The Field Service Manager provides insight into operational needs and challenges, the Business Analyst contributes an understanding of technical requirements and process optimizations, and the Field Service Agent offers a frontline perspective on service delivery and customer interactions. Involving these stakeholders ensures that the solution architect gathers comprehensive insights into the service operations, aligning the Salesforce Field Service implementation with the actual needs and workflows of the organization, consistent with Salesforce's best practices for stakeholder engagement in discovery sessions.

• Option C seems correct because it is important to document all the customizations added to the system, such as code, configuration, integrations, etc., so that they can be easily understood, maintained, and updated by the support team or future developers.
• Option D seems correct because it is essential to communicate and train users on new features that are rolled out to support UC’s business needs and goals. This can help usersadopt the new features faster and more effectively, as well as reduce confusion or frustration.
• Option E seems correct because it is advisable to have separate environments for development, training, and production purposes. This can help ensure that new features are developed and tested in a safe and isolated environment before being deployed to the production environment where they can affect real users and data.

This option allows you to use the Cart to Quote flow to create a quote from the Resellers Cart, allowing a salesrepresentative to configure discounts and sync back to cart1.

https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N3u00000MSk6gEAD

The Salesforce CPQ & Billing and CPQ B2B Commerce Connector allows for seamless integration between B2B Commerce and Salesforce CPQ. Using the Cart to Quote flow, resellers can request additional discounts on large volume orders, which the sales team can review and configure in CPQ. This process enables the resellers to benefit from automated pricing while still allowing for personalized discounting from the sales team when necessary. Salesforce documentation on the CPQ & Billing and CPQ B2B Commerce Connector details this process and the capabilities of the integration.

CRM Analyticsis a platform that provides advanced analytics and AI capabilities for Salesforce users. It allows users to create interactive dashboards and visualizations, explore data with natural language processing, and discover insights with predictive modeling.

https://www.salesforce.com/products/crm-analytics/overview/

CRM Analytics provides an enterprise-level, on-demand reporting solution that empowers users to access, analyze, and act upon critical business data in real-time. It includes pre-built dashboards, reporting tools, and data models to provide advanced analytics and insights. It can also be configured to allow non-Salesforce users to access the reports.

For Widgets Wonderful's needs, the Solution Architect should suggest:

• A. Salesforce Field Service and Service Cloud for Salesforce CPQ will need to be installed and customizations will need to be made to handle Entitlements.This addresses the complex products and warranties, ensuring that the quoting process on-site can accommodate the specific SLAs.
• B. Purchase 30 CPQ licenses and 10 Salesforce Field Service licenses.This matches the licensing to the user needs, ensuring all sales representatives and field service team members have the necessary access to create quotes and view field service objects.

Salesforce documentation on CPQ and Field Service licenses provides information on how to configure these systems for complex products and services, including warranties and SLAs.

Utilizing MuleSoft facilitates the seamless integration of Northern Trail Outfitters' Product Information Management (PIM) system, custom ecommerce solution, and Salesforce CPQ, ensuring consistent data flow and synchronization. MuleSoft's API-led connectivity approach allows for the efficient management and exchange of product and pricing information between these systems. Harmonizing the pricing and product structure between the custom ecommerce tool and CPQ is crucial for providing a consistent customer experience and maintaining data integrity across the sales and quoting processes. This approach ensures that pre-negotiated contract entitlements in CPQ are accurately reflected in the ecommerce experience, aligning with best practices for integrating disparate systems to create a cohesive and efficient sales ecosystem.

• Experience Cloud2. This way, you can create a service-focused community for your customers using Experience Cloud Sites. You can also customize the look and feel of your community and integrate it with other Salesforce products and features.
• Omni-Channel with defined presence, routing configurations, and Service Channels3. This way, you can manage your service agents’ availability and workload across different communication channels such as email, phone, and chat. You can also use service channels to define which objects and records are routed to your agents using Omni-Channel.
• Customer Community with Live Agent23. This way, you can enable chat support for your customers in the community using Live Agent. You can also configure chat buttons, invitations, pre-chat forms, and other settings for Live Agent.

Demonstrating the chatbot's capability to utilize Salesforce Knowledge to provide accurate and helpful responses to customer inquiries highlights the value of integrating Knowledge with automated chat solutions. This showcases how AI-driven chatbots can enhance customer service by quickly accessing and delivering content from Knowledge articles, addressing customer issues efficiently and reducingthe need for direct human intervention. This capability not only improves the customer experience by providing immediate assistance but also showcases the seamless integration between Salesforce's AI technologies and Knowledge base, illustrating the platform's ability to support advanced customer service strategies. Salesforce documentation and best practices often highlight the importance of leveraging Knowledge articles within AI-driven chat solutions to optimize customer support and service workflows.

For UC's digital transformation and adoption of Agile methodology, ensuring smooth and timely releases is crucial. The recommended practices are:

• B. Create a regular sprint cadence across the different teams to demonstrate new functionality.Establishing a consistent rhythm for sprints helps align team efforts, ensures regular progress reviews, and facilitates the integration of new features. It fosters collaboration and keeps the project on track.
• C. Use the last sprint of the release to stabilize it and eliminate identified issues.Dedicating the final sprint to stabilization and issue resolution is a best practice in Agile methodologies. It allows the team to focus on quality assurance, performance testing, and user feedback, ensuring that the release is robust and meets user expectations.

Salesforce and Agile methodology guides, such as those found on Salesforce Trailhead and in Agile development literature, emphasize the importance of regular cadences and stabilization phases for successful project delivery and continuous improvement.

For UC's requirement to offer self-service capabilities while managing complex product configurations, the recommended options are:

• A. Implement B2B Commerce on Experience Cloud to allow customers to purchase simple products with the addition of complex product configurations in a follow-up phase.This approach enables UC to quickly provide a self-service portal for straightforward products, with the flexibility to enhance the platform with more complex configuration capabilities later. It addresses the CIO's concern about time to market.
• C. Implement a templated self-service Experience Cloud site to show product information, add a "Request a Quote" component, and recommend B2B Commerce implementation in a follow-up phase.This solution allows UC to leverage Experience Cloud for immediate needs while planning for a more comprehensive B2B Commerce implementation. It provides a scalable way to enhance customer engagement and streamline the sales process.

These recommendations are based on Salesforce's best practices for implementing B2B Commerce and Experience Cloud, as detailed in Salesforce's B2B Commerce implementation guides and Experience Cloud documentation.

Creating cases in Salesforce for late payments allows service representatives to have all the necessary information within their primary work environment. Orchestrating these events with MuleSoft and then using Marketing Cloud for communication ensures a seamless flow of information and allows for the leveraging of each system's strengths: Salesforce for case management and Marketing Cloud for customer communication. This strategy aligns with the recommended practices for system integration and event-driven architectures in Salesforce ecosystems.

To address the executive team's concerns about staying on budget and mitigating risks during the build phase, establishing a governance framework is essential. This framework should include clear roles, responsibilities, decision-making processes, and budget tracking mechanisms. Focusing on governance ensures that the project remains aligned with business objectives, addresses potential issues proactively, and maintains financial discipline, aligning with best practices for successful Salesforce implementations.

• Leverage Shield Event Monitoring and MuleSoft to provide monitoring data to the third-party monitoring and alerting solution that’s already in place at P&C Hardware2. This option can help P&C Hardware leverage their existing investment andexpertise in their cloud-based monitoring tool, while integrating it with Shield Event Monitoring and MuleSoft to capture and analyze performance data from their Salesforce technology stack.
• Leverage Shield Event Monitoring in combination with the CRM Analytics Event Monitoring app as a simple out-of-the-box solution3. This option can help P&C Hardware quickly set up a performance monitoring dashboard using pre-built reports and dashboards from the CRM Analytics Event Monitoring app, which can be installed from AppExchange. This app can provide insights into useractivity, adoption, performance issues, security risks, and more.

https://trailhead.salesforce.com/credentials/architectoverview

Salesforce CPQ is an extension of the Salesforce CRM that automates the generation and processing of quotes, orders, and contracts. It enables your sales team to create quotes quickly and with minimal errors and efforts.

Salesforce CPQ can be integrated with ERP systems by converting Salesforce CPQ lead-to-order data into transactional data. This allows ERP systems to take over matching data and use it for accounting functions.

an external ETL tool can be used to batch load the records into Salesforce from the ERP system. This can handle large amounts of records that need to be updated sporadically or on a monthly basis.

https://www.rapidionline.com/blog/salesforce-cpq-data-integration-increase-sales

https://www.salesforce.com/products/cpq/resources/what-is-salesforce-cpq/

Given the sporadic nature of updates and potentially large volumes of records that need to be updated in Salesforce, using an external ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) tool to batch load records is the most efficient strategy. ETL tools are designed to handle large data volumes and can schedule batch loads during off-peak hours to minimize the impact on system performance. This strategy aligns with Salesforce's own recommendations for handling bulk data operations, as documented in Salesforce's Bulk API Developer Guide.