User roles and feature elements

Throughout Infor e-Commerce, access control is asserted over many of the features, such as ordering, user administration and account information. Control can also be applied to entire pages and to the listings shown by navigation components.

To allow for a flexible system of assigning permissions to access each of these various features, Infor e-Commerce implements the concepts of user roles, user segments, role types and feature elements. This system allows access permissions to be assigned based on the type of function a given user performs rather than the usual hierarchy of permissions in which users on each higher level can view all of the features available to those below them.

Infor e-Commerce is designed so that the code required to create each feature element (for example, the ability to edit a reseller’s shipping address) is run only for users belonging to a role that can access that element. Each time a feature element is to be shown, Infor e-Commerce checks that the current user belongs to at least one user role (for example, "Reseller", "Shopper", or "Order Handling Administrator") that has been granted access to that feature element.

Each user can be assigned several user roles, and each user role may be assigned to several users. In addition, each user role can be granted several feature elements and each feature element may be accessible by several user roles.

Infor e-Commerce is delivered with several pre-configured feature elements and user roles. These are listed in Standard Infor e-Commerce settings.

Role types

A role type defines where a role should be used. Infor e-Commerce is preconfigured with the following role types:

  • Administrator– Roles with this role type are assigned to users from the merchant. This type of user is normally involved in the administration of the Infor e-Commerce application. These roles are listed in the User Details area of the Business Center when you are creating merchant users.

  • Guest User– Roles with this role type are assigned to visitors of the Customer Center. This type of user is normally allowed to shop, but cannot buy or order.

  • Consumer User– Roles with this role type are assigned to users registered in the Customer Center. Usually, consumer users place small orders for private use. These roles are listed in the Single User Details area of the Business Center.

  • Customer User– Roles with this role type are assigned to company users. These users are registered in the Business Center. Company users typically submit frequent large orders and receive a discount.