How to Call BIP Report in a VBCS Application

Part 1: Testing the BIP Report Web Service and acquiring URL and Request Payload using SOAP UI

Step 1: Obtain the WSDL and Load It in SOAP UI:

The standard WSDL URL for the ExternalReportWSSService in Oracle Fusion is:
https://<your_fusion_base_url>/xmlpserver/services/ExternalReportWSSService?WSDL

Step 2: Configure Authentication and Run a Sample Report:

Replace the sample request body with something minimal to test a known report. The default format of our report will be CSV. For example:

<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope" xmlns:pub="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/service/PublicReportService">

<soap:Header/>

<soap:Body>

<pub:runReport>

<pub:reportRequest>

<pub:reportAbsolutePath>/YourPath/YourReport.xdo</pub:reportAbsolutePath>

<pub:sizeOfDataChunkDownload>-1</pub:sizeOfDataChunkDownload>

</pub:reportRequest>

</pub:runReport>

</soap:Body>

</soap:Envelope>

Step 3: Capture the Endpoint URL and Sample Payload

Endpoint URL: At the top of the request window in SOAP UI, you’ll see the exact service endpoint used.
Sample Request Payload: Copy the full XML request body (the <soap:Envelope> block). This will serve as our request payload when configuring the SOAP service in VBCS.

Part 2: Create the Service Connection in VBCS

Go to Services tab → Service Connections → + Service → Define by Endpoint. Select REST (even though it’s SOAP — VBCS handles SOAP via REST endpoint).

Step 1: Configure the Endpoint

Method: POST
Action Hint: Get One (this helps VBCS treat the response as a single object)
URL: Paste the endpoint from SOAP UI: https://<your_fusion_url>:443/xmlpserver/services/ExternalReportWSSService

Step 2: Backend Configuration

In the Backend Specification Page, enter a backend name.
Authentication: Basic Authentication
Enter your Fusion username and password.
Connection Type: Select Always use proxy, irrespective of CORS support.

Step 3: Add Custom Header

In the Next Page, go to Request tab → Headers section → + Static Header.
Add:
- Header Name: Content-Type
- Value: application/soap+xml;charset=UTF-8

Step 4: Test the Connection

Go to the Test
Set Media Type: application/soap+xml;charset=UTF-8
Paste the full SOAP XML request payload from SOAP UI (the <soap:Envelope> block).
Click Send.
If successful, you’ll see the report response.
Click Save request payload as example.

Step 5: Finish Up

Click Create to complete the Service Connection.

Part 3: Display the Report Data on the VBCS Page

Now we’ll create the page structure, variables, and logic to call the service, parse the response, and display the data.

Step 1: Create a Type and ADP Variable for the Data

In Types tab (page or app scope) → + Type → Custom.
Add the necessary fields. In our case we are going to display these fields; VENDOR_ID,
SUMMARY_FLAG,
ORGANIZATION_TYPE_LOOKUP_CODE,
TAXPAYER_COUNTRY

Go to the Variables
Create an Array Data Provider (ADP) variable:
- Name: reportDataADP
- Type: Array of Objects

Choose Datatype as the one you created before.

Step 2: Add UI Components

Drag a Table onto the page.
Set its Data source to [[ $variables.reportDataADP ]]

Add columns for: VENDOR_ID, SUMMARY_FLAG, ORGANIZATION_TYPE_LOOKUP_CODE, TAXPAYER_COUNTRY.

Step 3: Trigger the Report on Page Enter

Select the Page → Events tab → vbEnter event → + Action Chain → Name it PageVbEnterChain.

Step 4: Implement the Action Chain

The Action Chain Code should look something like this:

define([

 'vb/action/actionChain',

 'vb/action/actions',

 'vb/action/actionUtils',

], (

 ActionChain,

 Actions,

 ActionUtils

) => {

 'use strict';




 class PageVbEnterChain extends ActionChain {




   /**

    * @param {Object} context

    * @param {Object} params

    * @param {object} params.event

    */

   async run(context, { event }) {

     const { $page, $flow, $application, $constants, $variables } = context;

     

     // 1. SOAP payload to run the BIP report (output as CSV)

     const BIPReportPayload = `<soap:Envelope xmlns:soap="http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope" xmlns:pub="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/service/PublicReportService">

                                 <soap:Header/>

                                 <soap:Body>

                                     <pub:runReport>

                                       <pub:reportRequest>

                                           <pub:reportAbsolutePath>/Custom/US_SUPPLIERS_Report.xdo</pub:reportAbsolutePath>

                                           <pub:sizeOfDataChunkDownload>-1</pub:sizeOfDataChunkDownload>

                                       </pub:reportRequest>

                                     </pub:runReport>

                                 </soap:Body>

                               </soap:Envelope>`;




                               

     // 2. Call the Service Connection we created earlier

     const response = await Actions.callRest(context, {

       endpoint: 'Get_US_Suppliers/postXmlpserverServicesExternalReportWSSService',

       body: BIPReportPayload,

     });




     // 3. If successful, parse the response and populate the ADP

     $variables.reportDataADP.data = this.readBIPReportResponseData(response, context);

   }




   /**

    * @param {Object} context

    */

   

// Helper function to extract and convert CSV data

readBIPReportResponseData(req) {




// Parse the SOAP response XML

     const parser = new DOMParser();

     const xmlDoc = parser.parseFromString(req.body, "text/xml");




     // Extract base64-encoded report bytes

     const base64ReportByte = xmlDoc.querySelector("reportBytes").textContent;




     // Decode base64 to get raw CSV text

     const base64DecodedReportData = atob(base64ReportByte);

     

// Split CSV into lines

     const data = base64DecodedReportData.split("\n");




// Define column headers (must match report output order)

     const titles = ["VENDOR_ID", "SUMMARY_FLAG", "ORGANIZATION_TYPE_LOOKUP_CODE", "TAXPAYER_COUNTRY"]; 

     




     // Convert each row (except header) into an object

     const jsonArray = data.slice(1).map(line => {

       const values = line.split(",");

       return titles.reduce((obj, title, index) => {

         obj[title] = values[index];

         return obj;

       }, {});

     });




     return jsonArray;

   }

 }




 return PageVbEnterChain;

});

Brief Code Explanation

BIPReportPayload: Hardcoded SOAP XML that tells BI Publisher to run the specific report and return it as CSV.
callRest: Calls the Service Connection (POST) with the SOAP payload.
readBIPReportResponseData:
- Parses the returned SOAP XML.
- Extracts the <reportBytes> node (contains base64-encoded CSV).
- Decodes base64 using atob().
- Splits into lines, skips the header row.
- Maps each row to a JavaScript object using the defined column headers.
Resulting array of objects is assigned to reportDataADP.data, which automatically refreshes the table.

This is what the Action Chain will look like:

Your table will look like this after data is fetched: