donderdag 22 september 2016

Why implementing Oracle Cloud ERP REALLY is faster

Remember the days when setting up an ERP system was a long and tedious process? I do. Luckily, with Oracle Cloud ERP, it is time to cut the time spend on setup and complex designs in half.

Oracle has been strong in stressing the significant decrease in implementation project timelines and has been emphasizing the ease in which a system can be setup. But of course, seeing is believing.

After I have done the seeing, I can safely say that these statements are not mere hollow outlets of a corporate marketing machine. Below some of the best improvements:
Easy step by step guide for doing setup
Simple solutions are often the best. With the functional setup manager (FSM), all of the necessary -and optional- setup steps needed per business area (procurement, projects, accounts payable, etc.) are shown in an simple overview. Not only makes it sure that you do not skip an important step, it also has all of the required setup gathered into one place. 

No more scavenging through the system to look for that specific setup step that you overlooked somewhere. What a relieve! 
Example of the Functional Setup Manager in Cloud ERP R11


Partial implementation = Partial setup! 
The functional setup manager has another advantage; it makes clear what is required to make a certain process running and what is not. Before it was often unclear what was needed to setup to make a functional process actually work. Via trial and error eventually you would find out, but that is was optimal way of working. To give an example, if you were to use Oracle Cloud Sourcing as a standalone solution in the cloud, there is no need to do any comprehensive finance setup like setting up the accounting structure. Oracle knows that if you only use Oracle Cloud for the negotiation process, there is no need for such setup.

Simplified unit structure

With the flexible, business unit structure on of the most important parts of an ERP system has received a complete overhaul. Of course it still needed to setup the enterprise and legal entities, but the most improvements are made with the concept of business units.

Business units can support not only one, but more business functions and can be setup as shared service center. This means that a specific business unit can serve as a service provider to other business units. Examples are business units that perform requisitioning on behalf of other units or business units that service as a central for invoicing to other units in the company.

This approach can make sure that all business units that are part of the shared service model comply to the same rules and standards. 


             Example of business units

To conclude, next to the fact that Oracle Cloud ERP is now more and more up to par with process flow functionalities of on premise ERP, the way it is structured is much more flexible. This modern approach makes the implementation process much faster.

woensdag 4 mei 2016

Implementing Oracle Cloud ERP: Co-existence or complete new implementation?


Since more and more companies are thinking about Oracle Cloud ERP, it is worth looking into two of the ways for implementing this new ERP suite.
Currently, by far the most companies are using ‘Conventional’ ERP such as E-Business Suite (EBS) or PeopleSoft. More often than not, these running applications are complex and require a careful approach when moving to the cloud.
Below I distinguish two types of cloud ERP implementations: the co-existence approach and the complete new implementation approach.
Co-existence approach
A co-existence (hybrid) approach indicates that the existing ERP system will not move to the cloud in one go, but will move in several phases.
An often heard example is finance VS procurement. The CPO wants to be flexible and adapt to the quickly changing market of procurement (which can be accomplished by moving to the cloud) but the CFO is not yet ready to move. In this case, the company can make the decision to procure via the cloud and stay on premise for a while longer with the finance department.
Of course this method requires integration between cloud and on premise. This can be achieved through multiple existing connectors. Oracle knows that most companies will move towards a co-existence solution at first, and has developed ways to achieve this. 

Full new implementation


Next to a co-existence approach the option exists to do a complete new installation. This means that the complete business will move the cloud in one go.


This inevitably has a big impact on the business and requires more preparation than the co-existence solution. Things to think about are fitting the full business process to the solution, testing, migration and change management. Compared with the co-existence, a full new implementation can also bring more risks and requires to have buy in from the complete business. If the implementation causes issues, there is no basis to fall back on as is the case with the co-existence solution.


The benefits of this approach are that there is a onetime effort and investment involved. After the full implementation the project is complete and no phased approach is needed.



maandag 18 april 2016

Oracle Procurement Cloud: 3 reasons to move towards the cloud


Oracle’s cloud ERP solutions are no longer in the premature stage. Take for example the Oracle procurement Cloud, this solution has come a long way and now fully functions as a procurement solution.
Let us distinguish 3 major reasons why it is good to think about moving towards the Oracle Procurement Cloud: Analytics, Collaboration and Usability.

Analytics
Real-time reporting and dashboards are becoming more and more important for procurement agents. This not only applies to people working in office, but especially for agents in the field. With real-time reports they are able to make quick decisions based on the latest information.


Analytics has been implemented across procurement in many ways. Embedded procurement dashboards are available that can easily be tweaked an customized to the clients’ wishes. On top of that, you can easily drill down from an overview to the transaction detail. An example is that you can directly open a specific PO to acquire more detailed information on the transaction level when generating an overview of all open purchase orders.
Example of a Procurement Dashboard
One other great feature is that with one dashboard, you can generate an overview that spans across multiple business units (for example certain business divisions in different countries). You are able to generate one simple overview with all necessary information. No longer you need to create all kinds of separate reports that are not easily combined.


Collaboration
Collaboration, both between colleagues and suppliers has taken a big leap over the last few years. With Oracle Procurement Cloud you can now communicate easily through chat with colleagues on specific transactions such as a contract or purchase requisition. All communication history is stored, so that users later can easily back track what has been discussed on a specific transaction.
Converse on a transaction based level
Furthermore, when communicating with suppliers through the supplier portal or through negotiations, similar chat functions are available. No long emails or phone calls are needed anymore. Quick transaction based conversations will make any negotiation or purchase order run more smoothly through the entire process.
Usability
Oracle procurement cloud is fully based on the latest technology and provides a simple user interface that is easily scalable to different mobile devices. The complete solution functions in a web browser and no other installations are required.
The interface is scalable to different devices
The user interface in many ways has simplified, ranging from menus that are now easier to maneuver to the ability to deep drill on a transaction level. Gone are the old, and often grey old fashioned windows.

These are just three examples of advantages of Oracle Procurement cloud. For more information, feel free to get in touch!