Lynne Sampson, Oracle’s managing editor of The Modern Finance Leader, wrote about how a century-old company is leveraging Oracle ERP Cloud to build its digital future. This leading multi-industry company looked for a Cloud-based ERP for innovation and growth as it approached its 100^th anniversary and looked forward to the next century.

Until recently, the company was running its global network of aerospace, defense, industrial, and financial businesses on a 20-year-old Infor Lawson on-premises solution that lacked the scalability and flexibility to support its growth. As a result, the company faced additional, high-cost infrastructure or maintenance investments to get what it needed out of the on-premises system.

Company leaders knew that a modern ERP solution that would be easy to use, functionally deep, and scalable was the best option for moving forward. The company knew that it wanted a Cloud-based ERP to help achieve the scalability and flexibility that the on-premises system lacked.

Due to its small finance IT team, the company wasn’t interested in making a large initial capital expenditure or handling constant upgrades and patches on its own. That’s why a Cloud-based ERP was the best option. Moving to the Cloud meant that upgrades and patches would happen routinely and consistently without downtime or the IT team’s intervention. It could give the company what it wanted and what it currently lacked.

The Challenge: Overcoming Over-Customization and Inflexibility

With its previous on-premises solution, the company had built up an impressive number of customizations over two decades. While these customizations helped increase functionality, they also reduced the flexibility and agility needed to adapt to changing business needs. Moving forward, the company needed a system that not only incorporated all of the functionality that the customizations brought but also one that supported additional growth. Specifically, the company needed a system that could provide:

• Expanded functionality. Many of the customizations in the on-premises solution involved importing and processing invoices and journal entries from third-party solutions. The team wanted to ensure that any new solution would eliminate manual touchpoints for invoices and journals.
• Improved reporting. The company wanted greater flexibility for dashboards and reports that would enable users to retrieve data quickly and in a user-friendly format. It also desired the ability to create custom reports without relying on IT.
• Increased security. Every few months, the company’s IT team found itself patching vulnerabilities in the on-premises system. A Cloud ERP with world-class security would allow the team to focus on more important projects, rather than constant upgrades and patches.
• Greater connectivity. The company wanted a solution that would tie in seamlessly with its enterprise performance management (EPM) system, Oracle Hyperion Financial Management, as well as other third-party software.
• Streamlined transition. It was crucial that the deployment of the new system would not disrupt ongoing business.

The Solution: Oracle ERP Cloud

Ultimately, the company decided to choose Oracle because of its leadership in the Cloud. The company was impressed with Oracle’s ongoing R&D investment in its Cloud roadmap and the quarterly product updates. The company partnered with Oracle Consulting Services to oversee the implementation and transition to the new system.

One important part of the transition was re-examining the company’s chart of accounts—incorporating best practices and standardizing procedures that had grown complex and outdated over time. Oracle Consulting came to understand the company’s current processes so it could make informed recommendations for the transition to modern best practices.

Company executives wanted to ensure that the transition did not disrupt normal business—specifically quarter-end and year-end closes. The team devised a schedule that allowed forward momentum for both the project and the business. Oracle Consulting provided onsite and offshore resources to ensure that work continued round-the-clock and was available for review and testing each day.

Ultimately, the company’s Cloud deployment came in on time and within budget. With fewer on-premises systems, the company has been able to reduce both the amount of time and money that it spends on upgrades. The company was also able to reduce the time needed for testing and validation of ERP updates from nine months to a day and a half.

Moving forward, the company plans to expand its footprint in Oracle’s Cloud environment by leveraging Oracle Tax Reporting Cloud in the future. Making the transition to a Cloud-based ERP with Oracle ERP Cloud has positioned the company for future growth, and it provided the scalability and flexibility to make informed decisions at the speed required in today’s increasingly disruptive business environment.

To learn more about how a Cloud-based ERP like Oracle ERP Cloud can help companies digitally transform their business as they move toward the future, check out the Oracle blog and additional Quest resources attached below.

Additional Resources

For more Oracle ERP Cloud resources, case studies, best practices, etc., check out Quest’s Oracle ERP Cloud Content Center. There are resources and training available for all aspects of ERP Cloud, including risk management, financials, extensions, and more!