As part of Quest Experience Week—JD Edwards Day, Tap Packaging Solutions shared the experience that the company had with leveraging the Supplemental Database (SDB). The SDB can be a great place to house unique pieces of data that don’t otherwise have a home within your JD Edwards system without resorting to custom code and tag files. This “no code/low code” solution provides flexibility and is extremely powerful, but it is often overlooked or misunderstood.

Joel Foote, Director of Technology at Tap Packaging Solutions, walks you through an overview of the SDB, a few traditional use cases, and how it impacted Tap Packaging Solutions.

About the Supplemental Database

The Supplemental Database is a place to store information that might not otherwise have a great home within JD Edwards. Even though there isn’t always a great place to store unique data, it still belongs within your JDE system.

Other flexible places within JD Edwards might exist but may require you to write custom code to put your data there. The SDB is the no code/low code solution to prevent the build-up of custom code within your JDE system. This prevents you from having to store data in third-party products that are hard to get your data from.

You can also have multiple Supplemental Databases with JD Edwards. Within the Supplemental Database, you define your own keys, categories and data columns. The big benefits are that it is flexible, expansive, and right within your JD Edwards system.

Applications Used with the SDB

There are several applications that you must utilize to set up and access the Supplemental Database. These applications include:

• P00091—Work with Supplemental Data: With this application, you will name the Supplemental Database, declare the keys and identify what you want to do with the SDB (store structured data, access other applications, or record narrative text). You will also use this application to override default column names for structured data fields and specify relation application names and versions.
• P00092—Supplemental Data: This application allows you to access a specific Supplemental Database.
• Object Management Workbench: You will use this application to create versions of P00092 for each Supplemental Database.

Traditional Use Cases

Some of the use cases that were highlighted in the presentation include:

• Item Master: Attributes or warranty information.
• Work Orders: Transactional records, machine readings, or job notes.
• Human Resources: Employees, applicants, certifications information, or training records.
• Asset Management: Machine readings or maintenance schedules.
• Daily Logs: Weather log or narrative information.
• Address Book: Vendor delivery quality, vendor contracts, customer delivery instructions, or customer shipping accounts.

These use cases are just a few examples of how you can utilize the Supplemental Database. The sky is the limit when it comes to ways you can leverage SDB!

How the SDB Impacted Tap Packaging Solutions

Before leveraging the Supplemental Database, Tap Packaging Solutions had data in multiple databases of various types. Data was stored in Excel files, Google Sheets, fillable PDF forms, Sales Orders, SQL Server, etc. Some of the data was also duplicated. The data was accessible via proprietary applications, and not everyone had access to all tools and data. There was excessive email, phone, and walk-up communication going on that was necessary to see the full picture of what a customer wanted.

Tap Packaging now has an “Item Specifications” SDB is comprised of multiple Supplemental Databases based on the type of finished good (folding carton, rigid box, plastic sheets, folio binders, etc.). This setup allows them to capture attributes that define characteristics of the item, and then they are also able to share that information with customers. Tap Packaging is able to capture data about the intended use, substrate, dimensions, printing and coatings, and windows of each type of finished good within the SDB. The Supplemental Database provided them with a single, consolidated location for data that was previously dispersed among several various locations.

By using the Supplemental Database, Tap Packaging now houses data within their JD Edwards databases, and data is easily available to everyone. They have only one instance of all data, so there are no longer duplications. Google Sheets and fillable PDF forms are no longer used, and Excel is only used for the analysis of data. The Supplemental Database provided Tap Packaging with a single, unified picture of their data.

Lessons Learned

Tap Packaging Solutions identified several lessons that they learned throughout the process of leveraging the Supplemental Database. These lessons include:

1. What you initially think you will store in your SDB will grow, and it will affect your naming convention.
2. Data can be difficult to get out of the database. The structures of F00090, F00091 and F00092 can be confusing.
3. In small doses, it works great. At scale, it requires creativity and planning.
4. The flexibility is what makes it great. You are able to make quick changes without writing code, and you have the option to validate data.

To learn more about how to get started with pre-planning and setting up the Supplemental Database, check out the full presentation attached below.