In September 2023, the Quest JD Edwards community gathered in Denver, Co, for INFOCUS, an annual conference designed to take you on a deep dive of JD Edwards content, including Release 24 updates.
If you missed the 2023 conference and are considering attending in 2024, this overview of content shared in our 2023 Oracle Welcome & Roadmap session, which covered Release 23 and Release 24 technical improvements, including demos, can give you a taste of what to expect at INFOCUS 2024. And this is just the beginning of the learning experienced at INFOCUS!
JD Edwards Product Strategy
Every update to JD Edwards is designed to help you automate, optimize, and transform your business processes and Release 24 is no different. Oracle aims to do that with a three-pronged strategy: applications, system administration, and digital platform. Each of these areas has its own theme, but the combination of these factors produces cumulative value.
In Release 23, the Oracle product team was thrilled to introduce:
- Oracle Guided Learning Integration with JD Edwards EnterpriseOne
- More Intuitive Application UIs
- User-friendly Employee Org Charts
- Logic Extensions Called Rom Form Extensions
- Voucher Match Automation
- Self-service Password Reset – This was the #1 enhancement requested from the Tech SIG community.
- Improved UI for the Address Book Map Application
- New Workflows for Approving Vouchers and Approving Changes Made to Bank Details
In Release 24, Oracle looked forward to even more advancements in inventory management, enterprise automation, staying code current, and adopting AI for business process optimization.
Inventory Management: Automated Safety Stock Population
Automated safety stock population provides protection against unforeseen fluctuations in supply or demand.
Ideally, safety stock values would be maintained on a regular basis as supply and demand conditions change, but until now, this had to be completed at the item lot location level. For large numbers of items, that proved to be a very challenging task. In Release 24, user are able to dynamically maintain those values to optimize inventory levels, reducing stockouts and excess inventory. Users can also put inventory locations on hold (and off hold) at the location level, eliminating the need to update individual location records.
To see a demo of the Release 24 inventory management tools, go to timestamp 30:45 in this presentation.
Release 23 tools and actions shown in the inventory management demo include:
- Orchestrator
- Rich formatting of messages
- Launch workflow from logic extension
- Planning summary
- Workflow studio
- Notifications
- Launching an orchestration from an E1 page
- Action links in notifications
Release 24 tools and actions shown in the inventory management demo include:
- Automated calculation of safety stock
- Task tracking
- Putting location on hold
- Preconfigured workflow data structures
- Notification reminders
- Workflow monitor
Enterprise Automation
Enterprise automation requires a 5-step cycle: Ingest > Model > Analyze > Solve > Measure. Release 24 aims to improve these steps with the following applications:
Ingest
- Purchasing Ledger
- Task Tracking
- Transportation Ledger (NEW)
- Notification Reminders (NEW)
Model
- Shipment to Dispatch
- Requisition to Receipt
- Auto Process Generator (NEW)
Analyze
- UX One
- Watchlists
- AI Accelerator (NEW)
- Enterprise Automation Workbench (NEW)
Solve
- Location Hold
- Automatic Safety Stock
- Prebuilt Workflow Data Structure (NEW)
Measure
- Workflow Monitor
- Enterprise Health Metrics (NEW)
Getting and Staying Code Current
To make it easier for users to consume patches and innovations, Oracle focused on predictive patching and an enhanced tool for impact analysis.
With impact analysis, the business analyst can evaluate the impact, changes, and value of new JDE features so the ERP manager can approve recommendations and create a request for the System Administrator to deploy the update.
To see how this feature works, watch the code current demo at timestamp 49:33 in this presentation.
Release 23 tools and actions shown in the demo include:
- Change Assistant Dependent Package Analysis
- Special Instruction Tracking
- Parent/Child Object Tracking
- ESU/Bug First Release
- Updating Manager Orchestrations/REST APIs
- Applying Updates via Web
- Updating Manager Repository
- Updating Credit for ESUs
Release 24 tools and actions shown in the demo include:
- Apps Update Support via Web Client
- Comprehensive Impact Analysis
- Batch Update via Web Client
- UDC & Glossary Compare
You can also review a full summary of enhancements at timestamp 59:10 of this video.
Adopting Artificial Intelligence for Business Process Optimization
Lastly, Oracle shared several ways to consider using AI in your business processes, including identifying the cause of quality issues.
For example, if the production manager is notified there is a quality issue with gear boxes, the business analyst might create and run models in AI. AI can provide insight for corrective action, which the production manager may use to select a substitute part, and the procurement manager can begin research to identify a new supplier.
Previously, this would require a manual process of sifting through work orders. With AI algorithms on OCI, this issue is solved within hours or minutes instead of weeks or months.
To view a demo of OCI AI/ML Apps Accelerator, go to timestamp 1:04:00 in this video.
Moving forward, AI can improve several areas of your business. The JD Edwards Oracle team is currently looking at ways to utilize it in:
- Predictive Maintenance
- Quality Control
- Supply Chain Optimization
- Warranty Analytics
- Price Optimization
- Demand Forecasting
- Inventory Management
- Intelligent Manufacturing with AI Embedded Approach
- Anomaly Detection
- Profitability and Revenue Forecasting Management
- Departmental Analytics (HR, Sales, IT)
Want More Release 24 Updates?
In addition to the Welcome & Roadmap, INFOCUS features in-depth education sessions from Oracle, JD Edwards partners, and JD Edwards customers. You can check out the Top Ten Sessions from INFOCUS 2023 or view all of the sessions from the event in the Quest INFOCUS 2023 Event Hub.
Of course, the best way to stay up to date on Release 24 and all things JD Edwards is to be a part of INFOCUS 2024, which is October 1st – 3rd, 2024 in Denver, CO. At this event, look for more Release 24 updates and enhancements from the Oracle product team, JD Edwards partners and customers as well as hear from Oracle about what’s coming in Release 25. This three-day event will include about 250 JD Edwards education and networking sessions. Attendees can expect to walk away with the knowledge and meaningful connections to optimize JD Edwards for their organization. Click here to register for the event by August 19th, 2024, to receive an Early Bird Registration discount!
You can watch a full recording of the entire INFOCUS 2023 Oracle Welcome & Roadmap here.