Infosys-Oracle Blog

Few days back after watching the launch of iPad by Steve Jobs, my thoughts just went 15 years back when mobile phones were a novelty and few could have imagined then that they would become so ubiquitous in just a decade.  iPhone was a landmark in what seems to be the dawn of the age of mobile digital convergence.  This obviously forebodes that we have a very exciting future as digital consumers.

We all know that the success of iPhone came from its positioning on rich user experience. And the iPad promises to enrich it further. It has a tremendous potential to take Visual BI to the next level with use of multi-touch capabilities. Oracle has taken a step by delivering the business intelligence on iPhone through Oracle Business Indicators. Oracle Business Indicators accesses pre-built reports that are delivered in Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) Applications, and include financial, human resources, supply chain, and customer relationship management analytics.

One of the interesting features is that, upon opening the reports in the catalog, you can zoom in and out of report details using the mobile platform’s multi-touch (or “pinch”) technology. You can double-tap to zoom in or zoom out of the data. One can turn the iPhone 90 degrees for a wider view of the data or chart. When you forward a report, Oracle Business Indicators sends an email that contains a link to the report that when clicked, launches the report in a Web browser. The recipient does not have to be an Oracle Business Indicators user to view the report.

I believe this is just the beginning. With advent of iPad, with its 9.7” displays, mobile Business Intelligence apps would become really appealing. Mobile apps can be developed on iPad which enable what-if analysis for business scenarios. Integrating Oracle Business Indicators with Oracle Fusion Middleware will give capabilities to get answers to real-time business questions on their multi-touch iPad screens. One wish I have is that the BI tools should have the capability of dynamic bubble charts made famous by Hans Rosling. The moment we expand our horizons for application of business intelligence, we see that it can move in to much wider realm, from the current focus on business data to any kind of data which can be presented to the new age digital consumers. And it is already happening with the kind of fancy apps you have with iPhone. The tablets of the future would be the real playgrounds for evolution of Mobile and Visual BI.

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Continue reading "The REST based approach for communicating between Legacy systems and middleware layer.. Part 1" »

Posted by Anjani Devi Badri at 06:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From my past experiences, I have observed that we often build a data warehouse as a way of integrating multiple sources of data to gain effective business intelligence. This is both time and resource consuming and also can potentially disrupt the IT roadmap of an organization if not handled with utmost maturity.

In this rapidly changing world of technology, new paradigms have evolved which have the possibility of simplifying the process of aggregation of multiple sources. One such technology which I found very exciting is Data Federation technology which is also known as Information-as-a-service, Data Virtualization or EII(Enterprise Information Integration).

Heart of this technology is a “virtual database” or a Federated Database as was defined by McLeod and Heimbigner long back in 1985. Simply speaking, a virtual database is storage of data definitions and not the data itself. The virtual database will have information about the location of the data.When a single call is made to a virtual database, the technology ensures multiple calls to underlying databases and is also responsible for meaningfully aggregating the returned result sets.

Primary benefit of the above approach is that data need not be moved from the source systems for analysis.It also saves the cost of building and maintaining a permanent warehouse.  Since data is not being moved, this enables quick and real time data delivery. 

The biggest challenge that needs to be handled for such a system to deliver what it promises is the heterogeneity of the DBMS giving rise to naming, schema, domain, model conflicts. These can be  typically handled by designing multiple stacked-up schemas which accurately translates
the data model,as visible to the user, to actual data models of the component DBMS.  

Areas where this technology will have ready acceptance are the organization’s divisions (like fraud detection units) which heavily rely on real time intelligence from disparate systems to drive business. Data Architects may also find this approach very efficient for maintaining master dimensions which are typically time consuming at an enterprise level.

Vendors like Oracle, SAS, Informatica etc have already lined up extremely comprehensive solutions in the market. Now it’s on the Consultant and Architect community to go out there and propose solutions which are truly ‘out of the box’!  

Last but not the least, what is the experts’ take on this?
Talking to some of the data warehousing connoisseurs, I felt people are divided on the appropriateness of this approach of replacing a data warehouse with federated architecture. Weighing in the pros and cons, I can safely conclude that at this point of industry maturity, this approach definitely merits an augmentation to a traditional data warehouse but we need to wait and watch how best it evolves to become the mainstream.

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Managing assets is crucial for any business, especially for Oil Field service companies which are asset intensive where operational cost in asset management contributes to a substantial part of expenses. Even a 6-8 % saving on operational cost can make lot of difference.

Continue reading "Use Oracle EAM effectively, turn Assets to Cash!" »

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Getting business from existing customers is always easier and cheaper than acquiring a new customer. The extent of  repeat business also acts as a metric to acquire a new customer.

Continue reading "Enhance cross selling and Upselling with MDM" »

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There are no second thoughts in implementing a data governance program to manage your master data. Though there are various definitions for data governance – they boil down to defining processes and policies for accessing data and adhering to them using technology and orchestration of people involved.

Continue reading "MDM strategy :Do you have one?" »

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During tough economic times, even the mightiest of them fall and especially in oil and gas industry we have seen that happening when crude plummeted to $32 after hitting a record of $147 a barrel at a point of time

Continue reading "When the going gets tough, the smooth gets going!" »

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With the need of the hour for Senior Executives being the ability to make well informed decisions on a 24x7 basis, it has become imperative that they have constant access to the Business Applications specially Enterprise Applications.

Continue reading "ERP on Next Gen Phones: Dream or Reality" »

Posted by Swaroop Sundararajan at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the current ‘blink-and-change’ market environment, availability of accurate and actionable information at the right time to the right audience is increasingly becoming mission critical for enterprises.

Continue reading "Intelligence was Never Meant to be Slow: The Accelerated Approach to BI" »

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Continue reading "Reduce Cost, Increase Profit: Get on Cloud !" »

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Oil Exploration and Production is a complex process, and each step of the oil supply chain involves specialized technology. Oilfield services companies provide the infrastructure, equipment, intellectual property and services needed by the international oil and gas industry to explore for, extract, and transport crude oil and natural gas from the earth to the refinery, and eventually to the consumer.

Continue reading "Small & Medium Oil Field Services Companies – Market Dynamics and Challenges" »

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So you have just implemented an ERP system that automates your organization-wide business transactions, reduces a lot of paperwork and also helps with reports at different levels of aggregation. However, when it comes to the shop floor, is your ERP capturing what goes on behind the transactions? To find out the answer, you can start by asking your business the following question-Have there been improvements in the three key elements of your OEE- namely, Quality, Performance and Availability?

Continue reading "Capture actionable information from your shopfloor" »

Posted by Rupam Das at 01:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Retailers are facing stiff challenges due to globalization, increasing input costs and higher customer service expectations. In addition to this, growing service options from carriers, combined with demand for more frequent and time-definite deliveries are forcing retailers to revisit their transportation planning systems to optimize movement of goods across the distribution channel.

Continue reading "OTM In-a-Box: Demystifying transportation management for Retail industry" »

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Continue reading "AIA – A disciplined way of configuring your SOA application" »

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It is seen that for High Technology companies’ compliance to green related regulations required for market entry is the top pressure driving green product development. Most of the High Technology manufacturers have a green product development initiative in place, even more than other industries. They also seem to brand energy efficient technology as one of their top marketing strategies
It is clear, that while today High Technology manufacturers are focused on compliance to regulations like RoHS, REACH, WEE, TSCA, etc. they must look ahead and add cost reduction strategies around green design in their efforts in order to capture and sustain competitive advantage.

But doesn’t too much focus on compliance lead to increasing product development costs and affect their sustainability in the marketplace?? Let us see how successful High Technology manufacturers address this.

Continue reading "Green Design – A Means to reduce Product Development Costs?" »

Posted by K N Harilal at 07:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Experience shows it is impossible to define all business requirements in the initial phase of a packaged software implementation. Some requirements are missed due to schedule pressure or oversight, while others originate later due to changed business realities. How can program sponsors manage changing requirements without impact to budgets and schedules? This article attempts to answer the question based on practices observed in multiple large enterprise system implementations.

Continue reading "Best Practices in Handling Uncertainties in Business Requirements in Enterprise Solution Implementations" »

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Continue reading "IFRS Adoption- To Wait & Watch Or To Start" »

Posted by Giriraj Somani at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Most Retailers operate in two,fundamentally different set of modes. These modes have a direct impact on the package applications they choose. In this video blog i touch upon this difference and the subsequent impact.

'Hi everyone, welcome to infosysblogs my name is Venu kotamraju and I am a principal consultant with Infosys, Today I wanted to talk about a typical retail organizations and what the variety of operations are and the impact it has on its applications.

Continue reading "Video: Retailer Operations and Packaged applications!" »

Posted by Venu Kotamraju at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Often,during client meetings, I am asked if ERP systems are secure enough to be used. Granting of rights,privileges,administrative rights across various 'responsbibilities' in oracle applications is a common practice in any implementation.This prevents unathorised access and potential misuse.

Continue reading "Is my ERP safe" »

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Continue reading "Consolidate, Cleanse, Complete Customer Data -Four steps away!" »

Posted by Aruna Srikanth at 04:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Further to my earlier post on managing expectation from MDM implementation – we will discuss on some of the best practices for Master Data Management (MDM).

A company decide on going for a MDM program - what are the first steps to be taken to ensure a successful implementation of the program.

Continue reading "MDM Best Practices – The first steps" »

Posted by Krithivasan S at 08:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is followup blog to:

http://www.infosysblogs.com/oracle/2009/05/finally_maketoorder_solution_f_1.html

In Last Blog, I discussed about Oracle’s MTO solution for process manufacturer. Let’s go a little deeper to understand how it will benefit Process as well as hybrid manufacturer.  We will also see how this solution has evolved through various releases of OPM.

Continue reading "Oracle's MTO Solution for Process Industries" »

Posted by Ashish Namdeo at 06:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Are you looking for a tool that ensures maximum convergence of the best-of-breed Oracle applications deployed at your enterprise?

Let’s discuss how Oracle Process Integration Packs (PIPs) not only offer out-of-the-box process integration solutions to composite industry processes, but also cut deployment times significantly.

Posted by Malay Kumar at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today is June 05 and it is World Environment Day. All the organizations are increasing awareness and are going green. Thinking on the same lines, i thought of some areas in a ERP, which can contribute to a Greener world.

Continue reading "Greener ERP" »

Posted by Venkatesh Swatantra (Venky) at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Can a ERP system exist without customizations? Can a Company run its business using a Vanilla ERP product? This is a question which can be debated on and on..

Continue reading "Customizations to a ERP...." »

Posted by Venkatesh Swatantra (Venky) at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I read about Oracle’s acquisition of Sun; a move which had been preempted and discussed after IBM’s failed attempt to acquire Sun few months earlier. And then the obvious question “ Why Sun” ?

As per my understanding, Oracle acquired Sun for open standard Java language , a backbone of various applications and mobile phone related software . The second reason is Solaris on which a high number of Oracle database runs. Also a significant chunk of Sun’s revenue comes from maintenance services( around 40%) , a revenue stream which Oracle cannot ignore and which means Sun’s hardware business is still going to remain(though Hardware is considered to be a low margin business). And should we account of Sun’s customer base too..

Continue reading "Oracle's vertical integration - A move towards Cloud Computing ?" »

Posted by Amandeep Singh Syali at 08:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Unleashing MEA's Potential in Telecom Services" »

Posted by Mayuresh Vaidya at 05:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Architecture dilemma – Do Telcos have the answer?" »

Posted by Romesh Viswanath at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Demystifying your Telco structure" »

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The market leader in database strongly focuses on Customer Data Hubs. Why? Oracle is going to use Customer Data hubs to increase its sales of Oracle CRM and ERP in SMB sectors. Read the blog to know more on the competitors in Customer Data Hubs in the market.

Today, enterprises need a single system of reference to consolidate the duplicate records lying in disparate systems to provide a global view of customer data. To facilitate this, Oracle provides out-of-the-box functionality to integrate with E-Business suite of Applications through its homegrown product - Oracle Customer Data Hub.

Continue reading "CDH/UCM -Competitors, Yet same Vendor!!!" »

Posted by Aruna Srikanth at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Previous post: Top Down vs Bottom-up Techniques in Manufacturing… The debate continues

While identifying areas for standardization during implementation is relatively easier to achieve, it is difficult to define and implement acceptable standards for identified business processes. The degree of differentiation in the business process - identified for standardization, across the entities implementing the process could vary. This calls for an assessment to determine the approach to standardization. A high degree of differentiation will require a phased approach to standardization. This phased approach involves defining the standard process, acceptable limits for differentiation from the standard and a plan to converge from the variants of the standard to the standard process over a period of time.

Continue reading "Top Down vs Bottom up Techniques in Manufacturing..The debate continues-2" »

Posted by Nilanjan Chatterjee at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In the tough recession phase, an upgrade to R12 EBS can reduce cycle times and streamline the core business flows. The core OM features like MOAC help in providing a shared services model. For most of your OM needs, R12 brings ways to bridge those gaps. The complex business processes can be well managed using R12.

Oracle R12 is a major release with large number of enhanced functional capabilities. With significant changes to architecture and technology, this release is recognized as the "global business release".
Thinking of R12 upgrade should no more be a question. Join the R12 journey and feel the difference.

Posted by vikas khurana at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Continuing from my previous post:

Standardization: Top Down vs. Bottom-up

There are a few more considerations to the standardization approach. Implementation of enterprise software has led to the motto “Common…and Global”. As a result, companies are adopting standards in definitions and processes for global implementation. A standard implementation refers to a set of guidelines which is better known as a template or a blueprint allowing minimal deviations during rollouts. At times, these monolithic implementations indirectly lead to a situation, where established and efficient local practices are abandoned or compromised to make way for standardization. This in turn has the potential to create large scale organizational change issues and productivity loss in the short-term. 

Continue reading "Top Down vs. Bottom-up techniques in Manufacturing… The debate continues" »

Posted by Nilanjan Chatterjee at 06:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Previous post - Is LEAN Manufacturing the answer to your operational woes?

A straight forward answer to whether 'Lean manufacturing is the answer to operational efficiency woes' is not feasible, but researchers have acknowledged that along with agility, leanness in operations and manufacturing is important. Most of the ERP and Supply Chain products provide ways and means to inculcate these processes into the e-business architecture.

Continue reading "Is Lean Manufacturing the answer to your operational woes -II" »

Posted by Arnab Banerjee at 06:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Is LEAN Manufacturing the answer to your operational woes?" »

Posted by Arnab Banerjee at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Customers – Lifeblood of an Enterprise!" »

Posted by Aruna Srikanth at 06:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Speed to Market - Using historical data" »

Posted by Krithivasan S at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Detail Design phase - Speed to Market Strategy" »

Posted by Krithivasan S at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Speed-to-Market - Get it Right for your Business" »

Posted by Krithivasan S at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Is my CAD vendor the natural choice for PLM?" »

Posted by Krithivasan S at 06:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Oracle Mobile Supply Chain Applications architecture empowers users to achieve new levels of productivity and accuracy. At the same time flexibility of this module along with features of hand held devices available in market makes the system extremely easy to use. Functions required for all transactions can be performed either using RF scanners (with barcodes) or through an Oracle form on hand held device.

Following are some of the key benefits which drive Operational Excellence by implementation of MSCA (Mobile Supply Chain Applications) are:

MSCA comes with standard screens on hand held devices for doing receiving transactions, manufacturing transactions, shipping transactions, inventory transactions and quality data entry. Standard MSCA screens will have a lot of fields which may or may not be used by an operator. It is one of the critical steps in an MSCA implementation to identify in each transaction screen which fields are required and which ones can be removed. MSCA provides option to customize the screens and have only the fields required in a preferred sequence for transactions. This goes hand in hand with design of key documents used in shop floor like Work order, Receipt traveler, Pick slip and any other traveler used during transaction. On these documents identify the key fields which are used for data entry and barcode them.

Oracle Warehouse Management module can be implemented in addition to MSCA to write additional rules which will optimize the travel time and further improve Operational efficiency. It also supports cross docking, flexible label printing, task assignments and LPN (License Plate Number) support for transactions. One of the prerequisite for implementing Oracle Warehouse Management module is using Stock locators and implementation of MSCA. Hence make sure if MSCA is implemented as standalone module locators are enables.

Posted by Srikanth Sripathi at 08:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Year 2009 and Oracle Business Intelligence" »

Posted by Somnath Mukherjee at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Peoplesoft like any other ERP implementation involves huge and concerted effort and intricate planning from Project initiation to Go Live. Implementation in Less time translates to Less Cost for the customer. This assumes more significance in these times of recession where customers are seeking for more value for money and quick returns on investment.

Continue reading "How Quick can Oracle’s PeopleSoft be Implemented" »

Posted by Madhusudan Panpalia at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Directive on WEEE (Wastage of Electrical and Electronics Equipment) in EU notes that the content of hazardous components in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is a major concern during the waste management phase and recycling of WEEE is not undertaken to a sufficient extent. The WEEE directive places the responsibility of end of life (EOL) disposal responsibility of the products on the manufacturers either individually or by joining a collective scheme. This implies that the cost of disposal of the product and the harmful substances that it contains squarely lies on the manufacturer.  The EU Commission has set new targets for recovery and reuse/recycling by 31-Dec-2008 for all EU countries.

Continue reading "Reuse and Recycle of WEEE (Wastage of Electrical and Electronics Equipment) – Optional or Mandatory?" »

Posted by K N Harilal at 09:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today’s global environment has placed increased pressure on Hi-Tech manufacturers to become more competitive and profitable. Global outsourcing activities have increased in importance and have increasingly emerged as a key strategic tool in achieving cost reduction, quality and delivery improvement, cycle time reduction, and improved responsiveness to customer, competitive, and financial market demands. It is estimated that a well planned and executed global outsourcing strategy can result in a cost savings differential of 15 to 25 percent when compared to manufacturing inhouse.

Using external suppliers to design, manufacture, ship and service products or components  - has been a growing trend in recent years as Hi-Tech manufacturers have sought, among other things, to divest themselves of production capacity (and the inherent risks associated with owning capital equipment), lower their labor costs and maintain greater flexibility in the face of ever-shrinking product lifecycles.

Continue reading "Importance of Outsourcing to provide flexibility to Hi-Tech Manufacturers" »

Posted by K N Harilal at 08:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

From 2001, the shadow of WEEE Directive (Waste Electrical and Electronics Equipment) and RoHS Directive (Restriction on Hazardous Substances) had begun looming over the world electronics manufacturing industry. By 2007, most EU Member States had implemented WEEE and the deadline for RoHS was achieved in July 2006. Other countries are now building their environment compliance approaches similar to the EU directives, e.g. some states in the USA, Korea, etc have put in place their own regulations. China, Chile, Brazil and Columbia also now have some environment management Directives in place. Japanese laws had been in place even earlier and many Japanese companies are well ahead in implementing cleaner technologies and in greening their supply chain. While the larger companies in most countries have started their compliance measures, most small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) including those in Korea and Taiwan have fallen behind.

Continue reading "Regulatory compliance for Hi-Tech Manufacturers is mandatory - non-compliance stakes are high" »

Posted by K N Harilal at 07:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

To remain competitive in today's environment, manufacturing companies are looking at boosting their supply chain performance. One of the key levers for improving supply chain is 'cost reduction' at various stages of the entire chain.

Continue reading "Using Operational Levers To Boost Supply Chain Performance" »

Posted by Samiksha Hariharan at 06:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

With the economic meltdown of the financial world and a severe downturn and meltdown in the Automobile and Retail sectors we are possibly headed for tough times ahead.

With the global economy being so intertwined there is no sector or industry vertical that is immune to this crisis.

Continue reading "Business Intelligence and the Economic Gloom: A Perspective" »

Posted by Somnath Mukherjee at 04:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Standardization helps businesses develop the ability to "consistently" deliver high quality products and services its customers. It drives manufacturing excellence by raising the efficiencies of operations by reducing process variability, adopting optimal procedures to complete work and then adapting those procedures as effective practice within the organization.
While most organizations understand the importance of process standardizations, there could be confusion with respect to the approach that should be followed. Businesses looking at standardizing its operations can look at the following approaches -

Continue reading "STANDARDIZATION: Top-Down Vs Bottom-Up" »

Posted by Nilanjan Chatterjee at 07:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

In continuation with the entry here

Standardised project management process
Utilities have a trend of growing through acquiring other companies and hence the project management processes are likely to vary within their business.  For e.g., an organisation that took over a contracting company that specialises in executing rechargeable jobs is likely to have its processes and systems for managing rechargeable jobs different form the rest of the business - unless there is a conscious effort to homogenize the processes.  The project centric solution design addresses this by mapping the processes to the job classification available out of the box in Oracle ie., direct and indirect jobs  Also project management templates can be defined to ensure that the projects are defined in a specific way that is aligned with other projects in the organisation. This substantially reduces the time required by the engineers and/or planners to create projects in Oracle.  In some cases (Large capital projects), the project are likely to be created in best of breed project management software like Primavera or MS Projects etc.,.  The out of the box interface available in Oracle eBusiness suite can be used to reduce the need to duplicate effort in entering project data into Oracle.  With this, the process, the resource assignment and budgeting are the only processes that need to be done in Oracle eBusiness suite, whilst the other core project management processes are managed in the actual Project management suite.

Continue reading "Providing visibility to your large projects through a Project centric solution" »

Posted by Ismail Syed Mohammad at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Are you having to deal with low percentage of on-time completions, high throughput times, frequent line down situations or high WIP? Obviously something is very wrong, particularly if you said "Yes" to more than one of the above. Having consulted for several discrete manufacturing clients has made one thing very apparent to me - a lean and agile manufacturing environment is not an option but an imperative for manufacturing industries to achieve operational excellence. All of the above were contra-indicators of operational excellence. A manufacturing execution system (MES) can support a manufacturing firm in achieving this very objective. An MES system works in tandem with a mainstream ERP system to execute, monitor and manage the production processes on a shop floor. Together with an ERP system, an MES system can nudge (or push, if required!) an enterprise into adopting standardized processes and at the same time creating key data elements for performance measurements.

Consider the ways in which an MES system can assist you:

• Detailed scheduling: An MES system can take input from capacities defined for work centers and hourly usage of machines and labor (in routings) to perform detail scheduling. Sophisticated MES systems can take setup times into cognizance to minimize setups and maximize utilization
• Dispatching: A MES system can use a dispatch list format to feed work to work centers. It can be used to perform real time prioritization of work orders to reflect reality on the floor - component shortages, current work center availability, downstream work center availability, premium customers and even executive diktats (a late evening call from the plant manager overrides everything else!!)
• Operational Reporting: An MES system, complemented by the use of the mobile devices using radio frequency, can be used to perform move transactions from one operation to another. This is important in a job shop environment which may have long lead times, to track work orders, correctly reflect work in process costs and perform dispatching of jobs
• Nonconformance tracking: An MES system will provide ways of tracking and managing non-conformances. While eliminating waste such as non-conformances remains a top priority for organizations, managing them on occurrence remains a grim reality. Ways to quickly identify, segregate and disposition non-conformances will aid in minimizing impact upon customer orders
  
  An MES system is now frequently offered by ERP vendors as an add-on or they provide integration with best-of-breed MES vendors. So its time for companies who have not yet invested in MES systems to see how they can make it work for them!

Posted by Gaurav Yadav at 04:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by Debashis Dey at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Managing large projects - Do you need a piece of paper or an integrated system?" »

Posted by Ismail Syed Mohammad at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In the first part of the blog, we looked at 7 key factors that an implementing organization should consider before deciding to go ahead with its ERP implementation project.

http://infosysblogs.com/oracle/2008/10/key_factors_for_success_of_erp.html#more

In this blog, we will analyze 3 additional factors that are also vital for success.

Continue reading "Key Factors for Success of ERP Implementations - Part 2" »

Posted by Samir Das at 05:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

To put in simple terms, Reverse Logistics is the flow of Returned goods by the customer to a state where the product is disposed of, repaired, recycled or internally consumed. And because of the strict norms pertaining to disposition of goods in the high tech sector, this is a very strategic area.

Continue reading "High Tech Reverse Logistics: A Potential Cost Cutting Avenue" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "SOA 11g delayed!!!" »

Posted by Malay Kumar at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

ERP Implementations are generally time consuming and expensive - more so if the implementation involves multiple geographies with different languages, different business processes, legal requirements and accounting norms. Companies typically go for ERP implementations with the aim of integrating disparate systems spread across different business functions so that the top management can get an integrated view of the operations of the organization. Optimal usage of an ERP system also leads to reduction in operational costs and supports strategic planning.

Continue reading "Key Factors for Success of ERP Implementations" »

Posted by Samir Das at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) | TrackBacks (0)

With the current slowdown being accelerated by the financial turmoil, companies are increasingly looking at avenues to cut costs yet maintain profitability against all odds. This is a tricky situation given the fact that any decision leads to a bullwhip effect owing to the integrated nature of today’s supply chain. One of the time tested techniques to achieve this is through Reverse Auctions which is quite prevalent in the High Tech industry.

Continue reading "High Tech Industry’s Sourcing Value Proposition: Reverse Auction" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 08:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

ERP implementations are a special breed of projects. They are often characterized by aggressive timelines, high budgets and involvement of diverse teams. This emphasizes the need to have a reliable tool to measure the performance of ERP implementations throughout the execution phases.

Continue reading "Earned Value Management for ERP Implementations" »

Posted by Venu Kotamraju at 02:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

We often see ERP Implementations failing because of lack of user acceptance for the new system. The user community is not convinced about the utility of the ERP System simply because they feel that they take a long time to execute the transactions in the new system.

Is there a solution to this? How do we make sure that from day one users start advocating about the new system. The answer to this question starts from the time the future state design of business processes is started. First question that any implementer should ask is" Is this the most efficient and lean way to deploy this process". "Are we deploying the correct tools and techniques offered by the package to design the future state business process?"

Continue reading "Going Lean the ERP Way" »

Posted by Somnath Majumdar at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

There is often a dilemma in the customer’s mind,whether to go for Localization or do a Customization. Here are  some of the pros and cons of these two options:

Localization comes pre-built with the product and does not need to be developed. While it can be assumed to have already been tested, effort needs to be estimated for the further rounds of testing.

This is beacuse,Localizations are add-on features which might not have been time-tested to the extent the base application features are.Also,Regional requirements change, all the implications of which might not have been addressed in the Localization in a timely manner. There can always be a lead time between a new requirement and its solution through Localization.

Continue reading "Localization vis-a-vis Customization: Which way to go?" »

Posted by Debashis Dey at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

 If we look at the world's 2 leading large ERP packaged suites, they are huge applications that offer tremendous flexibility to handle just about all possible kinds of manufacturing systems and business processes spread across all kinds of industries. Can these ERP systems be readily adapted by small & medium-sized companies and how do large ERPs really differ from those that are used by the SMB segment?

Continue reading "ERP Systems for Small & Mid-Sized Companies" »

Posted by Samir Das at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In the first part of the blog we looked at the rise of packaged BI http://infosysblogs.com/oracle/2008/08/age_of_packaged_bi_and_analyti.html

In this blog we analyze when and how should organizations evaluate packaged BI

Organizations today, are under pressure to improve efficiency and margins. Analytics has become an indispensible part of their existence. Large organizations face a challenge owing to constraints of increasing visibility across value chain in terms of analytics, BI in multiple silos, and heterogeneous systems from the legacy era.

Continue reading "Age of packaged BI and analytics – Should you embark on this journey? Part 2" »

Posted by Siddharth Pant at 01:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Greetings from OOW - SF, USA

 With so much going on - its hard to find time to stop and type:

• Newly announced Oracle business units
• Aggressive solution development plans to address industry whitespace
• Larry's keynote later today...

Last night our own Kakal (ES Head) presented his Hi-Tech Leaders Circle keynote:  "Innovation Through Collaboration" - showcasing Infy thought leadership in what is arguably the most intensely competitive crucible today: the fickle, product-centric hi-tech marketplace.  In the end, hi-tech companies that combine traditional and emergent technologies will be better positioned to create competitive advantage in the flattening world.  Over 100 senior executives (a who's who of hi-tech) were present to hear these key messages - and did you note the big announcement by one of our key Oracle clients, Cisco?  Collaboration tools (Jabber, Webex, etc) are expanding their markets ---immediate proof points that we are riding and defining the front edge of the next wave.

Our leadership hosted over 150 Infy clients, partners, and team members from around the globe to celebrate and thank all for the exceptional dedication and effort that has resulted in a thriving Oracle professional services powerhouse here at Infy and most importantly driven our clients success.  Both Srinath Batni and Kakal warmly welcomed and thanked the group, and we enjoyed a brief respite from the hectic schedule of the conference to reflect on past, present, and future.

Back to Day 3 - the always engaging Larry Ellison will deliver the keynote today - watch for one final show update tomorrow before we pack up and head back to the field.

Chris

Posted by Christopher Spangler at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Greetings from OOW 2008!  We are finally here in SF and the show is underway.

Key Themes

Green - Oracle has gone all out on the Green Theme:  a Marketplace, targeted sessions, a green fashion show (?),  and of course the mandatory green social events.  Reference the earlier blogs on this topic - sustainability and "green" is here to stay on the agenda.

Election - A LOT of people are talking about the election and its potential impact on their business - James Carville and Mary Matalin gave last nights keynote.  Their comments and insights effectively lead to the conclusion that the younger demographic and turnout will likely drive the outcome...but of course anything can happen between now and November.

Economy - in case you missed it this week, the economy is undergoing tectonic plate shifts.  Nearly everyone here wants to know "have you seen anything change".  Interestingly, I met someone from the IMF who is busily working away on a large transformation program...guess THEY don't have a liquidity issue!

Today has US swimming phenom Michael Phelps on tap, and day filled with over 15 Infy-sponsored meetings with customers, prospects, and Oracle.  Time for a quick run and off to Moscone -

Chris

Posted by Christopher Spangler at 02:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When there is a need to bring about large scale HRIT portfolio transformation (post merger, for example) it is important to use this opportunity to maximize the business value , while minimizing the TCO and risk of transition.

Infosys has a comprehensive framework, approach and accelerators to look at this transformation scenario in a global delivery model

Continue reading "Large scale HRIT Portfolio Transformation" »

Posted by Ajay_Gachhi at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Organizations who want to strengthen their ability to attract and retain employees at all levels to meet the needs of Organic and Inorganic Growth, need to have an Integrated approach to Talent Management. This would not only offer sustainable competitive advantage, but also operational benefits like reduced time to productivity, developing targeted capabilities, and Talent mobility across the organization. Integrated Talent Management is a lot more than yet another HR process. It is a mindset that goes beyond the rhetoric towards a holistic and integrated approach. Based on our experience, we’ve identified three critical elements to achieve Integrated Talent Management: Strategy Integration, Process Integration, and Technology Integration.

Posted by Ajay_Gachhi at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week when I was in Kansas City presenting a paper at the 2008 APICS International Conference, I had an interesting observation. There was a tremendous emphasis on Sustainability. We talk about Lean Supply Chain but companies were one step ahead discussing Green Supply Chain. Initially I had dismissed it as another fad but I was amazed at the commitment more so in the High Tech Domain.

Continue reading "Going Green" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 06:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Business case?  What business case?  This is a "strategic" investment"....ever heard that one?

Can any executive team pull that off in today's economy?  Something tells me that those days are O-V-E-R.

"That which gets measured gets done"....so here's the secret:  build a Value Story, define the core metrics, and measure, track, and transform using the Oracle OBIEE solution.

That's a mouthful.  Let's talk about it live at Oracle OpenWorld.  Ask for me at the Infy booth.

See you in SF -

Chris

http://www.linkedin.com/in/cspangler

Posted by Christopher Spangler at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You only need to open one consulting proposal to see the classic (trite?) framework of "people/process/technology" being touted as the exhaustive framework that should drive your transformation.  It's that easy (yeah right).  Is it a coincidence that those 3 words correspond to the stock-in-trade consulting presentation package (.ppt)?....thats for another post.

Where is Value?  Where is Capability?  What about Accountability? Exactly how does this all happen without a well-aligned roadmap?

Our IMPACTtm frameworkhas been developed to address these areas.  It also speaks to integrating the EXTENDED enterprise (where to work), new capabilities (what to work on) and managing the overall tranformation (how to do it).

Reach out to our Infosys team at Oracle Open World and ask for me - I will be happy to give you a personal guided tour to a whole new way of transforming your business in an Oracle-enabled environment.

Till next time,

Chris

Posted by Christopher Spangler at 01:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Across Industries, specifically utilities and process industries, because of their capital intensive environments, typically spend a substantial amount on indirect procurement, especially services.  Typically services account for more than 60% of the indirect spend for companies in these industries yet this area has remained unexplored for either automation or transformation efforts.
 

The Services Supply Chain comprises of unique and complex activities. This is then the reason why streamlining the process coupled with adequate systems support can lead to a large savings in this area. But how do we really go about it? Our experience tells us that this is definitely possible and is a huge opportunity for savings. Oracle Advanced Procurement Suite with its Services Procurement processes help organizations in streamlining processes in achieving these savings.

Continue reading "Managing Indirect Spend? Slash costs and Save upto 20% of indirect cost" »

Posted by Balakrishna Rao at 05:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "New Generation Business Intelligence" »

Posted by Somnath Mukherjee at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Forecasting has been rated as one of the top supply chain issues in the globalized world. Organizations are striving to predict customer demand as accurately as possible. Accurate forecasting kick-starts demand and supply chain planning. A large number of products-geography-customer combinations require system enabled forecasting capabilities. A holistic forecasting system brings in Statistical Rigour and Modeling, Dashboards and Simulation capabilities and automatically tunes its models to suit changing business requirements. Sharing here excerpts from one of our working paper – the criteria in choosing the holistic forecasting system.

Posted by Mitul Shah at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Six questions to analyze if your company is ready for SOA" »

Posted by Gaurav Sharma at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Proliferating customer touch points has increased complexities in understanding the customer relationship. Increased globalization of businesses and its customers / consumers has put stress on ensuring apt customer experience. Businesses are facing new customer acquistion very difficult, specially in matured markets - turning their focus to sustain existing customer base and increase potential.

Continue reading "How to make more money with customer information" »

Posted by lax_gopisetty at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Where is my Order????? When will it get shipped???? Another delay, yet again!!!! These are some of the very common and frequently asked questions by the Customers.
The challenging business needs, difficult to hold enough inventory, increase in cost of manufacturing and more so frequent re-org’s have made manufacturers to re-think about their business strategy. The business drivers are changing and increasing at a fast pace and Enterprises using ERP’s expect the product vendors to be more than up to speed to offer capabilities in the standard product and also provide an Integration strategy to offer seamless out-of-box integrations.These capabilities are targeted towards Increase in Agent Productivity, Significant reduction in cycle time, Automating Business flows, Orchestrating Business flows spread across disparate applications and Enabling Shared service operations etc.
Oracle has a taken a step forward to meet the above objectives and much more than that. The latest release of Oracle EBS (eBusiness Suite), which is popularly known as R12, is a significant step to meet the complex and demanding business objectives. The features like Multi Org Access Control (MOAC) allow agents to access data spread across Operating units from a single responsibility. The enhancements done as part of EBS R12 in Order Management, Advanced Pricing, iStore help in increase of Agent productivity and shorten the Order cycles.
Come and join the journey if you wanna know on how to expedite and streamline your prolonged Order cycles…….
This session will elucidate how Oracle R12 features can be leveraged to enable shared service operations with features like MOAC. It will elaborate the New R12 features in the areas of Order Management, Advance Pricing and iStore with suitable examples. The session will explain on how the new features like Price book will join the core stream and make it more transparent to the customers. This session will also talk about how the new R12 features and Fusion middleware product BPEL came together and delivered a composite Application model for a big Hi-Tech giant.

Oracle's latest version of its E-Business Suite (EBS) is a significant release. Current users need to determine if and when this upgrade will be appropriate, if they have not already done so. New users of Oracle applications need to ensure that Release 12 is the appropriate release to implement.  – Gartner

The journey begins in the biggest Oracle Technology symposium – Oracle Open World, 21st-25th Sep 2008……

Session ID: S300276
Session Title: Shorten Your Order Cycles with New Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 Features: Wanna Know How?
Track: Oracle E-Business Suite

Posted by vikas khurana at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "High Tech Industry: A State of Flux" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Thinking of Acquisition? Keep ERP as one of the decision parameters" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 04:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Historians used two approaches to apply the past to the future: reasoning by analogy and projection of trends. The 1970’s saw the emergence of ERP systems in the form of Inventory Control Packages and Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II). Then came the integration of Finance, which was followed by the integration of various functional areas like Customer relationship, HR etc.

The evolution of Business Intelligence traces a trajectory similar to this. From a time of specialized tools and long multi-year customized solutions, we are seeing a convergence of enterprise applications, Data warehouse tools and analytic solutions. This is reinforced even further by the takeover and consolidation of BI vendors leaving few large players with capabilities across the value chain.

  ‘No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.’  ~H.E. Luccock

Continue reading "Age of packaged BI and analytics – Should you embark on this journey? Part1" »

Posted by Siddharth Pant at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Today, ERP is used more to drive business improvements & operational efficiencies and hence, any delays or budget over-runs could impact the business. However, most independent surveys and studies indicate that about 55 percent of ERP Implementation projects incur budget overruns. According to Standish Group, a research firm, the average IT project runs over budget by about 43 percent. Among the litany of reasons quoted (such as excessive focus on technology at the expense of business processes, communication shortfalls, project management and operational issues) estimation & bad planning rank high in the list.

Continue reading "Improving Package Implementations Estimates using Package Points" »

Posted by Manikandan Munikrishnan at 10:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Thinking of R12? Go for an Enhanced Upgrade" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 05:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

Scientific American featured a thought provoking article in November 2007 titled--Trashed Tech: Where Do Old Cell Phones, TVs and PCs Go to Die? The enormity of the problem of electronic waste and the urgent need for producing toxin free electronic components could not have been discussed better. I had a serious conscience attack about replacing my old cell phone after reading the article!!

Continue reading "Hi-Tech Trash: Have our e-dumps become safer?" »

Posted by Padmini Ramakrishna Talagavaram at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Service Oriented Architecture is a win-win solution for organizations today that have an utmost need for modernizing their legacy IT assets to sustain in a competitive world. At the same time the indispensible legacy gamut of applications needs to be retained.

Continue reading "Oracle SOA– (S)calable, (O)pen and (A)daptable" »

Posted by Gaurav Sharma at 02:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "High Tech Sector’s Label Printing Needs: Are we there?" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 06:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "What is the Right Product Structure for the High Tech Sector?" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 06:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We have always known a Middleware as a software program that integrates two or more disparate applications. Anyone having first encounters with Oracle Fusion Middleware (OFM) will tend to reckon it as a collection of middleware products. The fact is it is not just a middleware; it is much more than that.

Continue reading "Fusion Middleware – Not Just a Middleware" »

Posted by Gaurav Sharma at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "High Tech Industry’s Logistics Woes: Oracle Transportation Management may be the answer" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

In his classic best-seller ‘The Goal’, Eliyahu M. Goldratt discusses about the three fundamental ways of making money for a going concern namely,

1. Increase throughput (the rate at which the system generates money through sales)  
2. Reduce Inventory (all the money that system has invested in purchasing things which it intends to sells)
3. Reduce Operational expenses (all the money the system spends in order to turn inventory into throughput)

    

Continue reading "Collaboration: The way forward for High Tech Industry" »

Posted by Sandeep Chatterjee at 06:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

R12 is a milestone in Journey to Fusion

Oracle’s E-Business Suite Release 12 is Oracle’s latest version of their business applications with an upgrade path to Oracle Fusion Application. The technology stack is upgraded to Fusion Middleware, the backbone of Fusion Applications.

Continue reading "Upgrading to Oracle R12? Keep Fusion in mind" »

Posted by Malay Kumar at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

An economic downturn affects everyone, some more than others. The overall effect tends to lower consumer confidence and this has a direct impact on consumer spending. Or does it? 

Continue reading "Retailing in a Down Economy, any different from a Boom?" »

Posted by Venu Kotamraju at 03:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Path to the Fusion" »

Posted by Rizwan M.K. at 12:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Now we have established that Retailers are a special breed of organizations (see here) and their financials definitely deserve a special look. I think this difference in their operations has tremendous impact on their choice of applications. Some of the common notions of Oracle Applications such as Procure to Pay do not work for retailers.

Continue reading "Retail Financials or Financials for Retailers- Part Deux?" »

Posted by Venu Kotamraju at 03:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Having Confusion around Fusion!!!!!!!!!!!" »

Posted by Malay Kumar at 03:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0)

The last month and a half has been exciting! The ardent cricket fan in me has been treated to some rapid fire cricket through the Indian Premier League 20:20 extravaganza. Round about the same time, my project team also started rapid application development using SCRUM, a methodology I would call the 20:20 version of the waterfall model of software development. Interestingly, the word SCRUM also has its origins from the sport of rugby where a “scrum” is a group of people responsible for picking up the ball and moving it forward.

Continue reading "SCRUM Methodology: Does the Twenty-Twenty Version of the Waterfall Model Work?" »

Posted by Padmini Ramakrishna Talagavaram at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Continue reading "Retail Financials or Financials for Retailers?" »

Posted by Venu Kotamraju at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Corporations today are spending significant amount of time and money in deploying state of the art ERP software like Oracle, SAP etc. IT management in these big corporations is more concerned to get the software deployed and then they consider their job is done. To say the truth the job is not even half done in most cases. The fail to recognize an important parameter - the ability of the system to perform as per "expectations" after the system has been deployed.

Continue reading "Measuring manufacturing system parameters – first step to drive towards manufacturing execution excellence" »

Posted by Somnath Majumdar at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)