Consolidate Multiple Production Instances of EBS Into a Single Instance

You want to go to a central data center and consolidate your Oracle E-Business Suites into a single instance.

Problem

A manufacturing company had 7 different implementations of Oracle E-Business Suite. Each application instance was configured at the plant level and had different product numbers structure, and different business processes that were implemented in their application. They could not consolidate their inventory into a single warehouse because of the different structures. The customer wanted to standardize all products and consolidate the databases into a single data center. They determined that they would save maintenance costs and license fees by having a single global instance, resolve business process inconsistencies, and save operating expenses when all the data resided in a single data center. The instances and the set-up decisions from their initial implementations were not well documented.

Solution

The company used eprentise Metadata Analysis to identify differences among the systems. After defining the target instance, the company used FlexField software to implement a single chart of accounts. Finally, the client used eprentise Consolidation software to identify and resolve configuration differences, other flexfield differences, and resolve duplicates across instances before merging all seven instances into the new target environment. They were able to quickly determine common customers, suppliers, and product lines so they were able to streamline their operations, understand their customers better, and leverage common business practices across the enterprise.

Integrate Your E-Business Suite with an Acquired Suite

You have just acquired a company who also uses Oracle E-Business Suite.

Problem

A global manufacturing company running Oracle E-Business Suite recently acquired a smaller competitor who also uses OEBS. They needed to Standardize Oracle Financial and Manufacturing Applications from both companies so that they could operate as a single company. They needed to quickly identify the differences in data between systems, standardize and consolidate data from the merged company, determine common customers, suppliers, and product lines so duplicates can be resolved, and obtain an accurate view of current and future operating requirements.

Solution

The company used eprentise Consolidation software to consolidate the two systems. eprentise Metadata Analysis generated a report listing all the differences in database objects and in the set-up data. The parent company’s E-Business Suite was identified as the target. After changing the chart of accounts and the calendar for the acquired company, the business users decided how the data was to be merged into the target. The company standardized all configuration data and resolved duplicates for all master data using eprentise Data Quality software. All transaction data from the acquired company was synchronized with the cleansed master data and moved into the target database. The history from both companies was preserved. There was no coding, and the instances were merged and went into production within 180 days of the acquisition.

They identified the benefits as being able to operate as a combined entity quickly. They captured the economies of scope and scale and leveraged the combined information resources, reduced the cost of internal support services, and achieved process efficiencies and business synergies quickly.

Break Down the Silos

Each area of your business was set up differently, there is no sharing, and you need to break down the silos.

Problem

A multinational corporation that has been in business 22 years had recently begun to notice that the systems behind its different business units kept track of the same information, but in different forms and formats, creating a large amount of duplicate data that was difficult and time-consuming to reconcile. In the early stages of the business, each line of business developed its own systems rather than adopting a large ERP system to drive the business as a whole. When E-Business Suite was finally adopted, each line of business implemented its own instance of the Suite, not considering that they were still duplicating the effort of tracking the same data and then having to weed through it for reporting purposes. Many third-party hardware systems were introduced in order to integrate the systems, but they found that the new hardware actually increased the time required to get the reports they needed. The company needed a way to increase communication between the systems and reduce the amount of duplicated efforts across the company.

Solution

The company used eprentise Instance Consolidation software to consolidate all of its instances into a single instance that functioned on its own. During the process, duplicate data such as customers, vendors, employees, and products was eliminated, and the silos of information were broken down allowing different areas of the business to communicate seamlessly. The company was then able to get the reports its needed straight from E-Business Suite and was able to eliminate a large energy footprint in the form of integration systems.

Budget Reduction

You need to reduce your budget by more than 20% and are looking for ways to save money.

Problem

A large automotive company was in financial trouble, and received a bail-out from the US Government. One of the terms of the bail-out agreement was that they reduce spending by at least 20%. Over the years, the company had grown, by acquiring other, smaller companies, but the acquisitions had never become fully integrated, even though they were all using the Oracle E-Business Suite.

Solution

After taking a close look at their operation, the company realized that they were maintaining 8 different data centers, and had over 20 instances of Oracle E-Business Suite running.

They used eprentise Metadata Analysis to identify differences among the systems, and then used FlexField software to implement a single Chart of Accounts. They also used eprentise Consolidation software to identify and resolve configuration differences, other flexfield differences, and resolve duplicates.

After the consolidation, which maintained the complete integrity of the data, they were down to only 2 instances of Oracle E-Business Suite, and they were able to close 6 of the data centers (they could have closed 7 and kept only 1, but they wanted to keep 2, for redundancy and fail-over purposes). In addition to the obvious money saved in facilities costs, they also realized a significant savings in software license costs, and were able to reduce their IT-related headcount by 30%. After the consolidation, they were also able to reduce their cost of inventories by limiting the parts on hand so that most of their items were ordered just-in-time. They negotiated better terms with their suppliers, and had consistent pricing everywhere in the world.

Why do you suggest consolidation before the upgrade?

We look at the expected work effort and elapsed time to complete the two alternatives. The first option has one consolidation and one upgrade project. The second option has two upgrade projects and then a consolidation project, so it is likely to require more work. Using eprentise to consolidate 11i instances or R12 instances is about the same level of effort. It would also take longer if the two upgrades are done one after another instead of in parallel.

There are other considerations.

• Upgrading to R12 is largely related to keeping up technically with Oracle’s releases. The business reasons for an upgrade are usually related to needing the new accounting methods and new module functionality not present in 11i. R12 introduces Ledgers, Ledger Sets, and Subledger Accounting Methods. Setting up and staffing shared service centers is easier.
• Most companies delay the upgrade, since it’s a lot of work without a lot of business benefit, and they want to wait until R12 is stable. Also, many of the advantages of R12 are meaningful only if you have a single instance.
• Users test the consolidation transformation on a familiar release. By using eprentise before upgrading, you are able to isolate the impact of consolidation changes without introducing the complexity of a new release, new functionality in new modules or new features in existing modules, and different business processes.
• Consolidating to a single instance has business benefits regardless of the release you’re on. We believe (a) a company can estimate the business benefits with a small amount of financial analysis, and (b) the benefits will be significantly more than the combined technical and business benefit of an R12 upgrade on multiple instances.
• In summary, even though R12 is more stable than a year ago, we still suggest consolidate then upgrade as the sequence of choice.

What kind of consolidation decisions and work will the software do automatically or will the eprentise team do for us? What will we have to do?

eprentise software works within the E-Business Suite and the standard, out-of-the-box functionality. There is an optional customization metadata analysis to document database objects that are not part of the E-Business Suite. eprentise does not change any source code, packages, or SQL code in an E-Business Suite environment. That means that any interfaces to third party systems, enhancements, non-standard reports, and bolt-on software are outside the scope of what eprentise will address in your transformation project. You will need to determine if these are impacted by the eprentise transformation of the EBS, and adjust or fit them to the new EBS environment.

The business users need to make decisions about what the target environment looks like, criteria about what makes a duplicate, which standards eprentise should enforce, and any “rules” like revenue recognition rules, allocation formulas, security rules, or workflows.

Once the eprentise software knows what the target is, then it generates the code to change the source to the target. It does not know the business or best practices for an industry.

The customer needs to know how to set up and implement E-Business Suite to get the desired result. That includes knowledge of how organization units or sets of books work, what is a roll-up group, how to define a flexfield, how to allocate costs, how to move an asset to a new category, or how to drill down to sub ledger detail.

Can I consolidate my old 11i instance with my recently-implemented R12 instance?

You cannot use eprentise to consolidate an 11i and an R12 instance. In this situation, we suggest you upgrade the 11i instance to R12, without full testing and production cutover, and then consolidate the two R12 instances. We will work with you to see if there are reasonable upgrade shortcuts.

What does it mean to have a Complete, Consistent, and Correct database instance?

Consider the following observations about what is not complete, consistent, or correct.

• If there are multiple E-Business Suite database instances, no instance provides the complete business data. There are often inconsistencies among instances. The inconsistencies lead business users to conclude the data is incorrect and can’t be trusted. They often have external spreadsheets to fix the data and reconcile the differences among the instances.
• When there are multiple EBS instances, you usually find data is passed between them via interfaces, to synchronize data and couple business processes together.
• Some approaches to consolidating multiple instances leave out the transaction history, so the business users are left with “sunset” instances that contain all the history up to the point of consolidation. They may need to access these sunset instances to look up prior events and transactions. Thus the single consolidated instance is not complete.
• Even when there is only a single instance, there may be different charts of accounts, or different business rules employed by different parts of the organization. If the business users employ external reconciling spreadsheets because of these differences, the instance is not complete, consistent, or correct.

This is what complete, consistent, and correct means.

What happens after I run eprentise and transform my E-Business Suite instances?

Your destination (target) E-Business Suite instance looks and functions according to how you have defined the new target. The process is that you will define what result you want to achieve, and eprentise generates the code to achieve the result. All desired history from the source has also been transformed in line with the target that you have defined. The changed E-Business Suite looks like it was set up according to your target definition since the original implementation. In the case of a consolidation, it looks as though you had always operated within a single environment. You may optionally decide to retain a copy of the source environment until your reconciliation and audits are completed. The database is functionally and technically consistent and correct.

Consolidation Datasheet

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eprentise Consolidation software allows companies to merge two or more instances of Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) into a single, consolidated database instance that includes all of the data and history from the source instances. eprentise software relies on its built-in knowledge base of EBS to provide a streamlined and cost-effective way to consolidate different instances after a merger or acquisition or a move to a centralized data center. eprentise Consolidation software automates the process and generates all of the required code to standardize data, resolve duplicates, align set-up parameters, and synchronize business processes across multiple implementations of EBS. The resulting single database is a synthesis of all the source EBS database instances, aligned to the current business strategy.

A Single Version of the Truth - Top 10 Benefits of a Global Consolidation

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Learn how two global companies consolidated multiple instances of E-Business Suite to significantly reduce maintenance costs, operate a shared service center, and support growth. Compare the two different approaches (one with software, and one with an army of consultants). This presentation details the decisions made on what and how to consolidate and the results that Carquest and Experian achieved by improved consolidated reporting, eliminating duplicate efforts, and sharing real-time information.

Tips for Reducing the Total Cost of Ownership of EBS

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What does it cost you to run your changing business on Oracle E-Business Suite? The answer depends on how you configure and upgrade your applications. A well-designed business consolidation allows companies to improve global visibility and compliance, leverage their supply chains, and streamline operations. If done wrong, both return-on-investment and business agility are at risk. Learn how to reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and add value by undertaking a business consolidation the right way.

Adding Business Value to Database Consolidation

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The consolidation of IT assets, particularly databases, has garnered considerable interest in recent years, and the general concept of IT consolidation – migrating multiple, heterogeneous systems to run on a single hardware and/or software instance – is relatively well-understood in the market. The typical rationales for IT consolidation, largely centered around cost reduction, improved operational efficiency, and the development of more responsive, dynamic, and customer-centric IT systems, are also familiar in the literature, and are fairly well-understood.

In the vast majority of cases, IT consolidation – and in particular database consolidation – while providing some value, falls far short of its potential to positively impact the business side of the enterprise.

According to research carried out by Enterprise Applications Consulting (EAC), most examples of database consolidation focus only on the benefits of the technical aspects of consolidation: With the consolidation of database licenses, a reduction in personnel and hardware costs are the predominant results. These examples ignore the benefits of a business consolidation – one that goes beyond typical technical consolidations by consolidating current and historical data and business processes – that could deliver significant value to the business side of the enterprise as well.