OracleAppsBlog

A day in the life of an Oracle Applications Consultant

Other Enterprise Systems

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Oracle bid for SAP and Business Objects?

Feed surfing the other night, I came across a rumour indicating that Oracle could potentially take over SAP in this article - Oracle Bid Rumour boosts SAP shares. This would certainly turn Project Fusion in to Confusion. Personally I don’t see how this would get passed the monopolies and merger’s commissions in the various countries affected and I think it’s more likely that Microsoft will take over SAP, although Jeff Nolan has some thoughts to the contrary. Whatever the case, its looking more likely that Oracle will make a move to purchase another BI company as indicated in this article - Oracle Rumoured to be eyeing Business Objects. Great time to be an Oracle Consultant!!

I’m trying to get the polling module working again so cast your vote and let me know if you experience any problems.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Mini MRP - Free BOM, Inventory Management and Stock Control Software

Noticed the MiniMRP site showing up in in my Google Ads, you might want to try out this software if you’re looking for a lightweight solution for Bill of Materials, Inventory Management and Stock Control.

According to the site:

miniMRP 2.1 for Windows 95/98/Me/2000 & XP is a new, easy to use inventory manager with some additional features usually only found in larger ERP/MRP systems. If you need more than a basic inventory system but don’t want the bother and associated running costs of an oversized ERP/MRP system then there’s a good chance that miniMrp 2.1 is all the software you’re looking for.

miniMRP may look like a small package but that’s because it doesn’t waste space on rarely used features that nobody uses anyway. Why maintain an overweight, over-complex ERP/MRP system when all you really want is something that will manage an unlimited number of inventory items and when required, build, manage and cost single and multilevel parts lists and Bill of Material of almost any number of levels or complexity.

Would be interested to see comments from anyone that’s used this product.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Introduction to Project Mendocino

Last night I read an interesting article in the SAPInsider Magazine which described what’s happening with Project Mendocino.

SAP Insider is the premiere source of information on product and service initiatives coming from SAP and its partners. The magazine provides SAP customers with strategic direction and practical advice to make the most of their investment in SAP technology.

The article by Dennis Moore – General Manager, Emerging Solutions PTU, SAP Labs, LLC is entitled SAP as Easy as Opening E-mail? Introducing Project Mendocino 

It describes how Project Mendocino links mySAP ERP business functions to Microsoft Office Applications and how Desktop applications will trigger transactions in the ERP system.

The paper states that in its first release, Project Mendocino will support four common business scenarios:

1. Time and Billable meetings management – Transferring information from an electronic personal calendar to a company timesheet or accounting form is one of the most cumbersome tasks. With Project Mendocino’s Time Management Capability, information collected in Outlook Calendar can be directly fed into mySAP ERP.

2. Budget Monitoring – Tracking budgets and acting upon changes in status is one of the most powerful features for managers in Project Mendocino. Users can configure Outlook using Project Mendocino to alert them of financial conditions affecting a budget, but instead of getting a text e-mail with a link to another system, the user can get the context they need and access to the actual business processes that will enable them to act upon the alert in the e-mail itself.

3. Team and Organization Management Processes – Team Management, although not a replacement for SAP Manager Self-Service, will make many common HR tasks possible via Microsoft Outlook. Users can use Outlook contacts to retrieve up to date information about employees, open positions and organizational structures.

4. Leave Management Requests – Planning time off from work usually requires users to jump from one calendar to another, creating a paper chain that can leave calendars out of sync. With Project Mendocino’s Leave Management Capability, users can user their Outlook Calendar to schedule leave requests and the approval workflow can all be contained in Exchange.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Connecticut State Governments integrated Financial, HR and Payroll System

I came across the Core CT site today and found it to be a site with a wealth of information relating to systems implementation.

According to the site:

Core-CT is the system that has replaced Connecticut state government’s core financial and administrative computer systems including central and agency accounting, accounts payable, payroll, time and attendance, worker’s compensation, personnel, and other legacy systems. For years before Core-CT was implemented, these systems were plagued by poor integration, redundant data entry, and time-wasting reconciliation. They were written in a number of different languages, resided on many platforms, and included numerous databases. This older technology was not adaptable to workflow and e-commerce.

The state’s central administrative agencies - the Office of the State Comptroller, the Departments of Administrative Services and Information Technology, and the Office of Policy and Management - banded together to undertake the transition to a new, integrated system encompassing virtually all major administrative functions and all executive-branch state agencies. The system uses enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to tie together all functions, using an integrated suite of software applications, a common database, and a unified technical architecture.

The Core-CT fact sheet outlines what modules and systems were implemented as follows:

Core-CT is Connecticut state government’s central financial and administrative computer system. Using PeopleSoft’s ERP suite, the system encompasses central and agency accounting functions, including modules for general ledger, purchasing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing, assets, and inventory, with projects and contracts scheduled to be implemented in 2006; as well as PeopleSoft’s Human Resource Management System, with modules for payroll, time and labor, human resources, and benefits. Core-CT covers all these functions for executive branch agencies, and some of its functions are also used by the Judicial Branch, the General Assembly, and state institutions of higher education. In addition, Core-CT uses PeopleSoft’s EPM ad-hoc reporting function to allow queries on its vast database.

Currently, the system uses PeopleSoft Financials version 8.4 but will be upgrading to version 8.8 around July 2006; HRMS uses PeopleSoft version 8.3 and will be upgrading to 8.9 around May 2006. Some 7,600 state workers use Core-CT. They pay the state’s bills in a $15.3 billion annual budget (fiscal year 2006), including the payroll for all state employees.

Launched in 2003, Core-CT is based at the Department of Information Technology’s East Hartford, CT office; it is managed jointly by the Office of the State Comptroller, the Department of Administrative Services, and DOIT; these agencies hold the statutory authority for the system’s functions.  Approximately 150 people work in the development and maintenance of Core-CT.

Other interesting areas of the site include the Presentation Library, Document Library and Chart of Accounts Documentation. I also thought the catalog of online financial reports provides a good example of how reports should be documented.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Oracle and Peoplesoft web site integration

Got a mail this morning from Judith Sim - Oracle Senior Vice President, informing me of changes to the Oracle.com web site.

According to the first section of the mail entitled Web Site Update:

With Oracle and PeopleSoft now operating as one company (except for operations in Japan), we’ve integrated our two Web sites, giving you a single view of the combined companies and making it easier for you to find relevant information online. We have made a number of improvements to Oracle.com, including streamlined navigation, such as a new A to Z product index to help users easily and quickly find details about all Oracle and PeopleSoft product and service offerings. We have also enhanced the quality and depth of information offered. For example, we have completely redesigned and augmented the Industry pages and expanded the section related to our Oracle Fusion Middleware offerings.

Enjoy checking out the updated sections which I’ve linked to above!