ACN Founded in 1993 HQ in Concord NC Currently Operating in 25 Countries ACN services such as telephone, high speed Internet, Satellite Television, and others are sold through a network of Independent Business Owners. ACN has long used PeopleSoft Financials With traditional services based business, there was no need for a complete Supply Chain Solution As ACN has expanded more into sales of tangible products, a complete SCM system that integrates with PeopleSoft Financials was required Solution is the roll-out of PeopleSoft Purchasing, Inventory, and Cost Management to regions selling the Benevita product family

1. Prepared by:
Session ID:
PeopleSoft Global SCM Implementation at
ACN Opportunity, LLC
Steven Canter
Director, Global Service Delivery
Smart ERP Solutions
Steve.C@SmartERP.com
100650
Stephanie Merenda
Senior Solution Consultant
Smart ERP Solutions
Steph.M@SmartERP.com

2. • About Smart ERP Solutions and ACN
• Overview of ACN Global Rollout
• Regional Differences and Challenges
• Europe
• South Korea
• Japan
• Lessons Learned and Next Steps
• Questions and Answers
Agenda

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4. About ACN
• Founded in 1993
• HQ in Concord NC
• Currently Operating in 25
Countries
• ACN services such as
telephone, high speed
Internet, Satellite
Television, and others are
sold through a network
of Independent Business
Owners.

5. BenevitaTM Product Family
• A premium lifestyle
brand
• Provides wellness,
nutrition, weight
management, and hair
and skin care products.
• Specific products vary
by region

6. • ACN has long used PeopleSoft Financials
• With traditional services based business, there was no
need for a complete Supply Chain Solution
• As ACN has expanded more into sales of tangible
products, a complete SCM system that integrates with
PeopleSoft Financials was required
• Solution is the roll-out of PeopleSoft Purchasing,
Inventory, and Cost Management to regions selling the
Benevita product family
Why PeopleSoft SCM?

7. • PeopleSoft deployment may be in existing countries
already doing business or in green field locations
• Warehouse logistics are generally outsourced and are
different in each country
• In some countries, must support a mix of distribution
centers and retail walk-in locations
• Transportation Management systems and requirements
vary by country
• Order Management systems vary by country
Regional Differences

8. • One GL, AP, and PO Business Unit per Country
• One Inventory BU for each physical address within the
Country
• Configuration of Master Data is done through a shared
service to ensure consistency and accuracy. Foreign
translations of descriptions provided by end users.
• Master Item data is not automatically synced
• Leverage delivered SCM Integration wherever possible for
communicating with outside systems
• Where possible, conform the system to local needs rather
than trying for a one-size-fits-all implementation
General Approach

9. ACN in Europe

10. • Order Entry via a custom system called WOP (web order
processing)
• Logistics 100% outsourced to UPS
• All shipments are processed by UPS and sent back to
PeopleSoft Inventory
• Transactions performed manually in PeopleSoft Inventory for
Receiving or miscellaneous adjustments
• Transactions to/from outside systems performed in batch
mode with XML files
• Only a single Inventory BU – which complicated reconciliation
since there is more than one physical location.
Operational Environment

11. Europe Data Flow Diagram

12. • XML files sent from WOP to both PeopleSoft and UPS
with order data.
• Reservations not used.
• Orders released in PeopleSoft with “Release Only” option
– no paperwork generated.
• Orders are processed and shipped by UPS.
• Picking Feedback batch processed in PeopleSoft with
Auto Advance to Depleted State based on XML file from
UPS.
Processing Steps

13. • Custom App Engine to read in the XML file, perform pre-
processing, and populate delivered staging tables with
order data
• Examples of pre-processing include adding the Business
Unit, and basic error checking
• Write data into delivered staging tables
• Call delivered INVENTORY_CREATE_STOCK_REQUEST EIP
• MSRs created using the original order number from WOP.
• Post Processing moves files from Active to Archive
directory
Creating the Stock Request

14. • Custom App Engine to read in the XML file, perform pre-
processing, and populate delivered staging tables with
order data
• Examples of pre-processing include adding the Business
Unit, and basic error checking
• Write data into delivered staging tables
• Call delivered INVENTORY_SHIPPING EIP
• Post Processing moves files from Active to Archive
directory
Shipping/Depleting Orders

15. • An initial “light” inventory setup had been done prior to the
full rollout – this created issues that needed to be corrected
when the full rollout was done – example is that Stage Date
Control had been turned on.
• Data transmitted by UPS is not always accurate – things like
incorrect Lot ID or wrong Order Line Number being sent back
or shipments being sent twice. Requires manual correction
and reprocessing. Error messages from SCM Integration
programs are sometimes cryptic.
• Due to disconnected nature of systems, the process of
shipping/depleted the orders in PeopleSoft based on UPS
messages has been less reliable than desired.
Limitations/Challenges

16. ACN in Korea

17. • Order Entry via a Korean system called O2C (Order to
Cash)
• Warehouses operated by ACN
• Delivery via Korean Postal Service
• All inventory transactions to be performed in PeopleSoft
• Main distribution center plus multiple retail storefronts
• Many Kit products – one SKU requiring multiple picks
• Documents must be Korean – Korean is not supported by
PeopleSoft FSCM
Operational Environment

18. • No ability in O2C to parse out kit components
• Limited O2C interface capability
• Retail storefronts need to generate paperwork to give to
customer immediately – cannot wait for batch
processing
• Documents must be in Korean and printed directly to
printer – not manually printed from PDF
• To limit Grey Marketing, items are serial numbered. But
serialization adds tremendous overhead when
processing transactions.
Limitations and Challenges

19. • Custom PeopleSoft Component to hold kit definitions
• O2C order is sent with the Parent Item ID. Preprocessing
of O2C orders converts any O2C kit ID number to the
appropriate Item IDs for each component
• Each kit component becomes a separate line on the
Stock Request
Handling of Kits

20. Example of a Kit Definition

21. • Separate database on PeopleSoft DB server to contain
staging tables for O2C orders
• O2C system connected via ODBC
• When orders are released in O2C, order detail is written
to staging table
• DB Link allows PeopleSoft to read staging database
• On scheduled basis, orders are read out of staging
database and populated into delivered staging tables for
processing by the delivered
INVENTORY_CREATE_STOCK_REQUEST EIP
O2C Interface Method

22. • At storefront, orders are entered into O2C and a receipt
generated that includes a bar coded order number
• Order information is immediately copied into the staging
database
• In PeopleSoft, the user scans the O2C order number into
a Run Control page and runs an SQR report that prints a
picking list from the staging database information
• Later, the order will be brought into PeopleSoft and
released with Auto Processing to Deleted
Storefront Picking Report

23. • Documents such as Pick Plans are to be printed directly
to the printers via automated scheduled jobs and must
display Korean characters
• While PDF files created by SQR programs did have proper
Korean language, the printer would not print in Korean
even though the correct font was loaded.
• Solution was to generate .SPF files from SQR and then
print to correct printer via App Engine included in PS Job
that selects correct printer/tray for output
• All Picking reports include custom bar code information
Korean Printed Documents

24. • PeopleSoft delivered serial number is very labor intensive and
not well suited for high order volume
• Solution is to have a separate custom table that contains BU,
Order Number, Item ID, and Serial ID
• No items are serial controlled in PeopleSoft
• As items are picked/packed, a bar code from the pick plan is
scanned with Order No/Item ID
• Then the serial number is scanned from the item
• Data is read into an Excel workbook
• Workbooks are saved to a network folder and, on a
scheduled basis, the files are read, data is copied to the
custom table, and the files are archived
Serial Numbering

25. • Each line of Pick Plan has Order Number and Item ID in a
single Code 39 bar code
• App Engine import program parses this into the separate
fields
• QR Code on product contains country-specific URL for
Benevita followed by question mark and then serial number.
Scanner is programmed to ignore all characters except those
following the question mark.
• Scanner is programmed to automatically add a Tab character
after each scan to auto-advance the cursor to the next cell in
the Excel workbook
Serial Scanning Details

26. Flow for Korea Standard Orders

27. ACN in Japan

28. • Very similar business process flow to Korea
• Both warehouse and storefront operations
• Similar language issues except that Japanese is directly
supported by PeopleSoft
• Order Entry System is Hybris, which is an SAP product
• Addition interface required to connect to Yamato Freight
for tracking of shipments and delivery for revenue
recognition.
Operational Environment

29. • Hybris is planned to be the eventual global order entry
system as powerful capabilities allow it to be a robust
web order entry system for all ACN businesses
• Hybris is fully Web Services enabled, so all integration to
PeopleSoft will be via Web Services, allowing for more
real-time transaction processing
• Hybris has the ability to parse out kit products and send
individual component line items to PeopleSoft
Hybris Integration

30. • As each order is released in Hybris, it sends a message to
PeopleSoft containing the order number.
• PeopleSoft connects to Hybris, passes the order number,
and receives back the full order details
• Data is stored in custom staging table
• Storefront picking report can be printed immediately
• Data from staging table is used to create Material Stock
Requests on scheduled basis, similar to Korea
Hybris Order Integration

31. • Manual sync of new items entered in Hybris and PeopleSoft
Item Master
• Similar printing issues to Korea with Japanese documents
required to be directly printed.
• In addition to Pick Plan, an invoice/packing slip is printed on a
pre-printed form.
• Serialization used – same process as Korea
• Challenges with building integration to pull data back from
Yamato and sending it to Hybris for revenue recognition.
• PeopleSoft and Hybris development teams were separate –
sometimes coordination was difficult
Limitations and Challenges

32. Japan Data Flow

33. • Fully integrate RMA processing into the system – RMA
entered and passed to PeopleSoft via standard
integration points and then a message back to the billing
system when the RMA is received to issue the customer
credit.
• Roll out PeopleSoft into additional geographies
• Standardize on Hybris globally in order to have a
common platform for all order processing and to simplify
and strengthen the PeopleSoft integration
Next Steps

34. Lessons Learned

35. • Whenever setting up a new module for the first time,
even if it is in “light” mode, take the time to ensure that
installation and BU configuration options will support
future growth.
• Before entering configurations such as Material Storage
Locations and Costing Methods, ensure that all parties
agree.
• There is no such thing as too much training. Train on-site
if possible to be able to read faces and body language.
Lessons Learned

36. • For global implementations, ensure that there is
adequate support available around the clock so that
users don’t get stuck.
• Provide “hyper-support” for the periods immediately
before, during, and after the go-live. Have appropriate
support resources on-site for hand holding throughout.
• Whenever you are working with a foreign language, take
the time to test everything especially well. Ensure that
you have the time in your schedule for any required
translations – especially if your language is not directly
supported by PeopleSoft.
Lessons Learned

37. • When working with 3rd party data integration, make sure
that sufficient testing takes place prior to go-live.
• When having development teams from different
companies and different geographies working on a
project, it takes extra effort to coordinate everything and
make sure everyone is on the same page. Regularly
scheduled integrated team meetings are important.
• Ensure that Project Management is actively engaged with
all stakeholders, including development teams, end-
users, and executive sponsors.
Lessons Learned

38. Any Questions?

39. Session ID: 100350
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