1. THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE
ORACLE APPLICATIONS USERS GROUP
SUMMER 2016
COLLABORATE
2016
34
OAUG MEMBERS’
CORNER
40
ORACLE
DIRECTIONS
50
12
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO
Oracle Planning and
Budgeting Cloud Service
(PBCS)
ORACLE TRANSPORTATION
MANAGEMENT: BRIDGING
LOGISTICS SILOS, AUTOMATING
PLANNING AND EXECUTION
22
UPDATE TO THE ORACLE
E-BUSINESS SUITE LIFETIME
SUPPORT POLICY DATES
28
CREATE AND CLEANSE
CUSTOMER DATA THE
EASY WAY
30
By Vishnu Subramanian
2. Five days of real-world education focusing on the
Oracle E-Business Suite comes to technologists
like you this summer. Mark your calendar now and
hear the latest on the topics relevant to your role.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
• Database Administrators
• System Administrators
• Oracle Applications Developers
• Middleware Technologists who support
the Oracle E-Business Suite
OAUG
Connection Point®
AppsTech Online
July 11-15, 2016
Learn more today
at cp.oaug.org
POTENTIAL TOPICS INCLUDE:
• Applications Strategy and Service
• Applications Development
• Business Intelligence/BI Analytics
• Database
• Upgrade
3. 3
With magazine pages to fill, I rely on
Oracle Apps users, volunteer committee
and council leaders, subject matter
experts, Oracle employees and my
talented colleagues to pack those
pages with tips and tricks and relevant
information. The biggest challenge is
narrowing down all the wonderful
content to fit within the page count.
The collaboration that influenced this
issue of OAUG Insight magazine features
“A Beginner’s Guide to Oracle Planning
and Budgeting Cloud Service (PCBS)”
with a glimpse into features, functionality
and deployment options for Hyperion
Planning. “Oracle Transportation
Management: Bridging Logistics Silos,
Automating Planning and Execution”
ventures into the functionalities in Oracle
OTM that can help customers move
products through the supply chain quickly
and efficiently.
The OAUG Customer Support Council
shares an important announcement from
Oracle in “Update to the E-Business Suite
Lifetime Support Policy Dates.” “Create
and Cleanse Customer Data the Easy
Way” outlines an OAUG member’s use of
forms and a third-party tool to maintain
customer data.
“Journey Fabulous” is a summary of
COLLABORATE 16. And the expansive
and dynamic OAUG Geographic (Geo)
and Special Interest Group (SIG)
communities share news and updates.
Would you like to be a collaborator?
Let me know if you have an article to
share or a topic that we should explore in
the pages of OAUG Insight magazine. u
Contact me at cforce@oaug.org for details.
As this issue, and every issue, of OAUG Insight
magazine comes together, I have the distinct pleasure
of being at the hub of an enormous collaborative effort.
Cindy Force
Managing Editor
cforce@oaug.org
EDITOR’S NOTE
COLLABORATION:
NOT JUST FOR CONFERENCES
4.
5. 5
insight
Features
22
Oracle Transportation
Management: Bridging
Logistics Silos, Automating
Planning and Execution
Key functionalities in Oracle OTM
can help you improve your global
transportation management services.
VISHNUVARTH SUBRAMANIAN, JADE GLOBAL INC.
28
Update to the Oracle
E-Business Suite Lifetime
Support Policy Dates
Oracle recently announced changes
to Extended Support for EBS 12.1
and 12.2.
30
Create and Cleanse Customer
Data the Easy Way
Learn how an OAUG member uses
forms and a third-party tool to
maintain customer data.
MATT LECHNER, CENTRIC GROUP, INC.
7 OAUG 2016 Board of Directors
9 President’s Perspective
40 OAUG Geos and SIGs
45 Member Snapshot
46 Member Benefit Showcase:
Your Committees, Working for You
47 New and Returning Members
For the new Oracle Hyperion Planning customer,
PBCS is an obvious option with simpler data integration
options, yet nearly the same robust functionality of core
Hyperion Planning.
34
Destination COLLABORATE 16
– OAUG Forum
Journey Fabulous!
The people, the education, the awards,
the social events, the exhibitors, and,
of course, the photos.
OAUG Leadership
Member’s Corner
SUBSCRIPTIONS: OAUG member organizations may receive up to 10 copies of OAUG Insight magazine by mail.
The electronic version of OAUG Insight magazine is available to all members on oaug.org/publications. Contact membership@oaug.org
or +1 404.240.0897 with questions about your subscription options.
50 You Don’t Have to Boil the Ocean
Keep your head above water:
take an incremental approach to
modern marketing.
Oracle Directions
TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATIONS FORUM
FOR THE ORACLE COMMUNITY
Conferences & Events
12
A Beginner’s Guide
to Oracle Planning
and Budgeting
Cloud Service
(PBCS)
PATRICK CALLAHAN, AST CORPORATION
r
er
ST
CATIONS
Accountant
DatabaseAdministrator
BUSINESSANALYST
OBIEE
E-BusinessSuite
YOU ARE THE
O R A C L E A P P L I C A T I O N S U S E R S G R O U P
YOU FIND ANSWERS
YOU NETWORK WITH REAL
USERS AND EXPERTS
YOU INFLUENCE ORACLE
6. S P
THE SOLUTIONS
2015-2016 EDITION
O T
Find products, services and implementation
partners that can help you improve the use
and management of Oracle Applications
in your organization.
Visit oaug.org/buyersguide to
access the 2015 OAUG Buyer’s Guide.
Browse searchable online information.
Or download a copy.
Contact sales@oaug.org to secure
your place in the OAUG Buyer’s Guide.
8. The OAUG
Paper Database
Conference
the answers you need
when you need them
The OAUG Conference Paper
Database includes thousands
of white papers and presentations
from dozens of OAUG
conferences over the past
several years. Everyone can search the OAUG
Conference Paper Database, but only
OAUG members can download the
presentations. If your organization is not a
member yet, please join online or contact
the membership staff at +1.404.240.0897 or
membership@oaug.org to learn more about
the many benefits of OAUG membership.
Use the Conference Paper
Database on oaug.org
and see how easy it is
to find:
• Best practices
• Productivity tips
• Real user experiences
9. 9
PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
Dr. Patricia Dues
OAUG President
pdues@oaug.org
Twitter: @pdues
Many of us are now evaluating the
opportunities and challenges presented
by the cloud. Oracle Applications running
in the cloud may not be for you, or may
not be for you today. But it’s important to
know your options and make informed
decisions. The OAUG is a great source
of information and practical tips from
other members. For example, see the
article beginning on page 12 about the
Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud
Service (PBCS) for Hyperion Planning
deployment options.
In addition to learning about the cloud,
our collective evolution journeys are
propelled by a long list of topics. OAUG
educational opportunities exist all year
long to support your individual learning
path. Upcoming opportunities include:
• More than 560 white papers and
presentations from COLLABORATE
16 are now available in the OAUG
Conference Paper Database.
These resources are free and
available 24/7 to all employees of
OAUG member organizations.
• The Best of COLLABORATE 16—
OAUG Forum is underway. Also free
for OAUG members, this popular
summer eLearning series brings you
top-rated content from real users and
expert consultants.
• OAUG Connection Point®—AppsTech
Online features sessions for DBAs,
SysAdmin and Developers supporting
the Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS).
This virtual learning event takes place
July 11-15, 2016.
If you’ve ever wondered how the OAUG
develops its educational programs,
see the article on page 46 for insight
into how volunteer teams shape and
grow education.
Education is key to your continued growth
and evolution. I encourage you to use all
the available OAUG resources available to
fuel your voyage. u
Contact me at pdues@oaug.org.
If you’ve been working with Oracle Applications for
a long time, or even for a couple of years, think back.
How have your organization’s business or functional
area strategies changed to drive the adoption of new
technologies or applications? How did you, then,
evolve to gain new information and employ new skills?
EVOLUTION
THROUGH EDUCATION
10. 10 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
OAUG STAR
PARTNERS(List updated as of press time.)
FIVE-STAR
The OAUG Star Partners are a vital force in supporting the OAUG’s mission of providing
Oracle Applications users the tools required to enhance their productivity, maximize
their investment, and influence the quality, usability and support of Oracle Applications.
Participants in the OAUG Star Partner Program represent some of the most experienced
and most successful providers of services and solutions to the Oracle users community.
FOUR-STAR
To Be Announced
11. 11
THREE-STAR
TWO-STAR ELITE
The OAUG Star Partner program gives Associate members a bundled approach to active,
integrated participation in the OAUG community. The program combines membership,
advertising and conference benefits into a value-priced package that delivers recognition,
premium advertising opportunities and outstanding conference visibility.
For more information on the OAUG Star Partner Program, please contact
Christine Hilgert at +1 404.760.4234, or via e-mail at chilgert@oaug.org.
TWO-STAR RISING-STAR
• BlackLine
• Deloitte
• FastPath
• Flexagon
• Infosemantics
• interRel
• MeasureIT
• SoftArt Solutions Inc.
• Sunera Tech
• Thirdware
• Zebra Technologies
• Fulcrum Way
• Project Partners
• Spinnaker Support
SPECIALTHANKS
• Oracle Validated Integration
from Rookery Software
13. 13
TION
ANALYSIS
This article will explain the Oracle PBCS solution, highlight the features and provide
recommendations for implementing.
Overview of PBCS
Oracle PBCS is a subscription-based planning and budgeting solution built for and
deployed on Oracle Cloud, using a proven, flexible planning and reporting best-in-class
architecture. It offers immediate value and greater productivity for business planners,
analysts, modelers and decision makers across all lines of business of an enterprise.
PBCS is built to scale and perform, using industry-standard Oracle Cloud infrastructure.
Key highlights include:
• Most Complete
u Broad: spans Oracle’s application and platform portfolio.
u Best-in-class: based on Oracle’s industry-leading cloud products.
u Integrated: built on a common, unified platform.
• Most Flexible and Modern
u Standards-based: built on industry standards: Java, SQL, HTML5, Web.
u Extensible: build and deploy new apps or extend existing apps.
u Portable: migrate apps to and from on-premises.
• Enterprise-Grade
u Secure: strict controls and policies to ensure data protection.
u Elastic: self-service, capacity on-demand with monthly subscription.
u Managed: fully automated operations and management.
Overall, the solution is robust with the industry-leading Hyperion Planning base,
solid workflow and integration options, and a user experience that extends nicely
for mobile (tablet) use (Figure 1).
Oracle’s Planning & Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS)
rolled out early last year and has truly changed the
deployment options for Hyperion Planning for many
customers. Directed to the new Oracle Hyperion
Planning customer, PBCS is an obvious option with
simpler data integration options, yet nearly the same
robust functionality of core Hyperion Planning.
Sure, there are minor differences and some limitations,
but it’s worth a look.
14. FEATURES Summer 2016
14 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
Why Consider the Cloud?
Oracle’s EPM Cloud usage has sky-rocketed since it was
released, and this aligns with the findings outlined in Oracle’s
“EPM Top Trends for 2015” report. This report highlights
that EPM Cloud user base, including PBCS, is nearly doubling
in size each year (12 percent in 2014, then 22 percent in
2015). This has been driven by the user community being
comfortable with its success as a SaaS solution, along with
some existing customers moving to PBCS instead
of upgrading.
Other reasons for this growth and expansion of the PBCS
user base align with those more common to SaaS solutions.
The same Oracle report finds that 65 percent of respondents
are persuaded by the ability to get up and running quickly—
an obvious benefit without the need of new infrastructure
and IT support to set it up. Moreover, 53 percent of
respondents are motivated to avoid large, upfront
investments. Either driven by shrinking budgets themselves
or the sometimes enormity of procuring Hyperion Planning
licenses, the PBCS subscription model significantly reduces
the year-one costs. As such, considering PBCS is a must.
The Trade-Offs of the Cloud and PBCS
The cloud and PBCS are not for everyone. Sometimes,
security requirements, integration models or the size of
architected solutions make PBCS an inadequate option.
Until Oracle releases the “Enterprise” PBCS pre-built
solutions, the availability of those existing solutions within
on-premises or hosted deployments may outweigh the pros of
PBCS. Here is how we assess the cloud and PBCS:
First, the “Good”:
• Lower operational expense.
• Limited infrastructure overhead.
• Lower short-term TCO.
• Faster implementation.
• Potential for increased innovation.
• Upgrades managed by SaaS provider.
Then, the “Bad”:
• Loss of control.
• Security and compliance concerns.
• Longer-term TCO uncertain.
• Integration with other systems.
• Frequent automatic upgrades.
You can see that some topics, like upgrades, are on both lists
and truly are in the eye of the beholder—some folks like
control, while others prefer ease of mind.
Oracle PBCS: Built from the Foundational
Hyperion Planning
First, Oracle PBCS is Hyperion Planning at its core, so you
benefit from having nearly the same robust features and
functionality as the on-premises software. These include:
Figure 1
15. 15
• Best-practice planning, budgeting and forecasting
capabilities.
• Spreadsheet-like interactivity with larger data sets.
u Rapid loading of large forms.
u Quick cell-to-cell navigation and scrolling.
u Support for shortcuts.
u Auto-calculations.
u Sandboxing.
u Excel-like formulas.
• End users able to extend the model.
• Add a member on the fly.
• Embedded Advanced Predictive Planning.
• Time-series forecasting with even more history.
• Microsoft Office support and integration.
The Oracle Hyperion solutions have been industry-leading
for some time and regular Gartner “Magic Quadrant”
members for Corporate Performance Management (Oracle
calls it Enterprise Performance Management, or EPM).
Part of Oracle’s strength in this position is in fact the viability
and success of Oracle PBCS.
Getting Started with PBCS
Oracle makes is incredibly easy to get started. You can easily
go through your Oracle sales representation (recommended)
to purchase subscriptions or buy online at the Oracle Store.
Here is a good place to start (Figure 2):
http://docs.oracle.com/cloud/latest/pbcs_common/index.html
The “Getting Started” content is shown here, with links
for learning about PBCS, obtaining trial subscriptions and
the initial steps of getting your PBCS environments up
and running. Overall, you will find the amount of online
documentation and other content for Oracle PBCS is
tremendous and far superior to any of the
on-premises options.
Figure 2
16. FEATURES Summer 2016
16 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
Your access to environments, after your subscriptions have
been processed, is typically just a few days. It is great to
“jump in” to Hyperion Planning, especially if you’re used to
the “old” way of cumbersome installs and base configurations.
What you get with PBCS is the following:
• The Planning application itself.
u This includes two (2) environments
(i.e. PROD and TEST).
• All hardware infrastructure to run the application.
u You don’t see it or have direct access, but it’s obviously
there, supporting your application.
• Regular patches and upgrades.
u Administrators decide timing within prescribed windows.
• Nightly backups.
• Guaranteed performance.
• Support is included.
It is important to note that there are pre-requisites for PBCS,
however, there are not many. As a Web-based application,
it primarily relies on the browser. Still, the Calculation
Manager and Smart View components do rely on and require
compatibility for Shockwave Flash (Firefox) or Adobe Flash
Player and Microsoft Office.
The supported browsers are:
• Firefox ESR 38+.
• Internet Explorer 11.
• Google Chrome 29 and later.
• Apple Safari 6 and later.
Also note that only Google Chrome (on Android mobile
devices) and Apple Safari (on iPads and iPhones) are
supported for mobile devices.
For Smart View (Release 11.1.2.5.500 or newer), you need
Microsoft Office 2007/2010/2013 and .NET Framework 4.0.
For Calculation Manager, Shockwave Flash (Firefox) or
Adobe Flash Player (Internet Explorer) is needed.
Otherwise, you really just need Internet bandwidth.
Figure 3
17. 17
De-Constructing PBCS
In an effort to explain what comprises the PBCS solution,
I wanted to touch on a handful of core components.
First, there are “Application Wizards” that make creating a
Planning application about as easy as possible. The wizard
takes you through the core configuration steps, asking
questions on how the application will be used, and offering
you additional options on how the application should be set
up. With the first screen, you can choose to install the sample
application or one of your own with these options:
• Simple: Basic applications with one (1) Hyperion Planning
plan type (e.g. dimensional model).
• Advanced: More complex applications with multiple
plan types.
Next, a critical change is the fact that there are user-interface
options. Aside from the “Classic Workspace” look and feel that
we are all used to within Hyperion Planning, Oracle released
a new “Simplified Interface,” specifically optimized for mobile
or tablet use.
Figure 3 presents a screenshot of the Task Lists within the
new “Simplified Interface”—a much cleaner and simpler view
into the Planning application and solution features.
This “Simplified Interface” will soon become the standard
(and only option) for Oracle in the cloud.
As highlighted above, and aside from the new “Simplified
Interface,” much of the core (and robust) Hyperion Planning
functionality remains.
You do have the ability to create complex Web (data) forms
for centralized data capture that helps eliminate spreadsheets.
Features include inherent data entry features for “spreading”
changes, locking data, adding commentary, capturing
supporting detail, attaching files to cells and applying
validation rules, all the while enforcing data security
(Figure 4).
As has been the case in more recent versions of Hyperion
Planning, you have the ability to create impressive
dashboard-type Web forms with charts, tables and other
graphics to be available on both mobile and desktop
(Figure 5).
Figure 4
19. 19
Moreover, there is a powerful feature for administrators to author
Web forms via the new interface and save them as a functioning
Financial Reporting report. This feature is not perfect but definitely
a nice, new way to transition from a well-received Web form by users
to a well-received report.
Data security is still driven by “planning units” against the Entity
dimension, but the setting of “user variables” has changed. A simple
settings menu for “user variables” allows you to specify/change what
data you are looking at, again, applying data security appropriately
(Figure 6).
For each user variable, the selection of desired “members” is not
too dissimilar to the interface in the “classic” view. I think this is
definitely an area for improvement for PBCS.
The workflow and approval process also has not changed
significantly, other than the “simplified interface” look and feel
(Figure 7). It remains best practices-based and offers a visualized
approvals process with workflow status dashboards that really do
help manage progress against your budgeting (and budget cycle)
deadlines. You will see the steps of the approval workflow and their
ownership, along with a graphical representation of the status.
For reporting, you continue to leverage Financial Reporting Studio
or FR. Interestingly, we see our customers and end users essentially
use Web (data) forms for analysis and reporting (their words),
others primarily use Smart View (Figure 8), and some embrace FR.
Financial Reporting Studio is soon to be transformed into a lighter
cloud solution, but until then, we essentially have the same options.
With regard to Smart View, you can further utilize this great tool
to manage dimension members. To do so, you must connect to the
Figure 7
Figure 8
20. FEATURES Summer 2016
20 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
Planning server, open the dimension and begin adding or
updating members and properties as seen to the right. What a
nice option to have.
Integrating Data
Again, the data integration model changes a bit with PBCS, as
the data needs to be moved into the cloud. This is primarily
done with files, whereby they are produced and transported
via FTP. REST APIs do exist and are being leveraged more
and more, but the core approach is to use files.
Yes, FDMEE exists for PBCS, but I would call it a “lite”
version. Pre-built adapters and ERP Integrator are not
available, but the data mapping facilities of FDMEE are
still quite helpful, and “drill-through” into your ERP can be
configured (Figure 9).
Here are the steps for setting up FDMEE in PBCS:
1. Set up the source and target systems.
2. Create an import format.
3. Define the location, period and category.
4. Set up the data load mappings.
5. Create and execute a data load rule to import and validate
the source data.
6. Export the data to Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud.
Then, in the PBCS target app, you must verify that the data
was loaded and that you can drill through to the source
system (if configured).
Additionally, it is likely that you will want to automate the
data loads. For this, Oracle has provided a File Transfer Utility
(EPMCopy.exe). Upon installation, you can easily create a
batch file that contains an EPMCopy command to load data
into your Oracle PBCS target application (Figure 10).
Reviewing the PBCS Solution
We’ve seen several customers implement PBCS, and we truly
see the value, but we also see where it may not be the right fit.
The advantages are numerous. Here are a few we see:
• Many online training videos and tutorials.
• Helpful, guided application demos.
• Many wizards for setting up applications and
underlying functionality.
• Best practices for Planning are built in.
• Built-In performance and validation tools.
• Choice of Oracle data center.
• Ability to “lift and shift” current Planning applications to
the cloud.
u Uses common LCM migration facilities.
• New functionality first.
u Oracle’s “Cloud First” strategy.
• Reduced reliance on IT and internal infrastructure.
Figure 10
Figure 9
21. 21
Indeed, there are limitations to be aware of. Here are a few
to consider:
• Only one application is supported per subscription.
u The application can contain up to three block storage
(BSO) plan types (cube models) and up to four ASO
(aggregate) cubes.
u Each additional application requires an
additional subscription.
• The file system is currently limited to 150GB.
u Includes space for your Essbase database, reports and
any exported Life Cycle Management content.
• EPM Architect (EPMA) is not supported
(Classic Mode only).
• Data is loaded via flat file using FTP.
• Pre-built Hyperion modules are not currently supported.
(“Enterprise PBCS” options are coming soon.)
Moving to Oracle PBCS
Ultimately, if you are considering Oracle PBCS, you are
either targeting a new implementation or a migration from
on-premises (or hosted) to the cloud. Oracle calls this a “lift
and shift.”
Here are some of the highlights and considerations of a
New Implementation:
• Eliminate the normal start-up activities:
u Hardware procurement and setup.
u Software procurement, install and base configurations.
• Access is provided in days with new subscription.
• Leverage new application wizard and configure
applications.
• Focus on data and FDMEE up front, then functionality.
• Can be accomplished in a few months.
u Dependent on availability of requirements, number
of applications and their design complexity, extent of
data integration needed, and end user (super user)
involvement.
Here are some of the highlights and considerations of
“Lifting and Shifting” your current Hyperion Planning
applications to the cloud:
• Investigate Oracle’s “Customer to the Cloud” program.
• Pre-built modules (e.g. CapEx, etc.) do not yet port.
• May need to change data integration approach.
u Shift to simplified, file-based approach.
• Regression testing is still needed.
• Can be accomplished in weeks.
u Again, this is dependent on the number of applications
and their complexity, components needing testing
(reports, forms, etc.), extent of data integration changes
needed and availability of regression test scripts.
Recommendations
As you consider and/or begin your endeavor with PBCS, here
are a few recommendations:
• Understand the limitations.
• Get multiple subscriptions.
u For more than two environments (lower numbers for
secondary subscriptions).
• Embrace the simplified integration model with FDMEE.
u Know that Oracle wants you to succeed; ask for help/
support as much as needed.
• Leverage Oracle’s valuable online content:
u Tutorials: http://docs.oracle.com/cloud/latest/
pbcs_common/pbcs_tutorials.htm.
u Videos: http://docs.oracle.com/cloud/latest/
pbcs_common/pbcs_videos.htm.
u Initial Documentation: http://docs.oracle.com/cloud/
latest/pbcs_common/CSPGS.pdf.
Conclusion
In summary, PBCS is a fantastic solution from Oracle and a
great option for folks considering a move to the cloud.
With robust features and functionality, a large subscription
base and the ease of implementing, PBCS gives Hyperion
Planning customers and others interested in it a viable
deployment option in the cloud.
Finally, special thanks to several folks on the EPM team at
AST Corporation for their contributions to this article, as well
as Oracle EPM solution consultants, including Kapil Garga. u
Patrick Callahan is the vice president of
EPM at AST Corporation. Mr. Callahan
maintains Oracle Specializations for
Oracle EPM, BI and BI Applications,
and is active on the Oracle EPM and BI
Partner Advisory Councils. His experience
is centered in EPM, BI, data warehousing,
program management, Oracle Applications
and core technologies. He has presented at
numerous regional and industry-specific
events, including Oracle OpenWorld, COLLABORATE, Oracle
Tech Days and the North Central Oracle Apps User Group
(NCOAUG).
23. 23
In addition to the many details of organizing the logistics
function, today’s transportation organizations face a myriad
of additional issues that further threaten profitability, from
rising fuel costs and a labor shortage to increasing regulatory
requirements. To better execute transportation management,
you need a wealth of information and easy access to that
information. You also need to know where your trucks are,
what is in the trucks, when and where shipments need to be
delivered, which routes are most profitable, which shipments
are running late and much more.
There are a few industries—and not just process
manufacturing industries—in which transportation is more
complex or where it constitutes a greater percentage of
product costs. Oracle Transportation Management (OTM)
has been crafted to address the special logistic needs and
business challenges of managing the logistics in the supply
chain network.
In this article, I will walk you through some of the key
functionalities in Oracle OTM that you can use to improve
your global transportation management services.
Pain Points in Transportation Management:
1. Rising fuel costs.
2. Shipment delays/incorrect shipments.
3. High cycle times.
4. Lack of real-time visibility of assets and freight.
5. Lack of synchronization between logistic planning and
execution processes.
6. Limited sharing of logistics information between the
involved systems.
7. Limited support to predict and handle unexpected events.
Regardless of whether you use your own trucking fleet or contract the
services of a third-party logistics provider to move your products from
the warehouse to your customer, many of the business challenges are
the same. The end goal is to move all the products through the supply
chain as quickly and efficiently as possible. The less efficiently the
product moves, the more it costs, thus reducing profitability and the
ability to transport services at competitive rates.
Transportation Management Challenges by Industry:
Industry Typical Challenges
Process Manufacturing
• Manage operations across common carriers
and private fleet.
• Price-sensitive products.
• Container selection based on temperature controls
and environment control.
• Products have short shelf life.
Consumer and High Tech
• Streamline/centralize planning.
• Enforce business rules and provide cost visibility.
• Maximize trailer volume utilization and operational loading.
• Multi-mode and multi carrier planning.
• Track materials and finished products by order, SKU lot
or serial number.
Logistic Service Provider
• Optimize the route and mode selection.
• Trade Compliance.
• Collaboration with trading partner.
Retail and Wholesale
• Space utilization.
• Need frequent and easy replenishment.
24. FEATURES Summer 2016
24 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
What is Oracle Transportation Management
(OTM)?
OTM delivers robust transportation planning and execution
capabilities to shippers and third-party logistics providers
(Figure 1). The OTM solution integrates and streamlines
transportation planning, execution, freight payment and
business process automation on a single application across all
modes of transportation. OTM can be used with an enterprise
resource planning or legacy order management system,
as well as with any commercial best-of-breed or legacy
warehouse management system.
OTM High-Level Overview:
Transportation Order Management: OTM has integration
with external order management, purchasing, warehouse
and other systems for managing transport demand.
Transportation order management functions can be provided
to external parties in the supply chain, such as suppliers
who provide “ready-to-ship” information to release
purchase orders.
Shipment Management: OTM provides automated decision
support for a full range of transportation scenarios, from
simple, direct shipments to those involving multiple legs
and multiple modes. In addition, OTM provides robust
functionality to manage exceptions during execution, e.g.,
tracking shipments, diverting shipments and
expediting delivery.
Booking and Tendering: OTM provides an easy way of
collaborating with transportation service providers using
multiple communication formats, e.g., email, Web, mobile
device and XML. Easier collaboration can help
transportation organizations:
Figure 1:
25. 25
• Share transportation plans and manage service provider
responses, e.g., conditional bookings, tender acceptance.
• Automate support for multiple types of tender processes,
such as sequential tendering and broadcast tendering.
Visibility and Event Management: OTM customers can
use the automated milestone monitoring feature available
in OTM to proactively manage the lifecycle of orders and
shipments to:
• Automatically expedite shipments when pickup
confirmations have not been received within a specified
tolerance interval.
• Receive status updates from transportation service
providers using multiple communication formats, e.g.,
Web, XML, mobile phone or tablet.
Business Process Automation: The unique workflow agent
technology available in OTM can help maximize productivity
by automating the business processes. Workflow agents
enable companies to model simple or complex processes to
improve efficiency. For example, it’s possible to automatically
re-plan shipments based on related order changes or notify
involved parties of delayed shipments.
Reporting and Document Management: The following
reports and documents can be generated from OTM:
Cost Savings, Projected Late Orders, Carrier Performance by
Lane, Bill of Lading, Commercial Invoice and Packing List.
Features in OTM:
Oracle Logistics Inventory Visibility: Gain visibility to both
on hand and in-transit inventory levels across their extended
supply chains, including internal and third-party facilities.
Reduce inventory levels and costs with real-time inventory
monitoring and management capabilities.
Secure Collaboration: Use the unique security model enables
to collaborate with any trading partner, e.g., suppliers,
customers, carriers, brokers, etc., by enabling these parties to
access relevant information and business functions in OTM.
For example, suppliers can route their orders, carriers can
accept and manage their shipments, and customers can view
the status of their deliveries using their access to OTM.
Oracle Transportation Operational Planning: Apply specific
business rules and logic in conjunction with powerful
algorithms and optimization engines to optimize orders and
shipments based on cost, service level and asset utilization.
Also, manage dock appointments for greater warehouse
efficiency with advanced scheduling and collaboration
capabilities.
26. FEATURES Summer 2016
26 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
Oracle Freight Payment, Billing and Claims: Eliminate
unnecessary charges and automate the time consuming and
error prone processes of freight payment, customer billing
and managing freight claims with a single system. Using
actual shipment data captured throughout the transportation
lifecycle, Oracle Freight Payment, Billing and Claims ensures
that companies are paying, billing and tracking only the
transportation services that were provided.
Service Oriented Architecture: Support specific business
process requirements by leveraging OTM’s many Web
services. For example, use the rating engine service to
generate shipment cost and lead times as part of an order
fulfillment process.
Easy Integration with Partner Manifest Systems and
Third-Party Warehouses: Take advantage of efficient
integration with third-party warehouses, including a
messaging infrastructure to support the shipment request
sent by the shipper and the shipment confirmation sent back
from the third-party warehouse for seamless integration
between the two systems.
Key Benefits:
1. Monitor carrier performance.
2. Prevent off-plan/maverick spending.
3. Compare cost across modes and carriers.
4. Reduce cost of operations.
5. Find and move shipments to low-cost modes, carriers.
6. Constraint based shipments allocation.
7. Minimize dock congestion.
8. Honor customer-specific routing instructions.
9. Process automation.
10. Increase employee productivity.
11. Manage shipment exceptions.
12. Track shipments.
13. Improve customer service.
14. Capture and monitor internal and external
performance metrics.
15. Monitor continuous improvement.
16. Enforce process compliance.
17. Maintain rates.
Conclusion:
Transportation management is a critical opportunity area for
many companies as they look to improve the efficiency and
reliability of their global supply chains. Significant freight
cost reductions, increased on-time delivery and process
automation are three primary areas of business value.
Oracle Transportation Management enables companies
to manage their transportation networks on a global basis
in terms of supply chain flows (outbound finished goods,
inbound supplies, inter-facility/company shipments,
returns), modes of transport (over the road, air, ocean and
rail) and geographic area (domestic and international).
Oracle Transportation Management provides simultaneous
support for multiple languages, currencies, units of measure
and business functions that may vary by business unit and
geographic region. As a result, companies can support
the nuances of their global operations while reaping the
efficiencies provided by a single transportation
management solution. u
Vishnuvarth Subramanian is a seasoned
business systems analyst, solution architect
and sales consultant who has worked
with clients in healthcare, retail, high
tech (software and hardware), consumer
products, outsourced manufacturing and
logistics (LSP and 3PL) industries. He is an
active blogger and speaker with the Oracle
Application User Groups (OAUG).
Join the conversation with the OAUG on:
Oracle Applications Users Group
@OAUG1, @COLLAB_OAUG
OrclAppsUsersGroup
27. See What’s New
on OAUG.org
Everyone can search the OAUG website for
quick access to answers, but only OAUG
member company employees can:
• Download problem-solving papers and presentations from
real users and expert consultants.
• Listen to eLearning webinar recordings on relevant topics.
• Read thought-provoking articles in OAUG Insight magazine.
If your organization isn’t an OAUG member yet, join today!
Contact membership@oaug.org or +1.404.240.0897 for more information.
28. FEATURES Summer 2016
28 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
UPDATEUPDATEUPDATEto the E-Business Suite Lifetime Support Policy Dates
Oracle appreciates the partnership and collaboration with the
OAUG Customer Support Council and Board. These groups
represent the customer base and their needs when meeting
with key leadership in the Oracle E-Business Suite Support
and Development organizations.
29. This article first appeared in the May 2016 Special
Edition OAUG Support in Focus electronic newsletter,
the official publication of the OAUG Customer Support
Council. Serving as an advocate for OAUG members,
the OAUG Customer Support Council meets
regularly with Oracle Support to discuss customers’
support-related challenges, concerns and ideas.
OAUG Support in Focus is published quarterly,
exclusively for OAUG members. Visit oaug.org/
supportinfocus for the latest issue.
Learn more about the OAUG Customer Support
Council at oaug.org/resources/csc.
Contact the Customer Support Council at
support@oaug.org.
Based upon recent input from the OAUG user community, Oracle has recently
published an update to the Lifetime Support Policy for the E-Business Suite.
The following changes have been announced:
1. 12.1 – Extended Support has been extended to December 2021.
2. 12.2 – Premier Support has been extended to September 2023.
Snapshot pulled from the Lifetime Support Policy – as of May 9, 2016
Here is a visual of how the changes look in a timeline format:
For up-to-date information, please refer to the official Lifetime Support
Policy located in My Oracle Support.
http://www.oracle.com/us/support/library/
lifetime-support-applications-069216.pdf
Message from the OAUG Customer
Support Council Chair and Co-Chair
Recently, Oracle
announced they have
extended Premier and
Extended support for
EBS 12.1 and 12.2. In
celebration of this
decision, the OAUG
Board of Directors,
in collaboration with
Oracle and the OAUG
Customer Support
Council, wanted to
quickly release this
information to the
OAUG membership.
This represents
another example
of how we continue
to influence Oracle
on behalf of our
membership.
Together, we are
improving the
support experience
with Oracle, and we
hope this change
and notification is
useful to you. Kaberi
and I look forward to
continuing to work for
and on your behalf.
Doug Hahn
2016-2017 OAUG
Support Council
Chair
Kaberi Nayak
2016-2017 OAUG
Support Council
Co-Chair
30. FEATURES Summer 2016
30 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
CREATE AND
CUSTOMER DATA THE EASY WAY
Centric Group migrated from an old AS400-based
system to Oracle E-Business Suite R12.1.3. The business
decided to do data cleanup after the migration to
Oracle. Many of the business processes were left in
place from the old system, figuring that they would be
redefined once the new system was learned. In order
to create new customers, enter and maintain data,
and clean up old data, we incorporated several custom
forms and utilized a third-party tool.
MATTHEW LECHNER, CENTRIC GROUP, INC.
31. 31
Challenges:
The Standard Customer functionality is very complicated in
Oracle. This means that our data entry personnel have to be
very well educated on the ins and outs of the system. They
need to have a complete understanding of Party, Account and
Site Level data and how it all works. Our processes were very
archaic, involving filling out forms and then sending them to
a single point of entry to load the data. Since we did not do
data cleansing at the time of conversion, the existing system
data needed to be validated and changed where the data was
inaccurate. Large data changes were not easily done with the
limited accessibility of the Customer functionality for
our employees.
Solution:
The first thing we did was to create a custom form that allows
the creation of new Ship To: sites to current accounts, as well
as the creation and update of account contacts. Courtesy
Products, a Centric Group company, sends many samples to
new prospects in order to generate new business.
Each salesperson has a sample account that they use to send
product samples to customers who do not have an account
in our system. The process for the salesperson to create a
new ship-to site in the system took as long as 15-20 minutes.
By creating the Sites Form (Figure 1), we were able to save
valuable time for the salespeople. They can now enter a new
site in as little as five minutes.
Courtesy Products:
Business Challenge Results
• In-room coffee
and operating
supplies to the
hotel industry.
• Coffee for
individuals and
distributors.
• Bottleneck
with Customer
Standard Data
Entry.
• Cumbersome
process for sales
reps to send
samples.
• Needed ability
to give users
limited access
to Customer
Standard to keep
data integrity.
• Sales reps can
key certain data
while keeping
the integrity of
the Customer
Standard.
• Sped up samples
process, saving
time.
• Freed up the
Customer
Standard resource.
Additionally, the contacts for the accounts in the hotel
industry change frequently. The existing process to make a
change required the salesperson to fill out a form and then
send it to the data entry person and wait for her to make the
update. To make this process easier, we created a Contacts
Form (Figure 2) that allows a salesperson to create a new
contact or edit a current contact for an account. Using the
form, they can key their own data in the same amount of time
that it took for them to fill out the change form.
Sites and Contacts
Figure 1: Site Creation Form
Figure 2: Contact Creation Form
32. FEATURES Summer 2016
32 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
We also looked at third-party solutions to help us create
and update data in the Customer Standard. We found the
Customer Standard from More4Apps. This tool works with a
Microsoft Excel front end and is easily configurable to only
use the needed fields. Data can be easily downloaded for a
single customer or many customers. Changes are then made
on the spreadsheet and uploaded back into Oracle.
We have been able to download customer lists and data for
a specific salesperson, have them make all of the changes to
their accounts on the Excel spreadsheet and then upload the
changes all at once. This saves lots of time in cleansing the
data. (Figures 3-5)
Keefe Corporation, another Centric Group company, has four
different lines of business. It is possible for a customer to be a
customer for multiple lines of business, however, they need a
separate account for each one. We use More4Apps Customer
Wizard to download a current account, edit the needed data
and then upload in order to create a new account for the new
line of business. In this example, we can literally create a new
customer in less than five minutes.
Keefe Group:
Keefe Bulk: Commisary Supplies
• The commisary stocks and sells products to the inmates
in a store.
KCM - Inmate Orders
• POS/order forms order picked delivered
Securepak - Orders from loved ones
• Family places order order picked delivered
Access Corrections - Entertainent and Communications
• Sells MP3 players and music, phone time, email,
deposit services
Customer Creation Form
We have also been looking for a way to streamline our
customer creation process. Our current process consists of
a salesperson gathering all of the needed information for a
new account, filling out all of the forms and getting all of the
necessary approval sign-offs. Then the packet is handed to a
data entry person to get entered into Oracle. The process is
very cumbersome and can take days to get done.
We are developing a customer entry form in Oracle that
allows the salesperson to key the data into the form and then
submit the form for automatic customer creation. We will
utilize workflow approval processes as a check to make sure
that all of the necessary data has been keyed before account
creation. (Figures 6–7)
Figure 3:
Figure 4:
Figure 5:
33. Summary
Custom Forms
• Contact and site creation
• Customer creation form
with workflow
✓ Streamlines processes
✓ Frees up resources
Use More4Apps
Customer Wizard
✓ Make the changes without IT
✓ Minimal training
spreadsheets sent to
many users
✓ Simple and quick to
upload changes
Matthew Lechner
(mlechner@centricgroup.com) is an
Oracle business analyst for Centric Group
in St. Louis, MO. He started working
with Oracle Applications in 2010 as an
implementer and is currently in support
and project development. His applications
expertise includes Order Management,
Advanced Pricing and Telesales.
Conclusion:
We had several cumbersome processes in order to get and
maintain data in Oracle. We created a Site/Contacts Creation
form in order to make the creation of sites and contacts
much easier. The salespeople are limited to what
they can access, so it enables them to create
and edit certain data elements in the system
while keeping the data integrity.
We have been able to utilize a third-party
tool by More4Apps in order to easily
cleanse data, make data changes and
create new customers in our system.
And finally, we are in the process of
creating a new customer creation form
that will streamline our customer creation
process. All of these tools have, or will,
make our system much more user friendly
and keep the integrity of our data.
Figure 6:
Figure 7:
34. Agenda at-a-Glance
Sunday, April 10
7:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration Open
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. OAUG Training Day Workshops
1:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Education Sessions, SIG Meetings
4:45 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. Meeting of the OAUG Members
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. OAUG Welcome Reception, LIGHT Nightclub
Monday, April 11
7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Registration Open
8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Education Sessions, SIG Meetings, Lunch
5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Welcome Reception in the Exhibitor Showcase
Tuesday, April 12
7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration Open
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Education Sessions, SIG Meetings, Lunch
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Exhibitor Showcase Open
4:45 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. OAUG Geo Meetings
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Exhibitor Showcase Happy Hour
Wednesday, April 13
7:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration Open
8:00 a.m. - 5:15 p.m. Education Sessions, SIG Meetings, Lunch
10:15 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Exhibitor Showcase Open
7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Closing Party
Thursday, April 14
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Registration Open
8:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. Education Sessions
At press time — view the latest updates at collaborate.oaug.org/about/schedule
Visit collaborate.oaug.org/sessions to view
all sessions and custom-build your agenda!
“A lot of learning in a compressed amount of time!“
- 2015 Participant
Register Now: Advance Registration Discount Expires April 7!
For the more than 5500 Oracle users who
met in Las Vegas for COLLABORATE 16,
the best way to get from Point A to Point B
was via their own personalized journey
for the week of learning and networking.
Whether taking a direct route through a
particular educational track or stopping to
delve more deeply into a topic of interest,
personalized itineraries delivered
unparalleled answers and connections.
Journey
DESTINATION COLLABORATE 16 – OAUG FORUM
THE BEST WAY TO GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B
Fabulous!
J
A collaborative event presented by:
35. 35
Education
The hundreds of COLLABORATE 16 presentations and panels
were packed with the latest information and practical tips on Oracle
E-Business Suite (EBS), Cloud/Fusion Applications, Hyperion EPM,
Primavera EPPM, EBS Extensions for Endeca, CRM On Demand,
Siebel CRM, BI, Upgrades, Support, CRM, Financials, HCM and
Application Strategy.
Innovative Power Hour Sessions featured interactive, participant-
directed exploration in areas including cloud, cloud and on-premises
coexistence, master data, eBTax and more.
The Exploration Series featured multiple presenters intertwining
messaging across a number of individual sessions. This in-depth
programming featured the Approvals, Master Data and International
Series (programmed in collaboration with DOAG, the German Oracle
User Group).
And new this year, four unique Learning Journeys offered a focused
excursion into emerging challenges that many organizations face:
• Cloud • Big Data • Mobility • Security
The new and improved conference app helped attendees stay
on course by finding sessions of interest, connecting with other
participants and managing a busy conference schedule on the go.
For those unable to attend in person, the COLLABORATE 16—
Forum Online presented more than 36 hours of online education
live from the conference. On-demand access to recorded sessions
make it easy and convenient to keep the learning happening long
after the conference. Go to collaborate.oaug.org/online for details.
Networking
Collaboration is essential to success, and COLLABORATE 16
presented numerous opportunities for attendees to exchange
information and gather practical advice from peers, experts and
Oracle employees.
Geos and SIGs: The OAUG’s worldwide communities of Oracle users
were in full swing during COLLABORATE 16, hosting nearly 70
Geographic (Geo) and Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings.
The Primavera Forum at COLLABORATE 16, designed for and
by Oracle Primavera EPPM users, provided a learning agenda
aimed at functional, technical, techno-functional and C-level and
management attendees. The lively Primavera Reception on Tuesday
evening and the Primavera Support Clinic hosted by the Oracle
Primavera Customer Support team enriched the learning and
networking experience.
Hyperion Connect welcomed Oracle Hyperion EPM users to special
educational tracks, meetings with Oracle’s top Hyperion executives
and product developers, and a special reception on Tuesday evening.
The OAUG welcomed four newly established communities and
honored 10 SIGs and nine Geos with the 2016 OAUG Certificate of
Distinction award for their exemplary service to their respective
community groups. See the wrap-up section on page 41 for
the details.
36. CONFERENCES & EVENTS Summer 2016
36 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
Women in technology.
Game of Drones.
He hasn’t left yet.
Women in technology.
OAUG Young Professionals Forum: Several meetings for people just
beginning their careers with Oracle Applications or just beginning
their careers in general helped attendees gain valuable insights for
using networking to jump start their professional success. See the
article on page 39 for more about happenings at COLLABORATE 16
and opportunities to engage with this group throughout the year.
Women in Technology: Monday’s networking luncheon and the panel
discussion on Wednesday engaged more than 550 participants in
spirited and inspiring discussions about how women in technology
tackle unique challenges and plan for success.
Exhibitor Showcase: This priority destination featured more than
230 solution providers who brought their ideas and new products
to help attendees discover ways to improve efficiency and resolve
problems. The Solutions Spotlight on the exhibit floor boosted
learning opportunities with short, 30-minute sessions.
OAUG Membership
Visitors to the OAUG Membership booth at COLLABORATE were
soaring with ideas for using OAUG membership resources to find
information, get answers from other members and experts, and
influence Oracle. Plus, drone-centered activities challenged visitors
to fly even higher.
Congratulations to the winners of the OAUG Fly Higher drawings:
• Adam Von Dwingelo of LG&E AND KU Services Company won the
Phantom 3 drone at COLLABORATE.
• Kendall Moen of Emerson Electric Company is the winner of
free registration for COLLABORATE 17.
• Hannah Ding of M+W US, Inc. is the winner of a $25 Amazon
gift certificate.
Oracle Participation
Oracle’s presence at COLLABORATE 16 made it easy for attendees
to access information and resources and gain valuable face time with
Oracle leaders, product teams and developers—all in one place!
One-on-One Appointments with Key Oracle executives
facilitated personal discussions related to specific organizational
or product needs.
Roadmap Sessions took a deep dive into the strategy and
direction for a number of product lines, including Oracle E-Business
Suite (EBS), ERP Cloud, EBS HCM, EBS Supply Chain and
Oracle Primavera.
During the exclusive Meet-the-Oracle-Experts sessions, Oracle
representatives discussed the value of the latest releases and shared
insights on the best path for the enterprise.
The Oracle Applications User Experience Usability Lab at
COLLABORATE 16 invited participants to provide their thoughts
about proposed designs for Oracle Cloud and E-Business
Suite Applications.
Oracle employees staffed kiosks in the DEMOgrounds in the
Exhibitor Showcase to answer questions, demonstrate new
functionality and provide insights and assistance.
37. 37
During its Meeting of the Members on Sunday evening, the OAUG recognized several individuals and organizations for their
vision, commitment and service.
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTORS
2016 Member of the Year
Bill Dunham, OATC, Inc.,
works tirelessly and is a great
ambassador for the OAUG.
He has been a presenter at
numerous OAUG and Oracle
OpenWorld conferences as well
as on OAUG-hosted panels. Bill
served as chair of the OAUG
Geo and SIG Committee in 2015
and, as such, was instrumental in
implementing new board policies
and procedures for all OAUG
SIGs and GEOs.
2016 Innovator of the Year
The City of Las Vegas
collaborated with 3Di, Inc. to
build a Citizen Engagement/
Citizen Self-Service mobile
application leveraging Oracle’s
Mobile Application Framework.
This app provided a common
development infrastructure
across multiple platforms,
without losing application use
experience. Kathleen Fauerbach,
accounting services manager,
accepted the award for the City
of Las Vegas.
2016 Star Presenters
User Member – Chad Johnson
from Polk County Florida has
been a presenter at educational
events including OAUG
Connection Point® – AppsTech
Online, COLLABORATE and
several eLearning webinars
throughout the year. Chad is
always willing to help a fellow
OAUG member and present solid
content to OAUG members.
Associate Member – Sandra
Vucinic of VLAD Group, Inc.
participates with several
OAUG Geos and SIGs, including
serving as board chair for the
OAUG Upgrade SIG, and is a
regular participant in Northern
California (NorCal) OAUG
meetings. She has participated
in OAUG Connection Point®
conferences, COLLABORATE
and online events and is always
ready and willing to help a fellow
OAUG member.
2016 Oracle Ambassadors
Deidre Engstrom and
Lauri Williams from Oracle
EBS Proactive Support are
valuable partners with the OAUG
membership. Deidre Engstrom
is a dynamic liaison between
Oracle Support and the OAUG
Customer Support Council and is
a tireless advocate regarding the
value of hearing user feedback
from OAUG members. Lauri
Williams is dedicated to making
Oracle EBS easier to maintain
and troubleshoot and is dedicated
to listening to the needs of OAUG
members during SIG and
other meetings.
Congratulations and networking
continued at the OAUG Welcome
Reception at the LIGHT
NightClub.
2016 OAUG Member of
the Year Bill Dunham is
congratulated by OAUG
President Dr. Patricia Dues.
Kathleen Fauerbach from
the City of Las Vegas accepts
the 2016 OAUG Innovator of
the Year Award from OAUG
President Dr. Patricia Dues.
OAUG Board Member
Karen Brownfield
congratulates Chad Johnson,
2016 Star Presenter.
Sandra Vucinic accepts the
2016 Star Presenter award
from OAUG President Dr.
Patricia Dues.
Lauri Williams and Deidre
Engstrom, Oracle EBS
Proactive Support, are
the 2016 OAUG Oracle
Ambassadors.
38. CONFERENCES & EVENTS Summer 2016
38 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
Shawn Price
Rat Pack.
Borris Brott.
Keynote Presentations:
• Trends & Technologies Facing Your Future: A thought-provoking
exploration of how Cloud, Mobility, Security and Big Data/Internet
of Things are shaping decisions for today’s on-premises environ-
ments. Presented by Database Trends & Applications.
• From Science Fiction to Science Fact: How Cognitive
Computing and Cloud Transform Your Business. Presented by
Tim Vanderham, IBM.
• COLLABORATE 16 Re-Energize Session. Presented by Boris Brott,
Opera and Symphony Conductor.
• Shawn Price, Oracle Senior Vice President, Cloud, shared insights
from Oracle’s data as a service (DaaS), software as a service (SaaS),
platform as a service (PaaS), and infrastructure as a service
(IaaS) businesses.
Vegas: Then & Now
With the glamour of classic Vegas alongside the electric energy of
modern Vegas, COLLABORATE 16 attendees danced the night away,
enjoying hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and entertainment while celebrating
the success of a great week of learning and networking.
Save the Date
for COLLABORATE 17!
April 2-6, 2017
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Stay Connected:
The OAUG’s active LinkedIn Group.
@COLLAB_OAUG or @OAUG1
collaborate.oaug.org/youtube
Collaborate - OAUG Forum
39. 39
OAUG YOUNG PROFESSIONALS FORUM
BRINGS YOUNG AND NEW PROFESSIONALS
TOGETHER AT COLLABORATE 16
An educational session and meetup
help OAUG young professionals
learn more about Oracle Applications
and gain networking skills from
experienced professionals at
COLLABORATE 16.
Networking was the main focus for the OAUG Young
Professionals Forum this year at COLLABORATE. The week
started with the opportunity to learn about networking with
the session “Make Networking Work for You.”
Young professionals from IOUG, Quest and the OAUG
joined together on Monday to learn tips and tricks from
three experienced professionals: Julie Alonso, Oracle;
Gary Gordhamer, GE; and Jansen Hernandez, Facebook.
The educational session gave attendees beneficial advice,
including this gem from Jansen Hernandez, “I used to keep
my knowledge close like a trade secret. But the more I opened
up, the more I learned.” The attendees were able to put
this piece of advice, and other tips, to use right away at the
Exhibitor Showcase Happy Hour and all week
during COLLABORATE.
The networking continued Wednesday night with the
OAUG Young Professionals Cocktail MeetUp. Young and
new professionals had the opportunity to network with
experienced professionals in six different areas, learn more
about the OAUG Young Professionals Forum and enjoy
cocktails and snacks. The six different networking areas
included database and big data, application development,
the functional areas of Oracle Applications, BI/analytics,
management and volunteerism. The young professionals
were able to directly ask questions and discuss each topic
with the experienced professionals in a relaxed environment.
After networking together, it was time to continue the
festivities and head to the Vegas: Then & Now party as
a group.
The OAUG Young Professionals Forum is focused on helping
people who are just beginning their career with Oracle
Applications or just beginning their career in general.
The group holds webinars every other month and meets
at COLLABORATE to discuss the hot topics in the Oracle
Applications community and general information to help
new professionals grow in their career. The next call will be
about networking and will take place this June with Jansen
Hernandez. Jansen will continue sharing networking tips
and tricks like the one he shared at the Monday session
at COLLABORATE. To register for any of the upcoming
webinars or to watch recorded webinars, visit the
OAUG Young Professional page: oaug.org/membership/
young-professionals. u
Do you have a topic you would like to hear, or do you
want to get involved with the Young Professionals Forum?
Visit the OAUG Young Professionals Forum Web page at
oaug.org/membership/young-professionals, or email
Samantha Auguin, sauguin@oaug.org, for more information.
“I used to keep my knowledge close
like a trade secret. But the more I
opened up, the more I learned.”
—Jansen Hernandez, Facebook
Jansen Hernandez and Julie Alonso facilitate the “Make Networking
Work for You” session for young professionals.
40. MEMBER’S CORNER Summer 2016
40 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
LETTER FROM THE CHAIRS
2016 is in full swing, being kicked
off on a high note with a successful
COLLABORATE 16. The Geo/
SIG community was ever present
throughout the conference with
community-specific sessions and
the annual Certificate of Distinction
award luncheon. We’d like to take this
opportunity to again congratulate
those Geos and SIGs honored with the
award for their continued support of
and dedication to the OAUG’s mission
throughout the year.
COLLABORATE 16 also kicked off a
few of our new Geos and SIGs, newly
affiliated in early 2016:
• Alberta Canada OAUG.
• Arizona/New Mexico OAUG.
• British Columbia OAUG.
• Revenue Management and Billing
Application and Analytics SIG.
The summer will prove to be a busy time for the user
communities. Several Geos host their annual conferences
throughout the summer, providing great opportunities for
additional education in a region near you. If you’re looking
for product-specific education, various SIGs host eLearning
webinars available to everyone. The most up-to-date
information can be found on the OAUG website under
User Communities.
With Oracle consistently changing, the OAUG is always
looking for new Geo/SIGs to fill the product gaps and span
more geographical regions. If you are interested in starting a
community, please do not hesitate to reach out to us with your
inquiry. And, as always, we invite your questions, feedback and
suggestions. Please contact us at geo-sig@oaug.org. u
Bill Dunham and Jon Riley
Geo/SIG Committee Co-Chairs
Email us at geo-sig@oaug.org.
BILL DUNHAM & JON RILEY
Bill Dunham
GEO-SIG NEWS
Jon Riley
A Refreshing
Change
Learn more at
go.excel4apps.com/oaug16
More Than Just a
Replacement for
Discoverer
• Add-in to Excel allows you to easily
and securely report on any EBS module
• Effectively replaces reporting tools like
Discoverer, Client / Web ADI, and FSGs
• Quick, self-service reporting – access
a library of pre-built content
• Create your own ad hoc reports –
no need for IT or complex SQL queries
41. 41
OAUG 2016 GEO/
SIG CERTIFICATE OF
DISTINCTION AWARD
WINNERS HONORED AT
COLLABORATE 16
The Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) recognized
10 SIGs and nine Geos with the Certificate of Distinction
Award for 2016. Winners were acknowledged at the
OAUG Geo/SIG VIP Luncheon that took place during the
COLLABORATE 16 conference in Las Vegas, NV, in April.
Congratulations to the following Geos and SIGs that earned
the 2016 OAUG Geo/SIG Certificate of Distinction:
Geos:
• DCOAUG*
• Gulf Region OAUG*
• Michigan OAUG*
• North Central OAUG*
• Northern California OAUG*
• Northern Ohio OAUG*
• Ohio Valley OAUG*
• Oklahoma-Arkansas OAUG
• Southwest Regional OAUG*
SIGs:
• Accounts Receivable, Credits and Collections SIG*
• Asset SIG*
• Cloud ERP SIG*
• Cost Management SIG*
• Enterprise Asset Management (eAM) SIG*
• General Ledger (GL) SIG*
• Hyperion SIG*
• Mobile Apps for EBS SIG
• Oracle Tax Management SIG*
• Upgrade SIG*
*Special Acknowledgement – multi-year recipient of the
OAUG Geo/SIG Certificate of Distinction Award.
OAUG Geo/SIG Committee Co-Chairs Bill Dunham
and Jon Riley congratulate winners of the
Certificate of Distinction Award for 2016.
42. MEMBER’S CORNER Summer 2016
42 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
UPDATE ON GEOGRAPHIC
USER GROUPS (GEOS)
What is a Geographic User Group (Geo)?
Geographic user groups (Geos) are independent OAUG
affiliated user groups that bring together a variety of Oracle
Applications users within a defined geographic region.
Geos create opportunities for participants to discuss a
variety of applications and share ideas. Currently, the
OAUG has Geo affiliates in the continental United States,
Canada, AsiaPac, Latin America and EMEA.
There are many benefits of participation in a user’s local
Geo. These benefits include:
• Opportunities to learn tips and tricks for installation,
integration, utilization and maintenance of
Oracle Applications.
• Knowledge of best practices from colleagues utilizing
Oracle Applications.
• Local meetings and training sessions featuring
Oracle experts.
• Direct access to local Oracle management and
much more.
A complete list of Geo groups, upcoming meetings,
website addresses and contact information is available
at oaug.org under the User Communities tab.
2016 GEOGRAPHIC USER GROUPS
• Alberta Canada OAUG†
• Arizona-New Mexico OAUG†
• Atlanta OAUG
• AUSOUG (Australia)
• British Columbia Canada OAUG†
• Central States OAUG
• Colorado OAUG
• DC-OAUG*
• Eastern States OAUG
• German Oracle Users Group (DOAG)
• Gulf Region OAUG* (formerly Florida OAUG)
• Heartland OUG
• India OAUG
• Japan-OAUG
• Latin OAUG
• Michigan OAUG*
• Mid-Atlantic OAUG
• Nevada OAUG
• New England OAUG
• New Jersey OAUG
• North Central OAUG*
• Northern California OAUG*
• Northern Ohio OAUG*
• Northwest OUG
• NYC Metro OAUG (New York City)
• Ohio Valley OAUG*
• Oklahoma-Arkansas OAUG*
• Pittsburgh OAUG
• San Diego OAUG
• Southern Ontario OAUG
• Southwest Regional OAUG*
• Texas/Louisiana OAUG
• Twin Cities Financials OAUG
• Twin Cities Manufacturing OAUG
*Special Acknowledgement – 2016 OAUG Geo/SIG Certificate of
Distinction Award Recipient.
† New Community Added in 2016
User Community News
Stay up to date on upcoming educational webinars, conference calls and face-to-face events on the User
Communities Announcements & News page at oaug.org/communities/announcements-news.
The OAUG’s Geos and SIGs offer news from Oracle and educational opportunities all year long! To find your
Geo or SIG, visit the OAUG’s User Communities page at oaug.org/communities.
43. 43
UPDATE ON SPECIAL
INTEREST GROUPS (SIGS)
What is a Special Interest Group (SIG)?
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are user groups that bring
together participants that share a common interest with
specific Oracle Applications products. SIGs may also
represent a specific industry, such as the public sector or
manufacturing. Additional SIGs are affiliated in response
to the development and expansion of the family of Oracle
Applications. SIGs are open for worldwide membership
and operate online communities, with many hosting
meetings at the annual COLLABORATE or Oracle
OpenWorld conferences.
A complete list of SIGs, upcoming meetings, website
addresses and contact information is available at oaug.org
under the User Communities tab.
2016 SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
• Accounts Payable (AP) SIG
• Applications Desktop Integrator (ADI) SIG
• AR, Credit & Collections SIG*
• Archive & Purge SIG
• Asset SIG*
• BI Publisher SIG
• Channel Revenue SIG
• Cloud ERP SIG*
• Configurator SIG
• Cost Management SIG*
• Customer Experience Community (CXC)
• Customization and Alternatives SIG
• Database SIG
• Discrete Manufacturing SIG
• E-Business Suite Applications Technology Stack SIG
• E-Business Suite SIG
• E-Business Suite User Management SIG
• E-Business Suite Workflow SIG
• EDI (e-Commerce Gateway) SIG
• Endeca SIG
• Energy & Utilities SIG
• Enterprise Asset Management (eAM) SIG*
• Enterprise Manager for Applications SIG
• Fusion Middleware SIG
• General Ledger (GL) SIG*
• Governance, Risk & Compliance SIG
• Government Contractor SIG
• Hyperion SIG*
• Logistics SIG
• Master Data Management SIG
• Migration & Integration SIG
• Mobile Apps for EBS SIG*
• Multi-National SIG
• Oracle Business Intelligence – Big Data SIG (OBI-BD
SIG)
• Oracle Primavera SIG (OPSIG)
• Oracle Tax Management SIG*
• Order Management & Advanced Pricing (QP) SIG
• Oracle Transportation Management (OTM) SIG
• Process Manufacturing SIG
• Procurement SIG
• Projects SIG
• Public Sector SIG
• Revenue Management and Billing (RMB) Application and
Analytics SIG†
• Sales Performance Management (formerly Incentive
Compensation) SIG
• Siebel CRM SIG
• SysAdmin SIG
• Upgrade SIG*
• User Productivity Kit (UPK) SIG
• Value Chain Planning SIG
*Special Acknowledgement – 2016 OAUG Geo/SIG Certificate of
Distinction Award Recipient.
† New Community Added in 2016
44. MEMBER’S CORNER Summer 2016
44 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
OAUG WELCOMES NEW
USER COMMUNITIES
In response to member interest and needs, the OAUG has
established three new Geographic groups (Geos) that held
meetings at COLLABORATE 16 and one new Special Interest
Group (SIG):
Canadian Geos: The OAUG adds British Columbia Canada
OAUG and Alberta Canada OAUG to the roster this year,
joining Southern Ontario in the ranks of Canadian
OAUG Geos.
• The Alberta Canada OAUG primarily serves Calgary and
Edmonton, but the group’s membership is open to all users
residing or working in Alberta. If you are interested in
joining the Alberta Canada OAUG, please visit their website:
albertaoaug.communities.oaug.org for more information.
• The British Columbia Canada OAUG is for Oracle
Applications users in both the Vancouver and British
Columbia areas. Users based out of these providences are
more than welcome to join this group. If you are interested
in joining the British Columbia Canada OAUG, more
information can be found on their website:
http://bccoaug.communities.oaug.org/
Arizona-New Mexico OAUG: The OAUG adds a Geo for
Arizona and New Mexico Oracle Applications users. This
new group will be based primarily out of Phoenix and
Albuquerque, making it easy for Oracle Applications users in
this area to attend events. If you are interested in joining the
Arizona-New Mexico OAUG, information can be found on
their website: aznmoaug.communities.oaug.org.
Revenue Management and Billing (RMB) Application
and Analytics SIG: The newest OAUG SIG is the Revenue
Management and Billing (RMB) Application and Analytics
SIG (also known as the ORMB SIG). The scope of the group
primarily consists of the Revenue Management and Billing
for Banking, Insurance and Capital Markets. The scope
may be revised from time to time considering the various
product interest of the RMB user community. This group
is for Oracle RMB and RMB Analytics users, subject matter
experts, system integrators, business development and
influencers located across geographies to come together and
share a common platform in order to exchange ideas, discuss
constructively and benefit the RMB community. For more
information on joining the RMB SIG, visit their website:
rmbasig.communities.oaug.org. u
45. 45
You don’t have to be a member of the
OAUG for several years in order to
make a real difference. Everyone is
always welcomed and encouraged to
stand out beyond just being a member.
Take Rohit Jaiswal, for example.
He joined the OAUG six months ago and is already making notable
contributions, which is why we want to recognize him in this edition’s member snapshot.
Rohit is an application development analyst at Sunflower Electric Power Corp., where he
performs needs analyses to define opportunities for new or improved business process
solutions and also supports Oracle EBS users by creating or modifying user profiles to
provide access, functionality and security, among other highly technical responsibilities.
When he first became a member of the OAUG, Rohit set out to take advantage of some of the
many benefits of membership to help him in his career. He became an influential member of
the Young Professionals Forum and actively recruits colleagues and other OAUG members to
join and learn from the dynamic group’s experiences, insights and future aspirations. At the
age of 36, he may not be the youngest member of the forum, but he’s certainly not the
oldest either.
“People think the Young Professionals Forum is only for very young professionals in their
20s. It’s not about age; it’s about growing your knowledge of Oracle Applications,” Rohit says.
“I encouraged other colleagues to join who are even older than me, and they love it. It’s a
wonderful forum to learn from people going through similar situations and find out where
Oracle is headed.”
Rohit especially appreciates being exposed to the many OAUG’s resources and learning
opportunities as his company undergoes a big migration from Oracle ERP to Oracle Cloud
Applications. He loves to be able to share implementation stories with his peers and gain their
insight and perspective based on their experiences. Once his company successfully migrates
to the cloud, he wants to contribute more to the OAUG community by sharing his story in a
whitepaper or speaking at an OAUG event, like COLLABORATE.
Besides being an active member of the Young Professionals Forum, Rohit volunteers for
the OAUG Marketing Committee and looks forward to expanding his role there in the
months ahead.
But for now, he’s taking it one contribution at a time.
“I believe a small contribution by everyone can make a big difference,” he says.
Rohit lives in Wichita, Kansas, and enjoys gardening and long outdoor walks with his wife. u
OAUG MEMBER SNAPSHOT:
ROHIT JAISWAL
Application Development Analyst,
Sunflower Electric Power Corp.
46. MEMBER’S CORNER Summer 2016
46 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
MEMBER BENEFIT SHOWCASE:
YOUR COMMITTEES, WORKING FOR YOU
Being raised in the spirit of volunteerism meant that my
family “did committees” the way many families “do sports.”
So for me, volunteering with the OAUG is extremely
rewarding. In the past 15 years, I have held a number of
roles with the OAUG, but my favorites have each involved
identifying great educational content for our users. Through
both the Education Committee and the Meetings and
Conferences Committee, I have seen firsthand how our
volunteer teams shape and grow education—a key pillar
of our mission—for the OAUG.
Take our upcoming “Best of COLLABORATE 16 – OAUG
Forum” online event, happening over the summer. Quite
a lot of thought and effort goes into choosing the Best
of COLLABORATE long before COLLABORATE even
starts. Since much of our series is based on feedback from
COLLABORATE attendees, it is imperative that we capture
pertinent information while we’re on-site. Special care is
given to the survey questions to make the selection process
easier when COLLABORATE is finished.
“We encourage anyone with a
passion for education to get involved
with one of these committees—after
all, it is true that many hands make
light work!”
What qualifies as a “Best of” presentation? We draw up a list
of invitees based on popularity (the number of attendees)
and scoring (above 90 percent). This list is then reviewed
by a small team of volunteers so that we can offer the
widest variety of subjects and presenters. This ensures that
our online forum offers the best-of-the-best. Once our list
is complete, the work really gets started with presenter
acceptances, scheduling and webinar logistics.
When working on OAUG Connection Point® events, we
frequently start nine or 10 months in advance of the
targeted event date. Choosing a venue, identifying dates and
collaborating closely with Geos and SIGs to determine how
content will be identified and delivered takes time and effort.
To ensure fresh content, we will often seek out content that
was highly rated during the COLABORATE call for papers,
but which for some reason was not ultimately delivered.
“Quite a lot of thought and effort
goes into choosing the Best of
COLLABORATE long before
COLLABORATE even starts.”
The COLLABORATE call for papers generates more than
1500 submissions, less than a third of which are ultimately
scheduled for the on-site event. In order to be fair and
equitable, COLLABORATE limits the number of papers that
are accepted from both individuals and organizations, so a lot
of highly-rated paper ideas never make it to the conference.
An entire committee of folks will cull through the list of
submissions and reach out to individuals for fresh and
un-seen presentations at OAUG Connection Point events.
This approach ensures that our content stays current, that we
pull from known presenters and that, again, we offer a great
slate of educational content to our members.
Inevitably, at each conference event, someone will inquire
about the process used to select content. The OAUG Board
of Directors, conference committees and volunteers have all
worked very hard to ensure that the process is democratic and
fair to all, involving as many people as possible. We encourage
anyone with a passion for education to get involved with one
of these committees—after all, it is true that many hands make
light work! u
Melissa Sider is the chair of the OAUG Meetings
and Conferences Committee and served
previously in a number of OAUG volunteer
leadership roles, including COLLABORATE
conference chair (2014-2015), COLLABORATE
agenda chair (2008-2014) and Education
Committee member/chair (2004-2014). In her
day job, Melissa is the vice president of marketing
and communications at AST Corporation.
If you would like to participate in developing or selecting OAUG educational content, visit oaug.org/volunteer-interest-form to express your interest.
47. 47
NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS
The OAUG welcomes the following new and returning members who joined January 1, 2016, through March 31, 2016.
Returning Associate
Members:
Apps Associates
AT&T
Avata
AXIA Consulting
BlackLine
Caliber Services, LLC
CardConnect
Celantra Systems
ConfigSnapshot –
Rookery Software
CSS International, Inc.
Data Communication Solutions
(DCS)
Data Intensity
Deloitte
Denovo Ventures, LLC
DRMcNatty & Associates, Inc.
EiS Technologies, Inc.
Emtec, Inc.
eprentise
Evergreen Data Systems, Inc.
Excel4apps Inc.
F5 Networks, Inc.
Fastpath, Inc.
Global Software, Inc.
Grant Thornton LLP
Highstreet IT Solutions, LLC
Hitachi Consulting - US
Infosemantics, Inc.
IngenuitE, Inc.
Inspirage
IT Convergence
Lexmark
Loftware, Inc.
Magnitude Software
McFadyen Solutions
MindStream Analytics
More4apps
Mythics Inc.
O2Works
OneNeck IT Solutions
Panaya
Paymetric
Ponder Professional Services, Inc.
Rimini Street
Rolta AdvizeX
Smart ERP Solutions
SmartDog Services
SoftArt Solutions Inc.
STR Software
Thomson Reuters
Tribus Point, LLC
Vertex Inc.
Returning Individual
Associate Members:
Biffar
bizEvolutions, Inc.
Leverage Solutions Consulting, Inc.
Reymer Mendez
Returning User Members:
ABS Global, Inc.
Accelrys
ADM Alliance Nutrition
(ADM Animal)
Advania Ltd.
AFL Telecommunications LLC
Ag Processing Inc.
AgFirst Farm Credit Bank
Alliance Coal, LLC
Almac Group
Alticor/Amway
Amalgamated Life Insurance
Company
AMC Networks Inc.
American Red Cross
American Tire Distributors
American Tower Corporation
American Transmission Company
Ames True Temper
Arby’s Restaurant Group
Asian Development Bank
ASRC Energy Services, Inc. (AES)
AvalonBay Communities, Inc.
AvMed
Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc.
BAE Systems - Land & Armaments
Bayview Asset Management
(BFTG)
Bechtel Marine Propulsion
Corporation
Beckman Coulter Inc.
Berkshire Hathaway Energy
Blood Systems Inc.
Bluescope Buildings
Bob Evans Farms
Boeing
Brake Parts Inc.
Breg, Inc.
British Columbia Ferry Services
(BCFS)
British Defence Staff - US
Brookfield Global Integrated
Solutions (BGIS)
Brunswick Corporation
Bureau of Engraving & Printing
Calgary Board of Education
California Eastern Laboratories
California Institute of Technology
(Caltech)
Calix Networks, Inc.
Camelbak Products
Camping World, Inc.
CareFirst BCBS
Catholic Education SA
Cato Corporation
CBS Corporation
Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services
Central Arizona Project
Centric Group, LLC
Centrus Energy Corp
CGG
Cheniere Energy, Inc.
Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Ciena Corporation
City of Arvada, CO
City of Atlanta
City of Burbank
City of Moncton
City of North Las Vegas
City of Regina
Clark County
Clark County Water
Reclamation District
Clean Water Services
COEUR Mining, Inc.
College of American Pathologists
Colorcon Inc.
Comcast Cable Communication
Consolidated Nuclear Security
(CNS)
Consumer Reports
Cox Enterprises
Cree Inc.
Curtiss Wright,
Electro-Mechanical Corporation
Dallas/Ft. Worth Int’l Airport
(DFW)
Darigold
Dartmouth College
DaVita Inc.
Dayton Power and Light
DEMDACO
Department of Education WA
Department of Finance
Dept. of Planning, Transport
& Infrastructure
Dish Network
Dubai Airport Free Zone
Eastern Propane
Edelbrock, LLC
Edmonton Public Schools
Elliott Company
Employers Insurance Co.
of Nevada
Enbridge Inc.
Enrich
Entrust Datacard
Equinix
Essent Guaranty
Essilor of America, Inc.
Exel
Expedia, Inc.
48. MEMBER’S CORNER Summer 2016
48 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
Experian
Fayetteville Public Works
Commission
Fermilab
First American Financial
Corporation
Florida State University
Fluke Corporation
Foremost Farms USA
Garden of Life
Garland Independent
School District
Georgia Tech Research Corp.
Gopher Sport
Government of Newfoundland
and Labrador
Great Lakes Educational Loan
Services Inc.
Greater Cleveland Regional
Transit Authority
Grupo Bimbo
Guggenheim Partners
Hartz Mountain Corporation
Harvard Business Publishing
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Harvard University
Health Alliance Plan (HAP)
Healthways
Helena Chemical Company
Henry M. Jackson Foundation
Hillsborough County
Aviation Authority
Hillsborough County Clerk
of the Circuit Court
Hitachi Data Systems
Hormel Foods Corporation
Humana Inc.
Hypertherm, Inc.
Icelandic Road Administration
IEEE
INC Research Inc.
InComm
(Interactive Communications)
Indianapolis Power and Light Co.
Insperity
Insteel Industries, Inc.
International Vitamin Corporation
Int’l Brotherhood of Elec Wkrs.
Invacare Corporation
Iron Bow Technologies LLC
ISS Facility Services
Ithaca College
ITT
J.G. Boswell Company
Jade Global, Inc.
Johns Hopkins Univ. Applied
Physics Lab
JT3
Kenton County Airport Board
Keysight Technologies, Inc.
King County
Kirby Corporation
Knouse Foods Cooperative, Inc.
Kravet Inc.
L.S. Starrett Company
Lake County Government
Landspitali University Hospital
LauraStar SA
Law School Admission Council
Lee County Electric Cooperative,
Inc. (LCEC)
Leupold & Stevens, Inc.
LGE and KU Energy LLC
Liberty Mutual
Insurance Company
Lidestri Foods, Inc.
Life Care Services LLC
LifeWay Christian Resources
Liquor Control Board of Ontario
(LCBO)
Live Nation
Los Alamos National Lab
Loudoun County Public Schools
Lozier Corporation
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Lynden Inc.
Maricopa Community Colleges
Mattel
McDonald’s Corp USA
McGraw-Hill Education
McKee Foods Corporation
Medical Mutual of Ohio
Merichem Company
Merrill Corporation
Metro-St Louis
M-I L.L.C.
Minnesota Power (Allete)
MITRE Corporation
National Board of Medical
Examiners
National Express LLC
National Retail Properties, Inc.
National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association (NRECA)
National Security
Technologies, LLC
NATO Communications and
Information Agency (NCIA)
Navy Exchange Service Command
(NEXCOM)
NCI Building Systems, L.P.
New Flyer Industries Limited
NIH Business Systems
Nordstrom, Inc.
North Atlantic Refining Ltd.
Northeast Ohio Regional
Sewer District
Nuance Communications
Nucor
Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Office Depot
ONE Gas Inc.
Opseu Pension Trust
Otter Tail Power Company
Overhead Door Corporation
Panduit Corp
PAREXEL International
Corporation
Parker Drilling
PAS Technologies Inc.
Paychex
Pharmavite, LLC
PHT Corporation
Pinellas County Government
Placon Corporation
Polk County Florida, BoCC
Pomeroy IT Solutions
Potash Corporation of
Saskatchewan Inc.
Powersouth Energy Cooperative
PPG Industries, Inc.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
(PWC)
Progressive Corporation
Prudential Financial
QUALCOMM
Queensland University
of Technology
R. Torre and Company
Rackspace Hosting
Radio Systems Corporation
Red Dot Corporation
Regional Transportation District
(RTD)
ResCare
Ritchie Bros Auctioneers
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Rochester Institute of Technology
Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Canada
Rubicon
Ryerson University
S&C Electric Company
Safelite Group Inc.
Sanderson Farms
Sandia National Laboratories
Sargent & Lundy
Schreiber Foods, Inc.
Seacor Holdings, Inc.
Simmons Foods
Sinclair & Rush, Inc.
Softchoice Corporation
Southern Company Services, Inc.
Southwest Gas Corporation
Specsavers Optical Superstores
Ltd.
Stantec Consulting Ltd.
Starkey Laboratories, Inc.
Stillwater Designs
Stowers Institute
Sybron Dental Specialties
Tempel Steel Company
Teradata Corporation
Terex Corporation
Tervis
The J.M. Smucker Company
The TJX Companies
The Topps Company Inc.
Tootsie Roll
Trinity Industries, Inc.
Tri-State Generation
& Transmission
UGI Utilities, Inc.
UGN, Inc.
49. 49
Unisource Energy/Tucson Elec.
Universal Furniture
International, Inc.
University of Chicago Hospitals
University of Guelph
University of WI - Madison
USANA Health Sciences
USG Corporation
Vaisala Inc.
Velcro Inc.
Vulcan Materials Company
Wabtec
Waddell and Reed Services Inc.
Washington County
Western Area Power
Administration
Western Sydney University
Wolseley
Worley Parsons
Xylem Inc.
YMCA of Greater New York
Returning Individual
User Members:
Dwight Bailey
Jasbir Gill
Jean Farmer
Sanket Kamath
Sherri Thyes
Thomas Samy
Vero Silva
New Associate Members:
3Accelerant Software, Inc.
Automic Software
CloudIO Inc.
Griffin Global Systems, Inc.
Integrigy Corporation
Novara Solutions
Peloton Group
Rapid e-Suite
SkyBridge Global
Starpoint Solutions
(formerly TIS Worldwide)
Sunera Technologies
The Abreon Group
ZTNet Solutions
New Individual
Associate Members:
Biz-Metric Partners
eData Labs
IT Xchange
JRB Engineering Pty. Ltd.
Mani Kumar Manda
Pittwater Consulting Services
TruTek
New User Members:
Automatic Data Processing (ADP)
Best Buy
Bradford White Corporation
Cerus Corporation
CIGNA
City of Raleigh
Conmed Linvatec
CyraCom International Inc.
Delaware Life
Delaware North
DentaQuest LLC
Dow Chemical Company
Dream Office Management Group
FedEx Corporation
First Republic Bank
GDC Technics
Guardian Shared Services Ltd.
Idaho National Laboratory
IDBBANK
J.W. Pepper & Son, Inc.
James Avery Craftsman, Inc.
Local Government
Federal Credit Union
Luminex
Mannatech, Inc.
Marek Brothers
Molina Healthcare Inc.
MoneyGram
Perry Ellis
Precision Castparts
R+L Carriers
Rambus
Spectranetics
The Presidio Trust
The Siemon Company
TriMark USA
TRT Holdings (Omni Hotels)
University of Botswana
Wells Fargo
World Wide Technology, Inc.
Yelp
New Individual User
Members:
Al Innamorato
Alethia McNeely
Anil Rai
Anna Butt
Aslam Mohammad
Barbara Flick
Benjamin Payne
Carlos Hernandez
Don Mattes
Dre Danieli
Edward Grimm
George Iki
Jay Chandran
Jeffrey Reid
Jodi Almeida
John Aitkenhead
John Hinkson
Joseph Puthusseril
Ketan Thanki
Kishore Padibandla
Mani Kumar Manda
Mariya Samuel
Mary Cheasick
Mastan Ali
Matthew Kelly
Michael Clayback
Michelle Prand
Patricia Vogan
Pedro Del Rio
Prakash Menon
Praveen Mungara
Ramesh Doraiswamy
Ravi Gadamsetty
Rick Byrd
Tami Rice
Vaseem Syed
Vikranth Gurram
50. ORACLE DIRECTIONS Summer 2016
50 OAUG INSIGHT MAGAZINE OAUG.ORG
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BOIL THE OCEAN
KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOVE WATER: TAKE AN INCREMENTAL APPROACH
TO MODERN MARKETING.
I started my career at the biggest direct mail and catalog
printer in the world—so I’ve seen a lot of change in
marketing over the past two decades. Today, marketers can
take advantage of amazingly advanced digital marketing
technologies and have insights into the customer that would
have once been unimaginable.
For example, when email campaigns became a new marketing
method, I remember thinking, “Basically, this is the same as
the direct mail business.” Email had powerful advantages over
direct mail, but the strategy, tactics and goals were roughly
the same. Email marketing reflected an evolution of existing
marketing practices, not a radical disruption.
Marketing technology has been heating up for a quarter
century, and marketing organizations have evolved in
parallel, dropping or adding operational functions based
on the demands of the market. As a result, even digitally
savvy marketing organizations are often structured around
operations—a vice president of acquisition working with a
vice president of sales, both coordinating with a vice president
of loyalty and a vice president of social media.
But it’s hard to deliver a seamless customer experience if
customer care is divided among 17 organizations. The loyalty
group might have data that shows a customer is happy—
but the fulfillment team might be dealing with an active
complaint from the same person. So it’s probably not the best
time for the campaigns team to send a “happy customer”
promotion to that customer.
Until all of these divisions figure out how to align their
processes, their data, their analytics and their key
performance indicators, marketing will always be
somewhat alienated from the customer.
Marketing culture must be redefined to reflect the customer’s
needs as the absolute top priority. And that means totally
re-engineering the traditional ways marketing gets done.
This is a daunting task—especially if it requires you to upend
your current marketing approach. But I believe the marketing
organization can evolve—similar to the way marketing tactics
have evolved—if leadership keeps one thing in mind: you don’t
have to do everything at once.
Oracle has solutions for every aspect of modern marketing,
built on an open framework that connects a marketer’s
data, apps and media—removing the task of integrating new
technologies. This not only helps marketers to take advantage
of their current marketing technology, but also ensures that
they are ready for tomorrow’s innovations. This flexibility is
critical for those who feel that it’s too soon to buy a complete
modern marketing platform. I have seen CMOs have
tremendous success with a more targeted approach—focusing
on small, measurable initiatives in mission-critical areas of
the business.
Is email marketing working for you, but you feel the pressure
to adopt an omnichannel customer interaction model?
You can start by adding one or two additional channels.
Test out social and mobile and see how they perform.
Learn from your customers, your successes and your failures.
Invest more resources where you see the best return.
Share your best practices with others in the organization.
If you’re crushing it, they will want to know what you are
doing and how to replicate the results. The culture and
organization will chase your success.
There is an ever-increasing number of digital marketing
channels that marketers can use to engage customers (and
potential customers) at the moment of a buying decision.
There are powerful IT systems that can manage and organize
customer data and use machine learning and automation to
adapt to customers’ needs. But you can take an incremental
approach to modernizing your marketing practice. And the
best part is, you don’t have to boil the ocean.
Kevin Akeroyd is general manager and senior vice president
for Oracle Marketing Cloud. u
KEVIN AKEROYD
51. Best of
COLLABORATE
2016
June-August, 2016
Enjoy access to the most sought-after
presentations originally offered during
COLLABORATE 16, April 10-14, 2016.
The Best of COLLABORATE 16 – OAUG
Forum eLearning series features
live, interactive webinars led by the
experts for those who missed these
presentations during the conference.
Learn more at
oaug.org/best
OAUG
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Online
July 11-15, 2016
Sign up today for five days of real-
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