Oracle Cloud ERP Implementation for a Global Aerospace and Defense Company

Project Summary

A division of a multi-billion dollar global aerospace and defense company needed to consolidate their 14 different business data sources onto a single integrated platform. The purpose was to help modernize and optimize their business operations, streamline the on-boarding of new acquisitions, and improve analytical insights. They selected Oracle ERP Cloud as their solution and engaged Definian to support the data conversion requirements as data cleansing and harmonization were a critical concern.

“Your ‘can do‘ attitude really helped keep things moving and your ability to organize 35 simultaneous conversions was pretty amazing!” – PTM Lead

Project Risks and Mitigation Strategy

• The client was utilizing a homegrown ERP system to manage their manufacturing data. Without client technical resources, Definian worked with the business to compare the front-end with the back-end data structure and to determine the data mapping required for Oracle ERP Cloud
• A large portion of legacy data was maintained across numerous spreadsheets. The manual nature of the legacy data resulted in mistyped, incomplete and incorrect information. The invalid data scenarios were identified as part of Applaud’s comprehensive error reporting, providing the Client data confidence well before Go Live.
• Supplier and customer data was duplicated both within and across the 14 data sources. Additionally, the existing data did not meet Oracle’s data requirements or structure. Definian deduplicated and restructured both suppliers and customers as part of the automated conversion process, ensuring only unique suppliers and customers were brought forward into the new Oracle solution.
• Existing supplier and customer addresses consisted of unverified free text with no internal consistency. Definian’s address standardization process standardized and validated addresses while providing audit trails, ensuring transparency every step of the way.
• A major source of duplicated customer data was driven by complex and inconsistent legacy contract pricing business processes. Definian’s de-duplication engine identified, consolidated and harmonized these inconsistencies to allow the client to gain insights to the real overall customer spend.
• The existing General ledger and Oracle ERP Cloud ledger store transactions at different precision levels. Definian created detailed reports to help the business quickly isolate and address the resulting imbalances within each accounting period.
• Business requirements for On Hand Inventory serial numbers varied greatly between legacy and Oracle solution. Definian developed the conversion such that all On Hand Inventory was split into individual quantities associated with each serial number to bridge the gap without losing sight of the assigned serial numbers.
• All master data (customers, suppliers, etc) was loaded to production four weeks prior to transactional data (sales orders, purchase orders, etc). During this transition period, all changes in the legacy systems needed to also be made in Oracle ERP Cloud. Definian’s delta processing reported both newly created and changed master data to ensure Oracle Cloud remained up to date in the interim.

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Key Activities

• Identified and documented requirements for converting data from up to fourteen legacy sources, including unsupported homegrown solutions, to Oracle ERP Cloud.
• Identified, prevented, and resolved problems before they became project issues.
• Facilitated discussions between the business, the functional team, and the load team to coordinate requirements and drive data issues to completion before each test cycle and Go Live.
• Quickly adapted to changing requirements and proactively identified and addressed downstream implications, keeping the project on schedule.
• Harmonized, cleansed, and restructured customer and supplier data through Definian’s flexible de-duplication process such that only clean, unique records were converted.
• Standardized and cleansed addresses while providing transparency to the business.
• Utilized robust data profiling and error reporting to assist the business with data cleansing, data enhancement and data enrichment prior to Go Live.
• Fully automated all data transformation activities, removing error prone manual steps from all processes and ensuring consistent and predictable results.
• Tracked records throughout the data transformation process to aid with post-project auditing. Every record was traceable each step of the way from legacy to target.
• Identified changes made in legacy during the cutover period, enabling the business to account for these changes prior to Go Live and eliminating dual maintenance concerns.

The Results

From unraveling a homegrown ERP system to cleansing duplicate data, Definian proactively identified and resolved all data issues well in advance of go-live, supporting a smooth transition to the Cloud. Definian improved overall data quality with an early focus on data and through a combination of data harmonization, address standardization, and pre-validation error handling. Definian’s detailed record tracking provided the business with everything they needed to support post-project audits and ensured everyone knew exactly how every scenario was handled. Definian’s comparison reports eliminated the concerns of dual maintenance during the four-week cutover period, providing peace of mind that everything was captured, and nothing was missed.

By engaging Definian’s data migration services, the client was able to achieve a smooth and successful Go Live on time and on budget. With 100% of converted data successfully loaded and verified, the business could begin leveraging their new Oracle ERP Cloud solution from Day One.

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The Applaud® Advantage

To help overcome the expected data migration challenges, the organization engaged Definian’s Applaud® data migration services.

Three key components of Definian’s Applaud solution helped the client navigate their data migration:

1. Definian’s data migration consultants: Definian’s services group averages more than six years of experience working with Applaud, exclusively on data migration projects.
2. Definian’s methodology: Definian’s EPACTL approach to data migration projects is different than traditional ETL approaches and helps ensure the project stays on track. This methodology decreases overall implementation time and reduces the risk of the migration.
3. Definian’s data migration software, Applaud®: Applaud has been optimized to address the challenges that occur on data migration projects, allowing the team to accomplish all data needs using one integrated product.