One of the biggest challenges companies face with their SCM applications footprint is moving part or all of it to a cloud-based SaaS/PaaS platform. This decision is sometimes complicated by the fact that on-premise license renewals, de-support notices for earlier versions of EBS, ‘true ups’ for user license fees (especially when there has been significant revenue or headcount growth), and the cost of technical objects (and their maintenance) built over the lifecycle of the applications loom large, also, to the commensurate hardware costs associated with any transformation project of this nature. 

All of the above factors do not even take into account the possibility of functionality enhancements that may render current customizations obsolete, the re-evaluation of processes that may have become antiquated and overly complex, or the dependency of a boundary application that can be wholly or partially covered with out of the box capabilities. 

Both operations and IT leadership should incorporate all of these dimensions into their cloud migration evaluation efforts. This exercise can seem especially daunting within the SCM application realm, specifically, because the breadth and depth of these capabilities are severely intertwined not just amongst themselves but also with other parts of the application ecosystem like Finance, Reporting, Tax, and Master Data, just to name a few. 

During the course of the many assessments, roadmap sessions and implementation projects I have participated in and delivered successfully along with my teams, I have noticed some prevailing notions that can hinder progress and can even lead to some confusion with regards to how the Oracle Cloud SCM suite compares to the Oracle EBS SCM suite. One of these misconceptions is that doing an ‘apples to apples’ comparison is a relatively straightforward exercise, especially since some very fundamental pieces of the architecture and the correlation between said components are either completely different or have been redesigned to address some very specific pain points that EBS customers frequently highlighted as gaps or where consistent customizations where needed in order for the product to fully meet business requirements. 

To help customers navigate these very specific comparisons and features, I took it upon myself to start a series of blog posts that go into the details regarding the differences between EBS SCM and Cloud SCM for each capability subset, going from very foundational concepts like enterprise structures and costing methods to precise flows within Procure to Pay, Receipt to Put-away, Schedule to Deliver, Order to Cash, Forecast to Plan, Maintain to Optimize and Consume to Replenish, amongst others. This deep dive is needed because some capabilities in Cloud are far superior to they are in EBS, and, while Oracle does continue to come out with new EBS releases (the latest being 12.2.10 as of this writing), a significant shift in long term capability investment can be observed in the equivalent or comparable Cloud SCM offerings that incorporate feature-rich releases every quarter, as opposed to maintenance or SCM specific patches that may or may not be utilized as a part of a specific customer SCM applications design.

Perficient’s Oracle Supply Chain Management practice has advised clients in multiple industry verticals and varying stages of this journey to the cloud. We have executed ‘Speed to Value‘ assessments to help our clients discover new features in Cloud SCM and compare them against current application footprints. We have leveraged our expertise to help our customers carve a path forward via road-mapping and long term planning in such a way that both the capabilities and accompanying RICE objects (Reports, Interfaces, Conversions, and Extensions/Enhancements) are robust enough to meet the ever-changing needs of a complex organization in an environment where acquisitions, divestitures, and consolidations are a common occurrence. 

Our team is excited to share these insights with our customers and blog readers in the hope that these posts spur internal conversations, enhance the understanding of a comprehensive and feature-rich set of capabilities, and, more importantly, enable organizations to obtain the best ROI and business value out of these applications. 

Let’s start our Liftoff to the Oracle SCM Cloud!

In our previous blog post, we discussed how to incorporate Supply Chain 4.0 while not cloud-ready and what that looked like from a strategy and technology standpoint. In our last installment of the guide-to-blog series, we touch on the importance of partnering with the right professional services organization to help guide and execute supply chain initiatives. We understand that choosing the right company to partner with is no easy task. At this point, there may already be several companies vying for your attention and choosing the right one to work with might just be the most difficult part of the journey.

Continue reading to discover why Perficient is the right partner for your next project.

Tackling Supply Chain 4.0

Adopting supply chain 4.0 concepts and practices can be overwhelming for supply chain leaders. The topics explored in this guide provide a starting point for discussing what the journey might look like, and the components of a smooth transition.

Considering all the moving parts in a supply chain transformation project, it is important to partner with a professional services organization that can provide the right level of expertise within the different capabilities of people, process, and technology. Perficient’s Oracle ERP practice has multiple technology certifications, proven methodologies, success stories and expertise across the spectrum of supply chain processes traditionally targeted for rapid success.

Map a Successful  Path to Supply Chain 4.0

Your process design and technology can mean the difference between a responsive and customer-centric supply chain. Investing in a proper roadmap and vision can position an organization to be a market leader and also take advantage of emerging technologies and trends like machine learning, IoT, analytics and social networking.

Why Perficient

Our Oracle Supply Chain practice is comprised of professionals with a vast variety of skills and backgrounds. We have developed internal tools and accelerators, as well as used our deep understanding of both Oracle and multiple industries, to innovate solutions to complex business requirements and process redesigns across the spectrum of supply chain, including procurement, order management, manufacturing/distribution, logistics, service, and maintenance. We also have Oracle financial transformation and optimization experts who frequently complement our supply chain teams to provide a fully integrated solution.

This concludes our guide-to-blog series. We appreciate your time and attention all throughout! To learn more, you can download our entire guide here or below.

To view the entire blog series overview, click here to quickly reference where you need to go.

In our previous installment of the guide to blog series, Taking the Next Step Towards Supply Chain 4.0, we discussed Supply Chain Metrics: Choosing the Best Technology Vendor for Partnership and the importance of technology vendors for partners. In this installment, we’re going to touch on how to incorporate SCM 4.0 if your organization is not cloud ready.

While being cloud ready is essential to successfully implementing Supply Chain 4.0 in its entirety, migrating to cloud applications is not required to start using the core concepts and tools now. We are here to tell you that the core concepts and processes are still applicable to your supply chain strategy regardless of your cloud readiness status. What you’ll come to find out is that these invaluable insights will aid your cloud journey, concurrently with your supply chain initiatives.

How to Incorporate SCM 4.0 if You’re Not Cloud Ready

Some organizations have already gone through cloud readiness assessment and roadmap exercises to determine if the cloud is a right fit for its supply chain initiatives. While misconceptions about what the cloud can and cannot do are prevalent and may influence a status quo decision, there might be other mitigating factors preventing the commencement of a cloud journey.

There are multiple paths to the cloud; organizations can choose to deploy specific capabilities in their own time

The good news for companies that have chosen to delay their cloud journey in the short term is that they can still start incorporating supply chain 4.0 concepts and tools into their processes by leveraging the latest version of Oracle E-Business Suite. This toolset has some key capabilities that can jump start and stabilize processes across the supply chain until the organization is ready to fully embark on a journey to the cloud.

With multiple paths to the cloud, organizations can choose to deploy specific capabilities like supply chain planning, product data hub or procurement as standalone cloud deployments while continuing to keep the rest of their financial and supply chain capabilities on premises. Engaging in activities like streamlining business processes, eliminating non-value-added process steps, optimizing ERP data sets, and crafting a visionary toolset over time can still be performed while continuing to use on-premises tools.

To learn more, you can download our entire guide here or below. Otherwise, stay tuned for blog #7 in the coming week on tackling supply chain 4.0 with a formidable success map in place.

In our previous blog, How to Embrace Change in Supply Chain with Minimal Impact, we discussed the powerful impact of change on your supply chain 4.0 journey. In this blog, we’ll discuss what to look for in technology vendors when considering a partnership. In addition, we will talk about the importance of having the right level of analytics and metrics that will allow supply chain leaders to control and measure success in the critical areas of the organization.

Exploring the right partnership with a technology vendor and implementer is one of the biggest factors when determining success on the road to industry 4.0 . What you’ll learn is that this is especially true in the supply chain space. Further, the most efficient way to determine if a project was successful is by understanding what critical metrics will be impacted by the process and technology change. Key performance metrics and associated analytics provide the visibility that supply chain processes need to determine both an improvement baseline and target in any process change.

Choosing a Technology Vendor

There are a number of software vendors to choose from a marketplace where new and emerging technologies constantly change the rules of engagement and process excellence. For maximum return on investment, organizations should align with a vendor that not only fulfills defined requirements in the current state, but that also will allow for streamlined processes further down the road as the user base skill stabilizes and improves.

Partnering with a vendor who is constantly addressing emerging technologies, while investing in the latest supply chain process trends directly influenced by best-in-breed companies, will pay dividends for organizations looking to make the journey to supply chain 4.0 as smooth as possible.

As capabilities shift from on-premises to cloud environments, it is also important to understand how the transition will be managed in companies that choose to implement supply chain capabilities in phases, with a corresponding tech stack to support the interfaces of information needed to operate both environments.

Oracle Supply Chain Management Cloud supports both native and out-of-the-box integration between major business processes such as financials, procurement, manufacturing/distribution, inventory management, logistics, asset maintenance, and field service within a common user interface that takes advantage of emerging technologies and can help enable a successful transition to supply chain 4.0.

Supply Chain Metrics

One of the biggest trends in supply chain 4.0 is the ability to gain real-time insights from an ever-growing set of data that is generated within the different transactions and processes enabled by ERP and other boundary systems.

Defining what process metrics determine success (and gathering the data needed to measure it) becomes of vital importance to organizations seeking to find a quantitative and qualitative way to establish a baseline of excellence. For most supply chain areas, these metrics are agnostic of the toolset being used and should be carefully evaluated and obtained from leading methodologies like Supply Chain Council’s SCOR® model and Balanced Scorecard that represent best in class measurements.

Partner with a professional services organization that can not only help identify the best metrics for signature business processes but also provide the implementation experience to deploy them across the enterprise.

Leveraging a software tool that has some of these metrics already built in is also a good way to jump-start a supply chain transformation project, as it minimizes technical development time and also establishes an initial “true north” for organizations seeking to measure themselves in a more formal way.

Data Visualization, Analytics, and Reporting

At the convergence of people, process, and technology in supply chain 4.0 sits the mountains of data that will support efficient decision making and provide insight into performance. Metrics alone are sometimes not enough to define the success of a given supply chain process, as a result of the complexities that exist in a broad group of customers, suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and logistics providers.

Supply chain business users are increasingly more demanding of real-time insights and analytics due to the increase in use of mobile apps, efficient web pages, and an overall more technology-centric focus of everyday tasks. This trend must be met with a robust set of reporting capabilities that go above and beyond simple reports of one-dimensional data sets and facts.

Organizations need to support the ever-increasing demands of business users and also make the most of the innovations that come with adopting supply chain 4.0 concepts. To do this, the business needs to put an emphasis on real-time insights that can correlate and organize unstructured data into a cohesive set of dashboards, insights, trend analysis, and prediction algorithms.

To learn more, you can download our entire guide here or below. Otherwise, stay tuned for blog #6 in the coming week on How to Incorporate SCM 4.0 if You’re Not Cloud Ready.

In our previous blog, Identifying Signature Supply Chain Processes and Technology, we discussed the importance of identifying the right supply chain processes and technology that make the most business sense for your organization. In this blog, we will discuss how change plays a vital part in your supply chain 4.0 journey. More specifically, how to best manage change to (1) minimize impact and (2) optimize adoption.

Your ability to grasp and apply these two sections will make or break your journey. Our intention is not to instill fear, rather, we want to emphasize the importance that these aspects will be to your implementation, transition, or anything that involves an organizational change for that matter.

Embracing Change with Minimal Impact

Organizations seeking to incorporate supply chain 4.0 concepts into their technology platform often do so using a phased approach. This option minimizes the amount of time and effort needed from business users and IT personnel to implement new capabilities and manage process changes.

The disruption to business operations across a broad process spectrum adds complexity to technology deployments. Selecting a smaller subset of processes to start with – such as procurement, logistics, supply chain planning, and field service – is a good way of growing into more advanced toolsets while minimizing deployment time and cost.

Hybrid (on-premises and cloud) application toolsets are becoming more common for bigger application footprints. Reaping the benefits of both types of applications while controlling the pace of adoption and innovation of supply chain 4.0 can be a good way to minimize the need for broader change management while incorporating innovative capabilities into select business processes.

Change Management Implications

The right technological toolset can help organizations tackle the challenges of achieving supply chain 4.0 excellence. However, that alone though is not enough to ensure transformation success.

Projects that employ effective change management are six times more likely to be successful than those that do not (Prosci).

When complex and heavily integrated processes get introduced and socialized within the organization, the ability to assimilate change in a rapid and orderly fashion will produce the greatest return on investment and minimize frustration. Having a good change management methodology – including ownership of the transition within the different organizational levels and socializing the impact of the investment to key stakeholders – will increase the likelihood of process adoption and integration on the journey to supply chain best-in-breed execution.

To learn more, you can download our entire guide here or below. Otherwise, stay tuned for blog #5 in the coming week on Supply Chain Metrics: Choosing the Best Technology Vendor for Partnership.

In our previous blog, Transitioning to Supply Chain 4.0, we discussed the transition process and pinpointed potential concerns organizations may encounter on their supply chain 4.0 journey. In our third installment of the guide-to-blog series, we’ll delve deeper into identifying the right supply chain processes and technology that will make the most business sense for your organization. Come to find out, this is no easy feat, but we’re here to help and guide you through the journey.

Begin with Identifying Signature Supply Chain Processes

Organizations wishing to transition to supply chain 4.0 need to first assess where it makes the most sense to innovate. This is often easier said than done as each company and industry have very specific challenges when it comes to technology adoption, maturity of processes, skill sets within its workforce, and willingness to transition to new approaches.

Identifying and understanding which business processes are mission-critical or ‘signature’ to an organization is the logical first step to address areas of the supply chain that will deliver quick wins and the greatest return on investment.

Supply chain leaders must identify where to innovate and invest in new processes and technologies to help their companies remain relevant in their markets (Gartner).

In most cases, the range of supply chain processes that can be formalized and/or optimized are broad and often heavily intertwined with each other, such that a change to one of them may have a ripple effect on downstream activities.

Choosing the Right Supply Chain Technology

The process of identifying which technologies to incorporate into an organization’s toolset can be overwhelming and challenging due to the sheer number of options that exist in the marketplace across the different areas in the supply chain spectrum.

Executing a quick assessment and selection process is key to jumpstarting a technology implementation effort. It’s highly recommended to partner with a vendor experienced in a broad range of toolsets to help ensure the best option is put forth to leadership.

Why Oracle

Oracle has a vast array of solutions that address many of the technology needs of organizations seeking to innovate and embrace supply chain 4.0 concepts. These can also be deployed in phases and right-sized to pair with a particular process maturity level.

It’s important to understand where the organization is and wants to be when it comes to emerging technologies like machine learning, IoT, blockchain, chatbots, social networking, etc. The deployment of these technologies often comes with prerequisite processes, metrics, and technology stacks that need to be in place. Obtaining an honest evaluation of what level of technology an organization is willing to adopt may surprise IT and supply chain leadership. It can prevent initiatives that go in a direction where benefit cannot be yet obtained.

To learn more, you can download our entire guide here or below. Otherwise, stay tuned for blog #4 in the coming week on how to embrace change in supply chain with minimal impact. A topic you won’t want to miss!

In our previous blog, we provided a macro overview of the guide-to-blog series, Taking the Next Step Towards Supply Chain 4.0. In this blog, we’ll discuss the actual transition process and pinpoint concerns that will likely manifest along the way in the supply chain 4.0 journey.

Industry 4.0 Overview

Any introduction to supply chain 4.0 must begin by defining Industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution. This revolution improves on the digital revolution (Industry 3.0) with significant advances in personal computing, information technology, and global connectivity. Industry 4.0 introduces new concepts and technologies that fuse the physical and digital worlds in myriad ways. This disruption will be felt across industries and redefine both supply chain concepts and competitive advantages in increasingly short windows.

One of the biggest challenges facing all companies with a strategic initiative to embrace new and emerging technologies is where to invest for long-term success. Further, the sequence of how tools are deployed – and more importantly, adopted – by users across the organization will determine if the investments will deliver the maximum return and competitive advantage in all areas of the supply chain.

Our work with a wide variety of organizations has given us insights into the most common concerns facing supply chain-centric companies in their pursuit of supply chain 4.0. These concerns include:

1. Identifying signature supply chain processes
2. Choosing the right supply chain technology
3. Embracing change with minimal impact
4. Change management implications
5. Partnering with a technology vendor
6. Measuring supply chain metrics
7. Creating data visulizations, analytics, and reports

Deep-dive Into Potential Concerns

In the next few blogs, we’ll delve deeper into each concern and provide industry-leading insight on how to navigate these obstacles. These insights will not only provide clarity – when facing such business dilemmas – but will also underline actionable takeaways businesses must take to ensure and maintain preparedness on their supply chain 4.0 journey.

What you’ll notice is that change management will be the catalyst in all of this. Major implementations in the supply chain space will require the ability to manage and embrace change in order to minimize disruption and optimize performance. More on that later in this series!

To learn more, you can download our entire guide here or below. Otherwise, stay tuned for blog #3 in the coming week on the importance of identifying signature supply chain processes.

In the last thirty years, the logistics space has undergone massive changes. This is largely due to the industry shifting and embracing technology advancements with companies vying to remain competitive in the marketplace. The emergence of robotics and advanced analytics has enabled the supply chain sector to become more efficient and accurate. Solutions such as automation are becoming an industry standard to better keep up with the ever-increasing supply and demand model.

All of this to improve performance and customer satisfaction. With this being the driving force, gone are the days of segregated processes and operations. A new era of the supply chain approach has arrived and it will continue to propel the industry forward.

Oracle Supply Chain Management Leads the Charge

Supply chain 4.0 is the next step of process evolution that will fully integrate suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers, both digitally and globally. This confluence of business trends initiated by Industry 4.0 will require increasingly robust and sophisticated toolsets that not only provide the traditional capabilities of ERP but also incorporate innovative technologies like machine learning, internet of things (IoT), blockchain, social collaboration, data visualization, and embedded analytics.

By 2023, almost 50% of large global companies will be using AI, advanced analytics, and IoT in supply chain operations (Gartner).

This guide illustrates the challenges of transitioning to supply chain 4.0, the different stages that companies will need to go through to harness these new process and technology tools, and how Oracle Supply Chain Management Cloud can support this process.

Here’s a macro view of what to expect in this guide-to-blog series:

1. [Guide] Overview: Taking the Next Step Towards Supply Chain 4.0
   • Oracle Supply Chain Management Leads the Charge
2. Transitioning to Supply Chain 4.0 with Cloud
3. Identifying Signature Supply Chain Processes and Technology
   • Begin with Identifying Signature Supply Chain Processes
   • Choosing the Right Supply Chain Technology
4. How to Embrace Change in Supply Chain with Minimal Impact
   • Change with Minimal Impact
   • Supply Chain Cloud Capabilities
   • Change Management Implications
5. Supply Chain Metrics: Choosing the Best Technology Vendor for Partnership
   • Choosing a Technology Vendor
   • Supply Chain Metrics
   • Data Visualization, Analytics, and Reporting
6. How to Incorporate SCM 4.0 if You’re Not Cloud Ready
7. Tackling Supply Chain 4.0
   • Map a Successful Path to Supply Chain 4.0

To learn more, you can download our entire guide here or below. Otherwise, stay tuned for blog #2 in the coming week!