Oracle ERP Cloud Implementation Best Practices & Services
Winning Your Oracle Cloud ERP Implementation
Your Oracle ERP Cloud implementation guide to choosing the right partner, using a proven Oracle ERP Cloud implementation methodology, and following certain project success factors. Find out more below, and contact our team for additional information.
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP Implementation Services
Certified Oracle Cloud Consultants Who Deliver Results that Matter for Your Business
Terillium is an official Oracle partner helping businesses with implementations, support services, and special projects. After nearly 30 years in business, our team’s ERP expertise is unparalleled. Our certified Oracle Cloud consultants partner with you to deliver results that matter for your business.
About Us:
- Thousands of businesses have trusted Terillium with their ERP projects
- 250 full-time consultants across the United States
- 97% recommended by clients surveyed
- 19 Oracle Excellence Awards
- 16 years of ERP experience – average for our consultants
Over the past decade, we’ve helped numerous businesses successfully implement Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP. Our implementation services include:
- ERP assessments
- Solution architecture
- Implementation planning and execution
- Project management
- Intensive system testing and documentation
- Third-party integrations
- Team training
- Ongoing support
- And more
Oracle ERP Cloud Implementation Best Practices
Choosing the Right Oracle ERP Cloud Implementation Partner
When planning an Oracle ERP Cloud implementation, using a partner is highly recommended. Partners have previous knowledge with implementations and the software you’ve chosen, increasing your odds for a successful project. However, choosing your partner is a lot like choosing your ERP – a right fit for your organization and a beneficial solution. But what should you look for?
Qualifications
A potential ERP Cloud implementation partner should have previous, relevant experience with both the software and your industry. Additionally, consultants should be certified and have substantial technical experience.
What to expect
While your potential implementation partner doesn’t have superpowers to make your project perfect, they can simplify a complex process and provide leadership and guidance. Select a partner with proven methodology. No project is exactly the same but having a roadmap to follow ensures all the boxes are checked along the way.
Your partner should also be equipped with tools for team communication and project management. Here at Terillium, each project has its own SharePoint environment. All team members from our team and our client’s internal team has access to the data and files necessary to the project. Additionally, we offer remote consulting services in order to accommodate our clients’ needs and requests.
How a partner can help
To achieve and measure progress, you need to have milestones and goals. An experienced partner will have the knowledge to understand what is doable and in an appropriate timeframe, as well as the leadership necessary to navigate the process.
A trusted partner will also have advice to provide regarding the technical and functional aspects of ERP Cloud software, as well as the implementation process itself. This can be in the form of recommendations for additional Oracle cloud applications or tools that can optimize your organization’s functionality within Oracle ERP Cloud, or how to best leverage Oracle’s advanced technology features like artificial intelligence (AI) or blockchain.
Process for a successful Oracle ERP Cloud implementation
An experienced partner will have a process that can lead you through the implementation project. These best practices will have been developed throughout many projects and are a reflection of their experience. Our top recommendations include:
- Use a methodology: Using the same analogy as we previously mentioned, a methodology is like a roadmap. It’s a framework to provide your project structure and direction. An ERP implementation is a complex process, and a methodology breaks it down into manageable portions.
- Test often: Testing is necessary to know if your solution is functioning properly. As the project progresses, testing both individual functions and the system as a whole is required to understand that your system can support your business. Additionally, including end users in the testing process is integral to ensure complete understanding.
- Integrate early: Waiting until the end to integrate third-party applications and tools is a mistake. Integrations and coordination take time and are not always simple. All parties must be involved early on, with realistic expectations set and clear responsibilities assigned.
- Maintain communication: This is one of the most important recommendations. Communicating often and clearly is integral to the success of your implementation project. Regardless of how you and your partner execute it, have a communication plan and maintain it clearly and frequently.
Proven Oracle ERP Cloud Implementation Methodology
Finalize Project Plan
The project plan is meticulously crafted in this crucial phase, outlining key milestones, timelines, and resource allocations. A clear roadmap is essential for steering the implementation towards success.
Establish Project Governance
A robust governance structure is established to ensure effective decision-making, communication, and risk management throughout the implementation. This involves defining roles, responsibilities, and escalation procedures.
Ready Project Environment
Creating a conducive project environment involves setting up the necessary infrastructure, ensuring compatibility with Oracle ERP Cloud, and securing the resources required for seamless execution.
Prepare for Project Kick-Off
Before the official launch, teams are briefed on the project objectives, expectations, and their respective roles. This ensures alignment and a shared understanding of the project’s scope and goals.
Conduct Project Kick-Off
The project is officially initiated, marking the beginning of the implementation journey. Key stakeholders gather to endorse the project, fostering a collective commitment to its success.
Orient Team
Team members are provided with a comprehensive orientation, acquainting them with the Oracle ERP Cloud environment, project methodologies, and the broader organizational context. This sets the stage for effective collaboration and expertise utilization.
Gather Requirements
A meticulous process of gathering requirements begins, involving stakeholders from various departments. This phase is critical for understanding business needs, processes, and user expectations.
Capture Design Decisions
Design decisions are documented systematically, ensuring transparency and traceability. This documentation serves as a reference point throughout the implementation, facilitating consistency and informed decision-making.
Capture Business Scenarios
Identifying and documenting business scenarios is pivotal for creating a solution that aligns with the organization’s specific workflows and objectives. This step ensures that the ERP system is tailored to meet unique business challenges.
Configure Applications
Leveraging Oracle ERP Cloud’s configuration capabilities, the system is tailored to match the documented requirements and design decisions. Configuration is a key element in aligning the ERP system with the organization’s specific needs.
Tailor Documents
Documentation is customized to reflect the unique configuration and design decisions. This tailored documentation becomes a valuable resource for training, future reference, and maintaining a comprehensive record of the implementation process.
Prepare for CRP
Conference Room Pilots are strategically planned and prepared for, providing a platform to validate the configured system against business requirements. This phase acts as a pivotal checkpoint before moving towards full-scale implementation.
Develop Design Specification
A detailed design specification is developed, encapsulating the configured system, design decisions, and tailored documents. This specification serves as a comprehensive guide for the subsequent phases of development and testing.
Develop Test Scripts
Test scripts are meticulously crafted to systematically validate the configured system against the documented requirements and design decisions. This step ensures thorough testing and quality assurance, paving the way for a successful implementation.
Conduct CRP (Conference Room Pilots)
Execute CRP sessions to validate the configured Oracle ERP Cloud system in a controlled environment. This step ensures that the solution aligns with business requirements and allows stakeholders to interact with the system before full implementation.
Capture CRP Issues & Gaps
Document and analyze issues and gaps identified during CRP sessions. This information is crucial for refining the system configuration and addressing any discrepancies before moving forward.
Train Business Core Team
Provide targeted training to the business core team based on CRP feedback. This training equips the team with the knowledge and skills necessary for effective system usage and further testing.
Conduct SIT (System Integration Testing) as Required
Execute System Integration Testing to ensure that various components of the Oracle ERP Cloud system work seamlessly together. This phase validates the overall system functionality and identifies any integration issues.
Train Business Core Team
Reinforce training for the business core team, emphasizing any updates or modifications made during the SIT phase. This continuous training approach ensures that the team is well-prepared for subsequent stages.
Prepare For UAT (User Experience Testing)
Ready the organization for UAT by ensuring all necessary preparations, including documentation, training, and system readiness. This phase sets the stage for end-users to validate the system against real-world scenarios.
Convert Data
Migrate and convert relevant data into the Oracle ERP Cloud system, ensuring accuracy and completeness. Data conversion is a critical step to ensure that the system operates with up-to-date and relevant information.
Complete Development
Finalize any outstanding development tasks, incorporating feedback from CRP and SIT. This step ensures that the system is fully aligned with business requirements and is ready for broader testing.
Conduct User Training
Successful user training is integral to maximizing the benefits of the Oracle ERP system and fostering a smooth transition to the new operational landscape.
Execute UAT
Conduct User Acceptance Testing, allowing end-users to validate the system’s functionality in a real-world context. Capture feedback and issues for resolution before moving to the production phase.
Capture & Resolve Issues
Document and address any issues identified during UAT promptly. This step is crucial for ensuring a smooth transition to the production environment without unresolved issues impacting daily operations.
Finalize Production Configurations
Make any final configurations necessary for the production environment based on UAT feedback. This step ensures that the Oracle ERP Cloud system is optimized for the organization’s specific needs.
Convert Production Data
Migrate and convert the remaining production data, ensuring data consistency between the test and production environments. This step is vital for a seamless transition to the live system.
Identify Improvement Opportunities
Continuously monitor the system’s performance and identify opportunities for improvement. Proactively seek feedback from users to enhance system efficiency and effectiveness.
Implement Improvements
Implement identified improvements and updates based on ongoing assessments and user feedback. This iterative process ensures that the Oracle ERP Cloud system evolves to meet changing business needs.
Solution Issues
Promptly address and resolve any issues that arise during the production phase. A robust support mechanism ensures minimal disruption and maintains the system’s reliability.
User Support
Provide ongoing support to end-users, addressing queries, providing training as needed, and ensuring that users can leverage the Oracle ERP Cloud system effectively in their daily tasks. This continuous support contributes to sustained user satisfaction and system success.
Factors to Ensure Oracle ERP Cloud Implementation Success
An ERP implementation is an important business project. Having best practices is necessary, but so is good project management. Terillium’s President, Dave Woodworth, created three strategies with tips curated from his more than 20 years of experience in working on ERP implementations. These include:
- Technology: Your software itself is not the reason for your success or failure in an implementation. It’s a tool that must be used properly. While Oracle ERP Cloud is equipped with business intelligence capabilities and machine learning-powered tools, bad data will make them useless. Convert your data properly so that it is complete, correct and coherent before migrating it to your new system. Improve business reporting processes in order to better understand and utilize your business data and ERP system’s tools.
- People: Not having the right people on your internal team is an easy mistake to make. However, your team should be made up of the people you are least likely to want to spare. These employees should know your business, be capable of making decisions and work in different areas of your organization. They’ll need to commit a significant amount of time to the project as well. Additionally, an executive must serve as the project sponsor and the C-suite needs to be involved in order to provide an example of leadership and make final decisions.
- Processes: The most important process in an ERP implementation is a methodology. A proven methodology should be tested and formal, but flexible to accommodate each business and industry. An established communication plan among teammates and between teams must be maintained in order to keep the project on track, as well as a training plan to ensure employees are trained periodically and completely. A process for measuring success is necessary to achieving project goals and benchmarks, while allowing you to know your project was a success at its completion.
After the Oracle ERP Cloud Implementation
You’ve completed the implementation, testing, training and go-live. Congratulations! That’s all, right? Not necessarily. While your business may be live on Oracle ERP Cloud, there may still be some work to be done. You might discover processes that require optimizing, additional tools to add following the implementation or the need for technical support.
Managed services is an extension of Oracle support and can address any issues or subsequent work needed following go-live. Certified consultants with experience leading ERP Cloud implementations can offer expertise to make necessary improvements, alterations or additional testing in order to help you get the most from your Oracle ERP Cloud software.
Featured Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP Implementation Case Studies from Terillium
Banjo Improves Supply and Demand Planning with Oracle Fusion Cloud
Banjo required improved supply and demand planning beyond what their current system could provide. Terillium needed to help:
- Provide operations with a stable plan for production.
- Equip purchasing with a stable plan to understand supply needs.
- Increase visibility to capacity constraints.
- Managing and planning for new product offerings.
- Keeping up with rapid business growth.
- Accessibility to customer forecasts and statistical forecasts in one system.
- Visibility to demand at risk and understanding of potential resolutions.
Dayton Freight Hauls Modern Finance into the Business with Oracle ERP Cloud
Dayton Freight has a track record of innovation when it comes to leveraging technology to maintain customer satisfaction as well as back-end office efficiency. The leadership team at Dayton Freight saw the opportunity to further optimize the business’ backend financial processes, and implement modern reporting with the latest cloud technology offered by the Oracle Cloud SaaS Applications.
Vanguard Renewables Moves to Oracle Fusion Cloud After Outgrowing Quickbooks
Terillium utilized their experience with clients in a hyper growth environment to design an enterprise structure, chart of accounts, and business processes that are scalable and will grow as Vanguard continues to grow.
Terillium executed their robust implementation methodology to help lead Vanguard through a successful project launch.
