[Oracle Applications] Business requirement v/s Delivery

Client: "Our next requirement, this is something big, you know, we need an elephant…"

IT team: Why don't you adjust with a buffalo, even it is big… and black?"

Client: No, we need only elephant, let me explain our current process…………….." (client explains for an hour)

IT :Fine, I understand your requirement. But our system supports only buffalo…

C: We need only elephant!

IT: OK. Let me see if we can customize"

Requirements taken. Client wants a big black four legged animal, long tail, less hair. Having trunk is mandatory.

The same was documented, signed off and sent to offshore for development!

At the Offshore Development Centre,
Design/Development – Based on requirements all features are supported in base product (as buffalo) , for trunk alone a separate customization is done. Finally the customization is shown to client

Client faints....

In the escalation meeting.........

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Posted By OracleOnDemand to Oracle Applications at 7/27/2012 10:36:00 PM

[Oracle Applications] ACT with Oracle WMS

Already have Oracle Inventory module and still seeing the opportunity to improve productivity of your distribution centers, manufacturing or inventory handling facilities ? ACT with Oracle WMS - Automate, Control and Track your material with Oracle WMS.

WMS can be enabled at Inventory organization leveL for key business processes Inbound Logistics, Warehousing & internal inventory movements, Manufacturing transactions, Outbound Logistics  and Reverse logistics.

Key features that you might like about WMS:

WMS can be enabled at Inventory organization leveL for key business processes Inbound Logistics, Warehousing & internal inventory movements, Manufacturing transactions, Outbound Logistics  and Reverse logistics

License Plate Numbers (LPN): LPNs combine the item part number, stock location and serial/lot number into a single scanable record or number for material transactions.



Rules and Strategies: Rules and strategies control the picking, put away and cost group assignments for items in a WMSenabled organization. A strategy is a collection of rules. A rule can control where an item is put away or where an item is picked.

Consolidation and Cross Docking: Cross docking allows for material to be received and directly delivered to a shipping dock or manufacturing assembly line. Cartonization provides for box and container suggestions by item based on rules for size and weight.


Control Board: The control board allows a warehouse manager to allocate activities or tasks to a material handler. The control board also allows for the prioritization of tasks assigned to a material handler

Label Setup: You can define label formats and fields (data) needed, you can associate this with WMS rules to print the label automatically. WMS can generate xml output, but you need a 3rd party label printing/formatting tool to actually print.

Cost groups: In standard Inventory module Inventory valuation accounts are derived by subinventory setups. In WMS based on cost group rules you can have different valuations independent of subinventories.

Material Status: You can assign status to an item, lot or serial number. Each status is defined with a list of permissble transactions. Material status can enforce business rules.

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Posted By OracleOnDemand to Oracle Applications at 6/01/2012 12:58:00 AM

[Oracle Applications] Oracle waives extended support fees EBS 11i

ERP market is abuzz with the recent news of Oracle waiving the extended support fee for E-Business Suite 11i, this time until November 2013. Few unhappy ones are calling it as putting ketchup on burnt steak. The fees for Extended Support on 11i was initially set to start in November 2010 but was post-poned for year in November 2010 and then now for another 2 years taking it to all the way through November 2013.  Release 12 is out since year 2007.  Lot of customers still sitting on 11i might be waiting eagerly to see how the Fusion vision is falling in place.

I might just say :)  "Thanks for the tortilla chips while I wait for the dinner or supper. Now, don't get me on what's supper and what's dinner"

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Posted By OracleOnDemand to Oracle Applications at 12/26/2011 11:21:00 PM

[Oracle Applications] Did you knew changes in Oracle Purchasing with Release 12 ?

Changes to existing tables

PO_HEADERS_ALL

1. Added columns (SUPPLIER_NOTIF_METHOD, FAX, EMAIL_ADDRESS) for capturing the Communication Details specified for a PO on the Create/Update Order page
2. Added the STYLE_ID column for capturing the style of each document
3. Added new columns: created_language cpa_reference last_updated_program
4. Added column SUBMIT_DATE to record the date when purchase order is submitted for approval

PO_LINES_ALL

1.   Added new columns: catalog_name supplier_part_auxid ip_category_id last_updated_program
2. Addition of the following Columns :

• RETAINAGE_RATE(Rate to withhold retainage from progress payments) 
• MAX_RETAINAGE_AMOUNT (The maximum amount that can be held as retainage against a contract)
• PROGRESS_PAYMENT_RATE(% of work completed which is eligible to be paid, when using financing)
• RECOUPMENT_RATE (This % is applied to the invoice amount to determine the total amount of previously paid financing payments that can be applied towards this invoice to determine the current amount due)

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Posted By OracleOnDemand to Oracle Applications at 11/09/2011 06:17:00 AM

[Oracle Applications] Use Demand Class in Forecasting

Accurate demand forecasting is vital for holding optimal inventory.  The better you forecast your demand, the less residual inventory you will hold. Forecasting your demands is the key to plan your capacity, inventory & pricing. No forecasting method is 100% correct. Multiple forecast methods are used - based on judgement & based on data. I don't intend to write a long one on forecasting in this note; rather focus on "demand class" concept used in forecasting in Oracle Planning suite.

Business might have requirements to forecast its demand in multiple dimensions to help analyze the trend in actual sales order demands that consume the forecasts. As business, you would want to forecast your demand for certain regions and analyze how your actual sales demands were. While analyzing the regional forecasts consumption, you also might want to forecast on the customer segment you receive orders from - like automotive, energy, pharma or FMCG based on your product.

Attach the demand class to the forecasts you define and mark the sales order demands with relevant demand class. In the above example, you can opt to attach a "region" demand class to order types defined for each region. You can use the demand class ATP functionality to check the availability for certain demand class. Demand class can be optionally attached to your Inventory organization definition. If demand class is not attached to the forecast, Planning engine takes the demand class from the organization to which the demand belongs. 

Remember the thumb rule, consumption takes place only if the demand class of the sales order and forecast
match.

Questions? Drop me a note on applearn@gmail.com. 
You can also connect with me on http://www.linkedin.com/in/sajeedm

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Posted By OracleOnDemand to Oracle Applications at 3/28/2011 09:26:00 AM

[Oracle Applications] Average cost variance

In average costing, each receipt of material to inventory updates the unit cost of the item received. Issues from inventory use the current average cost as the unit cost. 

Perpetual Inventory value = Avg unit cost X Quantity

In Oracle Inventory, Inventory balances can be driven negative if the Allow Negative Balances parameter is
set in the Organization Parameters. Inventory calculates the costs differently in case we have negative inventory balances.   

Lets say, we have an on-hand quantity of -40 and we are performing a receipt of 50 quantity that would drive the quantity positive 10. This transaction would be split in two parts as below

a. Quantity required to drive on-hand from negative to zero 

In our example, this quantity would be "40". Inventory receives this quantity of "40" with current average cost and does not use the transaction cost

b. Remaining Quantity

Remaining quantity of "10" (50 minus 40) is received at the transaction cost and hence a new average unit cost is re-calculated

Difference between total receipt cost and the cost debited to inventory is average cost variance

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You can write to us with suggestions to improve on applearn@gmail.com

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Posted By OracleOnDemand to Oracle Applications at 3/16/2011 03:04:00 AM

[Oracle Applications] Measure Supply Chain Performance

Given the increased attention and scrutiny your investors are applying to the supply chain's impact on a company's financial performance, you need a yardstick to clearly measure your Supply Chain performance. One of the most followed and detailed performance metrics are encompassed in the Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model. The SCOR model provides an industry-standard approach to analyze, design, and implement changes to improve performance throughout five integrated supply chain processes — plan, source, make, deliver and return

Plan

Assess supply resources; aggregate and prioritize demand requirements; plan inventory for Distribution, production, and material requirements; and plan rough-cut capacity

Source

Receive, inspect, store, hold, issue, and authorize payment for raw materials and purchased finished goods

Make

Request and receive material; manufacture and test product

Deliver

Execute order management processes; generate quotations; configure product; create and maintain a customer database; maintain a product/price database; manage accounts receivable, credits, collections, and invoicing; execute warehouse processes, including pick, pack, and configure; create customer-specific packaging/labeling; consolidate orders; ship products; manage transportation processes and import/export

Return

Process defective, warranty, and excess returns, including authorization, scheduling, inspection, transfer, warranty administration, receiving and verifying defective products, disposition, and replacement

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You can write to us with suggestions to improve on applearn@gmail.com

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Posted By OracleOnDemand to Oracle Applications at 3/11/2011 01:53:00 AM