Case Study
UST drives procure-to-pay transformation for global conglomerate
CLIENT
This global conglomerate has diverse operations across energy, healthcare, aviation, and manufacturing. With a strong focus on innovation and technology, the company develops solutions that enhance efficiency and sustainability for things like power generation equipment, medical imaging devices, and aircraft engines. For more than a century, the company has been shaping the future of critical industries through research and development.
CHALLENGE
Tackling complex global procurement challenges to enhance operational efficiency
The company faced significant procurement challenges across its global operations, which are comprised of more than 300 business units in seven verticals spanning 32 countries, each with unique processes. The company needed functional and technical support to optimize its unified Oracle Apps platform to manage its procure-to-pay functions. The need for seamless integration of third-party systems to manage an array of functions, such as human resources, procurement, and finance, heightened the complexity. Additionally, the company struggled with diverse regulatory requirements, varied language support, and data consistency across regions. The client also required system scalability and flexibility to handle future growth without compromising performance.
TRANSFORMATION
Optimizing procure-to-pay operations with custom integrations and proactive system monitoring
UST provided the company with functional and technical support for Oracle Apps. Our team of experts deployed a comprehensive solution to address the company’s procure-to-pay global operations issues. It included the following elements:
- Proactive system monitoring—We implemented monitoring systems to proactively detect and swiftly resolve issues, minimizing downtime and improving system reliability.
- Functional analysis and technical optimizations—UST analyzed and optimized the company’s procure-to-pay workflows, streamlining procurement, inventory management, and payment processes. This included simplifying approval workflows, automating requisition and purchase order account creation, and integrating third-party systems for efficient master item management.
- Automations and customizations—By automating stock replenishment with rules-based receiving and invoicing processes, manual tasks and errors decreased.
- Enhanced documentation and knowledge management—Standardized knowledge artifacts and operating documents improved processes and accelerated new IT employee onboarding, driving global operations management improvements.
- Specialized support tracks—By reorganizing the company’s support team into specialized tracks, it could more efficiently manage more than 1,000 monthly tickets, as well as project testing, service monitoring, and system audits, contributing to an effective Oracle Apps implementation.
- Robust technology stacks—By using Oracle R12 and Fusion applications, we ensured seamless support and integrations across the company’s operations.
- Service level agreements (SLAs)—These standard expectations helped ensure compliance and operational efficiency across all processes.
IMPACT
Improving operational efficiency and streamlining processes across global business units
The company achieved these benefits:
- Enhanced global operations—By seamlessly integrating the plan/procure/pay cycle across multiple countries and business units, the company improved inventory management, streamlined procurement processes, and ensured prompt product deliveries to its customers.
- Cost savings—After replacing third-party applications with UST's tools and accelerators, the engagement reduced operational costs and vendor dependencies while simplifying its technology stack.
- Improved payment processes—The streamlined system enabled the company to capitalize on payment discounts, contributing to overall financial efficiency.
- Operational consistency—Standardized custom components and processes reduced system complexity across various divisions, increasing productivity.
- Enhanced flexibility—Opt-in/opt-out functionality gave the company more control over features and updates, simplifying application maintenance and improving system reliability.
- Proactive support—Continuous monitoring and swift issue resolution minimized disruptions and reduced downtime.
- Faster onboarding—Comprehensive documentation and knowledge transfer accelerated onboarding of new support team members, further improving operational efficiency.
RESOURCES
https://www.ust.com/en/insights/ai-and-machine-learning-in-procurement