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Oracle solutions experts create a scalable and comprehensive Oracle EBS footprint on OCI, establishing the standard for a globally integrated ERP framework that supports 22K employees in operations across the UK, Europe, and India.
Challenge:
In 2007, Project Partners joined forces with the AtkinsRéalis internal IT team to implement Oracle EBS, which included the Financials, Procure to Pay, and Projects modules for its finance and operations departments. They recognized the need for a globally unified financial design and a streamlined procurement process that would enable operations to quickly acquire the necessary resources for project execution.
The most significant hurdles emerged in Project Operations and Financials.
The built-in Oracle Project Management screens were found to be overly complex and cumbersome. It became clear that Project Managers needed a more efficient tool for planning, periodic forecasting, and project reviews, allowing them to handle multiple projects seamlessly. Additionally, the finance team required a better way to generate financial and project reports, as well as to create invoices for customer presentations.
Early Approach:
The project’s first priority was to address the operational issues within the EBS environment. Project Partners introduced AtkinsRéalis to the PIC line of application extensions that worked seamlessly with Oracle EBS applications:
- Project Partners’ UI-Apps provided a simple MS-Excel-based user interface to Oracle Planning and Forecasting functions.
- PIC Invoicing provided a simple way to generate single-project and cross-project consolidated invoices in a customer-ready format.
Testimonial:
I have enjoyed working with the team at Project Partners. They bring the technical expertise but understand and work seamlessly with the change management team.
Vicky Robinson, MCMI, ChMC, Principal Consultant
AtkinsRéalisEarly Results:
The PIC extensions for Oracle EBS delivered several significant improvements:
- Project Managers have experienced a threefold increase in productivity by using PIC tools alongside Oracle functionality to manage its projects.
- The billing organization can generate and dispatch over 3,000 customer invoices using standard formats, which significantly automates the billing function.
- Controllers and area managers receive regular reports for their regions, making project reviews quick and easy. Project Profit and Loss statements are generated directly from the system.
- UI-Apps allows Project Managers to complete the setup of task structure and budgets in one step instead of the multitude of screens ordinarily required in EBS. This was a crucial aspect of managing a portfolio of several thousand projects with significant turnover. The business process required updated forecasts on a monthly basis. Managing this volume was much easier using a simplified Excel-based user interface, which minimized training and support. Tasks, budgets, and forecasts were all stored in Oracle using standard Oracle APIs to support ongoing cost collection, billing, and revenue recognition.
The Drive for Scalability and Platform Stabilization:
In 2021, AtkinsRéalis acknowledged the pressing need to overhaul its aging infrastructure and undertake a comprehensive upgrade of its EBS application, operating systems, Java frameworks, and database management systems. The evolved objective was not only to enhance scalability and performance through the adoption of advanced cloud infrastructure but also to establish a robust platform capable of future-proofing its operations and minimizing potential risks.
Recognizing the critical need to bolster AtkinsRéalis’ defenses against security threats, they prioritized fortifying its infrastructure. With these multifaceted considerations in mind, AtkinsRéalis initiated the ambitious global One ERP initiative. This project aims to align with its strategic objectives by consolidating multiple ERP instances—including several instances of EBS and JDE—into a single EBS system on a worldwide scale.
The Solution
The project’s first priority was to update, consolidate, and standardize its global ERP environment into Oracle EBS. This was accomplished by upgrading AtkinsRéalis’’ US instance from 11i to 12.2.9 and migrating from an On-Prem model of EBS to EBS on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).
The Project Partners team successfully collaborated with key finance, IT, and Operations leaders at AtkinsRéalis to drive its Global EBS Rollout journey forward. In 2022, Project Partners executed a highly impactful advisory services engagement during the Pilot Phase of the Global EBS Rollout. This engagement not only demonstrated Project Partners’ expertise but also led to the awarding of initial phases of the global rollout to Project Partners.
The next stage involved a Phase 0 assessment, completed in 2023, which confirmed the project scope and established a realistic project timeline and cost estimate for the EBS implementation across the UK, Europe, and India. Additionally, our experts conducted a comprehensive evaluation of AtkinsRéalis’ Operations and Maintenance (O&l;M) Group, which utilizes Oracle JDE. Our goal was to deliver a software-agnostic perspective on future operational options and customer delivery methods.
Through our tailored services, Project Partners empowered AtkinsRéalis’ to identify the optimal Future State option, effectively weighing technology, functionality, and implementation costs. Project Partners evaluated these elements alongside the anticipated Change Management impact to provide a holistic overview, ensuring a strong foundation for success in the project.
Testimonial:
Project Partners was brought on board as part of our One ERP program. We’re consolidating all our global ERPs into one instance of EBS on OCI. Project Partners really brought a level of expertise that we were not finding in the marketplace. We tried another large consulting firm that didn’t bring the level of knowledge and experience that we were looking for.
Randy Martin, Dir. for Financial Applications Strategy & Innovation
AtkinsRéalisThe Project Partners’ solution design takes into account best practices across the entire breadth of AtkinsRéalis’ needs:
- Project Initiation to Closeout
- Contract to Cash
- Record to Report
- Procure to Pay
- Acquire to Retire (Assets)
- Cash Management
- Reporting Rationalization
- Review and Rationalize Customizations, Integrations and Extensions
- Roles and Security
- Impact on Other Applications (in use in-house)
- Global Statutory, Legal, and Tax Implications
- Conversion Strategy
- Program Management
Throughout the engagement, Project Partners became increasingly involved due to our expertise not only in applications but also in Best Practices and Project Management. Our contributions led to Project Partners being awarded the lead Systems Integrator role for Wave 1 of the One ERP Initiative.
Outcome:
With the completion of Wave 1 of the global rollout in October 2024, AtkinsRéalis scaled its EBS solution to support 22,500 employees in its operations across the UK, Europe, and India. This implementation has enabled AtkinsRéalis to generate over 80 million GBP in customer invoices within the first month of going live. Project Partners delivered a comprehensive conversion strategy that is being leveraged in the future phase rollouts.
Testimonial:
Phase 1 of our One ERP project, impacting around 12,000 staff in the UK, Europe, and India, has been highly successful, exceeding our pre-launch expectations. The strong relationship established with Project Partners has fostered an integrated team that combines their technical expertise with our program and change management skills. Ultimately, the strength of our people and our relationship with Project Partners drives this success.
