Oracle EBS Solutions Achieve Speed & Flexibility in Business Implementation Cycles: An Experian Story

Having the Right Tools in place Maximizes your Business Opportunities

Case Study – Finance

Data is at the core of your business, and without the right tools in place, you’re at risk for inefficiencies, inaccuracies, and dependencies on other resources. 

There is a better way… read on to learn more about the More4apps Oracle EBS solutions that help achieve speed & flexibility in business implementation cycles.

The Customer

Experian employs over 20,000 people in 44 countries. They help and encourage their customers to handle their data with confidence so they can maximize their opportunities. 

As Experian grew, so did their data pain points. System implementation had been challenging, and different versions of applications were stored on multiple servers. Moreover, internal processes were diverse, and master data was out-of-date. 

Mass data migration and cleansing were necessary for Experian, especially since they expanded into new countries. 

Forces Driving Change

Experian reviewed existing data, normalized it offline, and loaded it using components built for that purpose. Not only did they have to bring the data into their global instance, but they had to standardize it to support central data processing hubs or shared services centers.

Experian couldn’t afford to manage by exception and needed short process cycles while remaining cost-efficient.

Operating globally and with numerous country-specific features, ranging from languages, character sets, number formats, and tax requirements, posed a significant challenge concerning data conversion. For example, creating new suppliers happened in small batches, which proved to be time-consuming and inefficient.

Completing the necessary fields in any given country takes specific knowledge and can cause significant roadblocks regarding data control. Amongst not having efficient management of their data, implicants had escalated by the time errors were discovered.

Furthermore, Experian’s current system heavily relied on IT efforts for supplier-based reviews and mass updates, which happened frequently. They used tools like Toad to extract data, but Toad fell short when data needed reloading.

In addition to having inaccurate data, security was a concern. Experian granted a level of access to its data that made auditors uneasy.

Their approach spent more time building the conversion component. Thus, requiring several iterations in different environments, and with the data constantly changing, each desired a complete iteration.

Effective Solutions without the Hassle 

Experian was aware that they had data processes that needed improvement. From previous implementation experiences, they classified their data into two groups: master data and transactions. See the chart below for more details.

Experian wanted to find a solution that was end-user friendly and empowered employees to be confident in the accuracy of their data.

Effective Solutions without the Hassle 

More4apps combines the power of Microsoft Excel and Oracle to release talented staff from repetitive data entry tasks. The More4apps EBS suite of products streamlined tasks for Experian with simple yet powerful Excel-based solutions while achieving significant time and cost savings.

Implementation 

The implementation with More4apps proved to make the data migration cycle more effective. No longer did employees need to cleanse and enrich at the source. Instead, the activity happened in the More4apps Excel spreadsheet.

Excel is a flexible and well-known tool, so users don’t need training. Another benefit of the More4apps Excel-based solution is that it became the de facto master data source for testing and transaction activities.

More4apps tools removed the risk of inefficiencies, inaccuracies, and dependencies on other resources. End-users completed their data inputting work more quickly and easily using a familiar Excel interface. These solutions eliminated the need to work with Oracle forms, which are not user-friendly or designed for mass data entry. Now, end-users can detect and amend errors or omissions in their data.

Can’t Get Enough 

After finding success with More4apps tools, Experian implemented more solutions from the Oracle EBS Toolbox across their company worldwide to achieve faster, more accurate data loading for better business.

The More4apps Experience

More4apps has been a strategic partner for Experian and is committed to providing class-leading support. With help located around the globe, Experian received quick responses to issues raised.

More4apps has supported enhancements for Experian whenever needed by specifically, increasing the number of flex fields and supporting specific localization requests. Therefore, More4apps has been a consequential contributor to reducing costs at Experian and has provided a positive implementation cycle, data entry standardization, and data processing errors.