We like to make certain that all JD Edwards customers are getting the most out of their ERP investment and so throughout this year, our own remote workforce has been hard at work guaranteeing just that.

The iSP3 Orchestrator Library
Our team has been working with our customers to develop an Orchestrator Library. Coupled with our development services to customize them for you, we’ve been able to ensure they are executed correctly resulting in planned and strategic Orchestrations.

Does your company do Meter Readings? Now we have a series of Orchestrations in our library that will allow you to process your meter readings by validating CSV input, updating readings in JDE, and logging errors for your reporting.

We can also help you to automate your exchange rate updates to multiple currencies with an easily managed Orchestration! From a source currency to multiple others, updated daily.

Our Orchestrator Library is sure to get your business a step ahead in 2021.

Managed Services
In 2020, our managed services gave clients the time and space to focus on what really mattered.  One customer; Saint John Energy, has been utilizing our services for several years as their JD Edwards CNC Managed Support provider. Michael Purcell, Supervisor Information Systems, noted that “We have been very pleased with them in providing Server support and monitoring, as well as the trouble ticket support. Saint John Energy did go out for RFP after iSP3’s first contract was up as a due diligent exercise and after reviewing the proposals again selected iSP3 again for our support.”

As you think about stalled projects that might be starting up again in the new year or inclement projects that cannot wait any longer, our team would be happy to offer a hand with daily, periodic or as needed technical and functional duties.

Amalgamation & 20th Anniversary
As of August 2020, our team became one with TeamCain Solutions Inc fully amalgamating into iSP³.  We appreciate your support of the TeamCain brand during the transition.  There is great value in bringing together the experience from both companies and while we couldn't meet up this year to celebrate our accomplishments, we are all looking forward to celebrating iSP³’s 20^th Anniversary in 2021. Our remotely connected team works incredibly hard for our clients and we would not be who we are without you.

Stay Connected
If you would like to stay connected to us for JD Edwards news and updates, please make sure to follow our company page on LinkedIn (click to follow). This is where you will find links to information about JD Edwards product updates, webinars, blogs and are able to network with other customers.  We invite you to join our community.

We hope you, your team and your families have a safe and happy holiday season and we look forward to what the new year will bring.

We highly recommend you visit LearnJDE.com to read further details related to these important updates. You can also see the Orchestrator Enhancements infographic on LearnJDE for a complete list of enhancements to the Orchestrator. If you require any assistance or would be interested in more information, please let us know.

The following are updates Oracle announced for EnterpriseOne 9.2.4.3:

• Digital Transformation
  • Orchestration Debugger
  • Call a Business Function as an Orchestration Step
  • Embed Orchestrations and Notifications without a Connector
• User Experience
  • Navigation and Page Composer Improvements
  • Form Extensibility Improvements
  • Mobile Application Strategy
• This Tools release includes the following platform certifications:
  • Oracle Database 19c
    • IBM AIX (32-bit)
    • HP-UX (32-bit)
  • Oracle Weblogic 12.2.1.43
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2019
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2019

Here is a brief overview of the Application Enhancements Oracle announced:

• Project Costing
  • Project Status Inquiry
  • Job Master Tax Rate
  • Advanced Job Forecasting
• Manufacturing
  • Work Order Ledger
  • Fixed Time Basis for Routing
  • Comprehensive Shortage Report
  • Consolidation of Parts List Component Quantities when Copying by Work Order
• Quality Management
  • Enhanced Certificate of Analysis
• Inventory Management
  • Default Display Options for Item Availability
  • Generate a Single Invoice Per Month
• Warehouse Management
  • License Plate Picking Optimization
• Procurement
  • Configuration Simplifies Purchase Order Approvals
• Order Management
  • Flexible Currency Exchange Rate Date Source
• Real Estate
  • Unit Attributes
  • Lease Attachments
  • Flexibility to Run Sales Overage Generation in Proof Mode
• Grower Management
  • Planned and Current Estimate Unit Of Measure Flexibility
• Capital Asset and Service Management
  • Work Order Credit Simplification
  • Warning on Use of Obsolete Items
  • Prevent Assigning Work to Inactive Equipment
• Human Capital Management
  • Configurable Annual Hours Limit by Pay Type
  • Automatic Population of Who’s Who for New Employees
• Financials
  • G/L Batch Status History
  • Simplification of Multi-Voucher Entry
  • Control over Discounts on Partial Payments
  • Flexible G/L Bank Account Assignments
  • Detailed Accounting by Leased Asset
  • Detailed Error Messaging Enables Faster Resolution
  • Simplified Removal of Employee-Specific Master Data
  • Improved Data Quality for Invoices, Receipts, and Drafts
• Legislative, Regulatory, and Localizations
  • Financial Year End for 2019 (EnterpriseOne and World)
  • Payroll Year End for US and Canada 2019 (EnterpriseOne and World)
  • 2020 Changes for Form W4 (EnterpriseOne 9.2, 9.1, 9.0 and World A9.4, A9.3.1)

Source: LearnJDE.com

Modernizing your ERP platform is important so that, should a worst-case scenario play out, you’re ready to scale, avoid obsolescence, and embrace digital technologies to create connected, agile, and real-time businesses. The time for modernization and digital adoption is now.

This keynote examined how customers have become digital enterprises and embraced the Oracle platform. Ekdahl explained that having a digital platform enables transformation. With a digital platform you can automate manual tasks, extend applications and data to mobile workers, machines, suppliers, and implement digital solutions that work for you and your business.

A Cautionary Tale

It is very common for customers to look at their ERP as little more than a record keeping device. Ekdahl shared lessons from a cautionary tale of one customer, who overnight had a significant increase in demands for their products. Their systems weren’t performing at the most optimized level and so that hindered their ability to deliver the target products that were required. The business leadership questioned whether JD Edwards could meet their business needs. Upon investigation, it was found that this company hadn’t performed an update in 10 years, they were behind on tools releases, they hadn’t taken advantage of the capabilities in the infrastructure to scale, and there was no adoption of digital technology. The status quo had become their operational model for the business and so, the system could not keep up.

However, they were current on maintenance which meant that they had the access and ability to modernize their solutions. Working with Oracle JD Edwards, they adopted solutions that would solve their short-term requirements and were shown how basic updating and configuration work, available in the product that they owned, could give them the performance they needed. This case study shows the importance of keeping systems up to date and current. A legacy version might run fine but the risks will increase if you pretend that it will work forever. Continuous innovation and adoption help avoid severe disruption and higher operational costs.

Real World Re-Imaginings

Ekdahl spoke with some customers via the video keynote to see how they are using investments and enhancements to re-imagine their JD Edwards.

Ford Meter Box was experiencing the difficulties that came with several manual tasks. Their data wouldn’t upload properly to EnterpriseOne and they had to contend with human errors. Being on EnterpriseOne 9.2 meant that they could take advantage of Orchestrator to create a more stable process and re-imagine their workflow. With the mobility of their remote workers, they were able to build a mobile app with Orchestrator and Address Book. With UX One, they were able to create a Manufacturing app that was cool for the users. Their experience showed them the value of automation and innovation and since their project, they’ve adopted a continuous model for tools releases and application updates.

Flatiron Construction’s goal was to get off the green screen and move to a web interface. Much like Ford Meter Box, they had many manual processes in place with multiple reports and a variety of solutions that caused a disconnect between the back office and the field. EnterpriseOne 9.2 helped to automate their third-party solutions with the adoption of Orchestrator. They were able to utilize IoT devices tied with Orchestrator for equipment in the field and saved costs due to all the automation. They also developed a mobile strategy on job sites so that data in the field could provide instant feedback. Their evolution into a digital business simplified their deployment process and continues with implementing the latest updates and looking at Cloud for their future roadmap.

TruGreen’s goal was to modernize their operations. They were previously on a very old platform that was hard to manage and hindered their ability to complete the goals they had in mind. Rather than migrating, it was easier for them to approach the project as a net new installation. They decided to run JD Edwards in the cloud rather than on-premise which has improved performance and provides a flexible architecture for modern operations. They are extending beyond JD Edwards and keeping processes in place to stay current.

9.2 Promotes Innovation

As technology marches forward, so must you. From a technology infrastructure becoming dated to the inability to support evolving business goals, now is the time to make the move from World to EnterpriseOne and we’re here to help.

“Everyone should see that ERP is really at the heart of an adaptive capability to really address processes, better utilize data, allow you to interact with machines, and streamline and make your processes smarter. You have to be on 9.2; you can’t innovate like this if you’re on World. That’s clear with what has been shared with us today.”

Moving to and utilizing EnterpriseOne 9.2 is the step to take to modernize your business. Not only do you have access to hundreds of features that are improved from older versions, but the adoption of Orchestrator is a big help in moving to automated processes. Continuous enhancements and critical security patches ensure that your system can perform the way you need it to no matter the internal or external disruptions that may occur. Embracing change and working smarter will help you be prepared.

At iSP3, our services are personalized to fit your needs. Let us know how we can help you on your journey to a re-imagined ERP.

If you missed the keynote, the recording is available here.