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"Oracle's reputation as a technology leader was a major factor
in our decision to select the Oracle E-Business Suite over other
vendors and point-solution players. The Oracle E-Business Suite
gives us the sophisticated functionality our organization needs
to integrate key business processes, introduce innovative technologies
and continue to drive for bottom line operating improvement."-Greg
Carmichael, Vice President and CIO, Emerson Electric
Company-wide Collaboration Results in Increased Efficiencies
and Economies of Scale Emerson, a publicly traded company based
in St. Louis, Mo., that posted sales of $15.5 billion in 2001,
brings together technology and engineering to produce leading-edge
products, innovative solutions and global services in such areas
as:
- Uninterrupted power to communication networks
- Efficient automation and asset management to plant managers
- Industry-leading climate control applications for residential
and commercial use
The 112-year old company has more than 60 divisions operating
in five business segments: process control; electronics and telecommunications;
industrial automation; heating, ventilating and air conditioning;
and appliance and tools.
Each division is empowered to run its business as it sees fit--a
business strategy to which Emerson attributes much of its success
as a leader in the market segments it competes in. However, to
continue its growth in the future, Emerson is increasingly identifying
opportunities for collaboration among its divisions. This effort
is resulting in more complete services and solutions for customers
as well as better efficiencies and economies of scale for the
company.
Emerson's information technology infrastructure offers one of
those opportunities. With 100 data centers running 45 different
ERP products, Emerson saw many advantages to replacing its legacy
business systems with a single infrastructure throughout its divisions.
High-Level Project Goals
- Standardize diverse business processes with best practices
- Consolidate and lower IT costs
- Increase profitability with integrated e-business software
Why Oracle?
Holding true to form as one of the nation's best-managed companies,
Emerson conducted a lengthy evaluation of several providers. Finally,
it selected Oracle's E-Business Suite because of Oracle's rich portfolio
of e-business software, Internet-based architecture, global support
base, and market strength.
"Oracle's reputation as a technology leader was a major factor
in our decision to select the Oracle E-Business Suite over other
vendors and point-solution players," said Greg Carmichael, Emerson
vice president and CIO. "The Oracle E-Business Suite gives us
the sophisticated functionality our organization needs to integrate
key business processes, introduce innovative technologies and
continue to drive for bottom-line operating improvement."
Before taking Oracle E-Business Suite enterprise-wide, Emerson
successfully tested elements of the package independently in several
divisions, including Emerson Process Management, which experienced
increased productivity; and Emerson Motor Technologies, which
benefited from the portal technology of Oracle's human resources
system.
"We saw that Oracle's E-Business Suite offered the strength,
ease of use, and breadth to support our complex needs," Camichael
said.
Shared System Results in Sayings Oracle E-Business Suite is helping
Emerson standardize back-office functions like accounts payable,
logistics, and travel into a common shared center. In addition,
Carmichael projects that timely, accurate data provided by the
Oracle E-Business Suite will trim US$80 million per year from
logistics spending by consolidating such areas as warehouses,
document centers, and travel programs. The company anticipates
an additional annual savings of at least US$30 million by transitioning
to a single accounts payable shared center for all 48 domestic
Emerson divisions.
Integration and Roll-out
Many Emerson divisions already have started integrating this new
model of shared software architecture, and other divisions will
adopt it gradually. Each division will replace its legacy systems
when there is a clear business case for the Oracle upgrade. This
move eventually will bring the whole of Emerson's IT under the
umbrella of six to eight major support centers, a major reduction
from its original 100 centers.
"Emerson has always been diversified in how we run our operations,"
Carmichael said. "When the divisions make the transition to Oracle,
we believe it will take close to $40 million out of IT operating
costs."
ORACLE
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