CASE STUDIES: GL Associates provides the right prescription for Merck
Change always seems to bring unintended consequences. The drug company Merck was converting from a legacy financial system to JD Edwards General Accounting. The change included adoption of new Business Unit Codes and a new Charts of Accounts. Merck had to provide managers with the ability to look up new account numbers along with submitting and uploading budgets quickly and easily.
All modifications and extensions to the JD Edwards system were written to run exclusively on the AS/400 with a character-based green screen interface. For users to have access to the AS/400 through their PCs, Merck had to install and pay licensing fees for a copy of Rumba on every PC. Plus, users who were accustomed to the Windows interface were forced to learn to use the green screen interface.
When Merck realized the conversion caused the unintended consequence that account look-up and budget applications could not be implemented using the JD Edwards standard approach, they turned to GL Associates for a solution.
The problem was solved when GL Associates used the existing Merck Intranet to build a series of database-driven interactive web sites on the AS/400. Their web sites contain applications that access the JD Edwards data on the AS/400 and present it to the user in a graphical user interface. The user could access the web sites through the Internet browser on their PC.
This solution resolved all of Merck's concerns. It eliminated the need to train users on the JD Edwards application. Since data access was obtained through the corporate Intranet, software distribution was unnecessary and there was no need to buy software licenses for Rumba to provide connectivity to the AS/400.
Account Lookup System
Because it is a huge global company, Merck's completely redesigned Chart of Accounts (COA) was long, complex and subject to change. Merck's budget holders around the world needed access to the new business unit and account numbers when calculating and submitting departmental budgets. They needed a way to look up these numbers on the COA without having to distribute hard copies to each user.
GL Associates developed the Account Lookup System on the Merck Intranet. The user entered old business and account numbers via the PC's graphical user interface. Then, the system queried the account-mapping database on the AS/400 and presents the user with the new numbers. It also permitted drilling down to the account balances in the General Ledger. Query response time was instantaneous and the information was always up to date because the data came directly from the JD Edwards system.
The solution was such a success that Merck requested a second, larger Intranet-based budgeting system.
GL Associates provides the right prescription to make Merck healthy
Budgeting System
Merck department heads from all over the world submitted budgetary information to the finance department by emailing Excel spreadsheets. The spreadsheets were uploaded into the JD Edwards system. This method became unmanageable because the department heads changed the spreadsheet format before returning them. The finance department then would have to manually repair each spreadsheet before uploading to the general ledger system.
Again, GL Associates used an Intranet-based solution. Users could access those accounts over which they have budgetary authority using a password. Once an account is selected, the system displays a spreadsheet-like interface that provides enhanced functionality.
Users can build budget based upon past actuals or budgets or they can start from scratch. Budgets can be entered by year, quarter or month with features such as inflation rates and growth rates provided for ease of use. Users can then save multiple alternative budgets on the server until choosing one to submit. A single button click then uploads the budget into the JD Edwards database.
Total development time for the budgeting application was only two months. The cost was less than the one-year maintenance charge for the old mainframe-based budgeting system.
The Merck financial team now requires that all new in-house applications be developed as Intranet applications.
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ERP INSTANCE CONSOLIDATIONGL Associates performs major ERP database instance consolidations for JD Edwards, Oracle and PeopleSoft ERP systems. Our methodologies and automated conversion tools enable us to perform these projects in planned timeframes with high quality testing cycles at a predictable cost. We have experience with every need in ERP database instance consolidations including reorganizations, divestitures, and mergers (of similar and dissimilar businesses).
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