Global PeopleSoft(Oracle) HRMS upgrade

This large family footwear retailer called us to upgrade its existing PeopleSoft(Oracle) Human Resource Management System (HRMS) to the new net version. ICCG enabled a smooth upgrade,which dramatically improved the company's global operations and employee skills.

The Client

The client is North America's largest family footwear retailer. They offer products at affordable prices in a unique self-service shopping format and deals in fashionable, affordable footwear for the entire family. Apart from the self-service outlets all over the United States and other locations, the client also sells footwear via its online store.

Business Need

In order to stay ahead of competition, the client had to achieve the goal of timely availability of critical information and an effective integration of the same with the existing processes. The company realized that going in for an upgrade would not only add web functionality, but also streamline the processes in the existing system, including Accounts Payable, General Ledger, Purchase Ordering, Project Costing and Asset Management. While this would undoubtedly be far more efficient in terms of performance and user-friendliness, the company also needed the more tangible cost benefits that greater automation would bring in. The company was also looking to leverage the wealth of experience and skill sets of its team by upgrading from its current version of PeopleSoft(Oracle) HRMS version 7.5 and Financials 7.02 to version 8.x across its global operations.

The Challenges

The solution was addressed to people from diverse geographies, at different levels of skill and competence. It therefore had to be easily accessible to its large global audience, offer flexible schedules and at the same time be user-friendly, scalable and not too technology-intensive.

Apart from this, the solution had to address the following specific challenges:

• The project team had to first understand the impact the upgrade would have on routine production, and factor those into the larger plan. All types of Data conversion and migration services
• ICCG had to integrate the client's mainframe legacy systems into the new PeopleSoft(Oracle) Web world, which was an intensive task.
• The financial systems needed a double upgrade to come up to par with the rest of the IT infrastructure.
• The ICCG team had to plan for and deliver support processes to ensure that the client's support systems made a smooth shift to the upgraded systems.
• A presence in the global arena meant sprucing up employee relationships and management for the client. This was seen as one of the major challenges for ICCG.

Business benefits

• On the technology front, over 150 customizations were discarded when the upgrade was implemented, which led to a leaner, meaner, and much more efficient system. The client had been maintaining a number of legacy systems and manual tasks. These laborious, expensive, and inefficient processes were automated in the upgraded system. This meant a visible improvement in overall business process competence and a more streamlined workflow.
• The upgrade led to improved employee-employer interactions. The HRMS upgrade in particular helped in extending its business processes with regard to e-applications to all its employees, including features like e-pay and e-benefits.
• With regard to the financials upgrade, the implementation of the process allowed them to achieve its goals of timely availability of information and better integration of Information
• The upgrade also helped to fully exploit its human resource potential, internal knowledge and skill sets.
• The HRMS upgrade gave the client's decision makers quick access to role-relevant information, and also an efficient way to disseminate it to its employees to improve productivity.