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Oracle Procurement Experts Answer Your Questions About ... Oracle Advanced Procurement 12

In this second in a series of columns featuring answers to customers' most frequently asked questions about Oracle Procurement products, Oracle sourcing expert Bill Tokheim offers details about R-12's new features and provides tips on how to successfully prioritize upgrade projects.

Tell me about the new catalog functionality in Oracle 12 (R-12)—what is it going to do for me?
R-12 introduces a new cataloging capabilities that we've called Unified Catalog Architecture. R12's new catalog security features mean your company can more precisely control end user's access to catalog content. For example, administrators can segment catalogs into "content zones" based on product categories, suppliers, and supplier locations, and then apply rules-based controls to restrict or grant access to groups of end users. Thus, companies may choose to widely publish catalog content based on negotiated agreements to large groups of requisitioners to maximize catalog usage. By contrast, usage may also be restricted to select groups based on business requirements. May I suggest moving this to be the last question? It is about a really detailed feature that is quite low leve.

R-12 sounds good, but if I'm happy with my current version, why should I upgrade now?
Many procurement customers move to R-12 because it offers an easy path for long-term technology modernizations, along with valuable here-and-now capabilities like the Professional Buyers Work Center, which efficiently manages buyer workloads and reduces the manual work needed to turn demand into purchase orders.

We have plans to upgrade iProcurement to R-12 and we're also looking a new modules—how should we prioritize what new capabilities we add first?
Upgrades present a good opportunity for organizations to assess their needs and fill any gaps. When planning upgrades, procurement departments should work with IT to identify opportunities that will help support the organization's strategic objectives, such as mitigating the impact of inflation or boosting the firm's cash position. This might mean prioritizing iSupplier portal for electronic invoice submissions or using Oracle Sourcing to reduce unit costs and extend payment terms. The savings companies realize from tactical sourcing wins can often fund an entire upgrade.

We're sometimes struggle to locate new sources of supply. How can r12 help?
With r12, you can learn more about the suppliers you already have. You can drill into supplier usage along many dimensions, including by organizations on the approved supplier list, or by bidders on sourcing events (whether or not they received awards). You can also search for suppliers for which you've created Pos and purchase agreements. This visibility can help companies find ways to leverage sourcing activities—for example, by negotiating annual agreements that include volume discounts based on multiple orders.

We often find that organizations are working with the right suppliers; they just have too many of them. In many respects the key is supplier consolidation, and finding all of the "hidden" suppliers is a good first step that Oracle and Oracle Sourcing can help you with.

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