David Harper, IT Director, ULT ; John Ezzell, BIAS Corp

Craig Johnson

Universal Lighting Technologies is the industry leader in designing, engineering, manufacturing and distributing products for intelligent lighting solutions. The company offers the industry’s most comprehensive lighting ballast product line, featuring technologies that provide dramatic energy savings, increased application flexibility, and improved reliability. Universal Lighting Technologies manufactures both electronic and magnetic ballasts for fluorescent and HID lighting as well as a full offering of dimming ballasts and controls for all lighting applications. BIAS provides world class business solutions built on the Oracle technology platform using Oracle’s best in class tools. We design, develop and implement systems based on Oracle’s methods and best practices for technology and application architecture giving our customers the advantage they need to compete in today’s competitive market.

Universal Lighting Technologies (ULT) needed a solution that would allow them to monitor and manage their warrantee claims. ULT used a manual process that was error prone and open to fraud. ULT also needed a secure web based method for registering their warrantee claims into their Oracle Financial applications. ULT considered Biztalk, but decided on the Oracle FMW based solution because it was more secure and it’s seamless integration with Oracle Financial Applications as well as other J2EE based application (custom and Cyberource). Business and / or technology issues addressed: Better management of Warrantee claims, leverage existing technology investments (Oracle Apps), industry standards (J2EE, easy integration into many different platforms, Portal framework), SOX 404 risk mitigation (outsourced the credit card number validation and management to cybersource). This solution saves $2M per year, provides better customer and internal employee satisfaction (due to ease of use), better inventory tracking, allows them to leverage existing technology, in line with industry best practices, and also allows ULT to reassign 2-3 FTEs.