Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A. Expedites Release of Project Funding and Gains Up to $13,000 a Day in Financial Investments
 
 

Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A. Expedites Release of Project Funding and Gains Up to $13,000 a Day in Financial Investments

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Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A. (CNO), which forms part of the Organização Odebrecht holding company, is a Brazilian engineering and civil construction company. It is the largest company in its sector in Latin America, the second-largest Brazilian multinational, and one of the 25 largest construction companies worldwide.

Due to the variable resources needs the treasury would have to make available for the 100 projects it manages simultaneously, CNO maintained a high cash-on-hand safety margin to avoid negative balances. With Oracle Application Express, the construction company developed tools to expedite funding requests and approvals, enabling it to invest funds that were parked in its cash account, ultimately yielding up to $13,000 per day. In addition, Oracle Application Express enabled CNO to reduce report consolidation and daily account closing time, providing a comprehensive and timely view of construction project costs and profitability to drive strategic decisions.

 
 

 
 

Challenges

A word from Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A.

  • “With the Web applications we developed using Oracle Application Express, we have better cash flow control, which has enabled us to reduce the funds set aside in cash accounts to avoid negative balances by 60%. By investing funds previously set aside, we are generating up to $13,000 per day in additional income.” – Leandro Edi da Silva, Development Team Leader, Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A.

  • Improve financial planning and confirmation of deposits and withdrawals to reduce the volume of funds set aside in cash accounts to avoid negative balances
  • Improve and facilitate communication between the company’s corporate treasury and the individual treasuries of the nearly 100 civil construction projects it carries out simultaneously
  • Integrate information about project material and equipment expenses to improve executive planning and decision making

Solutions

Oracle Product and Services

  • Used Oracle Application Express to rapidly develop Web applications thanks to the tool’s user friendliness, ultimately increasing the IT department’s productivity in meeting the demands of the business
  • Created Web applications that enable the company to improve financial and operational efficiency, as well as profitability
  • Automated project funding requests and approvals and consolidated daily financial close―processes essential to the on-time completion of civil construction projects―thanks to Oracle Application Express’ unique architecture that allows the company to consolidate and secure data while improving access via a Web browser
  • Reduced from one week to one day (or even less in urgent cases) the time needed to release funds to construction project managers for required materials and equipment thanks to Web services built on Oracle Application Express
  • Improved communication between the central treasury and each construction project’s financial team as both are informed via automated e-mails when a funding request or approval is entered into the system
  • Automated a legacy spreadsheet-based financial reporting system, thereby reducing the time spent managing daily account closing by hours each day
  • Developed an application using Oracle Application Express that enabled the company to reduce available funds in its bank account by 60%―allowing it to invest funds previously set aside to cover cash flow issues and yielding up to $13,000 per day
  • Used Web applications developed with Oracle Application Express to automate quarterly financial consolidation reports and create “forecasted” versus “completed” expenses on material and equipment needed for construction projects
  • Created a dashboard that is updated daily with consolidated information about project progress, from foundation to external wall finishes and interior plastering, which was not possible before―providing more detailed and timely information for decision making
  • Improved control over subcontractors with an application―built using Oracle Application Express―that monitors completed and in-progress activities for civil construction projects

Why Oracle

CNO chose  Oracle Application Express for its user friendliness and to facilitate integration between its Oracle E-Business Suite and legacy management and treasury tools.

“We ensured that the more than 200 screens created in Oracle Application Express so far are fed automatically through the interface with the other solutions involved in the funding requests and approvals process, such as ERP and treasury tools. Thus, we can use the database―logins, company name, bank data, and more―already available in Oracle E-Business Suite, guaranteeing data reliability and streamlining business process,” said Leandro Edi da Silva, Development Team Leader, Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A.

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