University of Windsor refines collaboration with Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP and HCM

Located on the waterfront near North America's busiest international border, the University of Windsor in Canada is known for its global perspective and multidisciplinary approach to research, teaching, and learning. To run its financial and human resources operations, the university used a collection of on-premises applications that required paper-based processes, manual workarounds, and complex integrations to get work done across HR and finance. The university implemented Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for finance and procurement and Oracle Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management (HCM) for HR management and payroll. With an integrated suite of Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications, finance and HR managers gained greater transparency across administrative operations, such as workforce planning, and a better sense of process ownership.

To address its operational challenges, the university conducted an evaluation that included a fit-gap analysis of multiple application providers. Ultimately, it selected Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP because the application met more than 95% of its requirements without customization. Oracle’s capabilities for general ledger, procurement, and projects were key factors in the decision. Guided by Accenture, the University of Windsor repeated the evaluation process with the goal of improving HR practices for its more than 10,000 full- and part-time employees. “With our finance challenges addressed, HR became the cog in the wheel that didn’t turn,” says Jody Fraser, assistant vice president of human resources. “We were about 25 years behind from a process perspective.” Again, Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM was deemed to be the best fit for the school’s requirements. “It was like a landslide toward the Oracle solution in terms of what would suit our needs,” Fraser says.

The university first implemented Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP for finance, planning, project accounting, and procurement. In a second phase, Accenture helped the university deploy Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM for core HR, payroll, talent, and workforce management as well as Oracle Fusion Cloud Procurement for supplier management. Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications helped change the way finance and HR teams worked, moving people away from data entry to more analytical activities. The suite’s integrated business processes and controls helped staff build connections and strengthen cross-team collaboration, resulting in greater operational efficiency. For example, the time required to process payroll—once a source of friction between payroll and HR teams—decreased from two weeks to only two days.

After connecting workforce and financial systems using Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications, HR staff enjoyed a heightened sense of ownership when defining, managing, and tracking new and existing roles. “Having the full picture from an HR planning perspective all the way through budgeting helps us make better, more informed decisions about our hiring practices and workforce management,” Fraser says. In procurement operations, the university’s 1,000-plus suppliers use Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP’s self-service platform to create and maintain profiles, track purchasing documents, and view invoice and payment information.

By eliminating customizations and adopting the best practices built into Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications, the University of Windsor simplified management of its technology and applications infrastructure. With previous systems, IT employees were often dedicated to supporting a specific finance or HR application. Now, because Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications use a shared data model and architecture throughout the suite, IT employees can be cross-trained to support multiple areas of the business. “By getting rid of customizations and moving to the cloud, we’ve essentially eliminated the cycles of technical debt we were incurring with our legacy systems,” says Marcin Pulcer, University of Windsor associate vice president of IT services.