April 22, 2021

Dale Wade, Senior Solution Architect

Switching to JD Edwards third-party support from Spinnaker Support is a no-brainer: you benefit from significant cost savings, outstanding customer service, and depth of knowledge. But should you expand your coverage to include JD Edwards managed services?

So, what exactly is “managed services”?

It’s a question we often get. In short, managed services offer proactive assistance that addresses important ERP issues not covered by traditional Oracle support. Managed services from Spinnaker Support provide customers with staff augmentation, application development, system health checks, and security designs and reviews – just to name a few advantages!

Adding managed services helps you avoid issues that can hobble system performance and cause disruption to the business. With JD Edwards managed services, you’ll get help when you need it and how you need it without getting locked into expensive, ever-expanding projects.

Below are examples that highlight many of the ways managed services can provide you with the extra help you need to improve your JD Edwards environment. Whether you are on EnterpriseOne, World, or even OneWorld, we have you covered.

Example 1: Enhancing Credit Card Authorization Functionality for a Global Consumer Products Manufacturer

Problem:

A large, global consumer products manufacturing company running EnterpriseOne 8.11 had an undocumented credit card authorization process. The technician responsible for the process had left the business. When the company required a new bank authorization and settlement process, they turned to Spinnaker Support to sort out the mess.

Solution:

The Spinnaker Support team immediately dug in and reviewed each of the current credit card programs to understand the technical structure. After the assessment, the team created process flow diagrams of the current environment and identified the impacted tables and data sets.

A key component in the discovery process included understanding which programs were being called and used and which tables required updates. The Spinnaker Support team next documented how the new flow would function and made the changes necessary for the new requirements within existing programs.

Finally, the Spinnaker Support team installed the necessary changes, which included the creation of a new application that exported JD Edwards data into the crucial .csv file that was sent, verified, and then imported the data back into the database. Spinnaker Support trained the new process owner with clear and comprehensive documentation. The customer said, “We are grateful for the outcome and that we have a partner that quickly helped during a difficult transition.”

Example 2: Meeting IRS Deadlines for a North American Construction Company

Problem:

In 2020, a large, US-based construction company with over 2,000 employees needed help to facilitate changes to the IRS Form 1099 reporting processes. The updates related to the new Form 1099-NEC and a change to Form 1099-MISC.

Most of the customer’s current form-processing programs required modification to utilize the new form. Also, 1099 supplier setup and data required changes to report properly for 2020. Even though the company had Oracle support for their EnterpriseOne 9.2 environment, they partnered with Spinnaker Support because of a tight IRS deadline, the breadth of the project, and the need for “hands-on” assistance.

Solution:

The customer relied on Spinnaker Support to guide them through data updates, processing of the forms, and the requirement for new electronic files in their EnterpriseOne 9.2 environment. Spinnaker Support quickly stepped in to direct the project and help the customer through each of the new requirements.

The customer thanked Spinnaker Support for saving them countless hours of researching ESU (electronic software update) documentation from Oracle. They said, “If we didn’t have your help, we would not have met the IRS deadline. We are so thankful to have Spinnaker Support as part of the team to ensure accurate and timely reporting.”

Example 3: Simplifying Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) for a US Food Producer

Problem:

A major US food producer and EnterpriseOne 9.1 customer required functional and technical expertise to assess the customer’s “as-is” EDI processes, which included a custom (and convoluted) interface system for many EDI transactions. The customer’s JD Edwards team was overwhelmed by these EDI processes, so they decided to simplify the EDI environment and reduce potential critical failures.

Solution:

JD Edwards experts from Spinnaker Support met with the customer’s team to understand, evaluate, and map the custom processes and determine possible solutions. The investigation included analysis of current documentation.

Our managed services team met with key stakeholders to understand the purpose and genesis of the over-complicated customized workflows. As a result, Spinnaker Support uncovered the pain points in the customized system, as well as the features that worked well.

After the discovery phase, Spinnaker Support determined the requirements to move the business from the painful customized processes to standard JD Edwards functionality. The customer agreed with the analysis and recommendations. They engaged with Spinnaker Support to complete the project. “The engagement was a total lifesaver for us,” said the customer.

Example 4: Implementing Check Approval Process Changes during COVID for an Entertainment and Leisure Company

Problem:

A major North American entertainment and leisure company running EnterpriseOne 9.1 needed to quickly pivot to a new process to approve and distribute checks due to the COVID pandemic. Because of COVID shelter-in-place orders, the customer needed to implement an approval process that would allow electronic signatures on checks exceeding a pre-determined amount. The customer desperately needed the process changes to pay its vendors and partners.

Solution:

Spinnaker Support developers and functional resources quickly assembled an action team to address this challenge. After a thorough discovery process, the team worked with the customer to define how the new approval process would work.

The engagement yielded simple functionality for non-regular JD Edwards users – an optimal solution that met requirements while requiring minimal effort for check processor. The customer appreciated “the fast and detailed response.” They then had Spinnaker Support execute the project.

Managed Services: The Assistance You Need to Maintain Your ERP

Tax updates, remote employees, financial processes, and payroll are critical functions in successful organizations. In an increasingly dynamic and interconnected world, businesses must continuously flex to address the changes required for their essential ERP processes.

This is why more and more companies rely on Spinnaker Support’s managed services to evolve their JD Edwards environment. The service goes beyond traditional support by helping fill the gaps that overtaxed and under-resourced JD Edwards teams simply cannot deliver on their own. Let our experts help you extend the life of your stable, customized, and productive ERP to meet today’s business challenges and unforeseen events. To learn more about the best decision you can make to achieve your platform goals, check out our industry-leading managed services.