In the business world, organizations see data as more than just numbers. For them, it is the basis for decision-making and strategy planning. Leveraging Oracle Cloud ERP, reporting tools serve as the gateway to transforming raw data into actionable insights. However, with many Oracle Cloud ERP tools, practices, and analytics solutions available, businesses often have pressing questions about optimizing their reporting strategies.
This blog addresses the complexities of Oracle Cloud ERP reporting, addressing Oracle Cloud ERP common questions and highlighting how it can help organizations harness the full potential of their data. Whether you are exploring Oracle ERP analytics solutions or seeking to understand the capabilities of advanced Oracle ERP reporting tools, this guide covers everything you need to know.
From answering your Oracle ERP reporting FAQs to delving into Oracle Cloud ERP data analytics, let’s dive into how Oracle’s powerful ecosystem can empower every department in your organization to thrive.
1. What is Oracle Fusion (Oracle Cloud ERP) Reporting?
Oracle Fusion Reporting combines advanced data analysis and reporting within the Oracle ERP Cloud framework. It offers real-time business intelligence and operational insights, enabling organizations to analyze financial and operational data through customizable reports and dashboards. Oracle Cloud ERP reporting streamlines decision-making processes by offering insights into various aspects of business operations, enhancing strategic planning and operational efficiency.
2. Why must your Enterprise Reporting Platform include a modern Operational Reporting solution?
In today’s context just having an enterprise-wide BI platform is not enough. While that would help with top-level strategic planning and management review meetings, for day-to-day business operations, a modern Oracle ERP analytics and operational reporting solution is a “must-have.” Various departments use this operational reporting platform to track key metrics (relevant to their individual teams) on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. These reports feed into the process of making operational decisions, which are done with real-time data.
3. What reports are operations teams looking for?
Operations teams focus on detailed reports regarding inventory management, order fulfillment, and production efficiency. They need insights into supply chain operations, production & manufacturing, including demand forecasting, resource allocation, and logistics.
These reports help optimize workflows, reduce costs, and improve productivity, making them essential for effective Oracle Cloud ERP reporting.
4. What reports are HR leaders looking for?
HR leaders require comprehensive reports on employee engagement, turnover rates, training effectiveness, and recruitment processes. They also need payroll and benefits data to ensure compliance and effective human resource management. These reports assist in strategizing HR policies and aligning them with organizational goals.
As per Oracle, “Oracle Fusion Cloud HCM is a complete cloud solution that connects every human resource process—and every person—across your enterprise.” Using a reporting solution like Orbit, business leaders in HR can quickly draw people-related insights from personalized dashboards and reports. These capabilities align with Oracle ERP reporting best practices, making HR functions more data-driven and strategic. For instance, the talent acquisition team can plan a hiring strategy that is in sync with available budgets by easily accessing specific data residing in Oracle Cloud ERP.
5. What reports are Supply Chain Management (SCM) leaders looking for?
SCM leaders need in-depth reports on supply chain logistics, vendor management, inventory control, and procurement processes. With Oracle ERP analytics solutions, they gain insights into supply chain disruptions, cost management, and efficiency metrics to maintain smooth operations and optimize supply chain strategies.
For instance, using Orbit Oracle Cloud ERP data analytics solutions, one of our clients was easily able to spot a shortage of incoming raw materials with the help of pre-built reports in Orbit’s Operational Reporting solution.
6. What reports are Finance teams looking for?
Finance teams seek extensive reports on financial performance, including profit and loss statements, balance sheets, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and cash flow analysis. With Oracle ERP reporting tools, they gain insights into budgetary control, financial forecasting, and fiscal health to guide strategic financial decisions and maintain financial stability.
7. Why are finance leaders choosing a tool like Orbit’s GLSense for Financial Reporting after moving to Oracle Fusion? Is Excel Financial Reporting that important?
One tool that is popular with finance teams in the Oracle E-business suite world is GLWand. However, when customers migrate to Oracle Cloud ERP reporting, they are looking for an easy-to-use Excel Financial Reporting tool for real-time account analysis and the ability to create reports from both legacy EBS data and the latest year’s data in Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP data.
Orbit’s GLSense is the single platform from which this type of multi-year financial reporting can be generated for comparison, analysis, and decision-making.
8. What are the various reporting tools available within Oracle Cloud ERP?
Oracle offers a range of Oracle ERP reporting tools like Smart View, BI Publisher, and OTBI. Each tool caters to different aspects of reporting, from detailed financial documents to real-time operational data analysis. These tools provide the flexibility and depth required for diverse reporting needs.
9. What are the key features users are looking for while choosing an Operational Reporting solution for Oracle Cloud ERP reporting?
Users look for features that offer ease of use, customization, and integration with other data sources. They prioritize tools that provide comprehensive operational reporting, financial reporting, support large data volumes, and ensure data accuracy and security. The ability to generate actionable insights quickly is also a key requirement.
Broadly, users are looking for the following capabilities:
- Self-Service Capabilities
- Intuitive UX
- Easy integration with multiple data sources including Oracle EBS, Oracle Cloud ERP
- Integrated data pipelines to move data from various sources into a centralized data warehouse
- Same tool must have the capability to run legacy report, in addition to real-time reports
- Excel reporting with a tool like Orbit’s XLEdge Plugin
- Ad-hoc Data Reporting
- Ability to go from data to insights with maximum efficiency
- SQL DirectQuery for generating custom reports and extracting custom data sets
- Wide Range of pre-built reports
- Data Security and Governance
- Schedule periodic reports with ease
10. Is self-service critical for better operational reporting?
Self-service in reporting tools is increasingly important for enabling users to generate and analyze reports without extensive IT support. This empowers users to access real-time data, tailor reports to their specific needs, and make informed decisions promptly.
Each reporting user is unique, and their role and functional area demand different insights from each report. Orbit Insights feature is a boon to business users, it allows users to personalize the report output, analyze data in various ways, and save them as Insights. Save their virtual copies of the original report – without the need to modify the underlying code or without the need to create duplicate copies of the original report.
Most importantly, thanks to pre-built content that comes with Oracle ERP analytics solution, business users don’t have to rely on IT to cull out these operational insights.
11. Are there restrictions on the number of rows/volume of data in the reports?
Some Oracle ERP reporting tools may have limitations on handling large datasets, which can impact the comprehensiveness and depth of reports. Businesses need to understand these limitations and choose tools that can accommodate their data needs.
Orbit’s Operational Reporting and Financial Reporting tools are wonderful options if you’re looking to generate reports from a high volume of data.
12. Why are native reporting tools not enough, and why are users looking for complementary tools like Orbit?
While native Oracle ERP reporting tools offer beneficial features, they sometimes lack in areas like ease of use, customization, and data integration from non-Oracle sources. Complementary tools like Orbit fill these gaps, offering enhanced functionality and user experience.
For real-time transactional reporting on Oracle Fusion, in most cases, Oracle recommends BI Publisher or Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence (OTBI). Since BI Publisher has been primarily designed for users with technical skills, many business users cannot generate the reports they need by themselves and need the support of IT to build ad-hoc dashboards or reports.
While a tool like OTBI has several advantages, it also comes with several limitations that can impact real-time operational reporting – especially in terms of efficiency.
Some limitations include:
- OTBI can pull data only from Oracle Cloud Apps so it is cumbersome to pull data from multiple sources, especially if these data sources are outside of the Oracle ecosystem
- It also cannot access historical data from legacy applications, thereby limiting the type of analytics that can be run
13. Is moving data from multiple sources a challenge?
Integrating data from disparate sources remains a significant challenge in reporting. It requires tools that can not only handle diverse data formats but also ensure data integrity and accuracy.
Enterprises need to adopt seamless and efficient Oracle ERP analytics solutions (data pipelines) to move data from multiple sources to a central warehouse for BI and analytics. It is an ideal solution for complex data processing workloads, with reliability and high availability.
14. What are key data management capabilities for better reporting?
Effective data management for reporting includes capabilities like real-time data synchronization, adherence to data governance standards, and robust security measures. Efficient data management ensures that reports are accurate, up-to-date, and compliant with regulatory standards.
Data aggregation or consolidation for more accurate Oracle ERP analytics solutions and reporting is essential as businesses have adapted a multitude of specialized business applications to stay competitive, and these applications can be homegrown, on-premise or cloud applications.
The need of the hour is a data management solution that enables both business users and data engineers and makes their jobs easier. If the data management tool you implement has a visual data modeller, that would be a bonus as well. Of course, data security and data governance are critical factors as well.
15. What are key features users are looking for in a Oracle Cloud Reporting Solution?
Key Features business users are looking for include:
- Self-Service Capabilities
- Excel reporting with Orbit’s XLEdge Plugin
- Ad-hoc Data Reporting
- Ability to go from data to insights with maximum efficiency
- SQL DirectQuery for generating custom reports and extracting custom data sets
- Wide Range of pre-built reports
- Data Security and Governance
- Schedule periodic reports with ease
Challenges in Oracle ERP Reporting and How to Overcome Them
While Oracle Cloud ERP reporting provides a reliable framework for analytics, businesses often face challenges that can limit their ability to maximize their potential. Here are some commonly encountered issues and their solutions
1. Data Silos and Integration Issues
- Challenge: Integrating data from multiple sources can result in fragmented insights and inefficiencies.
- Solution: By leveraging Oracle ERP analytics solutions like Orbit Analytics, businesses can create a unified reporting environment that consolidates and standardizes data across systems.
2. Limited Customization in Native Tools
- Challenge: Many Oracle ERP reporting tools offer standard templates that may not meet unique business needs.
- Solution: Advanced platforms like Orbit enable businesses to design fully customized reports, aligning with specific operational and strategic goals.
3. Real-Time Analytics Constraints
- Challenge: Organizations often lack access to real-time insights from native Oracle Cloud ERP data analytics tools.
- Solution: Orbit’s solutions ensure real-time operational reporting, empowering teams to make timely, data-driven decisions.
4. Steep Learning Curve
- Challenge: Users unfamiliar with complex Oracle ERP reporting best practices may struggle with adoption and usage.
- Solution: Orbit Analytics simplifies reporting with self-service features, making Oracle Cloud ERP common questions easier to address without extensive IT intervention.
Case Study: Enhancing Supply Chain Visibility for a Global Aluminum Rolling Company
Challenge
One of Orbit’s customers, a world-leading aluminium rolling company, faced significant challenges in managing and analyzing key supply chain metrics. While leveraging Oracle EBS (Enterprise Business Suite) for enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, and supply chain management, the company struggled to gain actionable insights from its data due to the scale of its operations.
Specifically, the supply chain team required a reporting solution that could provide real-time tracking across the entire supply chain, from raw material procurement to the delivery of the final product. Critical metrics like coal and vehicle inbound data, yard and inventory management, and a consolidated summary of SCM data from Oracle EBS were particularly difficult to monitor effectively.
Solution
Orbit Analytics implemented its operational reporting platform to address these challenges. By seamlessly integrating with Oracle EBS, Orbit provided the company with a world-class reporting and data visualization solution. SCM leaders were empowered to track real-time data across multiple key areas, including:
- Coal inbound data
- Vehicle inbound data
- Yard management
- Inventory management
- Comprehensive SCM summaries from Oracle EBS
Orbit’s self-service reporting capabilities allowed the supply chain team to access and analyze this data without IT intervention, ensuring timely and accurate insights.
Outcome
With Orbit Analytics, the company significantly improved its supply chain visibility and decision-making processes. The platform provided real-time tracking across all critical areas, reducing operational inefficiencies and enhancing data-driven decisions. The success of the supply chain team inspired other departments, including finance and production, to adopt Orbit to track their metrics, resulting in a unified operational reporting framework across the organization.
Why Orbit is an Ideal Operational Reporting Solution for Oracle Fusion
For businesses seeking to maximize the potential of Oracle Cloud ERP reporting, Orbit Analytics offers unparalleled benefits. With its user-friendly interface, advanced customization options, and seamless integration with Oracle ERP analytics solutions, Orbit simplifies operational reporting for modern enterprises.
Orbit not only addresses common pain points but also aligns with Oracle ERP reporting best practices, enabling businesses to overcome challenges in data silos, real-time reporting, and tool adoption. Whether you need to answer Oracle ERP reporting FAQs or implement effective Oracle ERP reporting tools, Orbit is the ideal solution.
Request a demo today to get to know the full potential of Oracle Cloud ERP data analytics with Orbit Analytics and drive operational efficiency like never before!