Application Consulting Case Study

About Rosendin Electric

Rosendin Electric is an engineering, power and communications provider and the largest privately held electrical contractor in the U.S. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Rosendin Electric has expanded steadily, providing electrical design, installation and maintenance services to a wide range of industries, projects and communities. From the company’s ownership structure to its sustainable business practices, Rosendin Electric keeps people-first values at the core of a cutting-edge company.

Situation

Rosendin Electric’s information systems, based on the Oracle E-Business Suite, did address the flow of material orders and vendor invoices but the process was manual. Following procure-to-pay procedures common in the construction industry, Rosendin Electric placed supply orders to vendors by phone, fax and email, and entered order information into its accounting system afterward. The company needed a way to maintain quality service and valued relationships without compromising its profitability.

Solution

Rosendin Electric chose the Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g’s Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) Suite solution to integrate procure-to-pay processes with its top vendors through electronic data interchange (EDI). The EDI solution communicates with Rosendin Electric’s existing Oracle E-Business Suite to reduce manual processes. The company selected AT&T to complete the systems integration. AT&T has moved ahead in phases, implementing automation from purchase order and invoice exchange to electronic product mapping. The solution gives Rosendin Electric a repeatable standard for communication between internal and external data systems, and a streamlined structure for sustainable, integrated growth. Forecasted savings total over one million dollars.

Starting With the Right Structure

Founded in 1919, Rosendin Electric began as Rosendin Electric Motor Works, providing electrical wiring and utility infrastructure to the agricultural community of Santa Clara/San Jose, California. Throughout the next 90 years, the company grew to become a comprehensive electrical contractor with offices in five states, providing electrical engineering, power and communications services.

Today, Rosendin Electric helps people, businesses and communities achieve safe, convenient and high-quality living conditions through innovative electrical installation and maintenance. Services include design analysis and consulting, on-site prefabrication of building supplies and the development of environmentally sustainable practices. Rosendin Electric works with a range of customers including independent contractors and construction firms, large companies, and state and city agencies.

“We are more than just electrical contractors,” said Anand Tamboli, Director of Business Applications. “We build data centers, wind farms and solar manufacturing panel buildings and install solar photovoltaic systems. We also work on big electric contract related projects for airports, hospitals and transportation systems.”

What’s built right, works right. Rosendin Electric’s values as a company extend into the services it provides and how it provides them.

‘As a Team’

While Rosendin Electric had already adopted a business systems infrastructure with the Oracle E-Business Suite, its procure-to-pay processes weren’t optimized in the system. The company chose to update these processes using Oracle’s SOA Suite. This EDI solution connects Rosendin Electric's system to its vendors for automated exchange of time-sensitive information.

With the SOA plan in mind, Rosendin Electric next needed an experienced company to implement and integrate the new software into its existing IT system. “Most of the software solutions out there are a challenge because they aren’t customized for our industry,” said Tamboli. The solution was going to require strategy and teamwork. After a competitive search, Rosendin Electric chose to work with the professional services team from AT&T Hosting and Application Services.

AT&T came to Rosendin Electric with the knowledge necessary to innovate IT systems solutions using Oracle’s software. “We bought the Oracle product, but how that is integrated with our E-Business Suite is key,” said Tamboli. “We look to get the best bang for the buck,” he added. “I weighed quality, technical resources, project management skills and price. AT&T was our choice.”

The AT&T professional services staff was eager to share its knowledge with Rosendin Electric’s employees, creating a team approach that led to success through the project’s completion. Tasks included installing the new application, the technical stack and all required components, setting up servers and connections to vendors, and handling translations.

“Though minor issues in the implementation process were expected, I was more impressed with how we resolved those issues as a team,” said Tamboli.“AT&T believed in making this project successful and looked at a long-term approach.” The first and most critical phase was completed within Rosendin Electric’s timeline, in just eight weeks and within budget.

Automating Processes

The Oracle SOA Solution electronically connects Rosendin Electric’s procure-to-pay process with its top vendors, automating the exchange of information. “Now data is electronically coming and going and it’s directly being inserted into Oracle,” said Tamboli. Purchase orders and invoices are sent and received in real time through shared FTP sites. Automated e-mails notify Rosendin Electric’s staff of new invoices and duplicate copies are instantly deleted. By eliminating time-consuming and error-prone paperwork, Rosendin Electric can now easily meet deadlines and qualify for payment discounts.

The majority of the company’s supply orders go to six vendors. Rosendin Electric began the update and integration process with the top two. “If we make sure that we don’t miss entering any invoices between one million and 10 million dollars on time and are within the discount terms, this project is paid off,” Tamboli said.

The effectiveness of the Oracle SOA Solution led Rosendin Electric to continue with the second phase of the project: automated product mapping. Under the old system, information was subject to the vagaries of individual interactions. “Sometimes our purchasing agents may call something a gearbox and the company sending us the invoice will call the same thing a switchgear,” explained Tamboli. AP clerks had to search out discrepancies between what was ordered and what was listed on the invoice.

The new system will automatically check and match orders, invoices and shipments using UPC product codes. “When the invoice comes in electronically it will match electronically with the purchase order,” explained Tamboli. “That will be another additional huge savings in our processes.” Rosendin Electric’s procure-to-pay system will be streamlined from start to finish, ensuring accuracy, timely response and increased profitability.

Viable Strategies

Rosendin Electric’s success with its integrated IT system sets the stage for a third phase of the project that will significantly reduce excess paper use and help the company reach its green goals. Under the old system, paper invoices were mailed to Rosendin Electric. “We would open those envelopes, scan the hard copy invoices into our imaging solution and then map it to Oracle,” explained Tamboli.  “We are going to use the SOA technology to create an image from the data and not have this hard copy come to us.” The system will automatically image invoices and translate the data into Rosendin Electric’s Oracle system.

“We believe in a green approach,” said Tamboli. Through Santa Clara County, where Rosendin Electric is headquartered, the company is a Certified Green Business Provider and a Founding Member of the USGBC Silicon Valley Chapter. From jobsite recycling of construction materials to developing wind farms for sustainable energy production, Rosendin Electric strives for responsible growth. Even before the implementation of the third phase, the Oracle SOA Solution helped the company achieve that.

As a repeatable solution, the automated EDI system is designed to expand with Rosendin Electric’s business. “When we upgrade to R12 we will just have to do minimal work to make the SOA suite work with it. Hopefully, plug and play,” Tamboli said. “I won’t have to rewrite the entire code or do any lengthy customizations or development.” New vendors are easily integrated into the system, connecting new and old communication processes and creating structural interdependence between valued business partners.

Using the AT&T/Oracle SOA Solution, Rosendin Electric has created a new business infrastructure that helps it streamline operations, improve communication with vendors and strengthen the bottom line.