Challenges
•Integrate data from stand-alone accounting and spreadsheet applications to facilitate information exchanges between departments and eliminate manual data consolidation
•Increase overall efficiency by managing assets, inventory, and payables using an integrated software solution
•Consolidate financial reporting on key business processes across the bank’s headquarters and 35 subsidiaries
•Eliminate complex manual procurement procedures for 35 branches, including more than 400 supplier invoices per month for items ranging from hardware to kitchen supplies
•Establish proper system controls along the supply chain—including inventory, purchasing, and payables—so that manual intervention is not required to establish relationships between steps
•Implement crucial reporting procedures, based on segregation of roles and duties, to improve financial controls and reconciliation procedures
Implementation Process
Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.1 replaced an in-house fixed asset and inventory system and a bank subsidiary’s off-the-shelf accounting system. Installed in just five months, the new accounting system includes an online interface that enables the subsidiary to communicate and validate transactions with the bank’s core system using Web services. It also includes end-of-day batch processing through an interface for inventory, fixed assets, purchase orders, and accounts mapping. The new system transfers transaction data at the end of each day from the ERP system to the bank’s core system, which also includes a validation mechanism. Oracle Partner Widestreams, and the bank’s staff—ten of whom attended Oracle training and workshops—completed the implementation in just five months, meeting a mandated deadline to be running for the 2012 fiscal year. BLC Bank was the first Lebanese bank to deploy Oracle E-Business Suite, and its implementation will support the bank’s growth strategy for the next five to ten years.
A word from BLC Bank
“BLC Bank sal needed a best-of breed enterprise resource planning solution we could quickly tailor to meet our financial services needs. The project was challenging due to its complexity and tight timeline.With the help of Oracle and Oracle Partner Widestreams, we went live on Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.1 in just five months, helping to integrate our accounting practices and automate our procurement processes.”–Gaby Awad, Project Management Office Head, BLC Bank sal.