ORACLE E-BUSINESS SUITE

RELEASE VALUE PROPOSITION

Release 12.2
Asset Lifecycle Management

Prepared by E-Business Suite Product Management and Strategy

Last Updated: September 25, 2015

Copyright © 2011, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents

1. Disclaimer _______________________________________________________________________ 1
2. Introduction ______________________________________________________________________ 2
2.1. Purpose of Document__________________________________________________________________ 2
3. Asset Lifecycle Management Release 12.2 Value Proposition _______________________________ 3
3.1. Drive Best Practices by Supporting Better Processes _______________________________________ 3
3.2. Empower All Users ___________________________________________________________________ 3
3.3. Manage the Complete Asset Lifecycle ____________________________________________________ 4
4. What’s New in Oracle Enterprise Asset Management (eAM) _______________________________ 5
4.1. Streamlined Support for Business Flows__________________________________________________ 5
4.1.1. Enhanced Integration _________________________________________________________________________ 5
4.1.2. Flexible Workflow ___________________________________________________________________________ 5
4.2. Support for Industry Accepted Best Practices _____________________________________________ 6
4.2.1. New GIS Integration _________________________________________________________________________ 6
4.2.2. Enhanced Asset Visualization with Linear Asset Management _________________________________________ 6
4.2.3. Increased RCM Support _______________________________________________________________________ 6
4.2.4. Options for Work Order Scheduling _____________________________________________________________ 6
4.3. Improved Usability to Enable Easier Data Entry ___________________________________________ 7
4.3.1. Improved Usability of Work Execution ___________________________________________________________ 7
4.3.2. New User Interface to Manage Asset Move Process _________________________________________________ 7
4.3.3. Mobile Maintenance _________________________________________________________________________ 7
4.4. Improved User Efficiency and Productivity _______________________________________________ 8
4.4.1. Support for Asset Moves ______________________________________________________________________ 8
4.4.2. Better Employee Scheduling ___________________________________________________________________ 8
4.4.3. Support for Work Permits _____________________________________________________________________ 8
5. Introducing E-Business Suite Information Discovery for Oracle Enterprise Asset Management __ 9
5.1.1. Improved Maintenance Planning and Asset Utilization _______________________________________________ 9
5.1.2. Reduced Maintenance Costs ___________________________________________________________________ 9
5.1.3. Improve Resource Efficiency __________________________________________________________________ 10
5.1.4. Visibility Across Organizations ________________________________________________________________ 10
6. What’s New in Oracle Asset Tracking ________________________________________________ 11
6.1. Streamlined Integration ______________________________________________________________ 11
6.1.1. Enhanced Integration ________________________________________________________________________ 11
6.1.2. Additional Business Flow Support ______________________________________________________________ 11
6.2. Improved Usability to Enable Easier Data Entry __________________________________________ 11
6.2.1. New Interface and Fewer Key Strokes ___________________________________________________________ 11
7. Industry Enhancements ____________________________________________________________ 12

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition ii

 7.1. Life Sciences ________________________________________________________________________ 12
7.1.1. Oracle Enterprise Asset Management ___________________________________________________________ 12
7.2. Utilities ____________________________________________________________________________ 12
7.2.1. Oracle Enterprise Asset Management ___________________________________________________________ 12
7.3. Public Sector ________________________________________________________________________ 12
7.3.1. Oracle Enterprise Asset Management ___________________________________________________________ 12

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition iii

1. Disclaimer
This Release Value Proposition (RVP) describes the key benefits of select product
features proposed for the specified release of the Oracle E-Business Suite. This
document describes new or changed functionality between E-Business Suite 11i.10 and
12.2. It is intended solely to help you assess the business benefits and value of
upgrading to the specified release of the Oracle E-Business Suite.
This document in any form, software or printed matter, contains proprietary information
that is the exclusive property of Oracle. Your access to and use of this confidential
material is subject to the terms and conditions of your Oracle Software License and
Service Agreement, which has been executed and with which you agree to comply. This
document and information contained herein may not be disclosed, copied, reproduced or
distributed to anyone outside Oracle without prior written consent of Oracle. This
document is not part of your license agreement nor can it be incorporated into any
contractual agreement with Oracle or its subsidiaries or affiliates.

This document is for informational purposes only and is intended solely to assist you in
planning for the implementation and upgrade of the product features described. It is not
a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied
upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any
features or functionality described in this document remains at the sole discretion of
Oracle.

Due to the nature of the product architecture, it may not be possible to safely include all
features described in this document without risking significant destabilization of the
code.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Purpose of Document 1
2. Introduction

2.1. Purpose of Document

This document describes the value associated with the new features and enhancements
planned for Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 (inclusive of features and
enhancements from Releases 12 and 12.1). It is a roadmap intended to help you assess
the business benefits of Release 12.2 and plan your information technology (IT) projects
and investments.

The new features and enhancements included in this document are grouped by product.
Our goal is to ensure that you leverage technology to its fullest to increase the efficiency
and effectiveness of your operations. Please note that the final release may not include
every feature discussed in this document, and a specific feature may become part of a
different application or have a different product name from that cited in this document.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Purpose of Document 2
3. Asset Lifecycle Management Release 12.2 Value
Proposition
The Oracle Asset Lifecycle Management (ALM) family of applications consists of
Oracle Enterprise Asset Management (eAM) and Oracle Asset Tracking (OAT). The
ALM applications provide a comprehensive set of modules to manage the entire life
cycle of an asset. The functions range from asset development (construction and/or
acquisition), installation (operations management), maintenance planning (Preventive,
Reactive and Condition-Based), capacity planning (parts and labor), work scheduling
(materials, tools and human resources), work execution (in-house as well as external
repair), cost management, capitalization, project management, billing, and asset
retirement. Keeping assets healthy through an integrated suite of products is key
especially during an economic downturn as replacing assets is costly. Knowing when to
replace versus repair an asset is critical to informed decision-making and ALM provides
the information necessary. The information is gathered in ALM from the people who
work closely with the Assets (Maintenance, Facilities Engineers, and Financial
Analysts). Providing a system that is easy to use is key to empowering these users to be
able to find and analyze the data in order to make better decisions about their Assets.

The Oracle E-Business Suite ALM Release 12.2 (inclusive of Release 12) is focused on
the following key areas:

 Drive best practices by supporting better processes

 Empower all users

 Manage the complete asset lifecycle

3.1. Drive Best Practices by Supporting Better Processes

Unlike in the realm of Accounting, there are few generally accepted principles in ALM,
however, there are best practices that have been honed and respected by users over the
years. These practices can vary by environment or industry depending on different
regulatory bodies and business flows. ALM supports a number of best practices through
support of flexible business processes, resulting in improved user efficiency and
productivity. This is accomplished by providing the right information on the right screen
for the right user. For example, a user is searching for Item information managed in
Inventory while logged into eAM or when querying the Costing information associated
to an Asset. Transparent to the user is the more streamlined integration enhancing the
suite solution.

3.2. Empower All Users

Improved usability leads to increased user acceptance and translates into timelier and
more accurate information entered into the system. Introduced in this release are a
number of user interface enhancements reducing the overall number of clicks and pages
required to add data.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Drive Best Practices by Supporting Better Processes 3
 A byproduct of this benefit is that the users are able to spend more time analyzing the
data as opposed to simply entering it; ALM becomes more of decision support system as
opposed to a computerized maintenance management system.

3.3. Manage the Complete Asset Lifecycle

ALM applications, as the acronym suggests, manage the complete life cycle of an asset
from “cradle to grave.” This all-encompassing flow involves many constituencies from
Maintenance to Operations to Finance, who are responsible for numerous business flows
and supporting applications. In many organizations, various disparate systems are
required to achieve the same result as natively enabled through Oracle ALM.

Oracle ALM helps these different users collaborate on the status and health of an asset
by enabling and enhancing the integration between the applications. This reduces
discrepancies and data entry associated with maintaining multiple systems and is the
foundation for a single source of asset truth.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Manage the Complete Asset Lifecycle 4
4. What’s New in Oracle Enterprise Asset Management
(eAM)
An enterprise may have many different types of Assets that need to be maintained and
managed. The different types of assets – such as fixed plant or mobile equipment – have
differing characteristics including Preventive Maintenance schedules, criticality, and
meters. Customers need a flexible, integrated product to address all these needs; Oracle
Enterprise Asset Management is that comprehensive solution.

In Release 12.2, Oracle Enterprise Asset Management delivers benefits in these focus
areas:

 Streamlined support for business flows

 Support for industry accepted best practices

 Improved usability to enable easier data entry

 Improved user efficiency and productivity

4.1. Streamlined Support for Business Flows

In component solutions, ALM business flows have to be supported via clunky interfaces.
In an integrated solution like Oracle ALM, this support is built in not bolted on and is
enhanced with every release. Business processes within a particular application as well
as between applications are streamlined to insure the most logical and efficient flow.
4.1.1. Enhanced Integration

Time is of the essence in Maintenance in that availability of the right parts for the job is
critical in planning maintenance work. When trying to plan a job, Maintenance has to be
able to identify the right material on-line. Maintenance can now search Inventory based
on Manufacturer, Manufacturer Part Number or Item Cross Reference using the Make
Item Cross Reference Search Capability feature, which will expedite this process.
Another feature, Specify Source Supply Subinventory for eAM Work Orders, provides
more accurate sourcing of material, which will increase wrench time by insuring material
is available closer to the actual work.

Maintenance often gets involved in project type work to construct or re-build assets.
These costs need to be capitalized in order to update the value of the Asset in Fixed
Assets, which is often a manual exercise. Work Order Cost Capitalization automates
this process, which is key to supporting full Asset Lifecycle Management and providing
accurate cost information to make key decisions like whether to replace or rebuild an
Asset.

4.1.2. Flexible Workflow

It is near impossible to support all business flows required in the various ALM
environments. By enabling Workflow for Work Orders, ALM now has a layer of
flexibility to support a number of different vertical requirements. For example, it handles
Work Order approval processing, which is key in regulated environments and those with

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Streamlined Support for Business Flows 5
 safety requirements. Generally, it will provide greater control of the overall Work Order
processing.

4.2. Support for Industry Accepted Best Practices

Related to ‘Streamlined Support for Business Flows’ is ‘Support for Industry Accepted
Best Practices’. Given the horizontal nature of ALM solutions, there are few commonly
accepted ‘best practices’. But within certain environments and segments, there are a
number of critical ones that can often be leveraged across industry to achieve a
competitive advantage.
4.2.1. New GIS Integration
The ability to display assets on a map is critical in service-related maintenance
environments or where assets are geographically dispersed. Integration with two leading
Graphical Information Systems (GIS), ESRI ArcGIS and Google Maps, enables Oracle
eAM users to easily identify where their eAM assets (and Oracle Asset Tracking
instances) are located and to route and deploy maintenance to service them. Besides
these out-of-the-box integrations, customers will also have the ability through
customization to display assets on any web based map viewer which is based on HTML
technology (for example, Oracle Spatial MapViewer).
4.2.2. Enhanced Asset Visualization with Linear Asset Management

Oracle eAM supports Linear Asset Management to address the business needs for
industries such as Oil & Gas (pipelines), Utilities (transmission and distribution
lines), and Public Sector (roadways, rails). When creating linear assets in eAM,
users can attach a Linear Reference Method, optionally define a Linear Asset
Segment, and map the asset / segment to a GIS route or geometry. Linear asset
attributes from GIS domains such as properties and elements can be defined and
associated to the assets so that they can be used as reference details while planning
and executing maintenance work on them.

4.2.3. Increased RCM Support

Many maintenance organizations perform quality assurance on their Preventive
Maintenance schedules by reviewing them regularly. This information is often audited
to insure safety and regulatory compliance. Two fields have been added to the PM
schedule definition- 'Last Reviewed Date' and 'Reviewer' to Enhance the PM Schedule
Definition and better support Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM).

4.2.4. Options for Work Order Scheduling

Although Oracle eAM has a powerful Work Order Scheduling module, both Oracle
Primavera and Microsoft Projects are industry accepted 'tools' in Maintenance; users tend
to be well versed in one product or the other and, as such, are comfortable using it. Prior
to release 12.1.1, Microsoft Projects was only integrated through Oracle Projects. With
the introduction of Microsoft Projects Integration with Work Order Scheduling,
Oracle eAM Work Orders can now be directly integrated with this Microsoft Projects.
In release 12.1.2, we leveraged the MS Projects integration to integrate Primavera P6
with eAM Work Orders through the Primavera Integration with Work Order
Scheduling.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Support for Industry Accepted Best Practices 6
 4.3. Improved Usability to Enable Easier Data Entry
Generally speaking, Maintenance people’s core competency is not computers or
software. Although these are becoming more and more ‘tools of the trade’, wrenches
and pliers are still the preferred skills used to measure the trade’s person’s value. A goal
of Oracle eAM is to improve the system’s ease of use with every release by reducing
overall number of screens, pages, and mouse clicks necessary to complete a record or
process.

4.3.1. Improved Usability of Work Execution

Work execution is a key process in Oracle Enterprise Asset Management that

encompasses many areas and is where many users spend the majority of their time. As
such, it is an area of focus for improved usability.

Prior to this release, creating a Work Order with materials and resources required
accessing multiple pages which was time consuming. Single Page for Work Order
Creation and Planning reduces the number of clicks and pages required to complete the
same flow thus reducing the overall time to get the problem reported, responded to and
fixed.

Many Maintenance environments have mobile users who require hand-held access to the
system. By providing the Wireless Maintenance User Workbench, users can
immediately report failures and update existing work they are responsible for on a PDA-
device. This will provide for more real time updates and more accurate information.

Although an objective of Maintenance is to reduce the percentage reactive work and

increase the percentage of planned work, there will always be emergency work. When
this type of work occurs, getting it reported in a system is not a priority – getting it fixed
is. Therefore, the ability to add what is often referred to as 'after-the-fact' Work Orders is
vital to insuring all information is logged. Express Work provides a quick way to report
work that has been completed without any planning.

4.3.2. New User Interface to Manage Asset Move Process

In environments where Asset moves and transfers are common, it is crucial to have a
user interface that simplifies the transaction intensive process. The Asset Move
Workbench supports the process described in 4.4.1 below.

4.3.3. Mobile Maintenance

Oracle Mobile Maintenance for Oracle E-Business Suite allows maintenance

technicians to view and execute maintenance work on the go. The Mobile
Maintenance app allows users to perform the following tasks on Android and iOS-
based devices:

• Complete assigned work, including issuing material and charging time

• Complete operations and work orders

• View asset work history, failures, meter readings, and location

• Record asset meter readings

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Improved Usability to Enable Easier Data Entry 7
 • Create simple work orders and work requests

• Collect quality and inspection plan information

4.4. Improved User Efficiency and Productivity

By products of the aforementioned focus areas should include Improved User Efficiency
and Productivity. The introduction of new capabilities can also benefit the user by
addressing functions and features previously not supported in the solution.
4.4.1. Support for Asset Moves
Prior to Release 12, transferring Assets from one organization to another was
cumbersome. Transferring or sharing Assets in Maintenance is a common practice in
certain environments like rental organizations. It is often cheaper to ship an Asset to
another site or plant rather than have a new Asset purchased or built. With the
convergence of the two data models (Install Base and Enterprise Asset Management),
Assets are now treated similarly to Items and can be transacted more easily. By
leveraging Asset Tracking's capabilities that are now available from the convergence,
Maintenance has much greater visibility of their Assets.
Transactable Assets allows users to move assets in and out of Inventory, transfer
Assets from one inventory organization to another, and transfer Assets from one external
location to another external location.

4.4.2. Better Employee Scheduling

Determining who is available and eligible for a job is often a daunting task for
Maintenance Managers. They need to know the duration of the Work Order, how many
hours their staff has already been assigned, whether the job requires specific skill sets
and more. Employee Assignment Page, the Crew Schedule screen, improves
maintenance efficiency by helping maintenance supervisors, planners, and schedulers to
assign employees based on time availability at the individual level.

4.4.3. Support for Work Permits

Permits are often a statutory requirement related to safety in the work place which
are hazardous in nature and are mandated by the regulatory authorities. As such,
there are often significant fines imposed when permits are not properly used in
such environments. The introduction of Work Permits as phase one of our Safety
Management will help users reduce the administrative lead time required to create
and manage this aspect of safety management.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Improved User Efficiency and Productivity 8
5. Introducing E-Business Suite Information Discovery for
Oracle Enterprise Asset Management
Oracle E-Business Suite Information Discovery for Oracle Enterprise Asset Management
provides a solution that allows users to quickly find the information they need to respond
to real-time issues and opportunities. Leveraging Oracle Endeca technology commonly
used in internet shopping sites, these unique business applications allow users to “shop”
for issues and opportunities in current operational data, and then drill to the relevant
application pages to take action. With Oracle E-Business Suite Information Discovery
for Oracle Enterprise Asset Management, users can focus on transactions that require
their immediate attention and have a measurable impact on the business, driving revenue
and reducing costs.

Oracle E-Business Suite Information Discovery for Oracle Enterprise Asset Management
leverages the cutting edge Oracle Endeca technologies, such as in-memory data
discovery, type ahead Google like search for enterprise work order information,
interactive summary charts and tag clouds, guided navigation for data exploration and
refinements, results presented in a rich modern user interface with mobility that can
significantly improve the user productivity and efficiency.

Oracle Enterprise Asset Management Information Discovery for Oracle Enterprise Asset
Management provides simple intuitive data review and analysis capabilities of complex
maintenance data. It provides unique, easy to use powerful search capability for the
maintenance managers and supervisors to instantly find answers for ad hoc questions that
are otherwise hard to find answers in real time.

The various user roles such as Maintenance Supervisor/Planner using Information

Discovery for Oracle Enterprise Asset Management have the following benefits:
• Improved Maintenance Planning and Asset Utilization
• Reduced Maintenance Costs
• Improved Resource Efficiency
• Visibility Across Organizations

5.1.1. Improved Maintenance Planning and Asset Utilization

Users have access to various information discovery features as well as tools to slice and
dice data for better maintenance planning. This includes improving scheduling
compliance, reducing resource overload and making certain that materials are available
when needed. Users can also increase asset utilization by identifying assets with frequent
failures and drilling in to determine root cause.

5.1.2. Reduced Maintenance Costs

Using features available in Information Discovery, users can review and control
maintenance costs in various ways. Examples include:
- Evaluating whether to continue to maintain an asset or suggest replacement if the assets
repair cost exceeds asset net worth.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Improved User Efficiency and Productivity 9
 - Make sourcing decisions that prevent excess inventory.
- Utilizing warranty benefits for assets eligible for warranty claims.

5.1.3. Improve Resource Efficiency

Access to better work and resource data allows for more efficient maintenance
scheduling. Users can get a summary view of their schedule compliance and take
appropriate action to ensure work is completed on time and the work load is balanced
appropriately amongst resources available.

5.1.4. Visibility Across Organizations

Several Information Discovery screens allows users to view Work Orders, Work
Requests, Assets, and Inventory transactions across as many organizations as permitted
by security access control.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Improved User Efficiency and Productivity 10
6. What’s New in Oracle Asset Tracking
Oracle Asset Tracking is the foundation for Asset Lifecycle Management. Asset Tracking
captures all the transactions associated with an Asset from ‘cradle to grave’ and provides a
centralized repository of the Asset information.

In Release 12.2, Oracle Asset Tracking delivers benefits in these focus areas:

 Streamlined integration

 Improved usability to enable easier data entry

6.1. Streamlined Integration

The key to Oracle Asset Tracking ability to support an Asset’s life cycle lies in the touch
points it has the other products in the suite.

6.1.1. Enhanced Integration

Oracle Asset Tracking’s overall integration was enhanced in a number of ways in this
release. Asset Sale feature supports a new business flow by enabling support for the
sale of an Asset through Oracle Order Management. With Asset Retirements, users no
longer have to go to Fixed Assets to retire an Asset. Project transfer functionality is
enabled from the Oracle Asset Tracking UI via Project to Project Material Transfers.
New and enhanced APIs were also introduced to support third party integration.
6.1.2. Additional Business Flow Support

By facilitating the creation of an OAT Asset, Fixed Asset Association to an Item

supports a new business flow (PO for a described item- to receipt- to invoice - to FA -
without an Item ID).

Prior to Grouping of Serialized Items, creating assets was labor intensive and prone to
data inaccuracies. Users now have a choice of grouping serialized items into one fixed
asset received in the same financial year.

6.2. Improved Usability to Enable Easier Data Entry

6.2.1. New Interface and Fewer Key Strokes

Users find it difficult to comprehend the complexity associated with many Asset
relationships. Graphical Display of Network Relationship enhances the usability of
Asset Configuration relationships by providing graphical representation of instance
relationships. (This feature is also available from Oracle eAM’s Asset Hierarchy page.)

With the introduction of Oracle Asset Tracking (Install Base) Mass Update capability,
updates are now less time consuming and more accurate.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Streamlined Integration 11
7. Industry Enhancements
ALM Release 12.2 provides industry-specific functionality in the following areas:

 Life Sciences

 Utilities

7.1. Life Sciences

Life Sciences include many highly regulated environments that are prone to audits.
These industries are required by law to comply with different regulations. This
compliance applies to their software systems, as well as the business processes.

7.1.1. Oracle Enterprise Asset Management

For many pharmaceutical companies and the like, support for 21 CFR Part 11 is required
in their maintenance system. With the introduction of Electronic Signature and
Electronic Record, Oracle eAM can now support key life sciences/pharmaceutical
regulatory requirements. Support for 21 CFR Part 11 Requirements is provided during
Work Order completion

7.2. Utilities
7.2.1. Oracle Enterprise Asset Management
Often Transmission & Distribution (T&D) Utility environments are tasked with
repetitive-type construction work. Oracle eAM now supports Construction Estimating
via the introduction of the Construction Units (often referred to as Compatible Units).
Construction Units are standardized, repetitive units of work, which involve labor,
material, and equipment and are used to plan different types of jobs. Through this
feature users can create templates to be used for estimation and generating Work Orders,
with modifications that a particular project might require. Although this feature appeals
mostly to Utility customers in T&D, similar functionality can be used in other industries
such as Gas, Water, and/or Construction and can also be modeled to perform shutdown
planning.

7.3. Public Sector

7.3.1. Oracle Enterprise Asset Management
All public sector organizations, such as municipal, state, provincial and federal
government organizations are required to encumber or reserve funds that have
been committed to a supply purchase order. Therefore, prior to approval of any
purchasing document, the available funds must be checked and reserved against
the available budget for the specified account code combination. Encumbrance
Accounting for Purchase Orders with ‘Shop Floor’ Destination is essential for
budgetary control in such environments.

Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12.2 Release Value Proposition Life Sciences 12