Can we get information about Erpilic?
M. UGUR ILTER: Founded in 1969 by Ali Ericek, Erpilic is Turkey's third largest white meat manufacturer with 1,600 employees, 1,200 producers, 70 dealers, breeding and incubation facilities, feed plants, and a daily capacity of 250,000 slaughters with Bolu and Goynuk slaughter houses. In addition to white meat production, we also produce feed stuff under the brand of Eryem. With food readily packed and produced using high technology, we have increased our brand awareness and market share.

What is Erpilic's Information Technologies (IT) vision?
SEDAT KARAR: Our vision is to use high technology and work with international technology companies and their guaranteed products which will help employees in their work, create ways of doing business according to modern day's conditions and earn trust as a business partner.

Which needs were influential in starting the project?
M. UGUR ILTER: We had serious problems in reporting the results of the data collected in our ERP system. We needed to improve all financial business processes ranging from cash flow to budgeting. This was our initial starting point. Later on, there arised a need for reporting marketing, sales and warehousing information from a single center, and analysing data. As a result, we decided to work with Kora to implement Enterprise Performance Management and Analysis Portal.

Which technologies did Kora and Oracle provide for you?
SEDAT KARAR: We used to make reportings using our ERP system and a different MIS reporting tool. We were trying to make our analyses, too, according to the results of this reporting. Kora suggested us using Oracle data warehouse, Oracle business intelligence and APEX (HTMLDB), a web-based software development tool. When we examined these products, we saw that they exactly corresponded to our company's demands and were easy-to-use. So, we started our project with these products. The products and services we leveraged were Oracle BI Suite, Oracle Data Warehouse 10g (DWH), Oracle Application Express (APEX) and Oracle OWB (ETL).

What did business intelligence offer you?
M. UGUR ILTER: First, we experienced a visionary change process. Operational decisions were changed with Business Process Monitoring, and workflows were rearranged. A fast process has been started towards extending corporate culture and information sharing. Capabilities of Cash Flow Balance, Customer Risk Evaluation and Financial Process Monitoring were gained. Skills of instantly reaching the ERP data and quickly accomplishing the decisions made were improved.

Can you tell us about the development phase?
M. UGUR ILTER: The finance portal was completed in 3 months. But its wide-ranging deployment and adoption continued until the beginning of 2008. A large part of sales portal, too, has been completed. Our works still continue. To mention development phases of the project, Kora and Erpilic project teams were created, a roadmap was formed by dividing projects into phases, working groups were created for related phases and analysis meetings were made, data to be taken from the ERP system were documented as tables and shared with Kora consultants, the required analyses and report designs were made, tested and put into use.

What were the results you obtained?
M. UGUR ILTER: We now get the reports which we could not get before from our ERP system. Various results which we used to receive from some of our Excel-based works formerly became standard and consistent thanks to the reports we received using Oracle business intelligence products. Our workflows were reorganized. Our cash flow, budgeting and customer risk evaluations became more healthy and easier to do. We have reached 90 per cent of our goals. We are cooperating with our business partner Kora for the remaining 10 per cent.

Why did you choose Kora?
M. UGUR ILTER: We preferred Kora as our business partner because of its vision, approach to customer, know-how and work experience.

As Erpilic, why did you prefer Oracle?
SEDAT KARAR: We preferred Oracle for many reasons. It is a locomotive in technology, it has a rich portfolio of products, its products support the new technologies, it reads data from every kind of data resource, it offers simple and practical interfaces, ease of use and cost-effectiveness.

Mrs. Soysal, why is business intelligence important?
GONCA SOYSAL: A lot of reasons can be counted in line with enterprise needs. As you know, business needs change considerably from industry to industry. At Kora, we believe that every company which aims at becoming productive and profitable needs a business intelligence solution. Erpilic needed a business intelligence solution to extend corporate culture, share information in a correct and fast way, and report data with easy and correct results. We accomplished this.

What are the requirements for a correct business intelligence implementation?
GONCA SOYSAL: Companies should not only choose products which comply with their enterprise structure, are easy-to-use, offer multilingual utilization alternatives, and are cost-effective, but also take into account compliance between the preferred product and the business processes. Working with the right solution partner will increase trust in the investment made. These strategic projects and internal successes are possible only with the support and faith of the top management. Clean operational data at the beginning of the project, clarified expectations from the project and a well-defined project frame will shorten processes and play an important role in leading to a successful project.

How did you determine Erpilic's requirements?
GONCA SOYSAL: There were serious problems in reporting the results of the data collected in the ERP system. All financial business processes from cash flow to budgeting had to be improved. We classified these requirements communicated to us by Erpilic and started the project.

Can you mention the scope of the project?
KENAN PAMUK: At Erpilic, the goals were improving business processes with an innovative approach, reporting and analyzing ERP results easily and clearly, extending reports across the company according to limits of authority and with healthy results, and making reports easily accessible. The business intelligence project was grouped into phases and the first phase of the project, Financial Analysis Portal, was completed. After the utilization was extended within the company and positive results began to be collected, we moved on to other phases of the project. The aim of the project is to enable Erpilic Enterprise Performance Management and Analysis Portal to run seamlessly.

Can you mention technical features of the solution you offered?
SELIM TANRISEVER: In Erpilic business intelligence and APEX project, data are transferred from Progress, Erpilic's ERP system, to Oracle data warehouse. The data are updated at certain time intervals (for now it's 10 minutes) determined in line with the customer demand, and through front faces developed by our software experts with APEX, planning data are entered. The data read in ERP and entered via APEX are collected in Oracle data warehouse. These collected data become reportable and analyzable from Oracle BI Server in the business models developed by our business intelligence consultants. In Erpilic project, until now, special finance, sales and manufacturing applications have been developed over APEX.

Why Oracle?
GONCA SOYSAL: Researches carried out prove that Oracle definitely produces the best platform and solutions in business intelligence. Our company, talented in business intelligence, meets every customer demand thanks to Oracle business intelligence products and support.

What is the difference of this project that sets it apart from similar solutions?
KENAN PAMUK: First of all, we combined Oracle's end-to-end solutions with Kora's competency in business intelligence and data warehouse, and achieved a quick result. The Oracle support behind the product used has been an important factor in overcoming obstacles.

Mr. Peker, what differences does the solution you offered to Erpilic have in comparison to other applications?
MURAT PEKER: We provided Erpilic with Oracle's technological software layers. The data gathered from Erpilic's current database are collected in Oracle data warehouse. By using Oracle business intelligence product, the data are modelled according to Erpilic user needs. Through Oracle business intelligence dashboard which is a part of Oracle business intelligence, every user is given a special web interface, and the standard reports required by users are provided via this interface. If users want, they can create their own reports by using this dashboard. There is no need for coding to do this. The Oracle business intelligence solution publishes the information which should be seen by individual users within the limits of their authority on user's web interface, and the user can choose the information and create personal reports in desired formats (graphic, cross table, normal table, etc.).

What kind of a competitive advantage will Erpilic achieve with this project?
MURAT PEKER: In today's competition, the most important weapon of enterprises is making decisions in a fast, correct and effective way according to conditions of competition. In this way, companies gain the ability to make rapid and accurate manoeuvres according to present conditions, and achieve their goals in the shortest way possible. The Oracle business intelligence solution earns enterprises the ability to make quick, accurate and effective decisions with simple and effective interfaces targeted at users. Erpilic, too, has increased its competitive power considerably with advantages offered by the Oracle business intelligence solution.

Which technologies does Oracle business intelligence use and what are the future trends?
MURAT PEKER: The Oracle business intelligence product is not dependent on any data resource. It can integrate with any database and ERP application. So, there is no need for an extra investment for our customer to buy the Oracle business intelligence solution. Besides, the Oracle business intelligence solution can collect data from one or more data resources, and consolidate them to generate reports with high visual and graphical interfaces from a single interface. The Oracle business intelligence solution is developed in a way to meet especially future financial needs. Since Hyperion, a powerful reporting tool in finance, joined the Oracle product family, Oracle has reinforced its solutions for the finance industry. Today, Oracle Hyperion products can integrate with the Oracle business intelligence solution.

ABOUT ERPILIC

Aiming at becoming one of the world's renowned poultry producers by offering consumers the most quality products, Erpilic continues its operations started in 1969 with 1,600 employees, 1,200 producers and 70 dealers. Erpilic contributes to the national economy with new and unique products. With the goal of extending its market share with its facilities bearing quality certificate, and committed to quality with constant investment in technology and workforce, Erpilic offers both quality and taste in European standards thanks to its integrated production plants.