InFocus 2024 Recap & Highlights
This year’s InFocus featured lots of love for JD Edwards, from incredible learning experiences, valuable networking opportunities, a unique customer appreciation event and connecting with new & longtime JDE friends ❤️
One of the things I enjoy most about the JDE community is the opportunity to gather in one place to share and experience all of the amazing customer stories and innovative solutions.
One customer story featured Amit Das, Senior Business Systems Analyst at Hadrian. Hadrian is a worldwide supplier of quality partitions and locker products with four North American manufacturing locations and 200 employees. We learned that Hadrian had been processing cycle counts through the distribution of scheduled batch reports and recounts required the redistribution of these reports which cost the team a lot of time and effort. With #LCNC technologies such as AtomIQ’s RFID solution, Hadrian realized an advanced mobile warehouse management system that improved data accuracy, streamlined processes and improved traceability.
We also heard the story of DifGen, a US-based global pharmaceutical company, who replaced the legacy SAP system with a new instance of JDE E1 9.2 as part of a corporate spin-off strategy within a challenging time frame. The company had struggled with siloed data and inefficient processes and outdated systems couldn’t keep pace with demand, leading to errors, delays and frustrated employees. They needed a modern ERP system, and ensuring user adoption and minimizing disruption was crucial. In addition, DifGen needed a solution that would help them automate their warehouse, planning and distribution operations. With JDE, OCI and other cutting-edge technologies, DifGen achieved a successful implementation that streamlined processes across departments to save time and resources.
Another session featured AG Jeans/Koos Manufacturing, a premier American denim jeans designer, manufacturer and distributor on how they improved efficiency, reduced costs and simplified development efforts with Oracle Integration Cloud, Oracle ATP and JD Edwards. In this interactive session, we also learned how the company moved from on-prem to OCI to achieve a significant performance boost and cost savings.
A session I was excited to attend was Accelerate Warehouse Efficiency from P2P to O2C using RFID & QR Codes, Cloud-Based Integrations and Mobility with AtomIQ. Along with an overview of AtomIQ’s WMS+, Integration Studio and Designer Studio, Nitin Choudhari, Co-Founder and VP of Product Management and Jonathan Cobb, Regional Solutions Director showcased two amazing demos – one interacting with the AtomIQ chatbot in Spanish and another reading hundreds of RFID tags simultaneously without line of sight needed.
Another super exciting session for leveling up JD Edwards featured 10 Game-Changing JDE Tools & Tips That Everyone is Raving Up 🪄 We explored several tools, technologies and approaches customers are leveraging to increase productivity, streamline & automate business processes, improve user experiences and modernize operations across ☑️ administration ☑️ functional ☑️job scheduling ☑️AP automation ☑️electronic signatures ☑️tax compliance ☑️reporting & data analytics ☑️mobility & warehouse automation ☑️data archiving & more.
There were 20+ conference sessions focused on cloud, including how JD Edwards customers are achieving improved financial and operational performance with Oracle Cloud EPM across planning, budgeting, forecasting and reporting on business performance and consolidating and finalizing financial results. In this session, RJ Linehan shared his expertise by providing a comprehensive overview and answering common FAQ’s such as What is Oracle EPM Cloud? What common challenges can it help me solve? Which business processes does it support?
Tonio Thomas, Director of Cloud & Technology Services, presented an insightful session around another hot topic – Best Practices for Securing Your JDE System Architecture. We explored new E1 security-related features and how they can be used to make your JDE system and applications more secure, as well as🔒Architecture Security (Protocols, Network) 🔒Data Protection (Backups, Encryption) 🔒Authentication (SSO, JWT, MFA) 🔒System Security 🔒Patching & Upgrades.
The final session of the conference was not one to miss! Chris Noack, IT ERP Applications Manager at Granite Construction and Andy Chase, VP of Customer Success & Advisory at CE, presented “Unlocking the Power of JD Edwards: Securing Leadership Support for Its Continued Relevance,” diving into strategies for unlocking the full potential of JD Edwards and insights into articulating the indispensable role JD Edwards plays in driving organizational success. This content also aligns perfectly with the 9.2 Capabilities Whitepaper, which is designed to help customers align JD Edwards capabilities to their unique business needs and equipping their C-Suite and key stakeholders to become JDE advocates.
A few more of my favorite highlights:
- A full room for the JDE Keynote session and case studies for how customers are enabling Digital Transformation via automation, emerging technologies, business process optimization, cloud applications, etc.
- Overview of innovative planned solutions for future Apps & Tools releases and new Sustainability Framework to support environmental aspect of ESG
- “Striking up the fun” at a special Customer Appreciation Party & Lucky Strike Social (thank you to our partners ReportsNow & ALLOut Security)
- Sharing value of the 9.2 Capabilities Whitepaper which includes R24 Apps & Tools and 1pg Orchestrator & Tools Enhancements Overview
- Our AtomIQ booth featuring low-code no-code platform for web/mobile apps, AI-driven cloud-based supply chain automation, ultimate iPaaS solution for integrations, Barcode/QR Code Scanning, RFID, NFC & More
- Our CE booth featuring customers who are delivering more ERP value via our JDE managed services, upgrades, implementations, short- and long-term projects, advisory services, etc; Smart Scheduler for advanced batch job scheduling, ERPSign for integrated eSignature workflows & more
- Sharing the ❤️ for JD Edwards with customers, CE team, Oracle, etc. & celebrating “JDE Superheroes” at the Halloween party 🦸
This conference was a fun and enjoyable way to reconnect with the JDE community and I can’t wait to do it again next year at Blueprint 4D, June 9-13 in Las Vegas and InFocus, September 9-11 in Denver.