Powering Global Growth on One Cloud Platform
The shift toward cloud applications is changing the relationship between the IT and business functions. With cloud technology, IT professionals are shifting from being builders of custom software to integrators and business strategists. Historically, IT departments were conditioned to the asynchronous model of the business providing requirements of how they want the system to work. Then, IT created custom-built solutions to meet those requirements. Furthermore, many companies convinced themselves that their customizations were a “competitive advantage.”
The cloud offers significant advantages over traditional on-premise products; however, in order to achieve these benefits a different implementation approach is necessary. Cloud implementations are solution driven – instead of looking at requirements and designing a solution, companies leverage the best practices designed within the system. The focus is on optimizing the business process and not customizing the product. The new way of working requires different skills and a closer relationship with the business to discover how to best utilize the digital capabilities to derive more business value. It is important that clients adopt the leading practices and functionality which are built into the applications. This means companies need to harmonize processes across the enterprise and ensure the people in the organization can adapt to the new ways of working.
There are many strategies to get to the cloud, and when it comes to driving Enterprise wide transformations there are different deployment options. Some organizations choose a “Phased + Integrated” approach, deploying functionality in the Cloud in stages and integrating to existing traditional solutions. Others might pick a “Business Pilot” site, followed by rollouts for the rest of the organization. Another option, “Functional Deployments,” involves deploying in functional silos that can be controlled and augmented with future deployments. The final strategy for a cloud transformation is a full rollout. Our customer, Cohu, decided that a Full Rollout – or Big Bang – approach was right for them and mitigated the higher risk with effective change management and testing.
Cohu offers a broad portfolio of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and services for back-end semiconductor handling, test, and inspection. The company, which is headquartered in Poway, CA, has 3500+ employees and focuses on R&D, manufacturing, sales, technical support and service operations throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Cohu evolved through a series of acquisitions that joined three distinct companies. By 2017 each site was still working largely independently of each other, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to work effectively across regions and across functions as each company operated with different ERP systems, data and ways of working.
These complexities were hindering Cohu’s ability to work efficiently and scale their operations globally. With aspirations of continuing to grow through acquisition, Cohu’s existing fragmented process and systems architecture was obstructing their goals. Cohu developed a strategy to establish a common, scalable business and IT platform which would allow them to expand and grow their business.
“The primary goal was to harmonize and unify ways of working for all business units and team members in Cohu, while utilizing one common system across the globe. We wanted to realize the Vision of “ONE Cohu”, and even named the project “ProjectONE.” – Craig Halterman, CIO, Cohu
Simplification was at the heart of ProjectONE and Cohu made the decision to invest in Oracle Cloud applications, which are rich in functionality, built on industry leading practices and are continually updated and improved. Cohu committed to leveraging the out-of-the-box features enterprise-wide to reduce complexity within the company. To manage change, Cohu utilized Inspirage’s structured change management methodology. We drive change management from a supply chain knowledge base with seasoned supply chain consultants who understand Oracle and the process domains. Our change management services use Inspirage’s proven proprietary framework and tools.
While Oracle products allow for customizations, and the Cohu Executive Leadership team was committed to the principles of zero customizations and transitioning to industry best practices. Of these decisions, Craig Halterman said, “We worked closely with our implementation partner, Inspirage, who guided us through what those best practices were and helped the teams develop functional processes and configurations which suited our business.”
As an Engineer to Order company, the ability to work seamlessly between Engineering, Sales, Supply Chain and Finance is key to Cohu’s business. A great deal of time was spent working through cross-functional process flows ensuring the end-to-end processes were clear and handoffs between departments understood. These processes formed the basis of all project activities from conference room pilots and user acceptance testing through to end-user training, at all times driving home the message of “ONE Cohu.”
Cohu’s Big Bang approach is not the only option for a cloud transformation and may not be the right choice for your organization. Many prefer to adopt more of a phased approach to moving to the cloud platform and Inspirage can help guide you toward the correct strategy for your specific requirements. Companies need a partner who understands their goals and will help you leverage the agility and capabilities necessary to be leaders in today’s changing economy.
To learn more about how Cohu made the move to Oracle Cloud watch our webinar or find out more about some of our other clients’ journeys.
