Satyam implements Oracle for FairPrice

Satyam Computer Services Limited and Oracle Singapore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oracle Corporation, today announced that NTUC FairPrice ('FairPrice'), Singapore's leading supermarket retailer, has gone 'live' on the Oracle e-business suite.

This successful project utilised Oracle e-business suite 11i capabilities to integrate FairPrice's separate back-room finance systems into a unified, state-of-the-art billing, accounts and cash management software platform.

Prior to this, FairPrice's accounts for its various subsidiaries were kept in separate systems, and information consolidation was done manually.

With sales of over S$1 billion per year, a staff strength of about 4,000 spread out over 14 operating units, and more than 100 stores across Singapore island, this state-of-the-art solution will ensure that processes are more streamlined and efficient.

FairPrice upgraded from Oracle e-business suite 11.0.3 to Oracle e-business suite 11i. The modules included Oracle general ledger, Oracle accounts payable, Oracle accounts receivable, Oracle fixed assets and Oracle cash management, as well as some custom-developed programs associated with applications from Oracle.

"We are glad that Satyam's expertise in Oracle 11i and its unique right sourcing model helped compress the time required for upgrade to four months and allowed better efficiency and output for the accounts staff of FairPrice," Vijay Prasad, senior vice-president (enterprise applications and business intelligence solutions), Satyam, said.

"The upgrade helped us synchronise all our enterprise databases to a single version of software and on the same hardware, saving significant costs by reducing system administration, hardware and software maintenance costs. Various subsidiaries now share the same set of books, allowing us to manage our finances in real time," said FairPrice's group chief information officer Bernard Chew. "As a co-operative, FairPrice is constantly seeking ways to serve the needs of our members. We are convinced thattechnological innovation is a critical factor to keep operating costs low, while also providing real-time business information in order to help us make better business decisions."

"NTUC FairPrice's use of Oracle for its business applications is a strong statement of support for Oracle e-business suite's capabilities that are helping companies in retail and other industries get more leverage from an integrated, consolidated information infrastructure," said Stanley Chew, managing director for Oracle Singapore. "We are pleased that NTUC FairPrice is building their business on an Oracle information infrastructure," he added.

This will stand them in good stead as they and their subsidiaries grow and expand," he added.