#C15LV

REMINDERCheck in on the COLLABORATE

mobile app

How Unifier Affects PCM Customization

Prepared by:Daniel WilliamsDirector of Integration and DevelopmentCalance

What we have been forced to do in the past, and what we will need to do in the future

Session ID#: 200150

@dlwiii

#C15LV

2

Outline:● The Two Products● Business Needs

○ Cost Worksheet○ Payment Requests○ Master Contracts

● Unifier Customization Configuration

Overview

#C15LV

PCM and Unifier

PCM■ Grew up from DOS

■ Designed around GCs

■ Focused on Construction

3

Unifier■ Always web-based

■ Used in many industries

■ Flexible, not focused▪ Pre-configured product

— Project Cost Controls

— Project Delivery Management

— Capital Planning

While Unifier has been criticized for its flexibility, Oracle has created out of the box sets of processes for specific use cases, and is working to create more as needed.

#C15LV

The Business - what do you do?

■ Project-based■ Capital Projects

▪ Commercial eg restaurants

▪ Residential eg apartments, houses

▪ Industrial eg hospitals, schools, pipelines

▪ Transportation eg rail lines, roads

■ Who are you?▪ Owner - school district, developer, hospital▪ Construction Management Firm▪ General Contractor

4

#C15LV

■ Scope - what will you do?

■ Schedule - when will it be done?

■ Cost▪ Where does the money come from?▪ How is it spent?▪ Do we need more?▪ Will we make a profit or a loss?

The Business - what matters to you?

5

#C15LV

Budget How much will this will cost?

Funding Where will our money come from?

Commitments What are we purchasing?

Actual Cost What did we spend?

Before: Will we have enough money to do this project?During: Do we have enough money to finish this project?After: Have we spent the “right” amount?

The Colors of Money

6

#C15LV

Colors of Money - Budgets

7

PCM■ Budget Contracts behave similarly to all other

contract types

■ Change Management does not allow different

workflows for different Change types

■ Time component / cash flow does not exist ▪ Need workarounds such a one line per year, different budget

contracts

#C15LV

Colors of Money - Budgets

Unifier (Project Cost Controls)■ Budget Changes and Transfers are distinct

▪ Workflows for each can be modified as needed

■ Linked to Fund Appropriations

■ Cash flow built into Capital Planning

8

#C15LV

Colors of Money - Funding

PCM■ Virtually identical to Budget or Contract

■ Fund dollars not tracked to other costs except by

cost code

■ No cash flow, workarounds similar to Budget

Linking Funding Codes to CSI-type cost codes often makes the cost codes long and

difficult to use.

9

#C15LV

Colors of Money - Funding

Unifier (Project Cost Controls)■ First-class citizen, not modified type

▪ Workflows for each can be modified as needed

■ Fund Appropriations link to other costs

■ Track multiple fund sources - do not need to

“mangle” cost codes

10

#C15LV

Colors of Money - Commitments

PCM■ Subcontracts and POs very similar

■ No concept of Master Contracts, Blanket POs,

Long & Short POs &c.

■ Only entity* which can hold Actual costs

■ Not tied to Vendor Qualifications

▪ Cannot put payments on hold

* Trends do not count!11

#C15LV

Unifier (Project Cost Controls)■ Unified under “Procurement”

■ Many types allowed, many out of the box

■ Blanket PO/Master Contract allocates work

authorizations across multiple projects

■ New! RFIs can generate Commitment Change

■ New! RFBs can award contracts

Colors of Money - Commitments

12

#C15LV

Colors of Money - Actuals

PCM■ Only exist within Committed Contracts

■ Split into Invoices and Requisitions▪ Checks not strongly tied, not on cost worksheet

■ Only entity* which can hold Actual costs

■ Not tied to Vendor Qualifications

■ New! Mention of a new cost worksheet column...

* Trends do not count!13

#C15LV

Unifier (Project Cost Controls)■ Has Invoices, Pay Requests, and Journals

▪ Pay Requests can be customized and secured

■ Timesheets built in

■ Payments/Checks are first-class citizens

Colors of Money - Actuals

14

#C15LV

15

Work Arounds● Estimate to Complete● Payment Requests● Master Contracts

Bolt-ons to PCM to get it to work “right”

#C15LV

Estimate to Complete - Quick Entry

16

PCM■ Many users need to easily adjust the expected estimate to complete in PCM.

■ This is usually done using Trends, but the entry process nis cumbersome.

■ The web-based application above emulates an interactive Cost Report

■ In this case, we are creating Trends to Budget Adjustments

Unifier■ Use Forecast BP and/or create new BP

#C15LV

Estimate to Complete - Quick Entry

17

Unifier■ Add a logical column to the cost worksheet with manual, direct entry

#C15LV

Incurred Costs - Quick Entry

18

PCM■ Many users need to easily adjust the expected estimate to complete in PCM.

■ In this case, we emulate a mixture of the Cost Worksheet organized by AFE and by PO

■ These trends are to commitment adjustments

#C15LV

Payment Entry

19

PCM■ Limit screen elements and security for outside users

■ Require Invoice backup

■ Complex Entry Rules for Unilateral and Allowance Change Orders

Unifier■ Create dedicated entry screen

#C15LV

Master Contracts

20

PCM■ A number of strategies have been used over the years

■ Special Project to hold Master Contracts

▪ Use non-standard links to “work orders” in real projects

■ Special Contract Numbering to relate Master and Work Orders

▪ eg A123-C1 ties to A123-C1-WO1

▪ Muddies the cost worksheet and reports

■ Behind the scenes database links

■ Funding Contracts

▪ Does not tie well across projects

Unifier■ Vendor-level Blanket POs plus Work Authorizations

#C15LV

21

Unifier Solutions● Customize Views● Modified Workflows

Built-in functionality to get what you need

#C15LV

Custom Views

22

Unifier■ OOTB workflows similar

■ Conditionals can be added

■ As complicated as you like

■ Separate forms for different stages of workflow

■ Add or remove items as needed

■ Limit View access as needed

#C15LV

Workflows

23

■ OOTB Workflows cover basic

approval routing

■ Conditional Routing can be added

as needed

#C15LV

Conclusion

■ Both PCM and Unifier are designed to manage

Capital Projects

▪ Unifier allows customization of access, approvals,

and views

▪ Unifier PC “base configuration” gets much of

PCM’s functionality

▪ Unifier is more easily configured to handle

situations where PCM required awkward

customization and bolt-on applications

24

#C15LV

Please complete the session evaluationWe appreciate your feedback and insight

You may complete the session evaluation either on paper or online via the mobile app