KPN fulfills its digital ambitions with Oracle Cloud Applications

The Netherlands already is considered to be one of the most connected countries in the world. The ambition of KPN, the Netherlands’ largest telecom carrier, is to make it one of the most digital as well. That required the company to not only digitize its network infrastructure, but also to become “digital inside” to improve decision-making, modernize and simplify processes, and cut costs in its highly competitive, price-sensitive market.

“We wanted to leverage the best technologies as a catalyst of change but at the same time review and revisit how we run our business,” says Tatiana Sumina, who as KPN’s transformation lead is overseeing the migration of its Oracle E-Business Suite HR, finance, supply chain, and project management applications to the cloud.

The telecom carrier needed to move to quarterly application upgrades, getting away from its upgrade cadence of once every 10 or 15 years. Also, it sought a single platform to help reduce complexity and gain visibility into its data across various steps in its processes.

After an extensive evaluation process, KPN selected  Oracle Fusion Cloud Human Capital Management (HCM), Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain & Manufacturing (SCM) applications, augmented by Oracle Fusion Data Intelligence Platform, to help modernize its back-office processes.

KPN kicked off its rollout of Oracle Cloud Applications about two-and-a-half years ago. So far, the company eliminated about half the integrations it used to have, improving data sharing and visibility across applications and functions, as well as data consistency.

KPN started with Oracle Cloud HCM, which brought more transparency into how the company is progressing on its HR goals, such as diversity and inclusion, and gave managers easy online access to a range of information on their individual reports.

In step with its implementation of Oracle Cloud ERP applications, KPN did a “massive revision” of its financial processes, she says. For example, the company, which like every major telecom carrier is capital-intensive, obtained more-granular data on what it spends on various aspects of construction projects. Likewise, with its Oracle Cloud SCM rollout, it gained a clearer view into what it holds in inventory. Today the company manages 25,000 order lines coming from its website and retail stores per day. KPN also reduced costs by standardizing, simplifying, and automating its procurement processes.

KPN also is exploring the capabilities of Oracle Fusion Data Intelligence Platform across its Oracle Cloud HCM, ERP, and SCM functions. Analytics applied to Oracle Cloud SCM data, for example, can help with responsible sourcing, tracking spending patterns, and analyzing product utilization across categories, items, and suppliers—and ultimately identify cost saving opportunities.

Transformation is a journey, and after some initial resistance—common with any new set of applications—managers and employees adjusted well to the new digital tools and processes, Sumina says. “We are now looking into new features provided by new Oracle releases and planning further improvements we would like to bring to the business,” she says.

Watch the video to find out how KPN meets its digital ambitions with Oracle Cloud Applications.

KPN worked with Deloitte and Oracle Consulting on its two-and-a-half-year implementation of Oracle Cloud Applications. Deloitte professionals on site helped KPN rethink its business processes in line with the new application features. Oracle Consulting experts helped with architecture, application design, and application configurations, and they provided advice on the best usage of each product, helping KPN go live with minimal customizations.