Oracle EBS is modular by design, which means each component addresses a specific part of manufacturing operations. In my role, I focus on four primary modules:
- Inventory Management (INV): This module tracks receipts, issues, transfers and on-hand balances. From early conversations, I’ve learned that structuring sub-inventories and locators logically—reflecting how parts move on the shop floor—reduces cycle counts and improves picking accuracy.
- Work in Process (WIP): WIP manages work order creation, material consumption and completions. One recurring lesson is the importance of enabling the “costed flag” on work orders. Without it, cost entries can end up in limbo, leading to reconciliation headaches at month-end.
- Bills of Material (BOM): The BOM module defines how raw materials and subassemblies roll up into finished goods. I always recommend starting with a handful of simple BOMs—ideally high-volume product families—before diving into multi-level, configurable assemblies. This helps ensure the structure behaves as expected when costs and routings come into play.
- Cost Management: This area calculates standard costs, actual costs and variances. Early alignment with finance on cost roll-up rules is essential. If finance expects a component to absorb overhead differently, those details need to be captured before run-time; otherwise, reported variances will never match spreadsheets they’ve relied on for years.
Understanding how these modules interact—inventory feeds WIP, WIP completions feed cost management—gives me clarity on where to focus during the initial design sessions. It also helps when business stakeholders ask “Why is this process changing?” I can explain that underlying module logic, rather than leaving them guessing.