Effective reporting in Oracle EBS can transform raw transaction data into actionable insights. Here are a few principles I follow to make sure reports serve real-world decision-making needs:
- Clarify the Business Question: I always start by asking, “What decision will this report support?” If it’s a daily production dashboard, managers might need live WIP statuses and scrap rates. For finance, a monthly cost-variance report suffices. Knowing the “why” shapes everything—data sources, frequency and layout.
- Tap the Data Dictionary: Oracle’s data dictionary shows where key fields live. For example, if someone wants “all inventory transactions over £2,000,” I know to join MTL_MATERIAL_TRANSACTIONS with MTL_PARAMETERS and AP_SUPPLIERS. Having a short reference sheet of common tables (MTL_, WIP_, AP_) has saved me hours when writing SQL.
- Design Filters Wisely: Instead of delivering a static report, I include prompts where possible: date range, organisation, item category. That way, end users can run “today’s scrap report” or “last week’s work order status” without relying on me to tweak parameters each time.
- Automate Distribution: For high-priority reports—like open purchase orders over 60 days—I set up Oracle Alerts to email a PDF or CSV every morning. Early on, I learned to schedule these during off-peak hours to avoid overloading the concurrent manager.
By focusing on clear business questions, leveraging Oracle’s existing metadata and adding smart prompts, I’ve been able to deliver reports that managers actually use—rather than files that get buried in someone’s inbox.