The Greatness of Integration Pt. 2

This is part two of our feature on the enhanced functionality and the value of Helm CONNECT integrations. Click here for part one.

A Helm CONNECT integration allows fast and reliable exchange of data between other software platforms, eliminating redundant data and improving operational efficiency. By integrating users between Helm CONNECT and your other internal tools, you can share data across systems, improve productivity, ditch manual entry, reduce employee training, and create a single source of truth. Here are two examples of integrations with popular external software platforms: Oracle Inventory Management and Workday.

Oracle Inventory Management

Helm CONNECT’s out-of-the-box integration with Oracle Inventory Management Cloud allows it to track and update inventory transactions created and stored in Oracle Inventory Management Cloud.

Oracle Inventory Management allows organizations to consolidate their inventory tracking and control systems into a single, global inventory management solution for materials in every stage of the product or production life cycle across different business types.

 

What can it do?

Helm CONNECT can facilitate the crew-side visibility of your inventory solution and sync it back to Oracle.

• 1:1 parts list or catalog: Create or update a part in Helm CONNECT and have the corresponding part match what’s in Oracle without a user having to maintain both systems.
• Your crew live in Helm CONNECT and purchasing lives in Oracle: As the crew use Helm CONNECT to raise a requisition, Purchasing receives the request automatically and goes through procurement. Crew are kept up to date without leaving Helm CONNECT, where receipt of inventory is recorded, then reconciled in Oracle.
• Inventory in Oracle matches Helm CONNECT: Crew can record, consume, and add inventory in Helm CONNECT, and management associates costs/stock across the business in Oracle.

 

Who is this solution best suited for?

Any organization that:

• Has a procurement and accounting workflow for spare parts or inventory
• Needs to see inventory in different platforms in the business
• Spends time and energy maintaining duplicate inventory databases

 

How does an inventory/requisitions integration work?

Helm CONNECT and Oracle can be connected with the following:

• Your Oracle parts catalog
• Previously closed inventory transactions document types
• Inventory quantity updates
  • Inventory movement
  • Inventory received
• Inventory consumption
• Requisitions in Helm CONNECT
  • Any line item created in Helm CONNECT is sent to Oracle for purchasing
  • PO Numbers and order statuses are then returned to Helm CONNECT, closing the procurement loop
  • Inventory quantities and consumption are then returned to Oracle
• Requisition receipts
• Parts catalogs
  • Vendor price contracts
  • Part specifics

 

Workday

Workday is one of the most popular HRM and Human Capital Management solutions on the market. Helm CONNECT’s integration with Workday’s HR ecosystem (including talent management, payroll, workforce planning, learning management, and recruiting solutions) allows human resource departments to see a single view of employees and their entire journey at the company.

 

What can it do?

Crew use Helm CONNECT to successfully complete their work, knowing that employee information is up-to-date and vetted by HR. HR and management leverage Workday to manage crew.

• Hiring new employees: When a new employee is added to Workday, a user account is automatically created in Helm CONNECT, and the corresponding data returned.
• Employee attribute and profile updates:  When an employee record is updated in Workday (such as a name, title, position, or assigned asset), their user account will be automatically updated in Helm CONNECT.
• Employee terminations: When an employee is terminated in Workday, their user account is automatically disabled in Helm CONNECT.
• Employee rehires: When an employee is rehired in Workday, their old account can be automatically reactivated and re-certified in Helm CONNECT.

 

Who is this solution best suited for?

Any organization that:

• Has crew or employees in Workday or another HR platform
• Has high turnover
• Spends time maintaining duplicate data in different software platforms

 

How does a user integration work?

The integration will contain specific logic to seamlessly connect with Workday and ensure that any employee is accurately created and updated in Helm CONNECT or vice versa. The data flow usually looks like this:

1. A user is created in Workday, or an existing user is updated (for example, a new position is added).
2. An administrator in Workday clicks save. This is the end of any manual involvement in the process!
3. The integration catches any changes to the Workday records on a timed interval and checks for pre-determined criteria.
4. The integration maps data between Workday and Helm CONNECT to account for different terminology:
   1. login= email
   2. Name = first name, last name
   3. rank = position
5. The integration will take each user’s data and create or update the associated record in Helm CONNECT. We’ll typically define a matching parameter, such as employee number or email address, to determine whether to create or update.
6. If an error is encountered (for example, Workday has a position that does not exist in Helm CONNECT), an email notification will be sent to a distribution list for administrators so they’re aware of an inconsistency between the two systems and it can be rectified.

 

Summary

Now you’ve seen two examples of what a Helm CONNECT integration can do. Oracle Cloud Management and Workday are just two of many existing out-of-the-box Helm Connect integrations; for more on what integrations are and other examples, check out Part 1 of our series. If you’re ready to get started on an integration right now, get in touch with us!