Upgrading JD Edwards (ERP) with Minimal Disruption to the Refining Business

The Client

An independent oil refiner and marketer, headquartered in Texas, operates mostly in the southwestern and western United States. The company has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since January, 2006.

The company owns and operates two refineries with a total crude oil throughput capacity of approximately 151,000 barrels per day (bpd) producing primarily high-value light products such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. In addition to their 128,000 bpd refinery in El Paso, Texas, they also own and operate a 23,000 bpd refinery near Gallup, New Mexico.

The Problem

The client was running an out-dated, highly modified version of JD Edwards. Because of the extensive downstream reporting requirements and customized pricing, over 80 users were assigned FAT clients to manage the reporting load.

This JD Edwards software must be upgraded to the latest version, tested and deployed with minimal disruption to the company’s operations processes and personnel.

The Solution

Smartbridge personnel worked closely with the client management and project team to execute the upgrade project. We changed the technology infrastructure and moved the users from FAT clients to web-based access. We tested the upgraded software with clearly defined test scripts, trained users on the browser-based access and the new functionality and deployed the final solution.

The Result

Smartbridge met the client’s requirements of converting 80+ users to web-based JDE access with new functionality as a result of this upgrade. This included dual units of measure, cross docking, and several workflow processes. By leveraging our experience and upgrade methodology, impact to the business was carefully managed and minimized.