GIS, WMS, and ERP Integration – The Right Touch Points
Geographic Information Systems hold the story of how the infrastructure is configured and connected, as well as what additions and adjustments are planned. GIS technology properly implemented, can provide significant benefits and cost savings as the foundational infrastructure information set. Data capture and conversion costs are usually significant, and it is important that maintenance of the information occurs as part of the normal business process so that the value of the information is not lost over time. For that reason, integration of GIS especially with WMS is critical if all adjustments to the infrastructure are to be captured.
Enterprise Resource Planning systems usually include Materials Management, Property Accounting, and Customer Information Systems (CIS) /Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. These systems have the longest legacy within utility organizations and have been primarily utilized by corporate headquarters and customer service. Materials Management is the system that has been most closely related to the distribution operations business in the past.
Utility Business Work Flow
The concept of interfaces between these technologies will be reviewed from the perspective of the utility business process and the information either necessary or available throughout the work flow. The technical details of how these interfaces can be accomplished will not be discussed since the details would vary based on the products and vintages installed at each utility. To understand the details of the workflow being used for this discussion, and look for “The Right Touch Points” between WMS, GIS, and ERP, the following diagram outlines the process that most utilities traverse:
Utility Business Work Flow /Job Life Cycle Scenarios
When a customer requests new service, the request is typically taken by a customer service representative, and an application for new service is initiated in the CIS.
Interface 1 – ERP (CIS) to WMS at Order Initiation
When the application for new service is entered into CIS, an interface between CIS and WMS would allow a work request to be created in the Work Management System without additional and redundant data entry. This is one area of potential savings for the utilities who are making entry of the customer request both in CIS and WMS.
There are additional interface and savings potential by adjusting the business process of the customer service representative or potentially the web site or other automated application process. It is possible to develop a group of questions, and a matrix based on the answers to those questions, that can identify the work request details, and also the accounting details pertaining to the job. With the script of questions in place, under most circumstances enough information can be obtained about the job to apply the proper accounting codes. Just after the request for service is received, the systems can have interacted through interfaces to WMS and ERP, and have the work request initiated in WMS, including all of the required accounting code information from the ERP Property Accounting System.
