Amazing Innovation in ERP Done By Deepesh Vinodkumar Semlani

Deepesh Vinodkumar Semlani is a highly accomplished ERP expert with over 15 years of specialized experience in Financials and Supply Chain domain implementations and optimizations. With a strong educational foundation from the National Institute of Technology, Raipur, and Oracle Cloud General Ledger Advanced certification, Deepesh combines academic excellence with extensive practical experience. His professional journey has been marked by leading numerous ERP implementations across various industries, with particular expertise in Solar Tech, FinTech and Healthcare Companies. Deepesh has consistently demonstrated his ability to architect end-to-end solutions including but not limited to customer billing, collection and payment solutions, financial statement filing with government, allocation of assets and cost, supplier payments etc.

Q1: Why did you decide to pursue a career as an ERP architect?

A: The urge to be an ERP architect began with the zeal for understanding and addressing modern financial issues using technology. After completing technical education from India, I have been very happy work at the interface of finance and technology, which in my opinion brings substantial real- life change in business. Oracle’s cloud ERP solutions are cutting-edge when it comes to financial systems, and so I take great pleasure in making these systems successful for organizations in changing how they run finance, do it more efficiently, and enjoy improved insights. The CEO or CFO or another business user is able to gain the highly advanced data insights that they would require, besides which he empowers the CTO or CIO to modernize and be on top of the advancements in the tech world and empower the business quickly to adapt with the ever-changing technology landscape. It keeps changing, as do all cloud technologies, which keeps me motivated as I want to be on the cutting edge of innovation often.

Q2: What is your approach towards a complex implementation project and what methodology do you follow?

A: My method of handling complex implementation projects starts with a complete understanding of the business use case. Could be a FinTech giant, could be a SolarTech behemoth; I initiate the complete Fit-Gap analysis to understand the client’s current state and desired future. This involves ample stakeholder interview and process mapping exercises to understand the nuances of their business requirements. I would say that I believe in transparency and collaboration, so I develop very clear AS-IS documentation and a TO-BE documentation to be our roadmap. My project implementation approach is very phased while making sure to tie break complex projects into very small manageable components but still keeping high visibility of the overall architecture. I’ve already mentioned that great attention is placed on the data migration strategy and its system integrations, for those factors turn out to be some of the main critical success factors. Throughout the project, continuous communication with all involved stakeholders, as well as a robust testing methodology will ensure quality delivery.

Q3: Can you tell me about a project that was extraordinarily challenging for you to manage and how obstacles were overcome? 

A: One of the most challenging projects to manage would be the implementation of Oracle Financials for a company very much engaged in organizational restructuring. The twofold challenge was to create a system whose designs needed to adapt to an evolving business structure while complying with stringent regulations such as timelines and deadlines. The project was complicated further by the need to migrate data from many legacy systems, each with different data structures and varying degrees of data quality.

In order to overcome this, I set up a governance team consisting of members from the various functions who would meet weekly to deal with ad hoc issues that arose on the project and to enable swift decisions. I developed an extremely flexible COA design that could accommodate any odd organizational change without the need for system reconfiguration. The data migration strategy I proposed moved through several cleansing and validation stages where problems were identified early during the project. A complete test strategy was worked out, including holding parallel financials processing to validate results. At last, the project was delivered on time and the solution was able to adapt to the shifts and changes that continued in the organization.

Q 4: How do you plan for automation in your implementation?

A: The best automation is the epicenter of my implementation strategy— automation streamlining the work, diminishing errors, and allowing exploits for qualitative work. I am strategically automating, starting from automating high volumes of repetitive activities that are best among other processes for automation. I’ve managed to automate intercompany settlements, payments processing, account reconciliations, and financial-close functions in my implementations.

In one project, I set up an automated AP payment system that cut down processing time by 60% and left virtually no room for double payment. Another incorporated custom allocations developed with Calculation Manager, saving 30 days of manual effort every year. In all these scenarios for automation, I analyze efficiency and risk management, thereby ensuring the maintenance of the proper controls. The goal is not automation for its own sake but to build sustainable systems that can change with the needs of the organization.

Q 5: What strategies would you employ to solve data migration issues in Oracle Cloud deployments?

A: Data migration is generally the most difficult part of an implementation, and I make it happen through a well-structured, well-thought-out, risk-based approach. To start with, I do a very extensive data assessment to get an understanding of volume, quality issues, and business dependencies. Based on that, such information goes into a detailed migration strategy with activities like data cleansing, the transformation rules, and the validation criteria that will be put in place.

Then I believe in “migrating less, but migrating well”; I encourage the client to carefully assess the history of how much of this data will actually need to flow rather than simply adding it to the archive. Within that, I typically use a phased migration – multiple test cycles, early to identify and fix issues. I use tools such as FBDI processes and FSM for setup migration, which has proven to reduce effort while ensuring accuracy. Throughout the process, I maintain close collaboration between technical teams and business stakeholders to ensure data integrity and business continuity. This systematic methodology is what has enabled me to manage data conversions within multiple systems successfully, including a pretty complex engagement that consists of 23 interfaces.

Q 6: Which tools and technologies do you use for financial implementations, and what are the reasons behind that?

A: My financial implementation toolkit is broad and purposive for it. For core implementation activities in Oracle Cloud, I use FBDI processes for bulk data operations and FSM for setup migration-thus minimizing efforts while ensuring consistency and effectiveness. For custom reporting and data analysis, I operate within FRS, OBI, OTBI, Smart View, and BI Publisher by using the appropriate tool depending on specific reporting requirements and users’ capabilities.

On the technical side, I’m familiar with SQL, PL/SQL, C, and C++, thus able to create customized solutions when necessary. The utility of Oracle SaaS APIs (both REST and SOAP) for external web applications’ seamless functionality with or without Oracle SaaS has truly revolutionized the user experience across platforms. ARCS and FCCS have been a game changer in making the account reconciliation and consolidation process much more effective. I continue to keep up-to-date with the newest technology Oracle has to offer, the last including AI Agents used for implementation purposes in improving automation and user experience. The most important point is choosing the proper technology with which to solve specific problems, contrary to a one-size-fits-all approach.

 

Q 7: What methods do you use to ensure the effectiveness of the knowledge transfer and user adoption?

Answer: Proper knowledge transfer and user adoption begin much before go-live. The process of implementation should be peppered with the entire stakeholder thread where they learn not just how to operate the system but how and why certain design decisions are made, thus building both competence and confidence in the new solution.

For formal knowledge transfer, I design unique learning tools for different user groups targeted.

Multi-modal training consisting of documentation, hands-on workshops, and just-in-time learning resources-including sessions for the users in their time of need-is my preferred training method.

In Post-implementation, I set up a support mechanism that gradually moves the critical areas of knowledge to the client team, but provides a safety net at the same time. This usually includes shadowing opportunities, regular check-ins, and refresher training. Aspects that define success for me include efficient system functions and user confidence. Those experiences show that investing in comprehensive knowledge transfer minimizes the value lost to support problems and speed up the collection of benefits from the new system.

Q 8: What advice can you offer organizations that intend to use Oracle Cloud Financials in the future?

A: My advice would be to treat the implementation as a business transformation opportunity, not just a technology project. Start with clear business objectives and clear success criteria, and ensure executive sponsorship is strong and visible. Invest time in process optimization before automation. Implementing inefficient processes in a new system only creates faster inefficient processes.

Data readiness is critical; start data cleansing activities early and strategic about what is to be moved. Build a strong cross-functional team that includes both IT and finance expertise, and don’t underestimate the importance of change management and training. Consider phased implementation that provides value incrementally rather than going for a “big bang” approach, which has higher risk.

Finally, set up a post-implementation plan right from the beginning. How do you want to handle ongoing support, enhancements in the future, and optimization of the system? Go-live is actually just the beginning of your journey into Oracle Cloud, and you need a sustainable operating model to guarantee long-term success.

Perhaps most valuable is my hands on experience implementing systems across diverse industries, which gives me practical insights into what works well in different contexts. I make a point of experimenting with new features in test environments before recommending them to clients. This commitment to continuous learning makes it possible for my success in a rapidly evolving field.

Q 10: What are some of the new trends you see in financial systems implementation, and what are you doing to keep up with these trends? 

A: I see several significant trends that are attempting to reshape the implementations of financial systems. First among these is moving from experimentation to actual use by signaling proficiency in areas like anomaly detection, predictive analytics, and process automation. I’ve begun embedding AI Agents into implementations, and my work is focusing on deeper expertise into this area.

Increasing importance has been placed on linking financial systems with operational data to allow for increasingly advanced analysis and decision making. I’m honing my skills in data integration technologies as well as analytics tools to really build on this capability.

Greater use of cloud-to-cloud integration has developed with the growing trend of organizations adopting best-of-breed solutions instead of the single-vendor approach. I am growing expertise in API-driven architectures and integration platforms to address this growing need.

Lastly, the implementation of sustainability reporting and metrics for Environmental, Social, Governance (known also as ESG) is being amped up. I would study new standards and best practices for capturing and reporting this information within financial systems.

I will build my technical skills to prepare for such trending future changes. Also, I will keep myself updated with changes in regulatory regimes while keeping my broad front on how financial systems will progressively serve overall business objectives with a greater degree of complexity and a degree of data-driven environments.

About Deepesh Vinodkumar Semlani

Deepesh Vinodkumar Semlani is an Oracle Cloud Fusion Finance expert with over 15 years of experience in financial domain implementations and optimizations. With a Bachelor of Technology from the National Institute of Technology, Raipur, and Oracle Cloud General Ledger Advanced certification, Deepesh has successfully led numerous Oracle Fusion Financials implementations across various industries. His expertise spans complex projects including Financial Applications Architecture and design, Allocations, Eliminations, Translations, Intercompany Automation, and data migrations along with FinTech and SolarTech technical revolution. Deepesh is passionate about leveraging technology to transform financial operations and drive business efficiency.

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