Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Customer Services and Human Resources presented a report on proposals to upgrade the Council’s current Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which provided the platform for human resources and financial information, through a shared procurement with other local authorities and led by the London Borough of Lambeth.

The Council’s current ERP system, Oracle R11, was implemented in 2001 and was nearing the end of its operational life.  The Cabinet Member explained that the current system had been highly customised to suit the Council’s requirements but that this approach had proved to be less cost effective due to the costs involved with customisation.  It was therefore proposed to move to a standardised Oracle 12 system, shared with a number of other local authorities, which would achieve economies in terms of procurement, implementation and maintenance as well as opening up greater opportunities for shared services. 

The Cabinet Member referred to the estimate £3m cost of the replacement Oracle system and it was confirmed that ongoing revenue savings would be achieved through reduced staff costs as a result of the improved processes that the new system would deliver.  The Corporate Director of Children’s Services also confirmed that initial discussions with Headteachers on the system upgrade had been positive and that these discussions would continue to ensure that the new system met their requirements.

Cabinet agreed:-

  (i)  To enter into an arrangement with the named London Boroughs for the joint procurement of a Framework Agreement for the provision of a shared and standardised Oracle system replacing the Council’s existing customised system, as detailed in the report;

  (ii)  To authorise the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources, in consultation with the Divisional Director of Legal and Democratic Services, to enter into the contract; and

 (iii)  The allocation of £3 million (£2m from the Council’s capital reserve and £1m from the Invest-to-Save revenue fund) to replace the existing system with a re-implemented shared service made available through the joint procurement process.