The centralized installation of iScala Hospitality and remote connection of all business units within the Group (hotels, restaurants, banqueting and catering departments) to a single corporate management system allows optimizing and reduce cost of IT services for support and administration of iScala application. Unified iScala set up allows reducing resources and budget required for opening new hotels and restaurants and connection of new business units to a centralized iScala installation. Advanced iScala functionality supports different kind of business structure, provides mechanism for consolidation and management reporting in a different standards. Tolls and functions available in iScala allows getting reports as quickly as it is needed for business based on data generating in accounting, purchasing, warehouse departments. Automatic data exchange between iScala back office and POS & PMS systems allows getting actual figures describing real picture of the hotel business. Epicor Service Connect platform supports automatic data exchange between the systems on a periodical scheduled daily basis. Automated data exchange procedure based on Epicor Service Connect will help your Company to reduce to a minimum level ‘manual data input errors’.

1. Success Highlights
Challenges
• Hyatt Shared Services Centre required
software solution that would bring together
hotel processes and data at a global level.
Solution
• Robust and flexible web services software
solution with strong integration capabilities.
Benefits
• Reduced the workload at the Shared
Services Centre
• Role-based access to individual supports
Sarbanes-Oxley.
• Straightforward assimilation of new properties
to Shared Services Centre
Company Facts
• Location: Chicago, IL
• Industry: Hotel
• Number of Locations: 45
• Web site: www.hyatt.com
Global Hyatt Corporation
Epicor Success Story
“The Epicor consultants always have many years
of experience with the product. Above all, they
also know how hotel people think.”
Woldgang P. Baermann, Assistant Director of Finance | Global Hyatt Corporation
“One spaghetti aglio e olio, please!”Order a portion of this simple pasta dish at a
Hyatt hotel restaurant and you set in motion a chain of very different activities. Your
order not only triggers an immediate response from waiters, chefs, and kitchen staff,
it is also entered into the computerized system, which removes the ingredients from the
inventory stock. This is just one of the hotel-specific functions of the Epicor solution.
Global Hyatt Corporation is one of the world’s premier hotel companies with over
365 hotels in 45 countries worldwide that employs around 90,000 associates. The
Hyatt story began in 1957 when it opened its first hotel at an airport in Los Angeles.
10 Hyatt hotels around Europe, in Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne, Mainz, Zurich, Milan,
Paris, London, and Birmingham, benefit from the services the Hyatt Shared Services
Centre in Mainz has to offer. Additionally, seven independent companies within
Global Hyatt Corporation, including the new brand Andaz ™, are managed via a
central server at the Shared Services Centre in Mainz.
All data converge at the SSC
With the Shared Services Centre (SSC), Hyatt takes a centralized approach whereby
all processing and administration activities that do not need to be processed locally
are outsourced to Mainz. These include accounts receivable, accounts payable,
and general ledger accounting, such as the posting, checking, and payment of all
supplier bills. To relieve individual hotels from these time-consuming, labor-intensive
tasks, Hyatt uses multi-client-enabled accounting software, allowing any number
of hotels to be incorporated and managed within the system. Specifically, the hotel
data converges into the Epicor centralized solution.

2. Success Story – Global Hyatt Corporation
All the data from the connected hotel-specific systems are
received via web services using Epicor Service Connect, and are
then processed to update inventory, statistical, and accounting
records. For example, daily revenue, statistical and settlement data
is automatically interfaced to Epicor every night, ensuring that all
accounting relevant information entered in the hotel-specific Opera
software from Micros- Fidelio®
is made available to the
Accounts Department.
Epicor includes a requisitioning module, which enables the individual
departments, such as the kitchens, housekeeping, or administration,
to request goods and services. The system can also create helpful
shopping lists that include the current inventory status.
Woldgang P. Baermann, assistant director of finance at Hyatt’s SCC,
said, “The next step could be a live connection to a procurement
system that would deliver the required goods automatically without
the need for a purchase order. The necessary interface could be
provided in Epicor.” Epicor also contains predefined export routines
to send accounting data to consolidation systems such as Hyperion®
.
An emergency decision
By implementing Epicor, Hyatt has managed to establish a
standardized solution for accounting in all its hotels outside the U.S.
The decision to do this 10 years ago was a necessary one. “When we
were about to open further three hotels in Germany in 1998, we had
already decided on an accounting solution that met our multi-client
requirements. Unfortunately, the provider went bankrupt during
the implementation phase, so we had to look for another solution
as quickly as possible.,” said Baermann. A hotel that Hyatt had
just acquired for management in Almaty (Kazakhstan) was already
working with Epicor and it was recommended that Hyatt consider it;
a recommendation that was followed. This was partly because the
Epicor solution is multi-client-capable, allowing it to be used for all
the other hotels. Another reason was that the software had enough
“hotel experience,” making implementation relatively simple. Finally,
the crucial factor was the more favorable price compared with
products such as Oracle or SAP®
.
After a decision-making and business requirement review process
lasting one month, implementation of Epicor could begin.
“Compared with how we now add new hotels, the process then
was a little more complicated,” said Baermann. “To allow all four
German Hyatt Hotels to access a central application, we had to
use the Citrix®
distribution software to provide applications on a
distributed basis. The initial implementation process took a total of
three months and Hyatt went live on January 2, 1998. There were no
further technical problems when incorporating all the other hotels.
The only pre-requisite required, and that still remains important, is a
certain amount of discipline when preparing the data. Careful import
of established customers, suppliers with all bank details and of the
warehouse items allows all the data to be transferred smoothly
into Epicor.”
From chef to business director
A new hotel can now be connected to the financial software within
four to six weeks, including training sessions for hotel employees.
Epicor sends one or two consultants to take on the technical side of
the implementation and to train the staff. “The Epicor consultants
always have many years of experience with the product. Above
all, they also know how hotel people think. They understand
the questions from the kitchen, the restaurant or the accounting
department, and they also bring very helpful documentation along.
Of course, we also use our internal Epicor specialists for these
training courses. For example, we have our own experts to deal
with the software in every region apart from the U.S. (where we
use Oracle Financials),” says Baermann. This allows a streamlined
implementation of Epicor around the globe. Alongside Hyatt’s
internal experts and the Epicor consultants, every implementation
project team also includes the finance director, the purchasing
director, and the food & beverage director.
Because a greater proportion of Hyatt employees outside the U.S.
work with the software, Epicor often receives a wide range of
customer feedback from Hyatt users. The Shared Services Centre in
Mainz is responsible for gathering all improvement suggestions. It
also performs a preliminary check on them and forwards them at
least once a year to the relevant key account processor in Epicor’s
Hospitality department. “Epicor does its best to meet requests where
there are no technical conflicts between different modules that
prevent their implementation,” says Baermann.
Less workload, more security
The Epicor solution has greatly reduced the workload at the Shared
Services Centre. The administration time needed to manage
software related activities has decreased whilst the levels of control
and security have been improved. Epicor allows role-based access
to individual functions depending on the role of a given user,
assisting with the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley controls such as
segregation of duties.
The Shared Services Centre can now access important information
from the software to create ad-hoc reports by using the SnapSearch
feature, unlike with the previous version where all reports were
hard-coded. If someone at Hyatt suddenly needs, for example, a
list of all inventory items from a specific supplier along with the
most recent price for those items, he or she can send a request to
the Shared Services Centre and will receive the report within half
an hour. If such a report is considered useful to the whole group
of hotels linked to the Shared Services Centre, they can easily be
deployed through the iScala®
menu structure.

3. Latin America and Caribbean
Blvd. Antonio L. Rodriguez #1882 Int. 104
Plaza Central, Col. Santa Maria
Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, CP 64650
Mexico
Phone: +52.81.1551.7100
Fax: +52.81.1551.7117
Australia and New Zealand
Level 34
101 Miller Street
North Sydney NSW 2060
Australia
Phone: +61.2.9927.6200
Fax: +61.2.9927.6298
Asia
238A Thomson Road #23-06
Novena Square Tower A
Singapore 307684
Singapore
Phone: +65.6333.8121
Fax: +65.6333.8131
Europe, Middle East and Africa
No. 1 The Arena
Downshire Way
Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 1PU
United Kingdom
Phone: +44.1344.468468
Fax: +44.1344.468010
Corporate Office
804 Las Cimas Parkway
Austin, TX 78746
USA
Toll Free: +1.888.448.2636
Direct: +1.512.328.2300
Fax: +1.512.278.5590
Contact us for more information on Epicor Products and Services
+1.800.999.6995 info@epicor.com www.epicor.com
“We’re very pleased with the Epicor solution, but we’re also looking
forward to Epicor’s future developments,” said Woldgang Baermann,
giving a positive assessment of a ten-year business relationship that
ensures every guest is always served his or her spaghetti promptly
and with a smile.
About Epicor
Epicor Software Corporation is a global leader delivering business
software solutions to the manufacturing, distribution, retail, and
service industries. With more than 40 years of experience, Epicor
has more than 20,000 customers in over 150 countries. Epicor
solutions enable companies to drive increased efficiency and
improve profitability. With a history of innovation, industry expertise
and passion for excellence, Epicor inspires customers to build
lasting competitive advantage. Epicor provides the single point of
accountability that local, regional, and global businesses demand.
For more information, visit www.epicor.com.
The contents of this document are for informational purposes only and are subject to change without notice.Epicor Software Corporation makes no guarantee,representations or warranties with regard to the enclosed information and specifically disclaims,
to the full extent of the law, any applicable implied warranties, such as fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, satisfactory quality or reasonable skill and care.This document and its contents, including the viewpoints, dates and functional content
expressed herein are believed to be accurate as of its date of publication,April 2014.The results represented in this testimonial may be unique to the particular user as each user’s experience will vary.The usage of any Epicor software shall be pursuant to
the applicable end user license agreement and the performance of any consulting services by Epicor personnel shall be pursuant to applicable standard services terms and conditions. Usage of the solution(s) described in this document with other Epicor
software or third party products may require the purchase of licenses for such other products. micros-fidelio® are registered trademarks of MICROS Systems, Inc. Hyperion is a registered trademark and Hyperion Solutions is a trademark of Hyperion
Software Operations Inc. SAP is a trademark or registered trademark of SAPAG in the United States and other countries. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Citrix is registered trademark of Citrix Systems, Inc. Epicor,
Business Inspired and the Epicor logo and iScala are registered trademarks or trademarks of Epicor Software Corporation in the United States,certain other countries and/or the EU.All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
Copyright © 2014 Epicor Software Corporation.
Success Story – Global Hyatt Corporation