On February 21, 2018, the City of San Luis Obispo and Sierra-Cedar launched the “Motion Project”—a citywide initiative to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency through the implementation of the Oracle Cloud Application Suite. This is a modern business platform which enables the City to deploy leading business practices to improve productivity, deliver higher quality services, and support better decision making in the areas of finance, procurement, project management, personnel administration, talent management, benefits, payroll, financial reporting, and budgeting. The project was initiated based on an assessment conducted by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and its key recommendations for innovation across all departments. The Motion Project is scheduled to be completed in three phases, wrapping-up in October 2019.
“The selection of Oracle Cloud Application Suite is in alignment with the City’s business process re-engineering goals. The product will enable the City, through the Motion Project, to realize peak business performance by improving efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency,” says Xenia Bradford, Finance Director from the City of San Luis Obispo. “We are excited to be partnering with Sierra-Cedar in this effort. They bring their extensive experience in the public sector implementing Oracle applications.”
The Oracle Cloud Applications are designed to be intuitive, simple to use, and include a variety of “configurable” elements that will be used to tailor the applications for the City. Business intelligence, mobile computing, social collaboration, and unified security capabilities are woven throughout the applications, providing easy access to expansive functionality and analytical capabilities in the office and away from the desktop. Automation will replace manual functions and sophisticated financial modeling tools will enable alignment of the City budget with strategic objectives.
“Sierra-Cedar is our ‘go-to partner’ for delivering transformative Oracle Cloud Application solutions to mid-sized governments. Their talented resources and dedication to customer success over the past 20 years are unrivaled,” says Josh Ezring, Vice President of State and Local Government Sales at Oracle Corporation. “We are proud that our ‘next generation’ Oracle Cloud Applications are being used as the platform for business process improvement at the City of San Luis Obispo and are pleased to be associated with such a progressive Modern Local Government.”
Areas where significant re-engineering will occur include the following:
- Financial Reporting and Capital Improvement Planning
- Centralized Procurement and Vendor Engagement
- Contract and Project Management
- Automation of Accounts Payable
- Training and Certifications
- Personnel Evaluations
- Benefits Enrollment
- Time and Absence Management
- Business Intelligence
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the City to improve its business processes to operate more efficiently and effectively by deploying the Oracle Cloud Applications. We look forward to working collaboratively with the City’s talented team of departmental leaders to design, construct, and deploy the new system and related processes to realize the objectives of the Motion Project,” says Brian Christenson, Vice President of Public Sector Solutions at Sierra-Cedar. “We are proud to be the City’s teammate on this important project and look forward to the establishment of a high performing user community, a more progressive workplace, and a sustainable platform upon which the business of government will be conducted at the City for many years to come.”
About the City of San Luis Obispo, California
City of San Luis ObispoThe City of San Luis Obispo is a full-service city that provides police, fire, water, sewer, streets, transit, parking, planning, building, engineering, and parks & recreation services to the community. Its beginnings are traced to the founding of Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa in 1772, by Father Junípero Serra as the fifth mission in the California chain of 21 missions. The City’s ideal weather and natural beauty provide numerous opportunities for outdoor recreation at nearby City and State parks, lakes, beaches, and wilderness areas.
The City has a thriving population of approximately 50,000, and is located eight miles from the Pacific Ocean midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles at the junction of Highway 101 and scenic Highway 1. The City’s distance from major metropolitan areas to the north (San Francisco Bay Area) and south (Los Angeles) have allowed it to retain its historic and scenic qualities, which contribute to the superb quality of life residents enjoy, and attract visitors from many other areas. In fact, in 2010, the City was dubbed the “Happiest City in North America” by National Geographic author Dan Buettner.