Rigaku Americas Holding, Inc.

Smarter Data Management with DecisionExcelerator

Rigaku (TYO: 268A) is a global manufacturer specializing in X-ray analysis, measurement, and testing instruments for the materials science, semiconductor, life sciences, energy, construction, security, and research sectors. Its U.S.-based subdivision, Rigaku Americas Holding, Inc., is located in The Woodlands, Texas.

In December 2020, Rigaku Americas Holding, Inc. migrated from Infor SyteLine to Infor CloudSuite Industrial (SaaS). Moving to the cloud reduced server costs and improved operational efficiency, but Rigaku still needed a way to restore the data management processes it had relied on for over a decade.

Challenges with Data Loading in Infor CloudSuite Industrial
Data imports within CloudSuite Industrial rely on Paste Rows Append, which can be a manual and time-consuming process. Rigaku employees were slowed down by a few key restrictions:

• CloudSuite Industrial does not provide direct SQL access, which Rigaku previously depended on for updating data.
• Large data imports had to be imported in small batches, a process that took over a user’s session and prevented them from continuing to work on other items. Additionally, a session can time out, causing users to lose their work.
• Lastly, if a data issue occurred during the import process, the import would fail and require the process to be restarted.

“When Rigaku migrated from an on-premises SyteLine environment to the cloud, one of the first challenges we encountered was losing direct SQL access to our data,” remarked Jessica Ely, Business Systems Manager at Rigaku Americas Holding, Inc. She continued, “That significantly impacted many of the data extraction and update processes we had relied on for years.”

Streamlining Data Management in CloudSuite Industrial
DecisionExcelerator is a product that was initially developed by Decision Resources to assist in loading, testing, and deleting data for ERP implementations. The tool has since evolved into a broader data management solution, helping companies maintain accurate data, perform updates, and generate reports. Today, DecisionExcelerator provides
businesses with capabilities for:

• API-Based Data Access: Exchange data with CloudSuite Industrial and on-premises SyteLine through the IDO/API layer, eliminating the need for direct SQL database access.
• Background Processing: Automate repetitive tasks through unattended background operations, improving efficiency and reducing manual intervention.
• Moving Data In and Out of Sites: Quickly transfer data between sites without the need to manually re-enter master data.
• Advanced Data Extraction: Pull ERP data into Excel for reporting, auditing, integrations, and ad hoc analysis.

DecisionExcelerator: Business Impact

Since adopting DecisionExcelerator, Rigaku Americas Holding, Inc. can quickly run updates without relying on time consuming find-and-replace processes in CloudSuite Industrial (CSI). In some cases, these updates cannot be completed through CSI alone, making DecisionExcelerator the only solution for accomplishing the task.

While data update functionality provided an immediate benefit, DecisionExcelerator has become a valuable tool for reporting and integrating data into enterprise processes. According to Jessica, “[DecisionExcelerator] has exceeded
our expectations. It quickly became an indispensable part of our toolkit, allowing us to perform the data extractions,
updates, and reporting tasks we thought we’d lost. Even after using it extensively, we’re still discovering new
capabilities that continue to add value.”

Rigaku Americas Holding, Inc. continues to leverage DecisionExcelerator for:

Custom Reports
DecisionExcelerator extracts data for specific reports not available in SyteLine and enables users to quickly create one-off reports without building a DataView.

Audit & Record History Requests
Employees use DecisionExcelerator to provide auditors with data containing actual transactions. Users can also fulfill requests for record history, including create date, created by, updated by, and record date.

Automated Enterprise Reporting
DecisionExcelerator extracts and delivers data to Snowflake for the parent company’s global reporting system and to the accounting group’s budgeting software. The global reporting process spans five sites, with each site maintaining a dedicated spreadsheet containing 22 data pulls across various modules. These data sets are configured to generate snapshots, which are automatically created through a scheduled task. Once generated, the snapshots are uploaded to Snowflake’s staging area for use in downstream reporting processes.

“For organizations moving to a cloud-based Infor CloudSuite Industrial (SyteLine) environment, DecisionExcelerator is one of the first tools I recommend. It’s an investment that has made our transition smoother, improved our productivity, and continues to expand what’s possible with our ERP data.”

– Jessica Ely
Business Systems Manager at Rigaku Americas Holding, Inc.