B. Fernández Streamlines Financial Operations and Planning with Oracle Cloud
B. Fernández & Hnos.
Founded in 1888 by Spanish immigrant brothers, B. Fernández & Hnos., is Puerto Rico’s longest-standing distribution company and one of the island’s leading providers of consumer products. With more than 135 years of continuous service, the company has built a legacy of excellence, family values, and long-term growth.
With a dedicated workforce of approximately 500 employees, B. Fernández & Hnos. serves over 5,000 clients across Puerto Rico, distributing a portfolio that includes globally recognized brands such as Budweiser, Kellogg’s, Hormel, Absolut, JM Smucker’s, 3M, McCormick, and Marlboro.
In 2023, a milestone year for the company, the fourth and fifth generations of shareholders came together to drive a new strategic plan focused on accelerating portfolio growth, empowering talent, and strengthening its legacy of exceptional service for clients, suppliers, and the broader community.
Fernández & Hnos. continues to lead the market in the distribution of food, beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), household goods, tobacco, and cleaning products. It is widely recognized for its robust distribution and sales network, brand-building marketing strategies, and unwavering commitment to excellence.
Challenges
Before implementing Oracle Cloud solutions, B. Fernández & Hnos. relied on disconnected legacy systems for budgeting and financial operations. Budget planning was managed through a standalone tool with limited integration to ERP and procurement processes, resulting in inefficiencies, manual work, and limited financial visibility.
As part of a strategic initiative to modernize and unify its systems, the company adopted Oracle Planning and Oracle ERP Financials. This shift addressed key challenges such as the lack of integration between planning and actuals, slow reporting cycles, and fragmented data. By aligning planning and finance under Oracle Cloud, B. Fernández enabled seamless data flow, drill-through visibility, and faster decision-making. This transformation was critical to breaking down operational silos and improving control, agility, and collaboration across business units.
B. Fernández & Hnos.
Wholesale & Distribution
JD Edwards
500
Oracle Cloud EPM Planning & Oracle Fusion Cloud Financials
Puerto Rico
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B. Fernández chose Oracle Financials and Planning to gain financial visibility and streamline core processes.
Solution
Fernández selected Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP, Procurement, Planning, WMS, and OTM to modernize its core operations and replace fragmented systems. With Fusionworks as its implementation partner, the company adopted a phased rollout strategy that began with Oracle Planning and was followed by Oracle Financials.
Oracle stood out for offering a complete suite of applications capable of managing finance, budgeting, logistics, and supply chain operations. The company valued Oracle’s robust functionality, continuous innovation, and proven success in the distribution industry. With Oracle, B. Fernández gained a unified solution that improved operational efficiency, enhanced budget planning and reporting, and enabled data-driven decision-making across the enterprise. This strategic move positioned the company for long-term agility, visibility, and sustainable growth.
Results
Fusionworks, a leading Oracle partner in the Caribbean and multi-award-winning implementer, deployed Oracle Planning for B. Fernández in just six months. One year later, the company successfully went live with Oracle Financials. This phased approach—grounded in close collaboration and best practices—delivered a modern, cloud-based solution that transformed core business operations. With Oracle, B. Fernández has laid the foundation for operational scalability, enterprise-wide visibility, and long-term growth in the competitive distribution industry.
Standardized Budgeting Across Five Companies (Planning)
Replaced disconnected, manual processes with a unified Oracle Planning platform, consolidating budgeting across all business units.
Granular Payroll and Revenue Forecasting (Planning)
Supports detailed payroll planning by employee—including salaries, benefits, and taxes—as well as revenue projections by business unit.
Accelerated Financial Review Cycles (Planning)
Monthly budget vs. actuals reports are now generated much faster, increasing efficiency and reliability.
Real-Time KPI Dashboards with Drill-Through (Planning)
Interactive dashboards provide real-time visibility and direct access to transactional data in Oracle Fusion ERP.
Scalable Budgeting Across Teams and Brands (Planning)
Dozens of users manage budgets for 150+ brands and 500 employees—improving accuracy and decision-making.
Modernized Core Financial Operations (Financials)
Replaced JD Edwards with Oracle Fusion ERP to centralize accounts payable, receivable, assets, general ledger, and supplier transactions.
Improved Data Consistency and Audit Readiness (Financials)
Automation and standardization have reduced manual intervention and strengthened internal controls.
Streamlined Financial Workflows (Financials)
Approval chains and automation have optimized day-to-day financial processes for better efficiency.
Increased Spend Visibility and Control (Financials)
The integrated environment enables better alignment across finance teams and greater control over spending.