Commercial Net Lease Realty @Oracle
Commercial Net Lease Realty (CNLR) is a real estate investment trust traded on the New York Stock Exchange. The company acquires, sells, and manages single-tenant commercial buildings leased by such retail chains as Target, Barnes & Noble, and Bennigan's. At any one time, its portfolio might hold 350 properties in 38 states.
Although the company's management was financially sophisticated, the systems it relied on were not. By 1999, it was clear that CNLR had to overhaul its management information system to redesign business processes so it could generate savings and increase productivity. CNLR solicited proposals from four software vendors, three of which worked solely in financial services. The company ultimately opted for an Oracle installation using the Oracle Assets, Oracle Cash Management, Oracle Financial Analyzer, Oracle Internet Expenses, Oracle General Ledger, Oracle Payables, Oracle Receivables, Oracle Purchasing, Oracle Projects, and Oracle Property Manager applications.
With its business based in North America, choosing the @Oracle model was not difficult. David Lachicotte, CIO at CNLR, saw the benefits of standardization and made a bet that the Oracle On Demand model could return a significant reduction in IT cost while increasing functionality.
CNLR realized more than $2.04 million in savings over the first three years of its operation. This represented an 84% annual reduction in hardware, software, professional services, and continuing cost spending from the company's information technology budget, for a return on investment of 136%. More important, it has a system that separates core from context. The solution reflects the sophistication of its underlying business, allowing CNLR to focus on real estate operations and not computing infrastructure.