Oracle Lifts Lid On Transportation Management

Oracle Corp. on Tuesday unveiled Oracle Transportation Management, a platform which provides visibility into the flow of goods across the supply chain.

The platform is the first to integrate supply chain features acquired with G-Log last year.

Oracle Transportation Management assists in reducing cycle times and better management of assets and costs, according to Mark Johnson, senior director of product marketing at Oracle. "Companies today need to operate and execute in multiple geographies across multiple business units," he said. "In one system, companies can plan domestic consolidation and routing for goods, as well as transportation across international borders."

As globalization lures medium size businesses to Eastern Europe, Chinam and India to explore new markets, the search for low-cost labor and raw materials continues.

To manage orders and production in international markets, companies must know exact quantities on-hand and in the supply chain. Companies must have data readily available to assess costs for raw goods, finished materials and transportation. And they must known exactly where the goods are in the production and shipment pipeline, whether at manufacturing plants, distribution centers or on the way to stores.Longer manufacturing and delivery times are factors companies must take into consideration when building production schedules. "Globalization increases the length and complexity in the supply chain," said Johnson. "You might be able to buy less expensive goods, but it takes longer to ship the products with less certainty."

Once too risky for medium size companies to operate globally, transportation management software is making globalization accessible. The software maker for transportation management is expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2009, up from approximately $950 million in 2005, according ARC Advisory Group analyst Adrian Gonzalez.

Transportation costs have increased 23 percent since 2002, averaging $1.69 per mile, Gonzalez said. The problem is many companies don't have an accurate understanding of their transportation costs because it's often bundled with other costs.

Oracle Transportation Management provides visibility to manage supply chains better, Johnson said. The platform is built on G-Log's flagship Global Command and Control Center (GC3) product, known by analysts as one of the best transportation management software packages. It offers optimization, order entry, procurement, supply chain event management and visibility, track and trace, freight payment and historical analysis.

The integration of Oracle Transportation Management into the OracleE-Business Suite, an enterprise resource planning(ERP) platform, will equip customers with in-transit visibility and event management; and business-process support for ocean, container, rail and air. The platform monitors denied party check, document controls, as well as links with ports and carriers.It also provides domestic and international planning and execution capabilities, logistics visibility and event management, and adaptive business processes with workflow and automation tools

Oracle intends to extend G-Log's capabilities through the Oracle BPEL Process Manager, an Oracle Fusion Middleware component. This gives Oracle Transportation Management out-of-the box integration to the Oracle E-Business Suite later this year. Oracle BPEL Process Manager will help customers quickly implement the product.