Oracle has outlined changes to its supply chain
portfolio that it said will help customers operate more leanly,
comply with legal regulations and manage risk.
The company will roll out of Oracle Supply Chain Management
11i.10, which is aimed at helping manufacturers improve their
operations outside their own walls and throughout their entire
global supply chain, said Jonathan Colehower, vice-president of
Oracle SCM.
This version will enable companies to do international parts
drop shipment "without having to go through mountains of
paperwork", he said.
In addition, Oracle has automated the process of forecasting
demand across multiple suppliers and countries. It has also enabled
the software to work wirelessly over multiple departments, partners
and regions.
Oracle also has expanded its support for electronic signatures
and radio frequency identification tags to help meet the
requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
For example, if a manufacturing engineer makes a change in
product design in the field, there is complete visibility into that
decision as well as the ability to trace it, Colehower said.
Moreover, integration with the Oracle Internal Controls Manager
application will help companies monitor and manage supply chain
transactions and ensure they are aligned with standing
policies.
To help support leaner supply chain techniques, Oracle has
beefed up the application to better measure and price complex
orders. This allows companies to be very precise in what they are
charging to customers, he said, and will help cut waste from the
supply chain.
Oracle Supply Chain Management 11i.10 will ship in 90 days.
Pricing has yet to be determined.
Marc L. Songini writes for Computerworld