Oracle's Release 11i bolsters its supply chain management offerings

by Dana Damiani | Jul 14, 2000 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Dana Damiani

Takeaway: Oracle's attention to e-business shows in Release 11i. This report from Gartner details Oracle's successful attempt to strengthen its supply chain management applications. Here's what Gartner thinks Release 11i can offer your business.

Supply chain management applications have become a huge component of e-business. With more people using the Web to purchase and order goods and services, the demand for customer service also has increased.

As many customers are drawn to the Internet’s ease and efficiency, they also want their orders to be filled and expedited with Internet speed.

To help businesses meet this demand, Oracle has improved its supply chain management application in the release of 11i, a total Internet applications suite, according to Gartner’s “Oracle Corp. Supply Chain Management Applications.”
“Oracle’s Supply-Chain Management portfolio is one of the most comprehensive supply-chain management offerings on the market today…. It is able to seamlessly share data with Oracle’s manufacturing, CRM, financials, and e-commerce applications.”Download the full report from the TechRepublic Product Analysis Center or check out more Product Analysis overviews.
Application rundown
As detailed in the Gartner report, Oracle’s planning software gives customers the ability to enter and configure their own orders over the Web. This allows them to verify pricing, freight, and availability in real time.

The suite includes demand planning, supply-chain planning, configurator, and pricing. These features, when used together, enable the supply-chain management process to cover all time horizons. However, there is limited support for warehouse management and strategic route planning.

Also, Oracle supply-chain management applications require a runtime version of the Oracle RDBMS. This restricts companies when working with Oracle to one type of database and incurs the extra expense of installing the Oracle8i database. Oracle’s competitors provide multiple database support.


Trends
Oracle’s attention to its supply-chain management offerings follows a trend that other companies are pursuing. In this report, Gartner suggests that Oracle will face competition from SAP, PeopleSoft, and J.D. Edwards, three ERP powerhouses that have developed supply-chain management solutions.

In fact, Gartner expects that by 2004, ERP vendors will account for about 60 percent of the supply-chain software market. (TechRepublic is a subsidiary of Gartner.)


Why supply chain management?
The key to the success of a supply chain is the speed at which procurement activities can be accomplished and the realization of the customer’s needs and satisfaction, according to the Rockford Consulting Group, which specializes in manufacturing and distribution operations management consulting.

Reduced inventories, lower operating costs, product availability and customer satisfaction are all benefits of an effective supply-chain management strategy. Market demands, customer service, transport considerations, and pricing constraints must all be understood in order to structure an appropriate supply-chain management plan.

That plan would do well to include Oracle’s Release 11i, according to the Gartner report, which states that, “With Release 11i, Oracle makes important strides to strengthen its supply chain management suite of applications to the point that it is now one of the stronger offerings on the market.”
For in-depth information on emerging technologies and new products, check out our Product Analysis center. Experts from Gartner Research examine products from all angles and give you the details you need to make the right purchasing decision.

Supply chain management applications have become a huge component of e-business. With more people using the Web to purchase and order goods and services, the demand for customer service also has increased.

As many customers are drawn to the Internet’s ease and efficiency, they also want their orders to be filled and expedited with Internet speed.

To help businesses meet this demand, Oracle has improved its supply chain management application in the release of 11i, a total Internet applications suite, according to Gartner’s “Oracle Corp. Supply Chain Management Applications.”
“Oracle’s Supply-Chain Management portfolio is one of the most comprehensive supply-chain management offerings on the market today…. It is able to seamlessly share data with Oracle’s manufacturing, CRM, financials, and e-commerce applications.”Download the full report from the TechRepublic Product Analysis Center or check out more Product Analysis overviews.
Application rundown
As detailed in the Gartner report, Oracle’s planning software gives customers the ability to enter and configure their own orders over the Web. This allows them to verify pricing, freight, and availability in real time.

The suite includes demand planning, supply-chain planning, configurator, and pricing. These features, when used together, enable the supply-chain management process to cover all time horizons. However, there is limited support for warehouse management and strategic route planning.

Also, Oracle supply-chain management applications require a runtime version of the Oracle RDBMS. This restricts companies when working with Oracle to one type of database and incurs the extra expense of installing the Oracle8i database. Oracle’s competitors provide multiple database support.


Trends
Oracle’s attention to its supply-chain management offerings follows a trend that other companies are pursuing. In this report, Gartner suggests that Oracle will face competition from SAP, PeopleSoft, and J.D. Edwards, three ERP powerhouses that have developed supply-chain management solutions.

In fact, Gartner expects that by 2004, ERP vendors will account for about 60 percent of the supply-chain software market. (TechRepublic is a subsidiary of Gartner.)


Why supply chain management?
The key to the success of a supply chain is the speed at which procurement activities can be accomplished and the realization of the customer’s needs and satisfaction, according to the Rockford Consulting Group, which specializes in manufacturing and distribution operations management consulting.

Reduced inventories, lower operating costs, product availability and customer satisfaction are all benefits of an effective supply-chain management strategy. Market demands, customer service, transport considerations, and pricing constraints must all be understood in order to structure an appropriate supply-chain management plan.

That plan would do well to include Oracle’s Release 11i, according to the Gartner report, which states that, “With Release 11i, Oracle makes important strides to strengthen its supply chain management suite of applications to the point that it is now one of the stronger offerings on the market.”
For in-depth information on emerging technologies and new products, check out our Product Analysis center. Experts from Gartner Research examine products from all angles and give you the details you need to make the right purchasing decision.