eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
With its purchase of G-Log in 2005, Oracle acquired a logistics and transportation management software development team—along with a suite of accompanying technology—that lets users plan, optimize, execute and analyze the movement of goods across their supply chain.
Over the past five months, Oracle has been working to integrate G-Logs capabilities into its own supply chain management technology stack. As a result, the company announced Feb. 7 its new namesake Transportation Management suite that expands its core supply chain capabilities to include logistics planning, a functionality that lets users automate some of the planning processes that have, in many cases, been performed on a white board.
Oracles Transportation Management suite is based on G-Logs Global Command and Control Center software that provides a number of basic logistics functionalities: optimization; order entry; procurement; supply chain event management and visibility; track and trace; freight payment; and historical analysis.
Oracle plans to build on the core G-Log suite by adding an integration component—BPEL (Business Process Execution Language) Process Manager—to the mix, which should help users better integrate logistics planning into their ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems. This could turn out to be a key capability, given the fact that about half of G-Logs customers already have Oracle applications installed; G-Log brought a hefty customer roster in the shipping and logistics provider industry, including Halliburton, DuPont, Big Lots, Giant Eagle, Tesco and Volvo.
The Transportation Management suite also provides a number of capabilities that let users plan logistics outside their four walls, including support for domestic and international transportation modes—inbound and outbound, from point-to-point to complex operations. The suite also provides visibility into logistics data, both in real time and in changing scenarios, such as when a shipment is delayed or incorrect.
The Transportation Management suite also has some built-in workflow management tools that identify changes in supply chain workflow—late shipments and inventory availability, for example—and automation tools that help users to automate repeatable tasks.
Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest news and analysis of enterprise supply chains.