Enterprise software giant Oracle announced the release of its Transportation Management and Global Trade Management solutions, designed to help businesses optimize their logistics and global trade compliance operations.
The updates to Transportation Management and Oracle Global Trade Management, both versions 6.4, include enhancements in fleet management, transportation sourcing, transportation business intelligence, transportation planning, global trade management and customs management.
"International shipping and logistics have become increasingly complex and exposed businesses to potential pitfalls with challenging compliance and customs processes," Derek Gittoes, vice president of supply chain management product strategy for Oracle, told eWEEK. "Consequently, the market needs a single system that enables businesses to manage transportation and trade management requirements on an enterprise-wide level. Oracle saw an opportunity to help its customers tackle the challenge of disparate systems that create a more complicated workflow."
New capabilities within Transportation Management 6.4 include an updated user experience that provides transportation planners and customer service representatives with enhanced visibility into planned and in-transit shipment information.
Global Trade Management 6.4 includes a Landed Cost Simulator that helps to enable optimal supplier selection by allowing users to compare the estimated landed cost (ELC) values for different sourcing options, as well as visibility into customs value, duty and tax amounts, and financial benefits of available free trade agreements.
"These types of platforms will help businesses analyze your current gaps and identify specific supply chain use cases that will demonstrate quick wins for your enterprise," Gittoes said. "With IoT [Internet of things] becoming much more affordable, companies, for example, are embedding IoT sensors in their products that 'phone home' with product status. The supply chain must adapt because now a new service is able to be provided for proactive support, and this requires people and activities be instituted to provide this support."
Other enhancements to Trade Management 6.4 enable customers to carry out customs valuation and calculate applicable duties, taxes and import fees. Version 6.4 also provides visibility to extended supply chain charges required for import documentation and customs filing.
For Transportation Management 6.4, fleet enhancements include a new, configurable user workbench for fleet management activities and integrated real-time mapping, traffic and weather services. Plus, advanced algorithmic capabilities support the planning and utilization of fleet resources in conjunction with common carrier resources.
"User friendliness is critical for these types of platforms as today's global economy requires logistics managers to act quickly. In order to do so, they need platforms that present data clearly," Gittoes said. "With just a glance, the platform should allow the user to make sure there are no urgent tasks, scan for more details if something comes up and commit to fully engage when a task requires it. If a platform is designed with this type of mentality, it enables the worker to maximize their time with each task they face."
Research Assistant
