Oracle Cloud SCM gets new capabilities to help manage logistics

Oracle is adding new capabilities to its Supply Chain and Manufacturing (SCM) Fusion Cloud to help enterprises manage their logistics.

The new features appear in its Oracle Transportation Management and Oracle Global Trade Management applications, and include expanded business intelligence capabilities, enhanced logistics network modelling, a new trade incentive program, and an updated Transportation Management Mobile application.

The expanded business intelligence capabilities will allow enterprises to combine transportation and trade data with other operational data in Oracle Fusion Data Intelligence, an updated version of Oracle’s Fusion Analytics Warehouse built for Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications that helps bring together business data, ready-to-use analytics, and prebuilt AI and machine learning (ML) models.

The combination of the data along with machine learning models will aid enterprises in making faster decisions around global logistics, the company said in a statement.

The enhanced logistics network modelling capability, according to the company, will help logistics managers model different scenarios and compare different scheduling options for drivers. This in turn helps optimizing fleet performance, the company said, adding that enterprises are currently facing many supply chain challenges, including component shortages, disrupted shipping routes, ever-changing global trade agreements, and volatile customer demand.

In addition, Oracle has added a new trade incentive program to the suite that will allow enterprises to automate support for multiple country-specific trade programs.

“Automating trade documentation helps enteprises eliminate manual processes, improve the accuracy and efficiency of trade program participation, and reduce duty and tax costs,” the company said.

On the mobile applications front, the updates to Fusion Cloud SCM include a new iteration of the Oracle Transportation Management application that enables support for third-party transportation service providers and fleet-managed drivers. This enables application users to bid on spot market shipments, capture shipment actuals, and launch maps, Oracle said.

Supply chain execution software market to see demand

Oracle’s updates to its Fusion Cloud SCM comes at a time when the demand for transportation management software is set to grow.

Gartner forecasts that enterprise spend on supply chain execution (SCE) software will rise to $8.8 billion annually in 2026, up from $5.3 billion in 2021.

Transportation management software will account for around 26% of that SCE spend, or $2.2 billion, according to the Gartner forecast made in late 2022. North America will account for nearly 62% of global TMS spend by 2026, it said.

Last year, Gartner rated Oracle’s Transportation Management software (TMS) ahead of applications from rivals including Blue Yonder, SAP, Manhattan Associates, and One Network Enterprises.

Gartner noted that Oracle’s strengths included strong knowledge of the transportation management market and a large ecosystem of complementary software vendors, systems integrators and implementation partners. However, the firm analyst warned potential buyers to ask for more detail on Oracle’s investment in TMS as part of its product roadmap. “While Oracle’s commitment to supply chain products is unquestioned, the significance and alignment of Oracle Fusion Cloud Transportation Management to the overall business of this vendor remains small,” it said.