Setlog presents OSCA software at LogiMAT

Software company Setlog will present its enhanced SCM software OSCA at the LogiMAT intralogistics trade fair in Stuttgart (31st May – 2nd June). In Hall 7 Booth C61, the supply chain experts from Bochum will demonstrate the IT tool’s five solutions. The software has been adapted to new realities and market requirements helping companies find digital solutions for their processes more precisely.

Third-party systems can now be connected to OSCA even more easily than before, bringing overall deeper transparency into value chains. The tool is used by more than 150 brands worldwide. The goal is to break down silos and avoid media discontinuities. Standardised API interfaces allow data to be exchanged with ERP, TMS, WMS and other systems without a duplication of maintenance and redundancies.

The five solutions of OSCA – short for “Online Supply Chain Accelerator” – are: Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Procurement, Quality Control, and Global Logistics.

Over the course of time, specialists have further developed OSCA so that users can also manage several tiers of upstream suppliers with the tool. The software now brings transparency up to Tier-8. “In the apparel industry, for example, with our software we are now able to advance all the way to the farmer who harvests cotton,” explains Ralf Duester, a member of Setlog’s board of directors.

OSCA brings users numerous benefits: For example, the CSR solution helps companies to implement the regulations of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which will come into force in Germany in 2023. “Globally operating companies must not lose any time in setting themselves up digitally in supply chain management. Those who tackle this now need not fear the legislation, additional costs or increased administrative efforts after the Supply Chain Act comes into force,” says Duester. “With OSCA, our customers have a user-friendly, digital tool with which they can master the complexity of topics such as CSR, supplier management, purchasing, logistics and quality control.”

For the further development of OSCA, the SCM experts not only exchanged knowledge with industry associations, but also with customers. Know-how transfer took place with Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, Adler Modemärkte, Woom, and KiK Textilien and Non-Food, among others. Numerous customers already use OSCA for CSR to monitor compliance with labor, human rights and social standards and to manage their suppliers and supply chain partners.

Although the regulations of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act will initially only apply to companies with more than 3,000 employees and will not apply to companies with more than 1,000 employees until 2024, Duester advises medium-sized companies to do their homework. “Those who supply large companies should by no means put the issue on the back burner. Because these companies will contractually manifest that not only large suppliers, but all suppliers comply with the regulations of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act and make their supply chains transparent,” says Duester.

At LogiMAT, Setlog representatives also want to advocate for the topic of open-source software. Setlog is a founding member of both Open Logistics e.V., the sponsoring association of the Open Logistics Foundation, and the International Data Spaces Association (IDSA). The Bochum-based company’s credo is that open-source software, especially standardised interfaces, can help logistics IT service providers – particularly medium-sized companies – improve their own solutions.

“The integration of partners on platforms has become increasingly complex in recent years, and the connection effort with interfaces has increased accordingly. Today, it’s all about refining interfaces so that data can flow more quickly, speeding up coordination processes,” Duester emphasises. “Interfaces are not the Holy Grail for anyone in logistics – neither for logistics companies nor for IT service providers – because the intelligence still lies in the software itself.” According to Duester, the Open Logistics Foundation, which was founded because of an initiative by Fraunhofer IML and the Silicon Economy project, will support logistics on its path to standardisation, specifically around interfaces.