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To help organizations increase the efficiency of global supply chains, Oracle is introducing new logistics capabilities within Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain & Manufacturing (SCM). The updates to Oracle Transportation Management (OTM) and Oracle Global Trade Management (GTM), part of Oracle Cloud SCM, help customers reduce costs, improve accuracy, automate regulatory compliance, and enhance logistics flexibility.

Logistics leaders are overwhelmed with a recent build-up of port and shipping delays, fluctuating fuel costs, and evolving trade regulations while also being at the forefront of efforts to reduce carbon emissions of goods in transit. Organizations that don’t have flexible and responsive logistics processes in place often end up passing these delays and costs onto their customers.

“The last few years tested the flexibility of global logistics operations and many organizations have struggled to keep pace with the changing market,” said Derek Gittoes, vice president of supply chain management product strategy, Oracle. “With Oracle Transportation Management and Oracle Global Trade Management, organizations can rapidly adapt to changes in their supply chain and logistics network. Oracle’s self-updating platform gives customers access to continuous innovation, as new features are added every 90 days without business disruption.”

The new capabilities within Oracle Transportation Management and Oracle Global Trade Management include:
• Automated Trade Agreement Qualification: Helps customers validate Certificate of Origin, reduce tariffs, and enter new markets. With a deep view into the bill of materials, Trade Agreement Qualification enables customers to comply with labour regulations and prove where goods were produced via auditable records.
• New Oracle Logistics Digital Assistant Capabilities: Allow users to gain insight into the status of their shipments with simple voice commands. With the embedded Logistics Digital Assistant, users can quickly find answers to their questions.
• Enhanced Workbenches: Allow users to combine data from multiple sources into a single view to streamline operations and enhance decision making. New templates for driver management, dock scheduling, work assignments, shipment, spot bids, and restricted party screening enable users to manage specific logistics processes more efficiently.
• New Oracle Transportation Management Mobile App: Enables customers to send assignments to drivers, capture arrival and departure events, and communicate in-transit status and location information. The highly configurable and intuitive app synchronizes offline app data and allows users to execute tasks efficiently no matter where they are.
• ETA Predictions with Machine Learning: Provide real-time updates and shipment tracking to create accurate predictions for arrival times based on a customer’s unique business operations. With more accurate ETA predictions, customers can take quick action to reroute shipments to enhance operational efficiency.

“1-800 Flowers has a very complex supply chain and transportation plan with our focus on high end gifting, and a strategic priority to deliver an unparalleled customer experience through operational excellence,” said Don La France, vice president, enterprise logistics and supply chain solutions, 1800 Flowers. “Our goals were standardization, scaling capabilities, cost savings, visibility and reporting. After some discovery we quickly decided on Oracle for transportation management and warehouse management. We were able to stand up OTM on our largest brand in 12 weeks, improved our proactivity, and gave our teams the visibility needed to drive greater on-time performance. We are very happy with our choice and our decision has been validated by our results many times over.”

Oracle Cloud SCM helps organizations seamlessly connect supply chain processes and quickly respond to changing demand, supply, and market conditions. With new features added every quarter, Oracle Cloud SCM helps customers create a resilient supply network and processes that outpace change.

Supply chain issues have ceased to be a subject discussed solely among industry experts, writes James Newman, EMEA Director at GreyOrange. It is now a common concern voiced by businesses and consumers across the world and boasts a regular spot in the news headlines. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, 91% of consumers reported to taking the supply chain into consideration when making a purchase, an increase from just 45% before 2020, according to an Oracle survey.

Labour shortages, the Covid-19 pandemic, and global political unrest have been wreaking havoc on businesses’ ability to fulfil orders. Recent government census results show a twenty-six consecutive monthly increase in unfulfilled orders for manufactured goods.

The recent news that Amazon plans to close three of its UK warehouses, placing 1,200 jobs at risk, signals that even the world’s largest internet retailer is not immune to the problems in fulfilment and supply chains of recent years. Yet Amazon is preparing for the future, the warehouses it plans to shut will be replaced by new ones powered by robotics and automation.

It’s not all doom and gloom. The disruptions and troubles we are facing today allow us to reimagine and construct a stronger, more resilient supply chain of the future. The solution is already here: robotics and automation.

Overcoming labour shortages

It is no secret that there is currently a human labour shortage impacting most industries, and this is also true across every stage of the supply chain – especially in the warehouse. Instawork’s 2022 survey, found that 73% of warehouse operators couldn’t find enough labour. Businesses can try and entice workers with offering higher wages and increased benefits, but they still may be met with a limited response.

An often-overlooked problem for workers in the warehouse sector is that warehouses continue to be a comparatively unsafe place to work. The injury and work-related illness rate for the warehouse industry is 1 in 20 people – very high compared to many other jobs. The risk of injury or illness while working is driving a lot of people away from the sector, contributing to the growing warehouse worker shortage.

With a restricted workforce available, retailers are in danger of not being able to fulfil orders quickly enough, and therefore harming brand reputation with customers. Despite the pandemic induced spike in e-commerce sales, recent ONS findings show online retail sales to have returned to their pre-pandemic growth trajectory. This places online retail sales at 18.2% higher than their pre-pandemic levels. Yet, what the spike in sales during the pandemic has shown us is that supply chains are unprepared and technologically unequipped to manage sudden sharp changes in demand.

Current issues in distribution involving labour shortages, strikes, and delays could all be avoided by investing in robotic warehouse automation. The adoption of AI robotics can help to increase warehouse productivity by as much as 40%, reduce labour costs by as much as much one-third (33%), whilst also reducing order fulfilment time by as much as 50%.

With AI-powered robots in the warehouse, orders can be fulfilled 24/7 with no downtime, plus its flexibility and scalability means businesses can avoid overpaying and over-producing in their warehouses and distribution centres.

Robot-as-a-Service

RaaS is the means of leasing robotic devices and accessing a cloud-based subscription service rather than purchasing the equipment outright. The subscription-based service model puts an end to the worries of paying off an expensive piece of robotic equipment and dealing with any maintenance issues that arise.

Retailers are increasingly incorporating RaaS into their supply chains due to its scalability and flexibility, resulting in lower costs and increased efficiency. Businesses can scale up and down operation cost-effectively to meet peaks and drops in consumer demand, enabling businesses to only pay for what they use.

The lower entry cost of RaaS in comparison to traditional robotics programs grant small- and medium-sized businesses to access the benefits of robotics without the often cost-prohibitive initial investment.

The role that AI and Robotics can play in providing scalability, agility, and a great end-to-end customer experience, is an example of why technology changes need to be accelerated to ensure retailers stay nimble, and adaptable during high demand.

Tag: Oracle

AI can Drive Supply Chain Future

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