Oracle Corp. today added new features to the Transportation Management and Global Trade Management, components of its Fusion Cloud Supply Chain & Manufacturing suite that are aimed at improving logistics operations, reducing costs and automating regulatory compliance.

The most significant new capability is enhanced logistics network modeling capabilities that help logistics managers compare different scenarios and scheduling options. That can help them improve assignment decisions and optimize fleet performance, Oracle said.

“This lets you model changes to your network so you know, for example, if a port closes, what other shipping options you have,” said Srini Rajagopal, vice president of logistics product strategy at Oracle. “It runs right off your real-world transportation data to help you understand how best to deploy your fleet.”

The modeling capabilities can apply to a blend of private, dedicated and rail fleets. Customers can connect to and import data from third-party data suppliers, carriers and customers. “We bring that data into Transportation Management, execute on it, create transportation shipment documents, communicate them to carriers and track and trace shipments along the way,” Rajagopal said.

Optimizing incentives

Another significant enhancement the company is touting is trade incentive tracking. It enables logistics managers to simultaneously automate support for multiple country-specific trade programs and the documents that go with them.

“Global Trade Management is already very powerful in managing regulations around screening parties, handling licenses, import/exports and trade agreements,” Rajagopal said. “The new capabilities allow you to understand where how you can minimize duties and draw back duties you’ve already paid.”

For example, an import that isn’t consumed locally and then is exported may be eligible for a duty drawback. “We integrate with partner content providers that have all of these customs content and automatically bring the data in from them for the regions you need,” he said.

Updates to the Transportation Management mobile app add support for third-party transportation service providers and fleet-managed drivers to enable app users to bid on spot market shipments, capture shipment information, and visualize logistics on maps. Fleet managers can track the location of drivers and drivers can share event information and other feedback. The app also connects to third-party carriers to provide information on arrivals and departures, tender/except reject status and spot bidding.

“If I’m a shipper using Transportation Management and a customer wants to know where their order is, I don’t need to call a customer service representative or log into a portal,” Rajagopal said. “I can just pick up my mobile phone and ask a single question. Our chatbot processes it and returns that information.”

Expanded business intelligence capabilities combine transportation and trade data with other operational data managed by Oracle Fusion Data Intelligence. The augmented data helps organizations improve logistical decision-making and get a more holistic, real-time view of the business.

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