DC Velocity - July 2018

18 DC VELOCITY JULY 2018 www.dcvelocity.com newsworthy

Oracle upgrades warehouse
management software for
e-commerce users

Business software giant Oracle Corp. has launched a series of improvements to its cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS) to help e-commerce providers reduce their logistics costs, fine-tune inventory levels, and improve customer service.

Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle says the enhancements to its Warehouse Management Cloud product include heightened supply chain visibility through embedded yard management tools, a tighter integration with Oracle’s cloud-based inventory management suite, and a series of application programming interfaces (APIs) that will support connections with other software platforms.

Adding yard management capabilities to its WMS product will allow users to have clearer insight into the trailers in their yard, avoiding visibility gaps that can lead to fulfillment delays, according to Oracle. The feature could also let companies locate specific shipments in trailers in order to expedite unloading for high-priority inventory, the company said.

“Today’s e-commerce-driven economy has changed customer expectations for fulfillment, and delays or inconsistencies can significantly impact customer satisfaction and loyalty,” Diego Pantoja-Navajas, Oracle’s vice president for WMS product development, said in a press release.

The announcement was Oracle’s latest move to invest in the WMS software it acquired when the company bought LogFire Inc. in 2016 in an effort to expand its expertise in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software into a wider spectrum of logistics technologies. Oracle also upgraded the WMS platform in 2017 with enhancements it said could help businesses handle challenging omnichannel fulfillment issues.

“Oracle is moving its WMS Cloud more and more in line with the rest of its SCM Cloud offering,” Clint Reiser, an analyst with consultancy ARC Advisory Group, said in an e-mail. “Regarding yard management, adding it to the solution is filling a pretty substantial function-ality gap.”

alliances

Food distributor Hardie’s Fresh Foods has selected supply chain planning solutions from Blue Ridge to better align its produce inventory with expected customer demand. … Clark Material Handling Co. has appointed Pacific Material Handling Solutions Inc. as an authorized distributor in the San Francisco Bay and Northern California markets. … Vigilant Global Trade Services, a company that provides global trade compliance solutions and managed service programs, has chosen Descartes Systems Group’s CustomsInfo and MK Denied Party Screening solutions to help its clients comply with global trade regulations. … Material handling equipment maker Kion North America Corp. has appointed Carson Industries to its dealer network. … Pilot Freight Services, a worldwide provider of transportation and logistics services, has gone live with Amber Road’s Export On-Demand solution to automate the restricted-party screening process. … Poultry and pork processing company Perdue Foods has selected the FourKites supply chain visibility and predictive analytics platform to provide real-time temperature and location tracking of shipments across its supply chain.

South Korean logistics company CJ Logistics Corp. has acquired 90 percent of U.S. logistics firm DSC Logistics Inc. for US$216 million as part of a strategy to expand in the U.S. market.

The deal marks the first acquisition in the Americas for the logistics arm of South Korean food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group. CJ operates 15 logistics centers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. It had previously made acquisitions in four Asian countries.

“Following our inroads into China and Southeast Asia, we are now beginning a full-fledged expansion into the U.S.,” CJ Logistics CEO Park Keun-tae said in a statement that appeared on the Yonhap news service.

Under the agreement, Ann M. Drake, who is DSC’s CEO, will remain as chair of the DSC Advisory Board and will retain minority ownership. The company’s other senior leadership will remain in place, with Ed Bowersox as president, David Copeland as CFO, and Kevin Coleman as chief customer officer. DSC’s headquarters will remain in Des Plaines, Ill., a suburb of Chicago.

DSC was founded in 1960 by Jim McIlrath as Dry Storage Corp. Drake joined the company in 1994. Over the years, she has become one of the logistics industry’s most influential executives. In 2012, she received the annual “Distinguished Service Award” from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the organization’s highest honor. In 2009, she was named a DC VELOCITY Rainmaker.