Oracle Launches Platform for Auto Suppliers

The cloud platform helps bolster manufacturing and supply chain efficiency.

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While a car was once just a form of transportation, today it is an experience.

The marriage of metal, machinery, and technology — combined with the challenges presented by the move to electrification, a global pandemic, and ongoing supply chain disruptions — has increased the complexity and volatility in automotive manufacturing. Now more than ever, the automotive industry needs real-time visibility into supply chain processes from Tier 1 through Tier N suppliers.

To address this need, today we are announcing the availability of the Oracle Platform for Automotive Suppliers. The cloud platform, comprised of Oracle Fusion Cloud ApplicationsOracle Cloud InfrastructureOracle Analytics, and ISV partner solutions, enables automotive suppliers and high-tech and industrial manufacturers to accelerate development of new products, supports automotive compliance, and helps increase manufacturing and supply chain efficiency.

“As the automotive industry radically transforms, we believe automotive suppliers must strengthen their collaboration with OEMs, so they can innovate faster and develop a more resilient, nimble supply chain,” said Tom Comstock, principal analyst, LNS Research. “Adopting cloud technologies will be a critical foundation for multi-enterprise collaboration to drive industry growth and innovation. In this regard, Oracle’s sustained investments in building a comprehensive cloud platform, as well as industry-specific solutions such as the Oracle Platform for Automotive Suppliers, represent important steps in addressing this need.”

Through the comprehensive capabilities of Oracle Cloud and integrations for solutions from  ISV partners KanbanBOXANARKRF-SMART, and TrueCommerce DiCentral, the platform will enable automotive suppliers and high-tech and industrial manufacturers to quickly adjust to new business models and meet the current manufacturing demand fueled by the rise of electric vehicles. The platform supports Kanban-based materials management, 3D-work instructions, mobility barcoding, and release accounting/cumulative management. It will help customers meet OEM requirements and enhance compliance with automotive industry mandates and standards.

“With the automotive sector involved in a rapid evolution of expectations at demand side and strong instability at supply side, manufacturers and suppliers need to quickly evolve processes to support the new industry requirements and meet customer demand,” said Stefano Mariani, head of IT, Alcar Ruote SA. “With Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain and Manufacturing applications, Oracle Fusion Cloud IoT Intelligent Applications, and embedded AI capabilities, we have been able to use real-time data to streamline our production operations and automate order-fill processes. As a result, we have the information systems to keep pace with a rapidly evolving market and deliver the high-quality products our customers have come to expect.” Alcar Ruote SA is a leading manufacturer of steel and alloy wheels for the European market.

By integrating ISV partner solutions with Oracle Cloud, companies can:

  • Streamline Kanban processing: KanbanBOX simplifies the handling of Kanbans for production, purchasing, and sales. Together Oracle Cloud and KanbanBOX enable several key capabilities. They include automating management of work orders and purchase orders, providing the ability to change the status of Kanban tags at the closure of production and purchase orders, and delivering automated update notifications to users.
  • Increase visual collaboration: Anark supplements Oracle Fusion Cloud Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) by providing 3D model-based work instructions. Anark Core automates the publishing and sharing of complex technical data, and offers secure managed access and visual collaboration from nearly any device with modern digital workflows. Together, Oracle PLM and Anark enable faster design and engineering iterations, helps reduce material waste, and enhance product quality with substantial cost savings.
  • Improve supply chain visibility and comply with OEM requirements: RF-SMART’s solution for automated mobile data collection delivers rich functionality for inventory management and transaction processing. With RF-SMART integrated into the Oracle platform, customers can eliminate manual data entry, reduce on-hand stock, decrease inventory costs, and can achieve compliance with OEM mandates for barcode labeling, printing, and scanning.
  • Leverage real-time release accounting and cumulative management: TrueCommerce DiCentral’s DiAutomotive solution incorporates inbound and outbound EDI translations, OEM translated requirements, and embedded automotive industry standards within release accounting and cumulative management. DiAutomotive is designed to provide comprehensive EDI-to-cash and EDI-to-forecast functionality while maintaining OEM quality compliance with key automotive industry standards.

By bringing together leading technologies, including Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications and Oracle Fusion Cloud Internet of Things (IoT) Intelligent Applications, the Oracle Platform for Automotive Suppliers is helping the industry drive needed innovation. With built-in machine learning and AI, the integrated suite of applications helps automotive suppliers better manage production operations and get real-time data that can be used to optimally plan, execute, deliver orders on-time, and adapt products and services to drive new business models.

As the automotive sector continues to undergo this monumental transformation amidst a volatile market landscape, it’s time for them to rethink their operations. As seen with the recent microchip shortage alone, an over-reliance on key suppliers can disrupt the entire manufacturing and go-to-market process. With the combination of Oracle Cloud and our ISV partner solutions, we are enabling automotive suppliers, industrial manufacturers, and high-tech industries to navigate these disruptions and make more strategic, data-driven decisions to create opportunities for sustainable growth.

John Barcus is group vice president of manufacturing industries and emerging technologies at Oracle.

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