Manufacturers put faith in Oracle value chain planning apps

Users include Alkan, ArvinMeritor, Auto Windscreens, C&S Wholesale, Hatfield Quality Meats, Hormel, JDSU, Oxiteno and Spühl – and all talk of lowering operating costs and increasing performance. Latin America-based ethylene oxide manufacturer Oxiteno, for example, explains that Oracle's Demantra, Oracle Production Scheduling and Oracle Strategic Network Optimisation are being used to automate production planning and execution, resulting in better accuracy. Oxiteno CIO Antonio Carlos Pereira says the system complements its company-wide supply chain upgrade, which included revamping IT to better balance supply with demand and achieve optimised demand forecasting and planning. "Our distributors and customers are in diverse industries throughout the world and rely on us for their intermediary products. As a result, accurate and automated demand forecasting and planning is critical to our success," says Pereira. "In our business, it is essential to have the infrastructure necessary to adopt best practices for successful supply chain management." Previously, processes were dispersed around spreadsheets and disparate internal applications – a far cry from what he now describes as a holistic view into sales demand management, linked to production planning and execution.