24 October 2002 Software giant Oracle will release a new version of its applications suite next month.
Called Oracle E-Business Suite 11i8, it will include new modules covering warehouse and transport management that will work with the software’s existing supply chain management (SCM) software. The new SCM modules will pit Oracle against SCM specialists Catalyst International, EXE Technologies, Global Logistics and Manhattan Associates.
The suite has also been updated to enable organisations to outsource certain business processes more easily, as well as to share more detailed information with business partners, such as inventory levels and delivery times.
Licence fees for the supply chain tools will start at about $30,000 (€30,800), Don Klaiss, senior vice president of Oracle application development told CNet.
Oracle originally announced 11i in 1999 and delivered it in a piecemeal fashion during 2000. The software was initially criticised for being bug-ridden and Oracle had to rush out more than 5,000 patches – several a week at one point – in order to overcome the problems.
Those problems have since been ironed out, but undoubtedly contributed to a poor performance by Oracle’s applications division in recent years compared to its main competitors PeopleSoft and SAP.
