Oracle introduces inventory optimization application

Oracle Corp. has launched Oracle Inventory Optimization, a comprehensive, secure, and Web-enabled advanced inventory planning solution.

Oracle Inventory Optimization allows companies to evaluate their long-term inventory investment decisions while taking into account customer service, profit, and strategic sourcing objectives.

Oracle Inventory Optimization was designed to augment a company’s existing tactical supply chain planning tool such as Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning and can be implemented as a standalone application or part of the E-Business Suite.

Oracle Inventory Optimization is immediately available and also offered as an online service on Oracle.com.

Traditional inventory planning techniques calculate finished goods safety stock to hedge against demand uncertainty. Oracle Inventory Optimization is an advanced inventory planning solution that accounts for the realities of a company’s supply chain such as demand, supply, and lead time variability to recommend inventory postponement strategies.

Inventory postponement enables companies to determine if they should hold finished goods inventory subassemblies or raw material inventory and where it should be stored. According to Oracle this greatly increases a company’s flexibility and allows them to attain a higher customer service level with a significantly lower inventory investment.

An optimization technique, ‘stochastic optimization’, enables companies to save money by maintaining appropriate inventory levels at the right location for the right products and components at higher service levels. In addition, companies can use simulation capabilities to help determine the most profitable scenario, as well as evaluate revenue, sourcing and postponement strategies.