Operations and supply chain management (SCM) work together to make sure an organization grows and stays in business. This makes SCM platforms an integral part of modern business process design, which leads businesses to the critical decision: Oracle Cloud SCM vs SAP SCM.
Oracle and SAP are two of the leading developers of business automation software, including supply chain management software. In this article, we evaluate both systems with the hope of helping you choose one for your day-to-day operations.
What is an SCM Platform?
A supply chain management platform contains tools or modules designed to automate and streamline supply chain transactions. By managing the flow of goods, information, and finances from the suppliers, into the organization, and out into the market, a company obtains access to crucial information and makes better business decisions.
With an SCM platform in place, organizations can meet rapidly changing demands and help accelerate their potential for global supply chain management.
4 Ways SCM Helps Organizations
SCM platforms, regardless of the brand, should help an organization in four main areas: planning, coordination, collaboration, and execution.
Below is a deeper look into each area.
1. Planning
Production planning relies on supply chain factors, including demand and inventory levels, for manufacturing and services. After all, you can’t create your products if you don’t have the raw materials needed to make them.
SCM modules provide real-time inventory and procurement data, enabling streamlined production plans for efficiency.
2. Coordination
The supply chain directly ties into other aspects of the business, from marketing to distribution. As such, there are a lot of internal stakeholders that benefit from an automated management and supply chain platform.
By having a single location for transactions occurring in different departments, the entire organization benefits from a single source of truth. This minimizes discrepancies and accelerates the decision-making process, helping companies meet tighter quality control targets.
3. Collaboration
Oracle and SAP’s SCM platforms enhance global supply chain collaboration among suppliers, manufacturers, and customers. SCM technology can aid project management for external stakeholders, including partner communities and universities.
4. Execution
With robust data models to build plans on, organizations can now execute day-to-day operations with reduced unknowns. It streamlines management activities, allowing a supervisor or operations manager to move on to the next task at hand.
Credits: Cova Software
Breaking Down Oracle Cloud SCM vs SAP SCM
We can start the comparison between the two leading platforms for operations and supply chain management based on their market positions. Business intelligence platform Slintel pegs the SAP SCM platform as having 5064 customers compared to the 1270 clients using Oracle Cloud SCM.
However, a separate report notes that while SAP leads the global SCM market, Oracle is now catching up as the second most-preferred SCM platform, not only in the United States but in most parts of the world.
Let’s take a look at these two systems in terms of versatility, integration, the potential for personalization, and security.
Versatility
SCM solutions streamline production with AI and machine learning, a key adoption driver. Both Oracle and SAP use these technologies, although to varying degrees.
SAP, for example, focuses on automating the generation of financial statements, reducing lead time and the risk of errors. For improved customer service, it has the CoPilot feature. It is an AI chatbot that helps process customer concerns.
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Oracle takes this a step further, with an added focus on personalization and versatility to accommodate a wider range of processes. One example is the NetSuite SuiteBilling, an automated billing management platform shared across Oracle Cloud ERP’s different segments. It automatically transacts across various currencies and helps generate forecasts and projections.
Integrations
Most companies continue to rely on legacy systems, which are outdated and are mostly deployed on company premises. SAP provides more flexibility, integrating with legacy systems via cloud-based and on-premise solutions.
Oracle users need extra steps to integrate localized systems with its cloud-based solutions.
Personalization
One of the largest gaps of SAP as an SCM provider is the lack of its customization since it was designed as a part of the larger, enterprise-wide ERP system. Its value is better realized when used with its related platforms for PLM, WMS, CRM, and more.
With Oracle, however, users are given a lot more space in customizing their platform. Going back to the SuiteBilling feature, it lets users customize the data they need and how their dashboards appear. Users can even write custom codes for specific functionalities.
Security
The Information Age has necessitated a shift to cloud-based infrastructure, with Gartner predicting that up to 95% of the workloads will be cloud-based by 2025. This makes Oracle the more future-proof solution, giving it a lead over SAP supply chain management.
As a native cloud platform, Oracle Cloud SCM was designed with cybersecurity in mind. Expect multiple layers, such as segmented and virtual networks, multiple authentications, and the use of virtual private networks (VPN).
Key Takeaways
Reliable SCM software is becoming increasingly important for organizations to keep up with local and global supply chains, making the choice of the right provider a critical decision for business leaders. While companies differ in their choice of SCM brands, NexInfo can help you get your money’s worth by leveraging the future-proof advantages of Oracle Cloud SCM.
If you’re unsure of how to proceed, contact us today for a free consultation. We’ll be happy to walk you through the process and help you take back control of your entire supply chain and have your managers manage streamlined and efficient processes.
Featured Image Credits: Scott GrahamÂ
