Are you planning to attend COLLABORATE 07? The event takes place in Las Vegas from April 15th to19th, 2007 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Convention Center. COLLABORATE 07 is the most comprehensive Oracle education event of the year organized by the Oracle Applications Users Group
(OAUG). There are lot of good reasons to attend such as:

If you do not follow the latest news in Oracle Applications space, you can be excused for feigning ignorance about Collaborate 07 conference. The user group conference jointly organized by the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG), the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) and Quest International Users Group (Quest) is  happening in Las Vegas from April 15-19th, 2007. It promises to be one of the biggest user group conference with over 6000 (and counting) attendees.

If you plan to attend, do visit the session on WMS and Transportation

• Transportation and Warehouse: Creating an Effective Logistics Foundation
  

  Tuesday, April 17, 2007
  3:30 PM-4:30 PM
  Breakers C
  

• Warehouse Management System SIG
  

I am back from Las Vegas after attending Collaborate'07. The conference lived up to expectations with record attendees (6000+) and exhibitors (50+?). The conference was well organized with excellent sessions and well planned demo grounds. From a Warehousing and Distribution perspective there were these sessions:

• WMS SIG: Despite the schedule on a Sunday morning at 9:15 AM, it was very well attended. In the first part of the session, I covered a summary of challenges that are faced by Warehouses today and how Oracle WMS features address those challenges. The second part of the presentation was done by Walt Zipperman from DAZ Systems. Walt did a great presentation on an actual WMS implementation which his team managed to successfully complete in just under 3 months! Isn't that incredible?

• Logistics Strategy: Jon Chorley, Vice President of Supply Chain product strategy delivered this session about the current capabilities and future direction of overall Oracle logistics applications.

• WMS and OTM: Creating an effective logistics foundation: The title of this session was somewhat misleading. The session was mostly about collaboration in a supply chain execution environment. In a WMS world, this means ensuring that compliance mandates are supported in a flexible manner.

• Shipping Directly from Manufacturing with WMS Cross Docking: WMS direct ship feature can be very effective for "Just-in-Time" shipment of assemble to order (ATO) finished goods. This process can be made "contactless" i.e. the finished goods coming off the assembly line can be directly packed and staged to a shipping area. Subsequently the shipping transaction can be completed by a single scan of the LPN bar code.

• Continuous Moves in OTM: Integrating Inbound and Outbound Transportation: This session was about Oracle Transportation Management (a.k.a OTM) capability to synchronize inbound and outbound shipments and thereby increase carrier utilization and lower rates. 

I am not sure if the presentation material is available on-line for those who registered. I will provide a link if I find it.

Oracle Open World 2007 is being held at Moscone Center in San Francisco from Nov 11-15, 2007.

Those of you who are planning to attend, here are the WMS related sessions that are planned. Be sure to include them in your calendar.

Logistics SIG

Sunday 11/10/2007, 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM, Room 3003 Deborah Arnold

Everyone is invited to attend the OAUG SIG meetings. It's a great opportunity to learn and network with others who have an interest in Oracle WMS. You need not be a member of WMS SIG to attend; you just need to have an interest in Oracle WMS.

Integrating Warehouse Management Systems Across Businesses

Aditya Agarkar, Oracle; Mike Ferris, TTI Floor Care; Amin Sikander, Gaea Global

Wednesday  11/14/2007, 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM Marriott Golden Gate C1 

What's Next for Oracle Warehouse Management

Nagaraj Srinivasan, Oracle

Thursday 11/15/2007, 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM Marriott Golden Gate C1 

Driving Logistics Excellence using Warehouse Automation and Oracle WMS

Jody Ayres, Ayres SI; Mohamed Hassim, MTN; Jennifer Sherman, Oracle

Thursday 11/15/2007, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Marriott Golden Gate C1 

What's Next for RFID

Michael Fisher, Intermec;Doug Liljegren, Data Systems International; Christine Rosasco, Zebra Technologies; Robert Shaunnessey, WERC; Daio Syngkon, Oracle

Thursday 11/15/2007, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Marriott Salon 14 & 15 

Besides these sessions there will be demo booths for Oracle WMS and Inventory at the demo grounds. If you have questions about WMS or want to know more about the product, drop by these booths.

See you at Oracle Open World

We are really excited to announce the Agenda for the upcoming Logistics SIG meeting at OOW in San Francisco.

Location: Moscone West, Room # 3003 (L3)

Date and Time:  Sunday, November 12^th  9:45-10:45am

Agenda:

9:45 - 9:50       Introductions, OAUG and Deborah Arnold, SIG Leader

9:50 - 10:05      Oracle WMS State of the Product and Market - Mark Lewis, Oracle

10:05 - 10:20    Oracle MSCA Mobile Forms Personalization - Aditya Agarkar, Oracle

10:20 - 10:35    Voice Picking Case Study  DAZ Systems

10:35 - 10:45    Q & A

Collaborate 08 got off to a flying start.  There was a good turnout for WMS SIG meeting even though it was a Sunday. As usual its always exciting to connect with WMS users in such conferences.

The WMS SIG agenda was hopefully useful (the replenishment stuff) and exciting (the voice demo). The replenishment part covered the whole spectrum:

• Why have a pick area and replenishment?

• What items should be considered for replenishment?

• How to analyze the demand profile using the Warehouse Control Board?

• The current replenishment functionality.

• The Push Replenishment and Pull Replenishment that is slated for an upcoming release.

I know that most of you have seen the physical pushing and pulling of stuff around in the warehouse. The Push and Pull in replenishment context is somewhat intriguing. However I will do a detailed post on it as soon as I get back to HQ. I will also elucidate on the Warehouse Control Board output and Excel macros to analyze the data in more detail.

Meanwhile I also want to acknowledge the efforts of Daio Syngkon from Oracle and the Voice-Insight team for hosting a wonderful demo involving voice driven WMS transactions. Voice-Insight solution opens up a lot of exciting possibilities. In fact I had blogged about a radical new approach for voice enablement in one of my previous blog entries (Mobile Hardware and Software Innovations in a Warehouse Environment). Its good to see that Voice-Insight has delivered just such a solution for Voice. After WMS SIG session, I sat down with Rajeev Varshaneya from Voice-Insight to have a detailed chat about what it means for Oracle WMS and how customers can benefit from it. I will post the transcripts from this conversation later today.

Meanwhile for those of you in Denver attending Collaborate 08, there is one more WMS session planned for Wednesday:

Oracle Warehouse Management System and RFID - Integrations, Enhancements and Overview

Aditya Agarkar, Oracle; Wednesday; April 16th, 2008; 3:15 PM-4:15 PM Room 201

Voice-Insight recently announced availability of their voice solution for Oracle WMS. The solution was presented at Oracle WMS SIG at Collaborate'08 event in Denver.

After the SIG presentation and the voice demo, I had a chat with Rajeev Varshaneya from Voice-Insight. Rajeev is the VP of Business Development at Voice Insight. I took notes from the conversation and here is the transcript from that conversation:

AA:  Rajeev thank you for participating in WMS SIG. Your presentation and voice demo was very well received. I think this could be of interest to other Oracle WMS customers who could not make it to this event. How can they view this information?

RV: Aditya, Thanks for giving us the opportunity to present the Voice Insight Mobile Client targeted for Oracle e-Business Suite and more specifically for the Oracle Warehouse Management System. We will make the presentation given there available to you so that it can be viewed by the larger Oracle WMS user community.

AA: Can you tell us a little bit about Voice Insight?

RV: Voice Insight creates voice interaction solutions for enterprise/manufacturing/mobile applications. We have been in this business for over 8 years. We have an international presence that spans United States, United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany and The Netherlands. Our current deployments are in the areas of Warehouse Logistics, Mobile Navigation, Inspections and Asset Management. We are specialized in Voice enabling applications with our significant IP portfolio and deep expertise in voice interpretation and processing techniques on mobile devices.

AA: Why is voice picking and voice enabled transactions getting so much importance these days?

RV: The applications used in the enterprise have been packing an incredible amount of functionality to automate the business operations. This has led to a significant usage complexity and a heavy requirement to constantly train the workforce in its usage and, in addition keeping them up to speed on changing work procedures.

By its very nature, voice interface is the most direct and natural form of interaction, cutting through the complex menu-driven logic and getting straight to the function a user needs to execute. The net effect is a significant reduction in cycle times (in order picking for example) and an increase data and performance (e.g. shipping) accuracy. Voice also obviates the need to learn and re-learn changing system features and procedures. At the same time, with the work that we have done and the others have done in the industry to make voice solutions more robust and reliable, there is now wider acceptance that voice interfaces have migrated from being a gimmick to real productivity enhancers. The ease of use, accuracy and productivity gains have been clearly demonstrated  and that brings the feeling of confidence in the minds of users as well as IT implementers who are now more seriously looking at this technology.

We believe our solutions are ready for prime time and the hands/eyes-free nature of voice is a real advantage in the warehouse situations.

AA: What type of voice solutions do you offer to Oracle WMS customers?

RV: We offer two distinct approaches to the Oracle customer base:

The first one is the mobile client approach, in which we have a software client running only on the mobile terminal with no need for integration to the back-end database or application. This allows data entry on the client device using voice/scanning and fill the defaults. The mobile client is ready to roll in a very quick implementation cycle. It is independent of the releases of Oracle WMS solution or the forms that needs to be voice enabled.

The second approach is a traditional Voice Client integration for high-volume, streamlined work-flow processes, whereby we integrate the Voice Insight VQL solution to the WMS and enhance the end to end productivity of the work-flow significantly. Our own voice terminal option is a Windows XP based rugged computer (wearable or mounted on a fork lift if using the wireless headset) that interacts over a TCP/IP network and acts in dual mode (on-line/off-line) with the WMS managing the Warehouse work-flow. External device integration with barcode/RFID scanners and an industrial grade Wireless Headset provide the ultimate performance in mobile work-flow task management (picking, put-away, QA). The integration process with the back-end systems is simplified because of our integration approach.

AA: The client based solution that you mentioned is very intriguing. Its very different from the traditional approach to voice enablement where WMS tasks and pick instructions are interfaced to a voice solution server. Can you tell us the benefits of the client based solution to voice enabling WMS?

RV: This is a result of a significant collaborative effort between Oracle and Voice Insight engineers. The solution offers a very short implementation cycle and offers appreciable productivity gains in short order. The solution does not require any integration effort with the back end systems and can be applied to any Oracle WMS  transaction available on the mobile terminal. A lot of default data can be pre-filled making operator's life relatively simple. We are excited about offering the Oracle WMS user base a solution that is unparalleled in user and system simplicity and ease of deployment.

AA: What transactions in Oracle WMS can be voice enabled using the client based approach?

RV: Any transaction can be voice enabled. The solution can be easily extended to the entire e-business suite just as well.

AA: You mentioned in your presentation that client based solution allows existing devices to be used for voice enabling WMS. Are there any hardware limitations or constraints like memory, blue tooth, etc.?

RV: The solution works on the current configurations offered by companies like Symbol and LXE.

AA: It seems to me that a client based solution offers tremendous value. Is there any situation where a server based solution makes more sense?

RV: If you have complex work-flow logic, a lot of real-time decision making that is done by the WMS, and a high-volume environment with simple streamlined work cycles, it may be better to use a traditional server integrated solution. Our VQL voice server option can also add complementary work flow logic to a WMS where the WMS  doesn't allow sufficient flexibility for streamlining or specializing processes to meet local needs on the floor of a given site implementation.

AA: Do you have any special offer for Oracle WMS customers?

RV: Since this is a new product added to our portfolio, we are looking at candidate companies that might want to try out the benefits this solution offers. We will do the pilots for limited numbers without charge in return, upon successful verification, for they're help in making our message to the market stronger.

AA: How can they get in touch with you?

RV: You can reach us by

e-mail:

info@voice-insight.com

bret.andersen@voice-insight.com

Rajeev.varshneya@voice-insight.com

Phone:

Bret Andersen: 650-380-3067

Rajeev Varshneya: 408-666-1684

AA: Rajeev, thanks for your time. I am sure our WMS community will find this very useful. I will make arrangements with OAUG to make the presentation available to all those who could not attend the event. Thank you.

Its time for Oracle Open World once again. This time its from September 21-25th, 2008 and the venue is the same as last year: Moscone Center in San Francisco. There are several events planned around WMS and MSCA. Here are a few sessions that should be on your agenda:

1. WMS SIG is as usual on Sunday morning before Open World. Let this be the first session to get you started:

Date and Time: Sunday, September 21, 2008, 9:45 AM
Venue: Meeting Room 3001

Agenda

9:45-9:50 Welcome (SIG Lead)
9:50-10:05 Case Picking in Oracle WMS by (Tyra Crockett, Oracle)
10:05-10:15 Oracle Usability
10:15-10:30 Order Fulfillment Operations Center (Kannan Tarakad, Oracle)
10:30-10:45 Customer Case Study (Niket Tyagi, DAZ)

2. Oracle Warehouse Management Customer Roundtable

In this session, a panel consisting of Oracle Warehouse Management customers, field experts, and thought leaders discusses the impact of Oracle Warehouse Management on their logistics and fulfillment

Speakers: Aditya Agarkar, Oracle, Rich Barboza, Agilent Technologies, Steve Drucker, Fellowes, Rajeev Gollarhalli, Sanmina, Nir Shoham, Plasson

Time: 09/22/2008; 17:30-18:30
Venue: Moscone West, Rm 2001

3. What's Next for Oracle Warehouse Management?

Session - Facing more margin pressures? Does each day bring new customer requirements that affect your order fulfillment processes? Are your order lead times shrinking? Are you struggling to bring a demand-driv

Speakers: Rajesh Devakumar, Oracle Jennifer Sherman, Oracle
Time: 09/25/2008; 12:00-13:00
Venue: Moscone West, Rm 2008

As always there is the WMS and MSCA demo booth where you can come by and get a more detailed information on some of the good things that we are doing in the product. Come by and say hello.

Enjoy the conference!

Connect, Learn, and Interact – Live with the Experts!

Every event has booths, seminars, demos, interaction with expert but ever thought about all of this Live but virtual.
This year Oracle is hosting a virtual conference for Applications Unlimited. It is free for all and promises a day long action packed event.

Find out what's new and what you can look forward to in this live virtual conference, starting at 8:00 a.m. PT on March 11, 2009. Hear a live keynote from Ed Abbo, Oracle's Senior Vice President of Applications Development, visit Oracle Applications booths, interact with Oracle experts, experience the latest product demos, chat with key executives, and network with peers.

Live interaction with WMS experts who will be manning the virtual WMS and MSCA booth.

To register please click here.

Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Time: 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (PST)

Oracle Open World is just around the corner. If you have made plans to attend, please make sure to come visit us at our booth.

Members of both development and strategy team will be present at OpenWorld, so you can come with questions, leave with answers.

You can find us at:

Warehouse Management Systems Demo Grounds

Date & Time: Mon 10/12 - Wed 10/14 (all day)
Location: Exibition Hall, Moscone South S-023

Additionally, here are a few sessions that you might also want to check out:

Transportation & Warehousing: Oracle's Integrated Logistics Strategy

Host: Derek Gittoes, Jennifer Sherman
Date & Time: Mon Oct 12, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Moscone West Oracle Room 2014

Supply Chain SuperSession (Dual Session)

Host: Rick Jewell, Jon Chorley, Maha Muzumdar & Executive Customer Panelist
Date & Time: Mon Oct 12, 1:00-3:30 p.m.
Location: Moscone West Oracle Room 2014

Going Mobile in the Supply Chain: Which Solution is Right for You?

Host: Jennifer Sherman
Date & Time: Wed Oct 14, 10:15-11:15 a.m.
Location: Moscone West Oracle Room 2005

What is new in Release 12.1?

Host: Aditya Agarkar, Aby Joy (Igloo)
Date & Time: Thu Oct 15, 12:00-1:00 p.m.
Location: Moscone West Oracle Room 2015

This post is late in coming. But better late than never. Like previous years, Oracle Open World turned out to be a whirlwind of endless presentations, demos and meetings. After its over you can look back and say "whew...did it really get over?". Here is a brief recap of the event:

1. The attendance was marginally down as compared to 2008. Something that can be explained by the state of the economy
2. WMS sessions were very well attended. There was a lot of interest in MSCA sessions especially the mobility session by Jennifer Sherman and Carrie Lukatch
3. The questions during my presentation at the SIG and WMS Roadmap presentation were very interesting and indicated customer interest in new generation of features in R12.1 and R12 especially Advanced Wave Planning capabilities and forward pick replenishment.
4. WMS SIG events will be rescheduled on a weekday from next Oracle Open World. This is a really good move by OAUG
5. Increasing interest in WMS and OTM. This was also evident from the interest in the joint OTM+WMS sessions by Derek Gittoes and Jen Sherman.