Category: SCM

In today’s fast-evolving digital landscape, businesses must adopt cutting-edge technologies to enhance user experience, streamline operations, and stay competitive. Oracle Fusion’s Redwood User Interface (UI), Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities, and Visual Builder Studio (VBS) together form a transformative trifecta that modernizes enterprise applications. These tools redefine operational efficiency, revolutionize user engagement, and empower businesses to interact seamlessly with data, processes, and people. This blog delves into these advancements, exploring their essence, impact on Oracle’s ecosystem, and implications for businesses and consultants alike.

Redwood Capabilities

Oracle’s Redwood User Interface (UI) represents a significant evolution in enterprise application design, offering a modern, intuitive, and cohesive user experience across all Oracle applications. It shifts the focus from purely functional interfaces to an adaptive, user-centric framework that aligns with the demands of a digitally driven workforce.

Core Features of Redwood UI

1. Modern and Consistent Design: Delivers a unified look and feel across Oracle’s ecosystem, ensuring a seamless user experience throughout various application.
2. Visualization-Driven Insights: Focuses on dashboard-centric analytics, enabling users to access actionable data briefly and make informed decisions efficiently.
3. Improved Accessibility and Simplified Layouts: Enhances navigation and usability, reducing the learning curve and improving inclusivity for a diverse user base.
4. Faster Navigation and Performance: Optimizes response times and ensures smoother transitions, empowering users to complete tasks swiftly.
5. Enhanced Mobile Responsiveness: Adapts seamlessly across devices, including smartphones and tablets, ensuring consistent functionality and usability on the go.
6. Integration with VBS: Offers advanced extensibility by integrating with Oracle’s Visual Builder Studio (VBS), enabling businesses to customize applications to fit their unique needs.
7. AI and ML Integration: Leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide intelligent recommendations, personalized insights, smart search.

The traditional Oracle UI, while functional, often felt dated and complex, focusing on operational efficiency over user engagement. By contrast, the Redwood UI reimagines the user experience by intuitive designs, visualization-driven insights, and mobile adaptability create an interface that is not just a tool but a strategic enabler of productivity and engagement.

Oracle’s Next Step

Oracle has already released many Redwood & AI features and planning to release many other features in upcoming upgrades. Following is the summary on the same:

1. Procurement – Oracle Healthcare Marketplace, Buyer Workbench, Gen AI (Summarize Supplier Attachment, Purchase Order note to approver) and many more
2. Inventory and Cost Management – Mobile Shipping, Work Order Costing, RFID Inventory Tracking, Prebuilt integration and reconciliation with WMS/3PL, etc.
3. Order Management – Expediting Orders at risk using Oracle digital assistant, Redwood page for order creation and mass action, AI predictive task and travel time.
4. Manufacturing – Production Supervisor Workbench, Work Instruction Task, Kanban Management, Inspect using external Vision Systems.

Source: https://community.oracle.com/customerconnect/categories/planning

Transition into Oracle Redwood

The transition to Oracle Redwood UI requires careful planning and execution to ensure a smooth adoption. Enabling Redwood pages in Oracle Fusion involves activating specific features and configuring roles and permissions, which are essential for a seamless transition.

Enabling Redwood Pages:

1. Opt-in Features and Profile Options

To enable Redwood pages, administrators must either enable the relevant Opt-in Features or enable profile options depending on the specific pages being transitioned. This process ensures that Redwood UI elements are available for use across Oracle Fusion applications. Once these features or options are enabled, users will need the appropriate duty roles or privileges to access the new Redwood pages. In such cases, custom roleswill have to be created to assign the necessary access permissions.

2. Handling Personalization During Transition

A key consideration when moving to Redwood pages is that personalization made through the traditional Sandbox interface do not automatically migrate to Redwood. Therefore, any customizations made in the old UI need to be replicated in the Redwood UI using Visual Builder Studio (VBS). This can be challenging, as it can be difficult to track all the changes made through Sandbox. To assist with this, Oracle provides a tool (Redwood Personalization Helper Tool) that helps identify and list all modifications made on a page. This list can be used to assess whether the personalization can be re-created or improved through VBS, ensuring consistency and minimizing disruptions to workflows.

Key Considerations Before Transitioning to Redwood

1. Pre-requisites Check: Before initiating the transition, ensure that all necessary user roles and access permissions are configured correctly in the test environment. This includes verifying that administrators have the right privileges to enable and manage Redwood features.
2. Redwood Opt-in Features: Some Redwood features are irreversible once activated. It’s essential to communicate this clearly with stakeholders and conduct thorough testing in a test environment before enabling these features in the live system.
3. Personalization Compatibility: Extract and document any existing personalization from the old UI. Assess if these customizations can be replicated or enhanced using VBS and determine if any adjustments or new configurations are necessary.
4. Feature Availability Audit: Create a comprehensive list of features that are available in the traditional UI but may not yet be supported in the Redwood UI. This will help manage customer expectations and develop workarounds or alternatives for any missing features.
5. Testing New Redwood Features: As part of the transition, test all new features introduced with Redwood to ensure they meet user requirements and do not disrupt existing workflows. It’s also crucial to gather user feedback during the pilot phase to identify any potential improvements or additional training needs.

Oracle AI capabilities

Oracle’s AI and Machine Learning capabilities are transforming business operations, driving smarter decision-making, enhanced efficiency, and proactive management across key functional areas. In Procurement & PLM, AI automates tasks like spend classification, supplier recommendations, while Generative AI streamlines the creation of negotiation cover pages and item descriptions. Similarly, there are various other AI capabilities across all modules which will help businesses moving from reactive to proactive operations, optimizing processes, and gaining a competitive edge through smarter, data-driven decision-making.

Oracle VBS

With VBS, Oracle empowers enterprises to innovate on their own terms. The platform enables businesses to extend Oracle Cloud applications or build entirely new functionalities, delivering tailor-made solutions with agility.

Core Capabilities:

• Low-Code Application Development: Simplify app creation with drag-and-drop interfaces.
• Integration with Oracle Cloud: Seamlessly extends functionality across HCM, SCM, and other Oracle systems.
• Rule Automation: Custom business rules enhance app responsiveness to organizational needs.

Conclusion:

Oracle’s Redwood UI, integrated AI and ML capabilities, and Visual Builder Studio (VBS) together provide a transformative platform that empowers businesses to not only streamline their operations but also enhance user engagement and decision-making. The transition to Redwood UI, though strategic, requires careful planning and execution. By understanding the key considerations and leveraging tools like VBS, businesses can ensure a smooth migration, maintain the integrity of customizations, and unlock the full potential of these advanced technologies.

Oracle Redwood has been gaining attention due to its recent updates and announcements. The Redwood theme is designed to provide a high-quality user experience to its users. As per Oracle, “The idea is to transform the whole company’s communication and its vast portfolio of technologies and applications to share a common vision and user experience.”

Many of you might ask: “What’s the need? We’re accustomed to the classic UI/UX, and it does the job very well. So, why go through such a significant change?”

A simple explanation would be that when you compare the UI/UX and animations of modern web pages, Oracle Fusion Cloud might come off as a bit outdated. Even when compared to its newer competitors, the design may seem less attractive at first. The user interface becomes more challenging to navigate. And last but not least, the current pages aren’t responsive on devices like mobile phones or tablets. In today’s world, where we’re used to doing everything at our fingertips, this might seem like a turn-off.

But don’t worry; Redwood has you covered. It has an eye-catching modern design. It also has a responsive UI and module-specific apps. Mobile devices run them without a hitch.

Now, many of you might be thinking, “So, is it all about user experience and theme?” The simple answer is ‘NO.’ It goes beyond that and certainly brings a lot more features as well. Oracle has definitely seized the opportunity to enhance features wherever possible. In this blog, we’re listing down some of the key features, with a focus on ‘self-service procurement.’

1. Secure the catalog by delivering it to locations.’
2. Procure goods from preferred sources during catalog shopping (applicable for supplier-sourced as well as internal transfer requisitions).
3. Bill-only requisitions and other requisitions requiring special handling.
4. A dedicated field is for extra supplier contact emails. It ensures that further communication to the supplier will also go to the extra contact.
5. It provides a powerful, smart new search experience. For example, you can search for items by the manufacturer or supplier part number mentioned in the item master.
6. Enhanced Requisitions Status, which goes beyond ‘approved’ status. Many new statuses, such as Action Required (for invoice hold), Ordered, Shipped, In Receiving, Billed, Order on Hold, etc., are being introduced.
7. View the current requisition approver and the refined approval tree view of all the approvers.

The above features offer just a brief overview of what Oracle has recently announced. Many more features have already been announced or are expected to be announced in the coming months.

Important Announcement:

If you haven’t heard, the classic requisition UI is being retired starting from update 25A and will be replaced by the Redwood-themed Responsive Requisition UI. An approximate timeline for the retirement of the classic UI would be 7-8 months from today. Now is the perfect time to start planning the transition to the RSSP.

Supply Chain Management involves overseeing the movement of goods from suppliers to customers, whether they are consumers or businesses. This process starts with managing suppliers at the beginning of the chain and extends all the way to the end-user.

The way organisations distribute products and procure raw materials is changing a lot right now. Modern ways of making products and ever-changing customer demand patterns are requiring organizations to be innovative and strategic in terms of how the sourcing to manufacturing to fulfilment is orchestrated. In the middle of all these developments, Supply Chain Management needs to adapt without changing everything it does.

Supply Chain Resilience

The challenges that originated from the extensive industrial closures during the global Covid-19 pandemic are still lingering in 2023. These challenges are further complicated by emerging and persistent issues, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, inflation, economic slowdowns, geopolitical tensions like Brexit, conflicts between China and the West, Cybercrime, global actions, and climate-related concerns, notably the increasingly frequent extreme weather occurrences. These factors will continue to impact the movement of goods and raw materials throughout the supply chains, worldwide.

Three key disruptors for Supply chain driven organizations are:

1. Logistics Disruption
2. Delays in Production
3. Labour Shortages

Supply chain leaders must face this challenge, and now! According to Gartner, a technology research and consulting firm, decisions have become 65% more complex since 2020. In fact, executives spend almost 40% of their time making decisions—and it is fair to say that most of that time is poorly used.

To have a resilient supply chain, it has become essential for organizations to have real time visibility with a smart and responsive supply chain.

Real Time Visibility

Understanding of all operations across the entire supply chain, covering every stage and operational process is the need of the hour. This insight empowers companies to effectively control the movement of products and components at each step of the supply chain.

By maintaining supply chain visibility, companies can ensure that their suppliers comply with essential regulations, mitigating risks and minimizing disruptions in the supply chain. Additionally, it plays a crucial role in enhancing customer satisfaction, boosting productivity, and ultimately contributing to increased profits. Some measurable improvements can be achieved on:

1. Reduced Disruptions

Having real-time visibility into the supply chain enables the early detection of potential issues. Immediate access to information facilitates quicker response times and informed decision-making, aiding in the proactive management of risks throughout the supply chain. For instance, IoT detecting a machine failure can signal a potential delay, or identifying transportation issues in real-time can help prevent delays in processing sales orders.

2. Improved Customer Satisfaction

The ability to see real-time updates empowers businesses to offer accurate and current information to customers about their orders. This transparency fosters trust and improves overall customer satisfaction.

3. ESG & Regulatory Compliance

Having real-time visibility in the supply chain ensures adherence to regulatory standards at every stage, including EXIM regulations, environmental norms, and worker safety requirements. Being aware of the precise timing and details of processes enables proactive resolution of potential compliance issues before they lead to disruptions, recalls, or legal consequences. Additionally, this capability allows for timely adjustments to the supply chain in response to changes in regulatory requirements.

Start the Journey

Although enhancing real-time visibility in the supply chain may seem challenging, the advantages it offers justify the initial investment. Here are some approaches to boost real-time visibility within your supply chain.

1. Identify areas of improvement and define targeted KPI’s.
2. Leverage Industry best practices in designing processes.
3. Implement ERP/SCM Solutions with End-to-End Connected Process flows.
4. Technology Investments into Blockchain, IoT and AI.
5. Measure the benefits achieved with the right Analytics.

Oracle Solutions to accelerate the reach to Real Time Visibility:

Oracle Intelligent Track and Trace

Gain multi-tier visibility into supply chain networks, track and trace things of value, and detect and resolve issues with Oracle Fusion Cloud Intelligent Track and Trace.

Oracle Intelligent IoT Applications

Oracle’s Fusion Cloud Internet of Things IoT Intelligent Applications can provide us with more visibility, insights and efficiencies by capturing sensor data from connected devices using smart manufacturing, connected assets, connected logistics, workplace safety, and connected customer experience.

Oracle Supply Chain Management

With Oracle Supply Chain Management (SCM) & Manufacturing, organizations can respond quickly to changing demand & supply, and market conditions. One can seamlessly connect their supply chain to create a resilient network and process built to outpace change.

What is the next step?

Sticking to the usual way of doing business is not an option anymore.

The primary constraint for supply chains is no longer the limits of technology but the creativity of the individuals who utilise them. With businesses worldwide encountering a convergence of transformative changes, today’s leaders in supply chain management must revolutionize business models, organizational structures, and operations to succeed both now and in the future.

Orbrick acknowledges that business leaders require more than just solutions—they need reliable advisors. Our professionals possess extensive industry knowledge and expertise across diverse sectors, aiming to enhance your journey of transforming the supply chain.