The first product release since the acquisition of G-Log, Oracle Transportation Management 5.5 aims to enable companies to lower transportation costs, improve customer service and asset utilisation, and provide flexible, global fulfilment options.

Customer demand for transportation management systems remains strong, driven by rising fuel costs, shrinking order-to-delivery cycle times, and capacity constraints, says ARC advisory group director, logistics executive council Adrian Gonzalez.

The latest version of Oracle Transportation Management is designed to integrate and streamline global transportation planning and execution, freight payment and business process automation on a single platform across all modes of transportation from truckload to complex multi-leg air, ocean and rail shipments. Oracle Transportation Management is available both as a stand-alone product and as part of the Oracle E-Business Suite, the company adds.

Oracle understands that transportation management requirements continue to evolve and that to further extend our leadership we must continue to invest, says Oracle vice-president: SCM strategy, Jon Chorley.

Fleet and contract carrier capabilities that evaluate land-based transportation options, are claimed to illustrate Oracles continued commitment to logistics service providers and shippers, as well as Oracles understanding that the relationship between these parties is evolving due to changing market conditions.

This key component of the latest release is intended to provide the ability to identify network-compatible lanes with sufficient, repeatable volume to optimise the utilisation of fleet and dedicated assets in conjunction with common carrier rates and availability.

Through a mix of operational and tactical planning capabilities, users now have the ability to create capacity scenarios that determine and adhere to the appropriate mix of private, dedicated and contract carriage, Oracle claims.