When it comes to the adverse effects on an organization’s supply chain, no business — small, midsize, or large — fully escaped the far-reaching tentacles of the coronavirus. This was the case in 2020 and the impacts remain. However, just as certain individuals are more vulnerable to COVID-19 health complications, the resulting supply chain challenges have affected some industries more than others.

Indeed, according to polling data compiled by the White House, a majority of manufacturers, retailers, and construction companies say they’ve encountered supply chain disruptions. Despite these obstacles, several household name companies were able to adapt faster to the challenges brought on by the pandemic. And, not coincidentally, many of these companies leveraged Oracle Transportation Management Cloud software, a seamless solution that enables businesses to gain control and visualization of their supply chain, to address these issues. Here is one of their success stories:

Panic buying creates dairy dilemmas

For most Americans in 2020, the lockdown prevented people from going about their normal routines. The one thing they could do was grocery shop. Kitchen and refrigerator staples like milk, bread, cheese, and eggs were snatched up quickly. For one of the nation’s largest dairy producers, the dramatic surge in demand prevented the agricultural cooperative from keeping up. Additionally, due to an uptick in Americans raising their own roosters and hens — since so many people were spending more time at home — the company was routinely selling out of its signature line of chicken feed. This was due to both heightened demand and the business having to make do with fewer workers in light of social distancing restrictions.

“We saw more disruption in an eight-week period than we have experienced in eight years because it was both on the demand side and on the supply side with labor constraints,” said the dairy producer’s Senior Director of Logistics. What complicated matters further, he added, was delivery; not enough truckers created delays in getting products on store shelves and out to buyers.
 

 

How Oracle Transportation Management Cloud created solutions

Faced with these obstacles, the dairy and agricultural product supplier turned to Oracle Transportation Management Cloud. Oracle Transportation Management Cloud software is a platform that enables businesses of all sizes to effectively manage and navigate the shipment and delivery of their products. This is made possible through a suite of automation and data solutions that help to optimize, coordinate, and execute all the steps involved, from planning to logistics and more.

Before COVID hit, this organization had been leveraging the on-premises predecessor to Oracle Transportation Management Cloud — for 15 years, in fact. Prior to Oracle Transportation Management Cloud, though, they’d used a patchwork of databases, spreadsheets and SharePoint sites that made supply chain management highly complex and more muddled than it needed to be, said the company’s IT director, who spearheaded the implementation alongside the Oracle team. He added that the former setup was unsustainable, given the company has an international presence and multiple business units. As a result, the implementation took some time to complete from start to finish.

But by the time it was done, it was worth the wait. They were fully integrated with the new cloud-based logistics applications system in 2019, so the timing worked in their favor. According to the company’s Senior Director of Logistics, Oracle Transportation Management Cloud proved to be an invaluable resource, enabling staff to ratchet up productivity in response to demand across all business units, including agriculture, dairy, as well as seed/crop protection.

The company also implemented Oracle Global Trade Management as part of its solution. “Being able to have a single system and a standardized process for global trade management has been very helpful,” the Senior Logistics Director added.

Data collection makes for smarter decisions

Oracle Transportation Management and Global Trade Management Cloud have helped this organization make better decisions that are grounded in hard data. “We have access to more granular data than we’ve ever had,” said the business’ Logistics Director, “so we can better understand what’s happening at a store level.” He added that the company can also aggregate those insights to get a better read on potential outcomes.
 

 
This is just one example of how Oracle Cloud solutions have helped businesses succeed in challenging times. Of course, the lingering side-effects of COVID-19 remain a problem for supply chains, as many businesses and consumers can attest. As an Oracle partner, Inspirage can pair you with an integrated solution that is customized to your needs and goals. Contact us today to learn more.