Foundation on Learn Oracle OTM

What is OTM ?

Thu, 14 Apr 2016 21:35:00 +0000

OTM stands for Oracle Transportation Management. It is a software product designed to automate various logistics business processes — receiving orders from source ERP systems for freight consolidation, optimizing routes and shipping costs, sending tender requests to carriers, receiving shipment tracking events, processing invoices, allocating freight costs to orders, and more.

Some of the Core Capabilities of OTM:

Order Management: Receive Purchase Orders (Order Base) from source ERP or legacy systems and create Order Releases (Bookings) for full or partial quantities, either manually or through automated release rules.

Bulk Planning: Consolidate Order Releases (Bookings) with common source and destination locations, or build multi-stop shipments. The Bulk Plan algorithm identifies the optimal route (Itinerary), selects the least-cost carrier based on pre-configured rates, optimizes loading of items into equipment, and calculates in-transit times.

Third-Party Rate and Distance Engines: OTM can dynamically fetch LTL rates from third-party engines such as SMC³ RateWare XL, and calculate distances between locations using mileage engines such as PC*MILER or MileMaker.

Tendering: Send Tender Offer requests to the carriers identified during planning. If a carrier cannot accept XML tender files directly, middleware tools such as MuleSoft, Oracle BPEL, or similar integration platforms can be used to translate OTM outbound XML to carrier-readable formats such as EDI.

Tender Response: Receive and process carrier tender responses and update the shipment accordingly.

Shipment Tracking: Receive shipment tracking updates from carriers and update shipment status in OTM.

Invoicing: Receive and process invoices from carriers, match invoice costs against planned costs for approval, create vouchers for approved invoices, and allocate freight costs back to customer orders.

Ease of Implementation:

Product Architecture

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 14:54:00 +0000

OTM follows a standard three-tier architecture — a widely used design in enterprise software where the application is split into three distinct layers: Web Tier, Application Tier, and Database Tier. Each tier has a specific responsibility, and together they allow OTM to scale, be maintained, and support many users simultaneously.

Depending on the deployment model — on-premise or SaaS — the underlying infrastructure differs, but the three-tier concept remains the same. In on-premise deployments, your organization manages each tier on its own servers. In SaaS (cloud) deployments, Oracle manages the infrastructure and these tiers are hosted and maintained by Oracle.

Basic Logistics Terminology

Thu, 14 Apr 2016 23:00:00 +0000

If you are new to logistics or coming from a purely technical background, here are the key terms you will encounter in OTM and day-to-day freight operations.

Parties Involved in Freight:

Carrier: A transportation service company that moves freight from one location to another. Carriers typically own or operate trucks, cargo planes, vessels, or rail cars. Each carrier is identified by a four-letter SCAC code (Standard Carrier Alpha Code) used on all shipping documents.

Supplier / Seller: The party that receives a Purchase Order from your company (the Buyer), manufactures or sources the goods, and ships them to your warehouse.

Consignee: The party receiving the freight at the destination.

3PL (Third Party Logistics): A company to which the Buyer outsources transportation management. The Buyer sends a Purchase Order to the Supplier and a copy to the 3PL. The 3PL coordinates with the Supplier to collect goods, consolidates freight where possible, negotiates rates with carriers, and arranges shipment to the Buyer. After delivery, the 3PL invoices the Buyer for freight costs and pays the carriers.

Freight Forwarder: A specialist that focuses on moving goods internationally — arranging transportation, handling customs clearance, and managing documentation. Unlike a 3PL, a freight forwarder typically does not handle warehousing or order fulfillment.

Shipment Types & Transport Modes: