We just wrapped up a successful week at Oracle’s Modern Supply Chain Experience, and it’s quite clear the adoption of Cloud applications across the supply chain is on the rise. In fact according to Gartner, "The market for public cloud services is continuing to demonstrate high rates of growth across all markets. This strong growth reflects a shift away from legacy IT services to cloud-based services, due to increased trend of organizations pursuing a digital business strategy." So where does mobility fit into your digital cloud business strategy?
We sat down with Pete Palazzolo, SCM Cloud Product Director at RF-SMART, to find out more about our mobile inventory solution for the cloud.
Give us the back story of developing a mobile product for Oracle Cloud SCM.
Pete J. Palazzolo: Nearly three years ago, Oracle chose RF-SMART as a strategic partner to develop a mobile inventory and manufacturing offering for their SCM Cloud applications. With more than 200 Customers already on a cloud platform, they found we were the mobile partner who “gets cloud.” Our extensive knowledge, combined with the strategic partnership with Oracle’s Product Team, led to RF-SMART's mobile inventory & manufacturing application for SCM Cloud. Developed for the Cloud, RF-SMART for Oracle Cloud SCM is not the “same old stuff” with different integration points, but a new version of our product that is specific to Oracle Cloud SCM applications.
Partnering with Oracle to develop a project is a big deal. Were there other requests that resulted from this collaboration?
PJP: Yes, actually. Because Oracle was pleased with the turn-around time and quality of the mobile inventory and manufacturing product, they asked us to build the PAR Location Management and a Mobile Companion application for Healthcare. To deliver the right solution, we had extensive meetings with Oracle Strategy leaders in Inventory Cloud and Procurement Cloud as well as several members of Oracle’s Healthcare team.
How does Oracle benefit by partnering with RF-SMART?
PJP: One of our company’s Performance Principles is to be “easy to do business with.” We work to live-out that principle by being very responsive and flexible to both their needs and our joint customers’ needs. In addition, by serving as a single partner for “all things mobile” – from mobile software, professional services and devices to labeling, printers and wifi networks – we make it easier for Oracle, Oracle partners and customers to have successful mobile projects and receive excellent global support.
The other exciting development is we are on the Oracle Healthcare SCM Cloud Customer Advisory Board. Oracle wants our continued participation and collaboration on future developments.
Why should a customer looking at Oracle Cloud SCM be interested in a product like RF-SMART?
PJP: Any company or organization that distributes, manufactures, manages or replenishes inventory will realize accuracy, productivity and visibility benefits from using our mobile inventory and/or manufacturing product.
In addition, Higher Education, Public Sector, Hospitality, Healthcare Providers and other organizations can also leverage our PAR inventory management product to gain better visibility and cost-control over expensed inventory and supplies (which comprise a significant percentage of their inventory). This product makes it easy to define items and quantities that comprise an expensed inventory location, maintain and update those “definitions,” and streamline the replenishment of these locations, which is essential.
Ultimately, I suppose, the best reason to choose RF-SMART is that our customers are satisfied. From developing and delivering world-class products to supporting them with knowledgeable support experts, mobile is one less thing to worry about for RF-SMART customers.