REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., February 4, 2003 — (http://www.oracle.com/tellmemore/?1600431) Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL), the world’s largest enterprise software company, today announced the formation of the Supplier Advisory Board (SAB), furthering the company’s commitment to improving supplier relationship management (SRM) processes in line with evolving business requirements. By developing comprehensive procurement applications that include input and direction from leading suppliers across multiple industries, Oracle is helping its customers further improve supplier relationships and increase their return on investment.
Supplier Advisory Board founding members include: Boise Office Solutions, Dell Computer, Grainger, HP, Kelly Services, McCormick & Company Inc., Newark Electronics, Relief Printing, SHI, Software Plus, Software Spectrum, Staples, Toshiba, Trodat Marking Products and Wallace. “When seeking to maximize business process improvements, organizations should depart from a strictly internal or insular focus,” said David Hope-Ross, research director, Gartner Group, Inc. “As companies adopt SRM, there will be increasing recognition of the need to improve cross enterprise purchasing processes and foster supplier collaboration. This will require more formal processes, structures, and feedback mechanisms to capture supplier’s requirements, insight, and input.”
The Supplier Advisory Board creates a collaborative environment where Oracle and SAB members work together to develop more effective procurement applications that include both the buyer and supplier’s perspectives. The SAB uses a direct communication channel between members and Oracle’s development team to map critical supplier processes and influence product direction for SRM applications — helping ensure new capabilities solve high-priority problems that both buyers and suppliers experience. “Effective supplier relationship management requires optimization of business processes and supporting technologies,” said Dave Stephens, senior director of Procurement Applications at Oracle. “The Supplier Advisory Board provides Oracle with extremely valuable input to enhance its procurement applications for increased value across the supply chain and better ROI for our customers.”
