Oracle takes on SAP with retail apps

Oracle has released the latest version of its Retail application suite, a move the company says is the most significant product launch of the division's three-year history.

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The version 13 release is designed to address the gap in the market for an integrated store-to-web-to-back end system and go head to head with arch rival in the retail space SAP.

The suite is based on systems dedicated to a number of different retail formats and processes that are predominantly supported by best of breed applications at the moment.

However, according to Oracle Retail VP product strategy Dave Boyce, the new release is capable of producing tangible improvements on the bottom line. For instance, he claimed the suite's stock management and price optimisation applications could reduce inventory by 10 per cent and increase profit margins by two per cent respectively for stores in the grocery sector.

Other applications within the suite include merchandising and demand forecasting.

Forrester Research principal analyst George Lawrie told silicon.com that many retailers are still wedded to their best of breed applications but that the suite could impact positively on the trading performance of any retailer opting for the suite.

He said: "The real difference with this suite is the integration of planning against fulfilment capability. It means that CFOs will be able to identify where the quick wins are if they adopt this suite.

"I've spoken to CFOs who would really like to take on an enterprise suite but when they look at the cost of replacing legacy best of breed systems, it's a hard decision, so we may have to wait to see the early adopters. Oracle is in a stronger position than others in this space with this suite as the architecture does seem to be more forgiving at bringing in legacy applications."