Oracle Corp will tomorrow announce a special software promotion for medium-sized companies, which it claims will enable businesses to go from nothing, to running on-line stores in 45 days or less. The package comprises software, implementation services, training and support, and is the latest addition to Oracle’s family of FastForward e-business solutions. Oracle says the initiative, announced in August 1998, is a way of helping mid-sized companies (those with revenues of $500m a year or less) to get their hands on applications that would typically be too expensive and time consuming for them to roll out independently. So far, Oracle has released ten such offerings, including some for specific vertical markets.
Oracle says the latest addition, FastForward Web Store, is designed to help these companies reach new customers, increase revenue and remain competitive by offering a complete, low-risk solution that can be implemented quickly. The package comprises Oracle iStore and iPayment applications, which enable companies to set up a web store front and accept credit card payments over the web. In addition, Oracle says it has partnered with Cybercash for payment fulfillment, and Taxware for sales tax calculations.
Companies can choose to have Oracle consultants implement the software or use one of its 31 service providers to do the job, and every license comes with Oracle’s one year guarantee, plus two day’s on-site training. The whole idea of the FastForward initiative is to let medium-sized companies, which typically can’t afford the tier one solutions, to get their hands on affordable applications that they can get up and running rapidly, said Eve Milrod, Oracle’s senior director of e-business solutions. These firms don’t need the high level of customization that is typical for most Fortune 500 companies and they don’t have the time to spend three years implementing the software. FastForward Web Store is available on October 15 and pricing will be released Tuesday, Oracle said.
Also on Tuesday, Oracle will release FastForward Distribution RPM (Rapid Pre-configured Model); an all-in-one software, implementation and services bundle for wholesale distribution companies. Oracle claims the move makes it the only major ERP vendor to offer distributors a fixed-time, fixed-price solution. The software, which is available on September 21, costs $400,000 for a 25-user license and takes 75 days to implement. Milrod said the software would help companies reduce costs, increase logistics efficiencies, improve customer acquisition and retention and reduce order cycle time.
In addition, Oracle says it has integrated FastForward DistributionRPM with bar code and data collection technology from supply chain execution software provider, BPA Systems, reducing, it says, the time required for an employee to perform receiving, inventory and shipping transactions by up to 300%.
