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NEW: Oracle 9i Response-Time Based
NEW: Data Modeling and Database Design
Ken Atkins and Mark Kramm
present at ODTUG 2005
Tom Culpa Joins CDA
Excerpt from Oracle on CDA UPS project . . .
"We
needed a comprehensive and highly productive software development
solution to automate a critical piece of our business where other approaches
had proven inadequate. Oracle's Developer Suite delivered results
better, faster and cheaper."
Organization
Information
UPS, the world's
largest package distribution company, transports more than 3 billion
parcels and documents annually. Using more than 500 aircraft, 149,000
vehicles and 1,700 facilities to provide service in more than 200
countries and territories, UPS has made a worldwide commitment to
serving the needs of the global marketplace. The company is widely
recognized as a leader in the use of information technology, with
industry awards including PC Week Fast-Track 100 (#1 Ranking,
Enterprise Network), CIO Top 100 IT Performers, and a Very Large
Database Award.
Business
Problem
UPS handles an
average 2.2 million air packages each day, including Next Day and 2nd
Day Air packages and documents, serving over 390 domestic airports and
219 international airports. To accommodate this volume, UPS uses a
system of "air hubs" located around the world, with the main
air hub located in Louisville, Kentucky.
At the Louisville air hub, millions of
shipments per day must be sorted for delivery in the United States and around the world. The
efficient operation of this facility is vital to UPS' business.
Existing systems at UPS were unable to cope with the growing volume of
shipments, so UPS needed to automate the overall process to maximize
throughput while maintaining the highest reliability, accuracy and
on-time delivery of all shipments. They kept all the original shipping
information from airbills in an Oracle
Database, and needed applications to query and use the data to optimize
package sorting operations. After a $10M development project using
visual tools from a leading software vendor failed to address this
critical business problem, UPS was ready to try a fresher, more
productive approach.
Solution
UPS engaged
Creative Design Associates, a consortium of highly-regarded software
development professionals experienced in building enterprise
applications leveraging the Oracle database, to implement an
Oracle-based solution. CDA proposed a proven approach based on modeling
and generation of complete applications with little or no tedious
coding. Using the capabilities integrated within Oracle's Developer
Suite, CDA was able to develop the application in just over ten months
at a cost of approximately $2M, an outstanding achievement for a
project of this scope.
The development
environment chosen by CDA for the project was the Oracle Internet
Developer Suite (now Oracle9i Developer Suite). This environment
provides an end-to-end development solution based on standard modeling
and generation capabilities, with flexible deployment options for both
desktop solutions and browser-based solutions. CDA knew it could
rapidly build a highly cost-effective solution, which would take
advantage of the performance, scalability and state of the art security
capabilities inherent in the Oracle Database, which UPS was already
using.
An integral
component of Oracle9i Developer Suite, the Designer modeling and
generation tool, was used to model the underlying business processes
and ensure a common understanding with UPS of the application
requirements. The resulting system was generated from the Designer
models, and serves as an excellent example of what can be achieved with
rapid application development. CDA almost achieved the nirvana of
modeling and generation, 100% generated code. The models and the
completed application continue to be managed in the Oracle Software
Configuration Manager (SCM) repository integrated with the Designer
environment.
Business
Benefits of Using Oracle9i
An immediate
benefit to UPS is the saving of development cost and time to market
with CDA's application development approach
using tools from Oracle's Developer Suite. When the application goes
into production, UPS anticipates annual cost savings on the order of
$1.3 million. The improved efficiency of the Louisville Air Hub as a
result of this application is also expected to give UPS an additional
competitive edge, and a strategic advantage for future business
operations.
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