Provider partners with Oracle to deliver integrated logistics system
Chicago — June 15, 2006 — IFS said it has signed a contract with Oracle USA Inc. to provide the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) portion of an integrated logistics system that Oracle is delivering to the U.S. Air Force.
In accordance with the Oracle contract, the system will support 250,000 users of the Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS) program.
ECSS is a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software system established to improve weapons systems availability by streamlining the current Air Force logistics process. The system will replace and perform the functions of more than 500 logistics systems that the Air Force currently uses.
The Oracle team is providing a logistics system consisting of IFS' MRO solution, an enterprise resources planning (ERP) solution from Oracle, and an advanced planning and scheduling (APS) solution from Click Commerce.
"We were called upon to deliver a comprehensive software solution that would achieve the goals of the ECSS program," said Mark Testoni, regional vice president, Public Sector Application Sales, at Oracle. "We turned to IFS because they have a robust MRO solution for the aerospace and defense market. We look forward to continuing our partnership with IFS to support the transformation of the armed forces and enhance the agility of our war fighters."
ECSS will allow commanders at all levels in the logistics chain to automate the process of gathering logistics data, interpreting that data and making decisions on a near real-time basis. It will provide an integrated set of enterprise resources planning (ERP) and advanced planning and scheduling (APS) applications that allow the Air Force to accomplish its logistics mission, which is to provide the right materiel to the right place, at the right time, in the right quantity and in the right condition to support global military operations.
"The Air Force can no longer view logistics processes in terms of functional areas but as a single integrated logistics enterprise," said Col. Thomas Hamilton, ECSS program manager. "ECSS will combine the hundreds of programs that make up the Air Force logistics process, which provided only fragmented insight into the logistics chain, into one integrated and interoperable system."
IFS customers within the aerospace and defense industry include the British and Norwegian defense organizations as well as the Eurofighter consortium. Commercial MRO shops and operators include Finnair, Bristow Helicopters, Aero-Dienst GmbH, Hawker Pacific, and Jet Turbine Services.
In addition, IFS provides solutions to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, BAE SYSTEMS, Saab Aerosystems and GE Aircraft Engines.
