UK-headquartered Oracle Certified Partner FWL Technologies is the leading supplier of global operational software solutions to the freight industry, shipping industry and large logistics service providers. An independent company, FWL employs 500 professionals worldwide and has offices in Europe, America and Singapore as well as an offshore development facility in India.

FWL Technologies' product suite, FulfillmentSCE, offers end-to-end supply chain execution and visibility including intranet and extranet options. The product is used by many of the world's largest freight companies, shipping lines and logistics service providers covering air, sea and land operations.

Four years ago, FWL completely re-architected FulfillmentSCE to run on an Oracle database, and hasn't looked back since. Today, the software runs on Oracle9i Database and Oracle9i Application server, and is available for Unix and Linux.

FWL's partnership with Oracle dates back to the time when it was the logistics division of IT consultancy Fraser Williams Group. One management buyout and one name change later, the Oracle relationship is still going strong. It's a relationship that makes complete sense, according to FWL's chief operating officer Dave Renshaw.

"Oracle is well recognised in the marketplace as a strong supplier of technology, and we are dealing with major players in the transportation industry, who need to be sure they are getting a robust, future-proof product," explains Dave Renshaw.

The strength of the Oracle technology was another deciding factor: "The solutions we provide are large systems that are deployed globally," says Renshaw. "We therefore need to provide a strong database capable of supporting high transaction volumes, which Oracle9i Database provides. We also wanted to be able to offer full web deployment capabilities, and with Oracle9i Application Server our software is fully web-deployable."

Dave Renshaw cites several examples of this new, closer relationship in action. For example, Oracle and FWL are increasingly conducting joint sales approaches to major prospects. FWL's and Oracle's applications are complementary and despite the fact that both companies offer an application for Warehouse Management, there has been no conflict.

"In some joint bids where there has been a requirement for a warehouse management system, we have worked with Oracle to put forward what is best for the customer," says Renshaw.

"That's what partnership is all about - we draw on our joint resources to provide a solution that best fits the customer's needs, even if it means one of us foregoing part of our solution. The key is trust between the two organisations. Working more closely together reduces the chances of conflict."

FWL has also benefited from a number of joint marketing activities with Oracle. A joint lead generation campaign consisting of direct mail followed up by telemarketing proved to be successful, and the two companies also jointly sponsored the eyefortransport European 3PL Summit in October.

"It was a very worthwhile activity, because it links both company names with the industry at a senior level within major organisations," says Renshaw.

FWL's advice to other Oracle ISV partners is to put faith in the relationship. "Some companies might be wary of sharing information, for fear of competitive conflicts," says Renshaw. "We put our trust in Oracle, and the commitment has been reciprocated.

"We make sure that people at all levels within FWL have a regular dialogue with Emma Benato, our partner manager at Oracle," he continues. "We all communicate regularly, and both sides are extremely committed to the relationship. When you have this kind of trust and commitment, then sharing information can only be beneficial to both parties."

Trudy Norris-Grey, VP Multi Channel Sales Oracle UK, concurs: "At Oracle we are constantly striving to be an industry leader in partnering. For us, the relationship with FWL provides a benchmark for the type of benefits that can occur when a truly mutually beneficial partnership is developed."

Read more about FWL at www.fwltech.com