Although best known for its databases, Oracle Corp. continues to broaden its enterprise applications family. The latest addition came May 20 when the Redwood Shores, Calif.-based software giant agreed to acquire an activity-based costing, budgeting, and management module called Activa from Price Waterhouse LLP.
Oracle is expected to hire most of the Activa software development group from Price Waterhouse, which will receive royalties on software sales and become Oracles preferred implementer for the software. The Activa system helps companies track activities that drive cost and profit performance, while offering insights to cost behavior and the effect of volume and other constraints on activity cost. The information can be helpful when deciding to add or drop product lines.
"Activa is being used to help us implement activity-based management in facilities with diverse product offerings and supply chain characteristics," says Mark Graupman, corporate controller at Foremost Farms USA. "With Activa we are generating product line, customer and distribution channel profit, and loss statements."
