MedChannel Introduces its Collaborative Healthcare Network and Announces Strategic Relationship with Oracle; Oracle-Based Solution Tackles Medical Supply Chain Inefficiencies

Business Wire, Oct 11, 2000

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BW HealthWire)--Oct. 11, 2000

MedChannel(TM) today announced a strategic relationship with Oracle Corporation, the largest provider of software for e-business, as well as the creation of the MedChannel Collaborative Healthcare Network(TM).

The Collaborative Healthcare Network aims to improve efficiencies and drive costs out of the medical supply chain. As part of MedChannel's strategic relationship with Oracle, MedChannel will integrate the Oracle Exchange Platform into its Collaborative Healthcare Network, and Oracle will receive a future equity position in MedChannel.

MedChannel's Collaborative Healthcare Network will dramatically improve efficiencies and reduce costs through a suite of supply chain applications including contract price management, dynamic collaboration, demand planning, forecasting, secure information visibility and connectivity.

Through its relationship with Oracle, MedChannel will integrate increased functionality of the Oracle Exchange Platform into its infrastructure, including standards based connectivity, stability and multi-lingual, multi-currency functionality. Ultimately, MedChannel will provide leading-edge technologies to facilitate the critical back-end business processes that contribute to the improvement of supply chain efficiency.

"By using Oracle's Exchange Platform, MedChannel is focused squarely on helping the healthcare industry utilize the Internet to its greatest possible advantage," said John Wookey, Oracle's Senior Vice President, Applications Development for Healthcare. "MedChannel's management, technical and logistics expertise make them uniquely qualified to expedite the delivery of medical products."

Oracle's Exchange Platform offers all the necessary business transactions to support an entire industry's supply chain. It is based on Oracle's industry-leading E-Business Suite, which supports a supply chain from the initial customer contact through manufacturing planning and execution, to post sales actions such as service and support. Oracle's partnership and future equity position in MedChannel represent a strategic commitment into the medical supply industry. MedChannel's Oracle-based offering will create the most compelling Internet-based solution designed to significantly reduce inefficiencies estimated to be $11 billion in the U.S. medical supply industry.

"This partnership is further validation of MedChannel's unique focus on truly facilitating change in healthcare by addressing supply chain inefficiencies," said Denis Reilly, MedChannel's COO. "With the help of Oracle, we will continue to drive forward to help all points along the medical supply chain improve their business processes and profitability."

About MedChannel

Based in San Francisco, MedChannel is the only company focused exclusively on back-end inefficiencies in the healthcare supply chain. The company is building a collaborate healthcare network, which consists of a technology platform that provides global business connectivity as well as value-added services designed to provide bottom line financial benefits.

These supply chain applications and specialty services include contract price management, collaborative planning, forecasting, reporting and analysis to enable dynamic pricing, reduced inventory, improved asset utilization, and significant cost reductions. For more information, please visit www.medchannel.com.