JDA rolls out new bundled, Cloud-based offering

Supply chain and logistics software and technology provider JDA Software Group Inc, recently announced it has released JDA eight, a Cloud-based offering that meshes more than 30 products on a single platform and unifies supply chain planning, optimization, and business analytics.

This is the first major JDA release since the company acquired RedPrairie for roughly $1.9 billion in December.

JDA officials said that JDA eight provides shippers with a framework designed to address various key business challenges, including forecasting and planning, procurement planning, promotion, transportation management, production planning and scheduling, network and inventory optimization, and supplier collaboration.

“JDA eight establishes a new standard for advanced planning and optimization software,” said Hamish Brewer, CEO, JDA Software, in a statement. “Historically, manufacturers and retailers have only seen end-to-end solutions in traditional transaction processing systems from the ERP vendors. The launch of JDA eight introduces a completely new paradigm to the market, complementing those ERP platforms and enabling businesses to orchestrate collaborative planning and optimization processes across the enterprise. When you combine this extensive capability with JDA’s advanced cloud services you have a compelling combination of power, agility and speed capable of driving new frontiers of value for supply chains everywhere.”

Fab Brasca, vice president of global logistics at JDA Software, told LM that the need for JDA eight was driven by the goal to unify supply chain planning, optimization and business analytics functions in the cloud, adding the company has been in the planning stages since last summer when Brewer stated that all new innovations will be cloud-directed.

When asked what the main benefits of JDA eight are for shippers and how it will augment supply chain and logistics processes for them, Brasca explained that the biggest benefits for shippers through JDA eight and its transportation component include the following:
-End-to-End Planning: JDA eight offers big advancements in global logistics, specifically around intercontinental capabilities and merges supply chain planning and execution for global routing, so shippers are able to perform more effective and robust end-to-end planning, from true origin to ultimate destination;
-Agility: JDA eight brings an increased level of agility to the transportation domain, which is beneficial to larger shippers with long supply chains.  Citing imports from Asia as an example, the spokesperson explained Asia is not a region that has been sophisticated from a routing and optimization standpoint, so there’s a tremendous ability to leverage their scale.  Agility is not a new capability, but the spokesperson said JDA is tying those planning capabilities together and bringing them to the source point;
-Big Data Analysis: An increase in sophistication in terms of how JDA helps customers process big data and present them in a usable way.  Users can, to a higher degree, filter, segment, query, and layer different pieces of data in much more digestible chunks.  It’s beneficial in the domestic realm when you’re dealing with fleets, availability of assets. The solution will allow users to interact not only with their own data, but external data as well, thus giving them the ability to make more intelligent decisions; and
-Merging Capabilities: JDA eight will integrate capabilities around core optimization and fleet routing.  It’s helpful for industries that touch both areas. For example, a distributor that does multiple stops in a dense area and goes to handle inbound pickups can now handle both tasks within the same engine.

JDA eight brings together more than 30 products on a single platform, including JDA Production & Sourcing Optimization, JDA Business Analysis, and JDA Strategic Pricing, among others.

When asked if the bundled JDA eight offering to the Cloud driven internally by customer demand or a bit of both, Brasca said it was the latter.

“From working closely with our customers, we understand the dynamics of their business and the need they have to create visibility across their supply chain,” Brasca said.  “From a company standpoint, we embrace innovative technology and think the cloud provides added value to our solutions and user experience.”