JDA Software Group and IBM today announced the launch of an integrated omni-channel supply chain that will enables businesses to make smarter sourcing decisions in real time and give their customers the best buying experience possible.
Retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers today are challenged to meet the demands of empowered consumers who demand the right product when they want it at the best price through their channel of choice. As more and more consumers demand advanced delivery methods such as ‘buy online and pick-up in store,’ businesses are under increasing pressure to offer these flexible options across more channels in order to meet their customer’s expectations. Without a dynamic view into their complete supply chain picture, businesses are forced to make snap decisions based on static information resulting in inefficient fulfillment processes, shipping methods and inventory positions.
This new initiative between JDA and IBM will provide a holistic approach to solving this problem by synchronizing comprehensive order capture and order management with precision retail planning, efficient labour productivity and intelligent fulfillment. JDA Intelligent Fulfillment and Labor Productivity solutions combined with IBM Commerce and Order Management solutions will reveal the true cost of fulfilling an order, including inventory and labour costs so that businesses can more responsively adjust inventory and resource allocations and execute decisions that meet and exceed customer expectations while also serving their bottom line.
Delivered either on premise or in the cloud via SoftLayer, an IBM company, the solution will be part of IBM’s existing portfolio of over 110 SaaS applications and is expected to be available by late spring 2015.
“Whether they shop online, in store or on a device, consumers expect to have their product orders fulfilled exactly how they want it and at the lowest price without exceptions,” said Charles Chu, Vice President of B2B & Commerce at IBM. “Any business that ignores these changing expectations does so at the expense of customer loyalty and revenue growth. Now with this collaboration between JDA Software and IBM, businesses will be able to seamlessly orchestrate a superior order fulfillment process that provides real value to the customer while eliminating costs and inefficiencies.”