JDA and IBM collaborate to deliver advanced Omni-channel fulfilment capabilities

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JDA Software Group and IBM have today announced an initiative to provide solutions that help organisations deliver engaging customer experiences by intelligently processing and fulfilling product orders.

Together IBM and JDA will provide an integrated omni-channel supply chain that enables businesses to make smarter sourcing decisions in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible in real time, and give their customers the best buying experience possible.

Wayne Usie, Senior Vice President of retail at JDA Software, said: “The JDA and IBM initiative fills a massive void in the marketplace. Retailers need to become much more sophisticated and intelligent about how they source product for omni-channel fulfilment. 

“Today there is far too much guess work, too many static policies, and no intelligence applied to the process. This landmark initiative cracks the code on intelligent sourcing, simultaneously allowing our customers to factor in supply chain planning and execution status, planned events like promotions and markdowns, and labour availability at the point of sale to maximise profits and customer satisfaction.”

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 fulfilment 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 fulfilment.

JDA Intelligent Fulfillment and Labour 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.

Charles Chu, Vice President of B2B & Commerce at IBM, said: “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.”

“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 fulfilment process that provides real value to the customer while eliminating costs and inefficiencies.”

“By partnering to deliver this joint offering, JDA and IBM are enabling Lowe’s to deliver exceptional omni-channel fulfilment services, which gives our customers more flexible options to shop with us,” added Robin Bornkamp, Lowe’s VP of Inventory & Demand Planning.

At JDA, we’re fearless leaders. We’re the leading provider of end-to-end, integrated retail and supply chain planning and execution solutions for more than 4,000 customers worldwide. For more information, please visit www.jda.com

IBM Commerce and Order Management solutions provide a differentiated commerce experience across all of a company’s business models to drive better customer engagement and increased sales. For more information on IBM Commerce, please visit http://www01.ibm.com/software/genservers/commerce/b2bdrp/index.html