Bangalore, November 12:– JDA Software Group has collaborated with IBM to build an integrated omni-channel supply chain tool, that lets businesses make smarter real-time sourcing decisions. The move is aimed at enabling organizations to deliver engaging customer experiences in the most efficient and intelligent way possible.
Retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers today are challenged to meet the demands of empowered consumers who seek the right product at the right price regardless of the channel. More consumers are demanding advanced delivery methods such as ‘buy online and pick-up in store’, which is putting businesses under pressure to offer such flexible options across more channels. 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 try to solve this problem by synchronizing comprehensive order capture and order management. JDA’s 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 labor costs – so that businesses can more responsively adjust inventory and resource allocations, while also serving their bottom line. Delivered either on premise or in the cloud via SoftLayer 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.
For example, when a customer purchases an outfit online from a clothing retailer, there are several dynamic factors at play that can affect the profitability of the transaction, such as: If the customer wants the outfit delivered to a home or will pick it up in store; If the item is in stock at that store or needs to be fulfilled from an alternate location; or if warehouse or store labor is available to fulfill the order in a timely manner.
With the combined solutions from IBM and JDA, these issues will be resolved in the background in real-time by applying knowledge of the retailer’s inventory planning and allocation during the order processing. This allows the retailer to intelligently initiate the best possible omni-channel fulfillment decision at the moment of the sale in the most profitable manner.
“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.”