The software vendor and solutions integrator team up to offer JDA users access to Hewlett-Packard hardware.Through a partnership with Logicalis Group, a solutions integrator that
provides Hewlett-Packard servers and storage devices, JDA Software Group will
help its customers to run JDA applications on HP hardware.
JDA, a supply chain solutions company, announced the partnership March 31.
"This is a case where one plus one equals three," said David
Stuttard, global vice president of business development for JDA. "We are a
developer and provider of end-to-end retail supply chain software. It's
necessary to run that software on hardware, but the complexities and nuances of
today's hardware [mean] we must go where our core competency is best served."
In particular, Stuttard said for a supply chain application to be truly
scalable, it needs to leverage the parallel processing power of today's
servers. "Otherwise you end up wasting CPUs if your software can't use
them," he said.
According to Stuttard, today's planners need to process millions of products
per stocking location.
"You wind up with 60 to 70 million product combinations for a planner
to get a report on every morning, and they need to get the processing done in
30 minutes or less," he said. "That amount of number-crunching can
only be done in half an hour or less if your planning system is truly scalable."
JDA's software is written to continually use every process performed by a
multiprocessor box at full power, Stuttard said. By partnering with Logicalis,
he said, JDA will make it easier for users to have access to the complete
processing capabilities offered by HP hardware.
JDA also has a similar third-party partnership in place to provide users
access to IBM
hardware.
Stuttard said running JDA systems on HP hardware can also allow the kind of
data storage capabilities necessary to track planning data by individual store,
instead of by store cluster, for more granular planning.
Supported by HP hardware, he said, JDA software can leverage the processing
power required to manage extended supply chain pipelines that stretch from North
America to the Far East.
"You have eight to 15 weeks' worth of product moving from one place to
another," Stuttard said. "It gives you a global picture of supply."
Mike Schmidt, director of business development for Logicalis, said the
partnership helps his company provide customers with an answer for their supply
chain needs.
"Combining JDA functionality and the power of HP gives us a very
powerful solution for our customers," Schmidt said.
Sahir Anand, an analyst with the Aberdeen Group, said both JDA and HP have been
developing expanded retail supply chain functionality, making the integration a
good fit.
"This is an effective way of addressing the overall advanced supply
chain needs of retailers," Anand said. "The combined [hardware and
software] capabilities provide the one view of demand retailers need."
Anand said the HP hardware will provide the kind of infrastructure required
to process the high volumes of supply chain data generated by retailers.
"This creates a more systematic ability to assess and respond to
demand, which is a move in the right direction," he said. "Being able
to respond to the many different streams of data is what creates a more agile
supply chain."
Dan Berthiaume covers the retail space for eWEEK. For
more industry news, check out eWEEK.com's Retail Site.
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