JDA Software Inc., the leading provider of end-to-end supply chain and retail solutions, has announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Blue Yonder, the market leader in AI solutions for retail. This acquisition reflects the increasing importance of connecting intelligent data and insights to enable more profitable, Autonomous Supply Chain decisions and optimised customer experiences. It builds on JDA’s strategy of developing cognitive and connected solutions to power digital transformations for companies seeking to create a competitive advantage for their supply chains.
Blue Yonder enables companies to take a transformative approach to their core processes, automating complex decisions that deliver higher profits and customer value using leading AI/ML algorithms. Blue Yonder’s proven data science capabilities will allow JDA to more quickly embed new levels of actionable intelligence across all areas of its SaaS solution roadmap, from retail/supply chain planning, to execution, to labour management and through to omnichannel delivery to create significant value realisation for customers. Blue Yonder’s SaaS solutions deliver rapid time-to-value and game-changing business value.
As part of the world’s leading supply chain management company, Blue Yonder will be able to accelerate its growth, invest more resources to development and deliver even more innovation to customers at scale to help deliver on JDA’s vision for an Autonomous Supply Chain. To help deliver on this joint mission, Blue Yonder Founder, former CERN physicist and KIT professor, Dr. Michael Feindt, will provide ongoing thought and innovation leadership to both companies and CEO Uwe Weiss will join JDA’s Operating Committee.
JDA’s acquisition of Blue Yonder is expected to close in August, subject to competition agency approval. Both companies will refrain from commenting further on the acquisition until the transaction is complete.
“Major digital transformation of supply chains is underway and the ability to quickly access intelligent, actionable data and insights will determine the future winners and losers,” said JDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Girish Rishi. “JDA’s end-to-end solution portfolio, coupled with Blue Yonder’s leading AI/ML capabilities, will enable customers to deliver more autonomous, profitable business decisions throughout their extended supply chains, unlocking the full business impact of intelligent data.”
“With JDA’s global scope and reach, we have a terrific opportunity to drive the use of our AI solutions throughout the world’s largest and most complex supply chains and to support companies in driving AI innovation and automated decisions in complex supply chains,” said Uwe Weiss, Blue Yonder CEO. “The Blue Yonder team is excited about accelerating and expanding our mission of creating best-in-class AI-based decisions to deliver outstanding customer experiences, increased revenue and higher margins to companies around the world.”
“We are proud to have accompanied Blue Yonder to this day and would like to thank the Blue Yonder management team, Warburg Pincus and JDA for the close cooperation. The Otto Group’s goal has always been to further develop Blue Yonder together with the Blue Yonder management team and Warburg Pincus, and to prepare the company for the next big step on its path to success,” said Dr. Rainer Hillebrand from Otto Group. “This step requires a strategic partner with whom the ambitious growth targets can be better achieved. Therefore, we are excited about this great partnership with JDA. We plan to continue working closely with Blue Yonder.”
Max Fowinkel, Managing Director at Warburg Pincus, commented: “We are very pleased with the international success Blue Yonder has achieved under Warburg Pincus’ ownership. We would like to thank the Otto Group and the Blue Yonder management team for our successful cooperation. As investors, we feel privileged to have supported the Blue Yonder team in building a leading provider of scalable SaaS-based machine learning solutions and we wish the entire team continued success under the new ownership.”
