JDA Software to beef up B'lore, Hyderabad resource base by 15%

The $1-bn company currently has more than 4,000 professional on its payroll globally

JDA Software, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based company focused on supply chain management (SCM) solutions, is planning to ramp up its associate base at its centres of excellence (CoEs) in Bangalore and Hyderabad by 10-15 per cent over the next three years.

The over $1-billion company currently has more than 4,000 professional on its payroll globally. Of these, close to 2,100 are based out of India, split evenly between the Hyderabad and Bangalore CoEs.

“India is a very strategic centre for us and we will continue to grow here. We expect India to become a key lever and great enabler to our global product development and delivery,” Razat Gaurav, executive vice-president and general manager (global industries and solutions), JDA Software, told Business Standard.

Buoyed by the success of the CoE template that it had created in India, he said, the company was now looking at replicating the model in other countries as well. While a near-shore CoE was set up in Poland to cater to Europe 18 months ago, the company would establish a CoE in Latin America to serve the US market by 2015, Gaurav added.

JDA Software, which entered India 15 years ago, had so far invested over $50 million in its domestic operations. At present, the company has a little over 4,000 customers globally, primarily in the areas of retail, manufacturing and 3PL (third-party logistics). It services 35 India-based customers.

“We see the 3PL, manufacturing and retail industries growing in India. Our target is to tap large blue chip and mid-sized India-based companies in these verticals, besides expanding our business with the existing clientele,” Gaurav said.

Over the last 30 years, JDA Software had acquired 10 companies, including Dallas-based SCM and services company i2 Technologies Inc in 2010 for $396 million, and Rockville, Maryland-based SCM company Manugistics in 2006 for $211 million. i2 and Manugistics have significant presence in Bangalore and Hyderabad, respectively.

“There is nothing active right now, in terms of similar acquisitions. Our focus is on leveraging India to drive our global solutions,” Gaurav said.