JDA to focus on retail professionals

Cashing in on the retail boom, JDA Software, one of the leading providers of retail and supply chain solutions, is looking at rolling out its e-learning portal in order to create a bank of skilled professionals for the retail industry.

"There may be several retail software solutions available but not many people are aware of their optimum usage. We therefore thought an e-learning portal would help solve the demand-supply dearth, especially now that we are thinking of bringing to India some of our high-end retail solutions that are already available elsewhere," said Abel A Correa, country manager "� India, JDA Software India Pvt Ltd.

The company would roll out its e-learning portal in another 3 months.

It would offer training in various processes involved in efficient retail management, including training in merchandise planning and supply chain management.

The company is also in the process of finalising a retail partner with a national footprint in order to offer employment to students who successfully complete the e-training at JDA.

JDA is also planning to open offices this year in Delhi and Bangalore. It has offices in Hyderabad and Mumbai at present.

"We are also thinking of setting up a support centre wherein customers could simply call in and access help. We would employ close to 15 people for the support centre," said Correa.

The company has close to 215 employees at present.

JDA offers approximately 140 solutions to more than 5,500 customers in over 60 countries, of which close to 8 solutions are offered to clients in India.

JDA is also plans to bring to India some of its high-end solutions include routing optimisation, transport management, demand forecasting, demand pricing and promotion optimisation, workforce management (labour optimisation), etc.

"With so many retail chains setting up shop in India and offering everything under one roof, the biggest challenge faced by retailers today is managing volumes, bundled and promotional offers at the billing counter," pointed out Correa.

JDA's retail solutions are expected to help retailers in optimum product display and space planning.

JDA's retail solutions also offer better information for decision making, enhanced enterprise-wide visibility and more precise product plans.

Its planning and forecasting applications are also expected to help retailers plan seasonal collections, fine-tune assortments as well as analyse performance.

JDA reported total revenues of $90.7 million and software revenues of $17.0 million for first quarter 2007.

The Manugistics acquisition, which closed on July 5, 2006 , added $36.5 million in revenues during first quarter 2007, which includes $4.2 million of software revenue.

Post its acquisition of Manugistics Software Services India for $213 million, the combined client base has increased to over 6,000.

JDA has a client base of about 10 in India, and with this acquisition there is likely to be cross-selling opportunities for both the companies.