JDA, Harbinger Partner on Integration of Merchandising, E-Commerce Solutions
JDA Software Group Inc. (Scottsdale, Ariz.), an international provider of enterprise retail solutions, and Harbinger Corp. (Atlanta), a worldwide supplier of B2B e-commerce solutions, have announced the signing of an alliance to provide integrated B2B solutions they claim will improve supply chain communications and operating efficiencies.
According to the arrangement, the companies will integrate JDA's AS/400-based Merchandise Management System (MMS) with Harbinger's TrustedLink data transformation and integration software. The aim of the integrated solution is to enable retailers to seamlessly exchange volumes of mission-critical information, such as purchase orders and advanced shipping notices (ASNs), with suppliers via traditional and alternative e-business methods, such as XML.
"This partnership enables us to accelerate our time to market with a proven extranet solution, further supporting our mission to provide the latest electronic commerce solutions that optimize operating efficiencies throughout the retail supply chain," says Jim Armstrong, JDA’s CEO. "Harbinger is the name most recognized in AS/400 B2B e-commerce software, offering a flexible and reliable solution. The integration of MMS and TrustedLink enables retailers to collaborate with e-commerce enabled and non-e-commerce enabled suppliers using the Internet as the communications pipeline."
The two companies are touting the benefits the integrated products will provide retailers and suppliers. By making an expanded level of delivery methods—such as XML, e-mail, fax and FTP—available for both outbound and inbound transactions, even the smallest retailers and suppliers will be able to improve efficiencies throughout their supply chain, they claim. The integrated solution will also enable retailers and suppliers to electronically exchange a wider variety of information, and will significantly accelerate transaction deployment to further streamline supply chain processes. And, for those retailers and suppliers that are currently EDI-enabled, JDA is developing retail-specific templates, based on the most commonly used EDI transactions.
The JDA/Harbinger solution is expected to be generally available pending the completion of a current beta test.