Blue Yonder (formerly JDA Software Group) is an American

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

and consultancy company owned by multinational conglomerate

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...

. Blue Yonder provides supply chain management, manufacturing planning, retail planning, store operations and category management offerings headquartered in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

. The company has more than 3,000 corporate customers in the manufacturing, distribution, transportation, retail and services industries. Companies acquired over time include Yantriks, Blue Yonder, RedPrairie, i2 Technologies, Manugistics, E3, Intactix, and Arthur.

History

In 1985, James Donald Armstrong and Frederick M. Pakis formed the US-based JDA Software, Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio. After signing a contract with a Phoenix-based automotive retailer in 1987, all eight JDA employees relocated to headquarters in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. After 10 years of operation as a privately held firm, JDA went public on March 15, 1996. In 2006, JDA acquired Manugistics Group Inc., a Rockville, MD developer and provider of supply chain management solutions for over $200 million. On November 5, 2009, JDA announced its intent to acquire i2 Technologies, a Dallas-based provider of supply chain management software. The acquisition was completed in January 2010. In June 2010, Dillard's Department Stores won a $246 million judgment against i2, claiming damages from use of two supply chain management systems. JDA announced efforts to reduce or reverse this judgment, noting Dillard's still used the software and had done so since 2000. The case was settled in 2011. On August 8, 2016, JDA was reported to be exploring its sale to

Honeywell International Inc. Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance m ...

The sale was challenged on August 16, 2016 by

The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate b ...

, giving an alternative to JDA by offering a financing plan. On January 30, 2017, Girish Rishi succeeded Bal Dail as CEO. On July 2, 2018, JDA announced an agreement to acquire Blue Yonder GmbH. The acquisition was completed on August 7, 2018. On February 11, 2020, JDA announced that it was renaming itself to Blue Yonder, Inc. On July 23, Blue Yonder announced the acquisition of Yantriks. On April 21, 2021,

announced that it had agreed to acquire Blue Yonder. The acquisition was closed on September 17, 2021. In February 2022, CEO Rishi stepped down. In July 2022, Duncan Angove was announced as the new CEO. As of 2022, Blue Yonder has filed for ipo.

References

{{Authority control 1985 establishments in Ohio American companies established in 1985 Companies based in Scottsdale, Arizona Software companies established in 1985 Software companies based in Arizona Software companies of the United States Supply chain software companies 1996 initial public offerings Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Panasonic American subsidiaries of foreign companies 2016 mergers and acquisitions 2021 mergers and acquisitions