JDA FOCUS 2018: Visibility and Digitization Take Center Stage

The p44 team just got back from JDA FOCUS 2018 in Orlando. The conference theme this year was The theme for JDA FOCUS 2018, “Expectations Fulfilled,” which intended to, “demonstrate how JDA helps companies transform their supply chains to create a seamless experience for customers across every channel, leveraging cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics and machine learning.” As a trucking and logistics technology company, this theme was music to our ears.

Digital Transformation and an API-First Strategy

Digitalization is on everyone’s mind, and naturally, it was a prominent theme at JDA FOCUS 2018. JDA’s solutions cover a lot of ground. They touch a handful of industries, which means they integrate with a wide array of different systems, and their customers and partners do as well. That’s why JDA is an API-first company.

APIs are among the most important components of your company’s digital strategy, and JDA FOCUS had plenty to say about that. With sessions covering topics from Blockchain to IoT, it’s clear that the industry has many practical applications for leveraging modern technology. What’s something that these technologies have in common? APIs. In order to access a blockchain you need APIs. APIs facilitate the transfer of data to and from these blocks. It’s similar with IoT—connecting all of these different pieces of technology and ensuring they have the data they need to function efficiently requires APIs to transfer the data.

The Smart Supply Chain Starts With Visibility

Many of the panels and discussion at JDA centered around things like modern supply chain management, exception management, transitioning to newer systems, and agility. These topics are closely related to supply chain visibility. Essentially, as technology in the industry continues to advance, visibility is growing beyond just tracking shipments. Visibility now means gaining information and understanding about all kinds of supply chain related business practices.

In fact, project44’s VP, Solutions Engineering, Jason Kerner, sat in on a panel called “Finding Real-time Capacity Within JDA Transportation Management,” which covered the way p44’s integrations with JDA allow for smarter business decisions based on the flow of real-time, relevant information.

As usual, JDA put on an outstanding event!