Scottsdale, Ariz.—Jan. 2, 2015—JDA Software Group, Inc. announced the formation of JDA Labs—a research and development group assembled to drive game-changing innovation. This global team, headquartered in Montreal, will innovate new and existing products and deliver patents, best practices and entirely new products to the market. JDA Labs today is driving research and innovation around three key areas: data science, user experience and product innovation.
“Bringing game-changing innovation to market is in JDA’s DNA,” said Jean-Francois Gagne, chief innovation officer, JDA Software. “JDA Labs is the next generation of this legacy—taking inputs from our smart and creative JDAers around the world, as well as our unparalleled customer base, and creating new products and processes that will change the supply chain landscape for some time to come. Technology is advancing at unprecedented rates, and JDA Labs will strive to look into the future, grasp what is going to be possible and research opportunities to deliver market defining innovations to our customers.”
There are currently three distinct focus areas within JDA Labs:
- Suresh Acharya, vice president of data and decision science, is leading a group researching leading-edge approaches to turn data into actionable insight. As companies continue to struggle with how to best use the abundance of data that they create and that is in the public domain, this team is investigating new approaches to incorporate big data science and analytics into retail forecasting and supply chain decision-making. Machine learning, new optimization science, and new processes are all being explored with the goal of providing JDA’s customers and prospects with innovative new solutions to solve the business problems they face today and well into the future.
- Scott Ehlke, director of user experience, is leading a team focused on redefining the user experience. From traditional interfaces to mobility to augmented reality, this team is exploring how users will interact with software, and how devices will interact with the world around them, and will innovate on how retail and supply chain solutions will empower users at all levels of the organization.
- Gabriel Duford, director of product innovation, is leading a product innovation group within JDA Labs, charged with driving innovative opportunities to advance JDA’s solutions. The team’s focus is shortening the lead time from idea to innovation in JDA’s entire portfolio, applying best innovation practices to bring game-changing improvements to the market at an accelerated pace.
JDA Labs is a continuation of expanded innovation within JDA. “JDA Labs will be a conduit for JDA into the larger innovation-oriented community around us,” continued Gagne. “We will foster closer relationships with the academic community, industry thought leaders, customers’ lab groups and our partners to enable cross-organization innovation initiatives. JDA Labs will also facilitate market conversations on innovations through the publishing of some of our research in relevant outlets.”
