Question, Bruce...what is the real difference between what i2 provides to its customers vs ARBA/CMRC, understanding that ARBA/CMRC focus on MRO procurement and i2 seems focused on raw materials/wholesale goods supply procurement? Is the *nature* of their products similar?
Ha! I wish I could see a handful of solutions from each at work to be able to point out some real differences. However, I don't have that option. We know that they will shape the solutions for the customer. If Ariba specializes in day to day operations, solutions to automate internal processes of organizations as well as a method for connection of buyers and sellers - what does i2 offer in terms of B2B and e-business? I spent about an hour at the i2 site today just reading and reading. It's worth a trip over there to read and read and read and read.....
Here's what product solutions they offer based on Rhythm:
*Product Lifecycle Management for product leadership
*Supply Chain Management for operational excellence
*Customer Management for customer intimacy
*InterProcess Planning to integrate the above three processes, maximizing resource utilization and profitability
*Strategic Planning for accurate long-term decision-making and scenario-based analysis of competitors.
Translate that and get back to me!
Take a look at number four. It says this:
The objective of i2's RHYTHM InterProcess Planning (IPP) solution is to
help companies maximize profitability by optimizing resource use and
minimizing conflicts among various business processes, both
inter-enterprise and intra-enterprise.
The IPP suite of solutions, which help enable electronic Business Process
Optimization or eBPO, are crucial to achieving the responsiveness required
for intelligent eBusiness. IPP allows the effective collaboration of various
authority domains within a company. IPP is designed to synchronize
operational activities across the major processes?customer management,
supply chain management, and product lifecycle management?with the
global objectives of the enterprise. Thus, InterProcess Planning is a tactical
planning tool that integrates across multiple business processes within an
organization to achieve an enterprise-wide optimal solution.
IPP is composed of two sub-processes: Financial Planning and Integrated
Sales and Operations Planning.
Question: How can I align my strategic goals with day-to-day operational objectives?
Answer: Integrated strategic and operations planning capability with ability to optimally resolve conflict.
Who speaks this language?
Depending on how the solution was scaled to the customer's needs, it wouldn't surprise me if a company contacted both companies for a customized package to handle the same challenge that i2 and Ariba might come up with a similar product. I don't know. It's kind of hard to get a 'hands on look' at something like that for me. Maybe somebody else can address it much better.
Here's a little exhange that I read today in terms of i2.
.....price/sales multiple is around 11x. This is a cheap compared to other publicly traded b2b stocks. Broadvision and Seibel are currently trading at 62x and 18x sales, respectively, and e-marketplace providers Ariba and Commerce One are currently trading at 136x and 59x sales.
i2 price/sales is only about 8.5, and certainly less than 9. If you use run rate, i.e. last quarter times 4, the price/sales ratio is actually 7 or less. This is very much cheaper thn most other b2b players, and i2 is profitable to boot.
BB
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