i2 Strengthens its Position in High Tech Industry with more than 30 Live
Implementations
Business Editors & High-Tech Writers
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 2000--
Acer America, Nortel Networks, Panasonic, TechnologyNet and UMC
Group are Among Companies That Have Gone Live With i2 TradeMatrix(TM)
Solutions This Year
i2 Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ITWO), is continuing to build
momentum as the leading provider of supply chain and e-marketplace
solutions for the high tech industry. This year, i2 has gone live with
global implementations at more than 30 semiconductor, computer and
electronics, telecommunications and consumer electronics companies.
According to Benchmarking Partners, i2 is the leading provider of
supply chain decision support applications in the high tech
marketplace, with a 72 percent market share.
i2 TradeMatrix(TM) solutions enable companies to integrate
customer management and supply chain capabilities to create
inventory-lean supply chains, reducing depreciation exposure and
exposure to demand volatility. As high tech manufacturers and
distributors face rapid depreciation of inventory assets and shortened
product life cycles, i2 helps these companies deliver the right
product at the right time in order to maximize market share and, at
the same time, reduce overall costs.
"More than half of the companies that have gone live with i2
solutions this year are repeat customers," says Bruce Jacquemard,
senior vice president for i2's High Tech Business Unit. "This means
i2's industry-specific solutions are creating value and customers are
extending i2 deeper into their critical business processes and
implementing additional solutions."
Jacquemard attributes much of i2's success to its industry
template solutions, which are designed to allow implementations to be
completed quickly and on a large scale, but still tailored to specific
industry needs. "We have invested significantly in these industry
templates to ensure delivery of rapid time-to-value, while recognizing
that the business needs of a semiconductor manufacturer are different
from the business needs of an electronics assembler," he says. "That's
why, for example, nine of the world's top 10 PC manufacturers and
eight of the world's top 10 semiconductor manufacturers have adopted
i2 solutions to optimize their supply chains."
In addition to the numerous implementations i2 has completed this
year for high tech customers, the company has announced several new
contracts for software licenses. These include customers such as AT&T
Canada, Best Buy, Cypress Semiconductor, Dell Computer Corporation,
Fairchild Semiconductor, IBM and Tech Data Corporation.
Collaboration Throughout the Supply Chain
Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company, a division of Matsushita
Electric Company of America, needed to increase collaboration
throughout the company's global supply chain and have the ability to
better anticipate demand while simultaneously improving customer
satisfaction. As a result of implementing i2 solutions, Panasonic has
reduced planning cycle times by more than 60 percent and increased
supply chain visibility to include second and third tier global
suppliers. i2 solutions provide timely and detailed point-of-sale and
inventory information, detailed collaboration information with
retailers as well as reduction in planning cycle times/lead times and
increased forecasting capabilities. Panasonic's managers are now able
to collaborate with their dealer network, arrive at consensus on true
demand, and convey this information to its factories in the U.S.,
Japan and other Asian facilities in a matter of hours. The rapid flow
of information allows Panasonic production facilities to closely match
the market demand to production scheduling. As a further enhancement,
the productivity of the company's supply chain analysts has improved
dramatically.
"The ability to view our supply chain operations in the U.S.,
Japan and the rest of Asia as one is essential for us to achieve our
objectives of increased customer satisfaction and a reduction in
operation costs," said Michael Aguilar, president of Panasonic Company
National. "i2 understands our business and the solutions that have
been implemented provide significant measurable value for Panasonic."
Tailored Solutions
In October 1999, United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) Group
merged five of its subsidiaries into one company focused on providing
state-of-the-art semiconductor foundry services to its customers
worldwide. As part of this initiative, UMC has implemented i2
solutions to accomplish several of its most critical business
objectives.
"UMC is extremely pleased to partner with i2. During the selection
process, i2's established leadership, and products tailored for the
semiconductor industry, clearly made them the obvious choice for UMC,"
said Christopher Bettis, vice president, UMC U.S.A.
E-Marketplaces to Optimize Revenues
For Acer America Corporation, i2 TradeMatrix Sell Solution is
maximizing revenues. Because Acer employs a complex, multi-tiered
distribution model across multiple sales channels, the U.S. arm of the
world's third-largest PC maker needed to ensure accurate and efficient
matching and fulfillment of these customized orders.
"i2 TradeMatrix Sell Solution has optimized revenue from each
customer interaction, maximized revenue generation across all sales
channels, and has dramatically reduced operating costs for Acer
America. This equals real, measurable value," said Todd Osborne,
senior director of marketing for Acer. "We chose i2 because of its
robust marketplace platform and 'best-of-breed' capabilities, as well
as its multi-tiered personalization of customer interactions. Our
distributors and resellers are enthusiastic about the i2 solution and
the value it has provided to their business models."
Best-in-Class Solutions
Nortel Networks, a global leader in telephony, data, eBusiness and
wireless solutions for the Internet, implemented i2's intelligent
e-business solutions in their digital switching business division to
reduce costs, strengthen supplier relationships and reduce cycle times
and inventory. With these business process improvements, Nortel can
ensure the rest of its supply chain is fully prepared to meet customer
demands.
"We view our supply chain as a competitive weapon just like we
view our products and services as a competitive weapon, and i2 is a
critical part of that supply chain capability," said Danny Murdock,
vice president of eBusiness at Nortel Networks. "We chose i2 over a
number of competitors because i2 had the best-in-class solutions and
the best vision for how those solutions would be used."
Improved Customer Service
Another live implementation customer is TechnologyNet, the first
e-marketplace for the global IT industry. TechnologyNet is using the
i2 TradeMatrix platform to enable online trading between IT solution
providers, manufacturers, distributors and IT buyers. By bringing
together all facets of the IT supply chain in one interactive
community, TechnologyNet is able to facilitate industry relationships,
anticipate market needs, reduce expenses and improve the flow of data.
"Through MyVirtualPurchaser, i2 and TechnologyNet are adding value
to all participants in this marketplace, providing the ability to
improve customer service through superior order processing and
intelligent Web storefronts, while concurrently reducing supply chain
costs," said Alan Weinberger, chairman and CEO of TechnologyNet, Inc.
"i2 TradeMatrix Sell Solution gives us the capability to perform
personalized, multi-channel selling by managing customer interactions
through a single platform."
About i2:
i2 is creating real value for its global e-business customers
through its TradeMatrix solutions, content and marketplace platform.
TradeMatrix allows businesses to create both private and public
marketplaces, while improving the efficiencies of all participants. i2
provides a wide variety of collaborative e-business services for both
the early stages and the next generation of e-business adoption, with
each service supported by decision optimization, transaction
management and content management solutions. Founded in 1988, i2's
mission is to deliver $50 billion in value to its customers by 2005.
i2 is headquartered in Dallas, has more than 5,000 employees and
maintains offices worldwide. |
