JDA Day 2018: Philippine Retail Industry Needs to Accelerate Digital Supply Chain Transformations

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Surprised to find out that the Philippines rank among the lowest to embrace digital solutions for the retail industry.

However, the good news is that the country is in a condition where it could rapidly catch up if given a nice "kick in the butt" to motivate these businesses towards the right direction.

But when JDA Software, through a media gathering held at Solaire Resorts and Casino Manila on May 23, 2018, showed us a list of their clients, seeing the huge companies doing retail business somehow answered the enigma.

Why? Because just like the entry of a third player in the telco industry where the existing duopoly is said to be the real reason why more players hesitate or could not successfully penetrate the country, to adapt digital or online retail solutions successfully could very well put an end to the huge malls or stores in the country.

Though JDA Software beg to disagree because they say that digital transformations could be beneficial to even the mall-operating business giants, that would probably be only at the initial stages. When Filipinos become comfortable using digital or online solutions, we won't be going to the malls anymore.

But that scenario is still nothing but a speculation. Businesses evolve since they have the funds to reinvent themselves, or put out a better image, to make themselves in demand again.

My children's lifestyle revolves around online shopping. They would prefer to transact online rather than go to the malls and subject themselves to the long queues and traffic congestion, among other things. Thus, I do believe that the next generations will push the demand for digital or online solutions for retail, and as a whole since online is the now and the future.

Lee Gill, Group Vice President of JDA Software

Amit Bagga, President APAC JDA Software

John Boe, Senior Consulting Director of Genie Technologies

Gan Eng-Teck of Dematic

Below is the official press release from the event:


JDA Software Inc., hosted its fourth edition JDA Day on 23rd May in Solaire Resorts & Casino Manila, Parañaque City recently showcasing strategies to accelerate digital supply chain transformations for customers across the Philippines.

The event titled "Digital Supply Chain Strategies: Revamp, Revitalize, and Refine Your Planning & Execution,” brought together retail, manufacturing and logistics professionals to network and share best practices.

In his brief welcome note, JDA’s Vishal Dhawan, Vice President, Sales, Growth Markets, set the context for the event on how JDA through its cognitive, connected, end-to-end supply chain platform can help Philippine businesses to drive higher profitability.

Hans Bayoborda, Managing Director of Microsoft Philippines, elaborated on the digital revolution trends as seen in both manufacturing and retail verticals.

Lee Gill, Group Vice President of Global Retail Industry Strategy, shared insights on how the advancement of disruptive technologies, generational shifts among shoppers and a wave of formidable competition along with hyper-personalisation are shifting consumers’ expectations causing a disruption in the marketplace. This transformative journey is forcing retailers to re-invent their business models at every level, requiring a new focus on strategy to engage customers and create the experiences they will expect.

Alex Yap, Senior Director of Industry Strategy for Manufacturing at JDA highlighted survey results of the recent JDA Intelligent Manufacturing 2018 study. The results showcase how manufacturers are embracing the role of retailers in their battle to beat Amazon. Through global customer case study examples he further highlighted how JDA is powering autonomous decision-making and delivering enhanced value to its customers.

JDA’s Mary Loo, Alliances Director, showcased the increasing importance and value of synergies that JDA’s integrated JDA Warehouse Management and JDA Warehouse Labor Management solutions can aid in delivering seamless and intelligent fulfillment for today’s digital transformations.

JDA’s Sanjay Prakash, Senior Solutions Advisor, illustrated through customer examples how global category managers have strategically shifted to proactive, analytics-driven insights which is helping them grow sales and margins for both suppliers and retailers.

JDA’s Harish Sattanathan, Senior Solutions Advisor, discussed the significance of keeping pace with the velocity of today’s supply chains, and how JDA Transportation Management helps companies with real-time data capture and predictive analytics for insight-driven decision-making and improved operational efficiencies.

John Boe, Senior Director of Consulting Services, Genie Technologies, discussed issues within the Philippine market where despite businesses witnessing revenue increase, many also experience margins and profits under pressure. Companies across retail, manufacturing and distribution are now looking at avenues to improve their supply chain efficiencies that will help result in inventory that is more aligned to their sales investment and effective forecasting and replenishment approaches.

“The paradigm shift in supply chain and its impact on the bottom line has pushed it to becoming a boardroom agenda in Philippine market. We see a significant increase in the interest from retailers, manufacturers and distributors here who are keen in engaging with JDA as we are the only one-stop, best-of-breed solution for all their supply chain planning and execution needs,” said Dhawan.

The main sponsors of JDA Day 2018 included gold partner Genie Technologies, Dematic and Questronix.