The JDA Buying i2 Fallout
Written by Evan SchumanWhen JDA Software announced on Monday (Aug. 11) that it was buying supply chain vendor i2 Technologies for $346 million in cash, it wrote a new chapter in one of the most radical stories of stunning success rapidly turning into, well, something a heck of a lot smaller.
Probably the best analysis on this fascinating move comes from ZDNet blog writer Dennis Howlett: “I well recall the heady days when i2 boasted of its then record-breaking $9.3 billion acquisition of Aspect Development at a time when i2 was attempting to become the dominant demand planning and B2B Internet business trading platform provider. Its 2000 customer conference was an exercise in corporate arrogance, with the then president Greg Brady lambasting journalists like myself who could not see the sustainability of i2’s business strategy. That was the same year i2 offered a bounty of $500 to anyone who went and got the company’s logo tattooed on themselves. Some weeks later, i2 re-designed the logo.”