JDA partners with INTTRA to bolster ocean shipping TMS

The supply chain technology provider will integrate INTTRA’s booking, shipment management and data tools into its transportation management system to provide more comprehensive ocean shipping capabilities.    Supply chain technology provider JDA Software and ocean shipping e-commerce platform INTTRA on Wednesday announced a partnership that will see JDA users able to tap into INTTRA’s booking and shipment management capabilities.
   The agreement essentially boosts the breadth and depth of JDA’s transportation management system by bringing to bear INTTRA’s wide reach within the ocean shipping industry and the processes with managing ocean bookings. INTTRA says it processes more than 650,000 container orders per week, accounting for roughly a quarter of global ocean container trade.
   JDA’s TMS already had international capability, but its strengths lay primarily in helping customers manage and execute shipments domestically (be that in North America or foreign markets). Tapping into INTTRA empowers more extensive execution on the ocean shipping side of the equation.
   Fab Brasca, vice president, solution strategy, intelligent fulfillment, at JDA, said connecting the TMS to INTTRA’s platform “exponentially” bolsters JDA’s ocean shipping capabilities, especially as the vast majority of internationally traded goods travel by containership.
   INTTRA is the most widely used of a group of ocean freight booking portals that emerged in the early 2000s with the idea of taking container bookings into an e-commerce environment. The platform is integrated with a number of other technology companies to varying levels, like Descartes, and rate management providers Catapult, CargoSphere, and Info-X.
   Shippers and freight forwarders also use INTTRA directly to make bookings with carriers, leveraging the platform’s increasing focus on shipment analytics and reporting.
   “The robust functionality of JDA Transportation Management software allows customers to control costs, streamline productivity and maximize efficiencies,” said Inna Kuznetsova, president of INTTRA Marketplace. “Those same objectives are at the heart of INTTRA’s service offering. We are pleased that JDA’s customers now have powerful tools to navigate the ocean shipping portion of the supply chain, adding functionality without complexity.”
   In the announcement, JDA said it has more than 4,000 customers globally, though not all use the company’s TMS. The company deploys market-leading solutions in warehouse, inventory, and workforce management, among other tools.
   Over the past year, the company has emphasized a message centered around how retailers and manufacturers can profitability fulfill orders in an environment where e-commerce is becoming more prevalent. JDA also has a separate unit that focuses on the needs of 3PLs, a key market for INTTRA’s tools.