Supply Chain Management: Cognitive Demand & Readiness Assessment

This thesis is based on an internship experience in JDA Software. JDA is the leading supply chain software provider. It was founded in 1985 and it is globally headquartered in Scottsdale, AZ. JDA helps companies optimize delivery to customers by enabling them to predict and shape demand, fulfill faster and more intelligently and improve customer experiences and loyalty. The scope of this thesis is to demonstrate how new technologies are affecting the Supply Chain industry and, in particular, how Machine Learning is impacting the Demand Planning process. In this thesis an analysis of Cognitive Demand solution, JDA’s reaction to this wave of changes, is performed focusing on: its definition, its weaknesses and strengths, its architecture and the ecosystem of partners involved, a market and competitors analysis and the results obtained from the Proof of Concept. A model for understanding the level of maturity of a company’s Demand Planning Process is developed. The readiness in implementing JDA Cognitive Demand solution is assessed through the “Cognitive Demand Readiness Assessment”, based on 85 questions concerning different focus areas. This tool allows companies to identify the gaps between the level of their actual process and the desired one and provides them a roadmap to fill these gaps.