Supply chain software firm Llamasoft Inc. is making a move to capture a growing share of the logistics market in China, teaming with Chinese retail giant JD.com to gain a partner to distribute its technology solutions in that country.
Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Llamasoft on Tuesday announced it would team with JD Logistics, the logistics arm of JD.com. Through the partnership, JD Logistics will exclusively deliver and integrate LLamasoft's solutions as part of its existing service and technology offerings to manufacturers, retailers, and logistics providers in China. Those solutions include tools for supply chain design optimization, planning, operations, and management.
The move marks Llamasoft's latest aggressive move to seize market share, following its decision in 2017 to sell a majority stake of the company to private equity firm TPG Capital. At the time, Llamasoft said it planned to use the new backing to launch supply chain visibility, planning, and demand modeling solutions later that year.
Llamasoft has also grown through acquisition, buying in 2015 the LogicTools supply chain applications suite from IBM Corp. and the supply chain software division from South African rival Barloworld Ltd.
With its latest move, Llamasoft is setting its sights on one of the hottest supply chain sectors around, the firm said. "China is one of the largest markets for supply chain solutions in the world, and with this strategic partnership with JD Logistics we are going to be able to accelerate our ability to create value for an expanded client base," Llamasoft CEO Razat Gaurav said in a release. "Clients will benefit from the combination of China's largest B2C logistics network with LLamasoft's preeminent supply chain design and analytics solutions to enable organizations to transform their supply chain operations."
JD.com said it also saw the deal as a means to accelerate its growth and to provide its own clients and merchants with a one-stop supply chain optimization solution, JD Logistics' Head of Value Supply Chain Haifeng Yang said in a release. "Leveraging our respective capabilities, as well as our over a decade of experience in operating an in-house nationwide logistics network in China, will further differentiate JD as a leader in providing and integrating advanced supply chain capabilities," Yang said.
