Panasonic splashes $5bn plus to acquire Blue Yonder

Blue Yonder, formerly known as JDA Software, is a leading digital fulfillment platform provider. 

Panasonic will purchase the remaining 80% of shares (for USD5.6 billion) of Blue Yonder, adding to the 20% which Panasonic acquired in July 2020. Including repayment of outstanding debt the additional investment totals USD7.1 billion, valuing Blue Yonder at USD8.5 billion.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, Blue Yonder’s revenue was over $1 billion, 67% of which was recurring revenue. As of December 31, 2020, SaaS annual recurring revenue was $343 million and SaaS net revenue retention rate was 120%.

Blue Yonder CEO Girish Rishi says: “This association came about as a result of three years of working together, first with Panasonic as a Blue Yonder customer and thereafter as joint venture partner. We have developed mutual trust and have a shared vision for an autonomous supply chain.”

The need for more intelligent, autonomous and edge-aware supply chains has been dramatically heightened by the pandemic, the rise of e-commerce and the proliferation of data, says Panasonic. By unifying supply, demand and commerce solutions with IoT and edge technologies, companies can better utilise predictive business insights to pivot their operations in real-time.

Panasonic CEO Yuki Kusumi adds: “There are still many such losses and stagnation in supply chain operations, so through the drastic reduction of wasted labor and resources, we would like to create innovation in global supply chains.”