PSDI and i2 join forces

By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 2/1/2001

BEDFORD, MASS. AND DALLAS PSDI, now doing business as MRO SoftwareT, and i2 Technologies, Inc. announced in January that they will team up to offer "a complete, end-to-end solution for the direct and strategic MRO materials supply chain."

The software/technology companies signed an agreement to resell each other's offerings and integrate their technologies to create a single solution that will help businesses optimize their MRO supply chains for greater return on assets, increased profitability and improved customer service.

The joint offering will focus on both demand-side and supply-side applications for the strategic MRO market.

"Leveraging the MRO procurement and management expertise of MRO Software and the optimization, planning and marketplace expertise of i2, this relationship has the potential to produce the first complete e-commerce solution for the industrial MRO supply chain," Tim Minahan, managing director of Aberdeen Group's e-business practice, said in a press release. "The wise decision to integrate MRO Software and i2 technology offerings into a single solution can further optimize the management of MRO activities and the acquisition of MRO goods, squeezing inventory, costs and inefficiencies from the supply chain."

In addition, the two companies will collaborate on a "common content schema for the strategic MRO space" based on the categorization and attribute data found in MRO Software's Standard Modifier Dictionary and i2's Infinite Content Standard Classification Schema. According to the companies, "this collaboration anticipates producing the definitive standard for industrial part classification."

"MRO Software and i2 enter this relationship with great strategic alignment. Both companies have a strong track record of helping organizations create value through better planning and supply chain management," Chip Drapeau, MRO Software's president and CEO, said in a press release.

In a related move, PSDI announced it had issued i2 a warrant to purchase up to 500,000 shares of PSDI common stock, having a term of 21/2 years. As a result, PSDI will recognize a non-cash expense for the value of the warrant of approximately $3 million to $3.5 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2000.