Supply chain technology firm JDA Software Group Inc. today announced a package of enhancements to its core software applications that JDA said will improve users' ability to predict consumer demand and deliver faster fulfillment.

The enhanced platform, called Luminate, extends existing JDA applications by connecting them to sources of data both within and beyond customers' extended supply chains, integrating information from additional systems, trading partners, machines, and networks, Desikan Madhavanur, JDA's executive vice president and chief development officer, said in a keynote at the firm's user conference in Orlando, Fla.

Luminate then helps users generate decisions from real-time data by applying digital edge technologies such as software-as-a-service (SaaS), the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and advanced analytics, he said.

Those tools can analyze traditional supply chain data as well as external information like social media, news, events, and weather (SNEW), Scottsdale, Ariz.-based JDA said. The resulting information can match demand and supply continuously for applications at every point of the supply chain, connecting stores, distribution centers, logistics, and manufacturing in a digital network, according to the company.

While the concept of applying external signals to supply and demand forecasting is not new—for example, JDA has partnered with Berwyn, Pa.-based weather analytics provider Planalytics Inc. for years—Luminate brings that information deeper into the decision-making process, Pruneet Saxena, JDA's group vice president for supply chain planning, said in an interview.

For example, the Luminate Control Tower will help users predict events and suggest responses, allowing companies to weigh options and compare "what-if" planning scenarios in response to potential delays in deliveries from suppliers, Saxena said.

Luminate will enhance JDA applications in demand forecasting, factory production planning and scheduling, strategic planning, store optimization, supply risk remediation, and transportation and warehouse modules, the company said. In addition, JDA is applying Luminate to JDA Assortment, an enhancement and renaming of the company's Retail.me solution for predictive product stocking and inventory quantity, the company said.