JDA Taps Demand Chain Leaders to Present at FOCUS 2005 Conference; Sears, Procter & Gamble, Meijer and Estee Lauder Cos. among Customer Speakers

Business Wire, March 17, 2005

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- JDA(R) Software Group Inc. (Nasdaq:JDAS) announced that an impressive line-up of industry leaders is scheduled to speak at its 15th-annual conference, JDA FOCUS 2005, on April 17-20, 2005. Showcasing its competitive strength in articulating the real world issues that retailers and their suppliers must address, JDA has attracted a noteworthy array of demand chain customers to speak in high-profile Super Sessions. Speakers include executives from Sears Roebuck and Co., The Procter & Gamble Co., Meijer Inc., Office Depot International, The Estee Lauder Cos. Inc., Belk Inc., Casual Male Retail Group Inc., Dick's Sporting Goods Inc., Charlotte Russe Holding Inc., Hancock Fabrics Inc., BCBG Max Azria and Wilsons Leather. The conference will take place at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel in Orlando, Fla.

JDA Stays Focused Delivering on Industry Needs

JDA FOCUS is expected to attract about 1,400 participants, making this annual conference one of the industry's leading events. JDA senior executives will also host its 5th-annual Analyst and Investor Day to brief the investment community on JDA's activities, strategies and position in the market. This half-day session will run concurrent with FOCUS on April 18.

"Exciting times lie ahead for JDA, our customers and our shareholders," stated JDA CEO Hamish Brewer. "While our competitors are fighting to define a place for themselves, JDA has consistently forged ahead with our innovative solutions supporting the broadest and most engaged customer base in our industry. Having invested an estimated $45 million in PortfolioEnabled(TM), we have reached an important turning point for our company. We have already started to share the capabilities of this innovative solution with the industry and the feedback has been excellent.

"So while our competitors try to figure out how to do better against our heritage solutions, we are rapidly becoming armed with a whole new breed of solutions that will dramatically differentiate our offering," added Brewer.

JDA Customers Lead the Way

Jeff Orton, chief information officer, Wilsons Leather, will team with partners DHL Danzas Air & Ocean and One Source Logistics in a Super Session panel, moderated by Marc Millstein, associate publisher of RIS News magazine, called, "Creating an Extended Enterprise -- Strategies for Integrating the Supply Chain." Commenting on the timely issues that his panel will address, Orton stated, "In retail, it seems that more and more emphasis is being put on creating an extended enterprise by forming collaborative partnerships with vendors and leading service providers. From integrating upfront forecasting and POS information into manufacturing, to streamlining supply chain logistics, retailers must look at re-engineering their companies from a people and business aspect, as well as build a level of trust with business partners so that everyone benefits."

Orton continued, "Industry technology vendors must also evolve their business models to enable retailers to succeed in their quest toward a more integrated framework. There is less appetite today for big-bang implementations. The trend is about taking little bites, seeing the effort pay for itself and expanding scope once milestones are successfully achieved. There are only a few companies who recognize this need and JDA is one of them."

The FOCUS keynote for Tuesday, April 19, will be Kurt Kuehn, senior vice president, worldwide sales and marketing, UPS. Kuehn's topic will be "Synchronizing the Retail Supply Chain."

JDA's Business Partners, Microsoft and Intel, Complete the Picture

JDA business partners, Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp., will send executives to speak in the Super Session track. The two companies are diamond sponsors of FOCUS and will be represented in the expanded FOCUS Solutions Zone/Expo exhibit area where conference participants can see the latest JDA Portfolio(R) solutions as well as products from JDA's strategic alliances and other third-party solution providers.

"Technology promises to drastically change the dynamics of retailing and unlock new potential for retailers and demand chain companies," said Brian Scott, general manager for Microsoft's Retail & Hospitality Industry Unit. "JDA's powerful new PortfolioEnabled solutions built on Microsoft .NET will help retailers improve how they sell and operate through better access to customer and product information, and provide consumers worldwide with new and compelling ways to shop. As part of our commitment to Microsoft Smarter Retailing and our expanded alliance with JDA, we are providing our technical, development and marketing support in the adoption of the new .NET-based PortfolioEnabled products worldwide."

Strategies to Drive Loyalty, Revenues Through Competitive Differentiation

In a landscape mired in evolving consumer shopping habits and ever-increasing pressure on margins, retailers and their trading partners are seeking differentiated ways to efficiently reach their customers. Dennis Hernreich, Casual Male Retail Group's executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, will share his company's strategies in the session, "Optimizing Store Merchandise Performance."