JDA bolsters workforce management with new integration into Microsoft Teams

JDA Software, Inc. continues to address the challenges retailers face in an ever-changing economy and a workforce that demands more agility and autonomy. As evidence of this, JDA has recently announced new capabilities in JDA® Workforce Management including integration with Microsoft Teams, persona-based enhancements for mobile users and an expanded partner ecosystem including Shyft and WorkJam that empower the workforce and increase engagement across mobility and enterprise platforms.

“As the gig economy grows, so does the importance of giving retailers speed and agility in which to respond to their most strategic asset – their workforce – with the powerful tools they need day-to-day to communicate, plan their schedule and proactively address upcoming time off needs. We continue to add new capabilities in JDA Workforce Management portfolio to increase employee productivity and efficiency,” said Jim Prewitt, Group Vice President, Product Management, JDA. “Integration with Microsoft Teams is the latest proof point to our partnership with Microsoft and the enhancements we continually are making to JDA Workforce Management to align this solution with a retailers’ other collaboration tools.”

Microsoft Teams Integration Unites Store Associates

Integration with Microsoft Teams empowers the workforce to self-manage their schedule and be proactive with upcoming changes they may need, reducing absenteeism. Retailers can tap into JDA Workforce Management through Microsoft Teams to easily connect and collaborate with managers and coworkers through a unified platform via desktop or mobile. Microsoft Teams brings together people, conversations and content built into Office 365 and Microsoft’s global secure cloud. The latest version of JDA Workforce Management leverages the Azure platform and by opening up connectivity to Teams, customers can unite their teams across the workforce in one place, to easily swap shifts, make time off requests and more. This integration is made possible by JDA’s new Microsoft Azure-based Supply Chain Management (SCM) Platform, with an API-led architecture.

User Persona Enhancements to JDA Workforce Management

As continuous functionality is released based on user persona for JDA Workforce Management (Mobile and desktop), the overall workforce is becoming more efficient and empowered to make better decisions based on changing information in real-time on their own mobile devices. This reduces unnecessary costs and ultimately provides a better shopping experience for customers. New mobile capabilities based on worker persona – employee, site manager, or district manager is simple, elegant and fits each users’ needs exactly. For example, employees can enter in their time off requests and collaborate with their coworkers which give them more autonomy at their fingertips and reduces associate turnover. In addition, workers can post and swap shifts and receive scheduling updates on their mobile device and access their schedule on the fly. This reduces unplanned absences while increasing employee satisfaction.

JDA Named Best Workforce Management Solution for Retail in Latest Nucleus Research WFM Value Matrix

Nucleus Research has once again called out JDA Workforce Management in the Facilitator Quadrant of the 2019 Nucleus Research Workforce Management Value Matrix as the ideal solution tailored for retail environments. Nucleus determined that JDA Workforce Management scored highest among all vendors in usability, where needs such as scheduling optimization, self-service, and tight integration with JDA’s end-to-end SCM portfolio as well as non-JDA sources.

Partner Ecosystem Expansion Includes Shyft and WorkJam

JDA continues to expand its partner ecosystem as part of its Autonomous Supply Chain Vision^TM to deliver customer value across the end-to-end supply chain network. New partnerships include Shyft and WorkJam.

In January, JDA and Shyft announced their integration partnership to optimize workforce scheduling for mobile devices. The joint solution connects Shyft’s mobile-first workforce management app to JDA Workforce Management. Customers are able to engage frontline workers on mobile and strategically flex their workforce - while leveraging the robust capabilities of an enterprise workforce management system. The JDA-Shyft partnership progresses workforce management with new mobile capabilities and supports a company’s ability to recruit and retain high-quality employees in a competitive job market.

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“We’re thrilled to collaborate with JDA to present a new market opportunity for customers in last-mile staffing,” said Brett Patrontasch, CEO of Shyft. “Shyft’s mobile-first application enables customers to broadcast extra shifts and voluntary time off opportunities at scale to adjust staffing and react to ever-changing customer demand in real time.”

In May, JDA and WorkJam announced a partnership to empower employers to manage, optimize, engage and evolve their front-line teams from both the top down and the bottom up. Through the seamless integration of WorkJam and JDA Workforce Management, not only will hourly employers be able to create optimized schedules against advanced forecasting and workforce management capabilities, they will also be able to close their availability and coverage gap. Additionally, customers will be able to leverage tools they need to deliver communications, micro-learning, gamification and agile staffing — all while complying with ever-changing labor regulations and union work rules.

Avis Budget Group, a leading global provider of mobility solutions, is already using the powerful new integration to unleash the power of its workforce. According to the Director of Workforce Planning for Avis Budget Group, Phillip Chen, “When it comes to our front-line workforce, we’ve come to rely on the powerful combination of WorkJam and JDA. Not only are our managers enjoying the benefits of optimized labor via JDA Workforce Management capabilities, but our employees love what WorkJam brings such as communications, mobile access to punching, shift picking, swapping, and shift bidding — ensuring we always have the customer covered. We have found that a better employee experience means a better customer experience.”

SOURCE JDA

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