Dallas-based supply chain management (SCM) solutions vendor i2 Technologies
said it is suing SAP
for patent infringement.
SAP and i2 are, respectively, the numbers one and three SCM vendors in terms
of revenue.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Texas, alleged infringement of seven patents related to SCM.
i2 CEO and president Michael McGrath said in a statement that the company’s strong position
in this market is based on capabilities derived at under the patents at
issue.
“Our patented innovations are an important part of these unique
capabilities,” McGrath said.
William Wohl, vice president of communications for SAP, said the company
does not comment on litigation matters.
It may be no wonder, though, that i2 is attacking SAP in this manner.
Although both companies are market leaders, i2 has its work cut out if it
wants to close the gap with SAP.
SAP has 11 percent of the market, or more than twice i2’s share of the SCM
space, and generates $654 million in revenues, versus $276 million for i2,
according to AMR Research.
As reported
by internetnews.com, the SCM market is growing by an estimated 6
percent this year, compared with just 3 percent in 2005.
Significant innovations recently introduced by SAP and i2 are driving
renewed adoption of SCM solutions, AMR Research analyst Mark Hillman said
last week.
“[SAP and i2] are evolving their applications to take more advantage of
downstream data,” he remarked.
Better visibility into sales data helps companies control their inventory
levels and ensure they are not out of stock of popular items.
The lawsuit alleges infringements of patents awarded in the areas of process
planning and planning coordination systems, among others.
In a note published last week, Hillman also noted that i2 is one of the few
standalone SCM vendors building decision support solutions on top of an ERP
SAP is primarily known as an ERP solutions vendor.
Hillman would not comment directly for this story because of potential legal
ramifications.
