Aberdeen's survey of more than 150 manufacturers and retailers finds that visibility is their top concern, but global supply chains present many other challenges as well.

A discussion with Hamish Brewer, CEO of JDA Software Group and Lori Mitchell-Keller, a former Manugistics executive and new senior vice president of JDA. JDA Software Group, Scottsdale, Ariz., completed its $213m acquisition of Manugistics Group, Rockville, Md., on July 6. On that day, Hamish Brewer and Lori Mitchell-Keller shared their vision for how the combined software company will join the strengths of each to create a vertically-focused optimization solution for the global supply and demand chain market. With the Manugistics acquisition, JDA Software serves more than 5,500 customers and has annual revenue of around $375m.