New York, March 8 (IANS): To improve efficiency and profitability in a highly competitive market, multinational toy-maker Mattel, best known for brands like Barbie, has roped in JDA Software Group to power its global supply chain.

JDA will drive improvements across its end-to-end supply chain processes, including sales and operations planning, demand planning, master planning, factory planning and customer collaboration

JDA will also work with the consultancy KPMG to lead the solution design and deployment beginning early 2017, along with JDA Cloud Services to manage Mattel's IT environment and upgrade process.

Mattel is a global leader in "play, learning and development" and its portfolio of brands also includes Hot Wheels, Monster High and Thomas & Friends, among others.

With a global workforce of about 31,000 people, Mattel operates in 40 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 nations. 

"We chose JDA as our strategic supply chain partner because of... their superior capabilities in managing complex global, end-to-end supply chain processes," said Peter Gibbons, Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer, Mattel.

Being responsive to key market trends is essential in this fast-moving consumer brand space. 

"As consumer expectations and the retail environment evolve, Mattel will need to continually increase its responsiveness, particularly because the company manufactures and sells into some of the largest and innovative retailers that are known for their rapid customer fulfilment," said Razat Gaurav, Executive Vice President-General Manager, and Chief Revenue Officer, JDA.