Zionex, provider of SaaS SCM system 'PlanNEL', acquires BRFrame, a specialist in AI model development and analysis technology.

Zionex Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Reiko Fujiwara; hereinafter 'Zionex') announces that Zionex Inc. (hereinafter 'Zionex'), its Korean headquarters, has acquired and made BRFrame (hereinafter 'BRFrame'), a specialist in AI model development and analysis technology, its subsidiary. This initiative is a strategic acquisition to strengthen AI core technologies for the realization of autonomous SCM promoted by Zionex. In the Japanese market as well, we will leverage the advanced technological synergy from this acquisition to support companies in their supply chain transformation. **** In recent years, the utilization of AI in the SCM domain has been highly anticipated to respond to the increasing complexity of supply chains and rapid demand fluctuations. Zionex has been providing SCM systems and consulting services that offer one-stop solutions from AI demand forecasting to sales planning, inventory planning, replenishment planning, and supply planning. Our next vision is to achieve 'Autonomous SCM' to enable real-time data analysis and decision-making. BRFrame, which has now joined our group, is a company with excellent knowledge in AI platform design cultivated as a Microsoft global cloud partner, and strong capabilities in developing agents based on large language models (LLM). In addition to building and operating the entire AI pipeline from data collection and preprocessing to inference, BRFrame has extensive experience in designing Edge AI* models that analyze IoT data in real-time. *Edge AI: AI technology that processes data on devices where data is actually collected and generated, rather than on cloud servers. By integrating this expertise with the SCM systems provided by Zionex, we will significantly enhance our AI-based forecasting and analysis capabilities. **** With this acquisition, Zionex's SCM systems will evolve in the following areas: - **Automated Data Quality Optimization and Real-time Analysis** Utilizing AI-based data refinement and analysis technology, we will automatically inspect and correct the quality of supply chain planning data. Furthermore, Edge AI technology will enable real-time analysis at the data generation site, mitigating delays in data transfer and security issues. - **Conversational Data Analysis and Simulation using LLM** We will introduce an LLM-based natural language processing engine. This will enable users to intuitively analyze supply chain data using everyday language (natural language), identify factors behind planning results, and verify various scenarios. - **Realization of a 'Proactive AI Structure' with Multi-agents** We will build a 'multi-agent based proactive AI structure' that monitors and analyzes supply chain data in real-time, and automatically proposes optimal response scenarios when exceptional events (such as unexpected demand fluctuations or supply risks) occur. This will simultaneously increase the speed and accuracy of decision-making. **** Amid increasing uncertainty in the environment surrounding supply chains, SC