Panasonic has snapped up digital fulfilment platform outfit Blue Yonder. The move will mix Panasonic’s strength in industrial engineering, IoT and edge technologies with Blue Yonder’s AI/ML-driven supply chain and commerce solutions Panasonic will buy the remaining 80 percent of shares (for $5.6 billion) of Blue Yonder, adding to the 20 percent Panasonic acquired in July 2020. The additional investment totals $7.1 billion, including repayment of outstanding debt, valuing Blue Yonder at $8.5 billion. An agreement to buy the remaining shares of Blue Yonder was reached today between Panasonic and the existing shareholders New Mountain Capital and funds managed by Blackstone. The outfits say more intelligent, autonomous, and edge-aware supply chains were needed thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of e-commerce and the proliferation of data.