IBM and supply-chain management vendor i2 Technologiesyesterday disclosed a joint marketing, sales, and development alliance. IBM will sell i2's Rhythm suite through its global direct sales force in combination with IBM platform products, system integration services, and E- commerce software. In addition, IBM plans to set up global centers of excellence to explain the value of supply-chain technology.

Gaining IBM's global marketing resources and research facilities, i2 plans to incorporate IBM's Application Framework for E-business, a set of development tools, application server software, and network and management software for building networked applications. "This is a real natural fit," says Mike Ellis, VP of global alliances at I2. IBM itself is a user of i2's applications, and the two companies already have more than 100 joint customers.

While IBM has partnerships with a number of supply-chain application providers, including Manugistics and Logility, the agreement with i2 marks the first time it will market and sell third-party supply-chain applications directly, bringing validation to the rapidly growing market. Upon announcement of the alliance, i2's shares rose 18% yesterday to 30-13/16.