The Japanese firm Panasonic will buy American Artificial Intelligence (AI) supply chain software company Blue Yonder for $7.1 billion.

As per reports, Blue Yonder has more than 3,000 clients globally, including multinationals Walmart and Coca Cola as well as airlines and couriers such as FedEx.

“The need for more intelligent, autonomous, and edge-aware supply chains has been dramatically heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Panasonic said in a statement, citing “drastic shifts in supply-demand” due to virus lockdowns.

The company said the merger would allow it to gain more experience in “state-of-the-art” artificial intelligence technology and would work to decrease waste in supply chains.

It also praised the “flexible, agile corporate culture” of Arizona-headquartered Blue Yonder, which was established in 2005.