Changes Abound In The Tech Sector

Dec. 28, 2006

Mergers & acquisitions are rapidly reshaping the technology landscape.

When it comes to the supply chain technology marketplace, "change" itself is the one constant that never seems to change.

In recent months, no fewer than two dozen significant moves have occurred, most of them deals accomplished by larger companies hoping to quickly gain ground on their competitors via strategic acquisitions. Many of the companies being acquired, though, are themselves well known supply chain pioneers, such as Symbol Technologies, Indus International, Radio Beacon and Click Commerce.

The following scorecard highlights significant corporate moves in the supply chain technology sector since IndustryWeek's last update in the October 2006 issue.

Company/Product	Parent Company	Transaction Type	Technology
ALG Software	Business Objects	acquisition	performance management
Brooks Software	Applied Materials Inc.	acquisition	factory management and control
Click Commerce Inc.	Illinois Tool Works Inc.	acquisition	supply chain management
Comergent Technologies Inc.	Sterling Commerce	acquisition	order management
Cube Route Inc.	Descartes Systems Group Inc.	acquisition	logistics management
FBO Systems Inc.	QAD Inc.	acquisition	enterprise asset management
Fortna	Q4	merger	distribution management
Global Beverage Group Inc.	HighJump Software	acquisition	delivery management
Glovia Services Inc.	Glovia International Inc.	spinoff	software as a service (SaaS)
HeadwaterTechnology Solutions Inc.	Accellos Inc.	acquisition	fleet management
Indus International Inc.	Vista/MDSIMobile Data Solutions Inc.	acquisition/merger	service delivery management
Infravio Inc.	webMethods Inc.	acquisition	SOA solutions
Maddocks Systems Inc.	TMW Systems Inc.	acquisition	trucking software
MVI Technology	CDC Corp.	acquisition	real-time performance management
Mobitrac	Fluensee Inc.	acquisition	transportation execution
nPhase	QUALCOMM Inc.	acquisition	machine-to-machine technology
Precision Software Ltd.	QAD Inc.	acquisition	transportation management
Radio Beacon Inc.	Accellos Inc.	acquisition	warehouse management
Revere Inc.	Avantc&eactue; Software	acquisition	enterprise asset management
RFID TagSource	n/a	start-up	RFID tags
Savi Group	Lockheed Martin	spin-off	supply chain security
Soluziona USA	Miria Systems Inc.	name change	business process automation
Symbol Technologies Inc.	Motorola Inc.	acquisition	wireless/RFID solutions
TrueSource Inc.	Procuri Inc.	acquisition	spend management

See Also:

About the Author

Dave Blanchard | Senior Director of Content

Focus: Supply Chain

Call: (941) 208-4370

Follow on Twitter @SupplyChainDave

During his career Dave Blanchard has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeek, EHS Today, Material Handling & Logistics, Logistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. He also serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2010), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its second edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.