Both SSA Global and Infor continue to grow through the acquisition of companies that extend the scope of their offerings. New Vendor Acquisition Strategies in the Enterprise Applications Field and The Impact of the "Assembler Strategy" in the Enterprise Applications Field began an examination of these acquisitions. We continue by examining Infor's acquisition of Formation Systems and Geac.
This is Part Five of the six-part series The Enterprise Applications "Arms Race" To Be Number Three. Parts One to Four were published April 24 to April 27.
This is part of a comparative analysis of SSA Global and Infor, two contenders in the fierce ongoing competition to be number three (after SAP and Oracle) in the world of enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors. See The Enterprise Applications "Arms Race" To Be Number Three for background information and a discussion of vendor similarities. Also see Contributing to the Rejuvenation of Legacy Systems in the Enterprise Resource Planning Field. The other leading contender is Lawson Software. For a detailed discussion of Lawson, see 'New' Lawson Software's Transatlantic Extended Enterprise Resource Planning Intentions.
Infor Acquires Formation Systems
Infor cites continued organic growth, license revenue from new customers, and install base cross-selling and up-selling as key growth drivers for the group. The company is also betting on expansion outside the North America and Germany strongholds, into the UK and other key markets such as the Asian Pacific region and China. A potentially expanded footprint in the realms of product lifecycle management (PLM) or enterprise asset management (EAM) should also contribute to the top line. To that end, in August 2005, Infor announced that it had acquired Formation Systems, a privately-held provider of PLM solutions exclusively for process manufacturing companies. This acquisition further strengthens Infor's broad product portfolio for process industries. Formation Systems has since joined the Infor Process Manufacturing Group, which is led by Hermann Stehlik (vice president [VP] and general manager [GM]), and which continues to operate in Southborough, Massachusetts (US).
As a leading provider of PLM solutions for the food and beverage, home and personal care, and specialty chemical industries, Formation Systems should significantly enhance Infor's capability to integrate, streamline, and manage the entire process of product development. For ten years, the company has provided PLM software solutions to high-profile process manufacturers, and has built a highly skilled and dedicated workforce having a deep knowledge of PLM best practices in the vertical markets they serve. Thus, the acquisition of Formation Systems supports Infor's vertical strategy, and should establish the combined company as a global leader in providing solutions with an integrated PLM system to selected process manufacturing industries.
For a more detailed discussion of process manufacturing ERP, see Preparing for Product Development in Process Manufacturing.
Many regulatory bodies have renewed their focus on product compliance, and the Formation Systems acquisition confirms the trend towards PLM functionality becoming an essential element of an enterprise application portfolio. It also confirms that industry-specific functionality is increasingly critical to buyers of enterprise applications. Naturally, regulatory requirements vary according to the industry, as do many other PLM requirements (for more information see PLM is an Industry Affair—Or Is It?).
While product design rules engines may eventually be retrofitted to apply across several vertical industries, the tricky makeup of recipes/formulae and security mandates will require a deep understanding of process manufacturing requirements. Consequently, defining and formulating recipe-based products requires industry-tailored solutions to adequately allow product development. The Optiva product suite from Formation Systems features strong formula management capabilities which might give Infor a differentiating value proposition when selling to prospective customers in process manufacturing, as well as the ability to up-sell and cross-sell to a larger installed customer base. Infor and Formation Systems customers may mutually benefit by gaining the opportunity to standardize on a single broad process solution for all their process ERP, supply chain planning (SCP), supply chain execution (SCE), corporate performance management (CPM), and PLM needs.
The centerpiece of the suite is Optiva Workbench, which accelerates product development by supporting design collaboration with suppliers on formulas and specifications, as well as by providing the visibility needed for fully using existing information to avoid unnecessarily "reinventing the wheel." Other modules in the Optiva product suite, such as Optimization (for constraint-based formulating), Requirements Management, and Specifications Management, are designed to capitalize on the data management features of Workbench (see Formation Systems Pioneers Product Design Collaboration For The Process Industries). Also widely deployed are integrated packaging management (from the primary pack to the pallet), integrated label content management, product performance, safety and efficiency testing, material safety data sheets (MSDS) and hazard label generation, nutritional and nonconformance analysis modeling integrating laboratory information management systems (LIMS) assay results, integrated stage gate, and portfolio management. Capabilities such as parametric searches, visual comparisons, material usage restrictions, best practices feedback, and role-based modeling are used from concept to launch.
In its
source
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/acquisitions-fuel-vendor-growth-in-the-enterprise-applications-field-18520/
This is Part Five of the six-part series The Enterprise Applications "Arms Race" To Be Number Three. Parts One to Four were published April 24 to April 27.
This is part of a comparative analysis of SSA Global and Infor, two contenders in the fierce ongoing competition to be number three (after SAP and Oracle) in the world of enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors. See The Enterprise Applications "Arms Race" To Be Number Three for background information and a discussion of vendor similarities. Also see Contributing to the Rejuvenation of Legacy Systems in the Enterprise Resource Planning Field. The other leading contender is Lawson Software. For a detailed discussion of Lawson, see 'New' Lawson Software's Transatlantic Extended Enterprise Resource Planning Intentions.
Infor Acquires Formation Systems
Infor cites continued organic growth, license revenue from new customers, and install base cross-selling and up-selling as key growth drivers for the group. The company is also betting on expansion outside the North America and Germany strongholds, into the UK and other key markets such as the Asian Pacific region and China. A potentially expanded footprint in the realms of product lifecycle management (PLM) or enterprise asset management (EAM) should also contribute to the top line. To that end, in August 2005, Infor announced that it had acquired Formation Systems, a privately-held provider of PLM solutions exclusively for process manufacturing companies. This acquisition further strengthens Infor's broad product portfolio for process industries. Formation Systems has since joined the Infor Process Manufacturing Group, which is led by Hermann Stehlik (vice president [VP] and general manager [GM]), and which continues to operate in Southborough, Massachusetts (US).
As a leading provider of PLM solutions for the food and beverage, home and personal care, and specialty chemical industries, Formation Systems should significantly enhance Infor's capability to integrate, streamline, and manage the entire process of product development. For ten years, the company has provided PLM software solutions to high-profile process manufacturers, and has built a highly skilled and dedicated workforce having a deep knowledge of PLM best practices in the vertical markets they serve. Thus, the acquisition of Formation Systems supports Infor's vertical strategy, and should establish the combined company as a global leader in providing solutions with an integrated PLM system to selected process manufacturing industries.
For a more detailed discussion of process manufacturing ERP, see Preparing for Product Development in Process Manufacturing.
Many regulatory bodies have renewed their focus on product compliance, and the Formation Systems acquisition confirms the trend towards PLM functionality becoming an essential element of an enterprise application portfolio. It also confirms that industry-specific functionality is increasingly critical to buyers of enterprise applications. Naturally, regulatory requirements vary according to the industry, as do many other PLM requirements (for more information see PLM is an Industry Affair—Or Is It?).
While product design rules engines may eventually be retrofitted to apply across several vertical industries, the tricky makeup of recipes/formulae and security mandates will require a deep understanding of process manufacturing requirements. Consequently, defining and formulating recipe-based products requires industry-tailored solutions to adequately allow product development. The Optiva product suite from Formation Systems features strong formula management capabilities which might give Infor a differentiating value proposition when selling to prospective customers in process manufacturing, as well as the ability to up-sell and cross-sell to a larger installed customer base. Infor and Formation Systems customers may mutually benefit by gaining the opportunity to standardize on a single broad process solution for all their process ERP, supply chain planning (SCP), supply chain execution (SCE), corporate performance management (CPM), and PLM needs.
The centerpiece of the suite is Optiva Workbench, which accelerates product development by supporting design collaboration with suppliers on formulas and specifications, as well as by providing the visibility needed for fully using existing information to avoid unnecessarily "reinventing the wheel." Other modules in the Optiva product suite, such as Optimization (for constraint-based formulating), Requirements Management, and Specifications Management, are designed to capitalize on the data management features of Workbench (see Formation Systems Pioneers Product Design Collaboration For The Process Industries). Also widely deployed are integrated packaging management (from the primary pack to the pallet), integrated label content management, product performance, safety and efficiency testing, material safety data sheets (MSDS) and hazard label generation, nutritional and nonconformance analysis modeling integrating laboratory information management systems (LIMS) assay results, integrated stage gate, and portfolio management. Capabilities such as parametric searches, visual comparisons, material usage restrictions, best practices feedback, and role-based modeling are used from concept to launch.
In its
source
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/acquisitions-fuel-vendor-growth-in-the-enterprise-applications-field-18520/
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