Event
Summary
Supply chain execution vendor Manhattan Associates recently acquired Intrepa
LLC for $30 million in cash, notes, and stock. Privately held Intrepa
makes software for transportation and distribution planning and will complement
Manhattan's solutions for warehouse management, inventory management and
collaboration.
"Our
combined capabilities offer the market a broader range of industry leading
supply chain execution software and services. This transaction increases
our industry leadership role by adding strong new technologies and, more
importantly, experienced professionals. This last point was crucial to
completing the deal," said Manhattan Associates President and CEO Richard
Haddrill in announcing the acquisition. "The benefits to our collective
customers are significant. Manhattan Associates' customers will gain access
to Intrepa's transportation solution, while Intrepa's customers can take
advantage of our new optimization product suite and infolink."
Market
Impact
In acquiring Intrepa, Manhattan has admitted that it lacked a complete
transportation management product or at least that it was unable to convince
the marketplace that it did. Although it maintained that its PkMS application
provided functionality for both transportation and warehouse management,
Manhattan was generally regarded strictly as a WMS vendor. Manhattan's
product, PkMS, was originally developed as an order picking system for
warehouses and distribution centers. Over time, Manhattan added functionality
beyond the strict boundaries of order picking and warehouse management,
such as outbound distribution, work order management, and freight management.
Intrepa's
Logistics PRO product brings more complete transportation planning capabilities
to Manhattan PkMS and includes features for customer compliant labeling,
reverse logistics, productivity tracking, and an executive information
system (EIS). The broader footprint in supply chain execution possessed
by the combined entity will allow Manhattan to compete more effectively
in the still fragmented warehouse and transportation management system
market. In addition, Manhattan will have legitimate claim to at least
three new industry verticals: publishing, automotive, and healthcare/pharmaceuticals.
User
Recommendations
Prospective customers in Manhattan's core industry verticals, retail,
apparel, and consumer goods manufacturing, should look favorably on the
acquisition in the long term. There will be a few rough spots on the path
until then, though. Although Intrepa's products are largely complementary
to those of Manhattan, the integration work ahead will involve some areas
of overlap, which will have to be handled carefully. For example, Intrepa
Logistics PRO also offers some warehouse management capabilities that
are suited to the same verticals (consumer goods manufacturing, food/beverage)
as Manhattan PkMS. Users should not expect a unified suite of applications
to be available before 2Q 2001.