Kewill aggressively pursues U.S. supply chain market
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 2/1/1999
With an eye on supply chain related software and services market in the U.S., England's Kewill Systems plc has made major moves to acquire established U.S. players.Late last year, Kewill purchased three U.S. based supply chain suppliers. One is Exeter Software and its warehouse management system (WMS) offering. A second is Micro-MRP and its manufacturing-related enterprise resource planning (ERP) package. And a third is Tracer Research and its electronic commerce software for parcel carrier transportation.
"These are major steps to offering to the U.S. market affordable, digestible, real-world solutions that deliver a bottom line return rapidly," says Ira Zalesin, chief marketing officer for Kewill in Foster City, Calif.
To absorb these acquisitions, Kewill has reorganized into new divisions.
Kewill ERP combines Micro-MRP and Kewill's European-based ERP package for small to mid-size companies. Combined installations for the two exceeds 8,000. The software offerings are currently being integrated, and will be offered for about $150,000 says Zalesin.
Kewill Logistics offers software to manage warehouses. It includes Exeter's customized WMS with its strong materials handling automation control capabilities. That software will be teamed with an off-the-shelf WMS package previously offered only in Europe. Total combined installs are about 300.
Zalesin says that early this year the off-the-shelf package will be available in the U.S. with a focus on mid-sized companies ranging from $100 million to $1 billion in sales.
Also included in Kewill Logistics will be the electronic commerce software for parcel carrier transportation from Tracer. In addition to being integrated with Kewill's WMS, this package will be sold as a stand-alone product, says Zalesin.
Yet another division of Kewill is focused on electronic commerce. Efforts here have been, to date, confined to Europe. However, that is likely to expand. The venture specializes in the retail/ grocery sector and developing Web-based infrastructure for streamlining movement of goods through the supply chain.
There are no other articles related to this article.Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
Sponsored Links
View All Blogs
