Click Commerce Inc., a provider of collaborative commerce solutions, has acquired Xelus Inc. The acquisition brings analytical capabilities that are critical for extracting value from RFID programs and broadens the company’s solutions portfolio to include Xelus’ service parts planning and reverse logistics solutions. Terms were not disclosed.
Earlier this year, Click Commerce became a major player in the supply chain execution space thanks to its acquisition of Optum Inc. Click here to read that story:
http://www.logisticstoday.com/displayStory.asp?S=1&sNO=7011
As consideration for the acquisition, Click Commerce has established a wholly-owned subsidiary, which will merge with Xelus and assume Xelus’ net liabilities. “We expect the operations of Xelus to be accretive almost immediately,” says Michael Nelson, CFO of Click Commerce. “We will be able to finance the subsidiary from our cash position or the credit facility we currently have in place.” There will be no Click Commerce stock issued in connection with transaction.
“The next arena for widespread RFID adoption is the marketplace for high-value parts and complex finished goods,” says Michael Ferro, Jr., chairman and CEO of Click Commerce. “Xelus is a strategic technology acquisition for Click in the RFID space. Combining Xelus’ service parts planning, optimization and analytical capabilities with Click’s existing service parts demand management and service parts fulfillment solutions closes a critical gap for those companies with complex, distributed parts supply chains that are pursuing RFID initiatives.”
Outsourcing has created fragmentation of the traditional supply chain, with partners replacing departments. These multi-enterprise supply chains, particularly those that deal in high-value or mission-critical parts, require technology that can span company boundaries to capture critical inventory and spare parts planning data, and track and manage asset flow in real time. Traditional planning solutions focus solely on fixing inventory levels. Xelus solutions merge planning, execution and real-time decision making to deliver a platform that drives planning goals and objectives into operational execution. In addition, Xelus solutions give planners access to real-time data, providing the basis for next-plateau cost reductions and performance improvements.
Xelus enterprise solutions balance the need for centralized control coordinated with local intelligence. The company’s supply chain solutions serve customers in the aerospace and defense, commercial aviation, contract repair, high-tech, telecom, and transportation industries, including Abbott Labs, Air France, Alaska Airlines, BAE Systems, Bell South, Cisco, Dell, Delta Airlines, Eastman Kodak, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Samsung, SBC Communications, Tektronix, Tyco, Verizon, and Xerox.
