CDC Gobbles Up MVI Technology

CDC Software announced today its acquisition of MVI Technology, a provider of real-time performance management (RPM) solutions for the food and beverages industry (the company also has offerings for the pharmaceuticals and chemicals industries). The acquisition marks a move by CDC to incorporate more vertical-specific functionality. MVI's solutions will fit in with CDC's Ross ERP, Ross SCM, and Ross EPM solutions. The acquisition will lead to an increase in revenue and better industry expertise, according to CDC. MVI Technology's RPM solution incorporates functionality that answers the specific projects and challenges faced by food and beverage and consumer products processors. The RPM solution, supported by a Six Sigma process, allows users to improve campaign performance by bringing together shop floor data, quality process control, and manufacturing performance dashboards. The 15-year-old company, which has offices in both the United Kingdom and the United States, shares a number of customers with CDC already, making the acquisition what Gary Gold, vice president of Berner Foods (an MVI customer), calls "a match just waiting to happen" in the press release. The acquisition will follow a three-year earn-out structure for the MVI management team, which will stay with CDC. According to the company, the acquisition will provide not only a higher performance level for industry-specific solutions, but will widen the company's customer base to include MVI's 80 current customers, which include Allied Bakeries, Coors Breweries, Bio Products Laboratories, and Premiere Foods. Scot McLeod, senior vice president of marketing, says that if "you look at CDC and the products we've released, we are purposely going down a path of industry specialization." McLeod says enterprise solutions have reached a point of functionality at which the most valuable asset a provider can offer is insight into a company's specific industry. He says that for process manufacturers "variability and complexity is enemy number one." Retailers these manufacturers sell to demand consistency in product and delivery. "This is one of the things that MVI is very good at--dealing with those channels of complexity." Related articles: CDC Ups the Ante for Onyx, Again CDC Software is Back with a Higher Bid CDC Acquires c360 Solutions