Accellos and HighJump Software, both providers of supply chain management software, are planning to merge and will operate under the name HighJump while using the Accellos brand name for mid-market supply chain execution technology.
Accellos founder and CEO Michael Cornell will be the CEO of the newly-merged firm, which will focus on the needs of retailers, distributors, manufacturers, and logistics service providers to manage complex order fulfillment cycles and collaborate with supply chain partners.
“Discussions with our customers have made it clear that omni-channel is a catalyst for rethinking their supply chain and its underlying technology,” noted Cornell in a statement, adding that the combined company expects to add over 1,100 new customers in 2014 alone to its merged base of 11,000 customers in 23 countries.
Indeed, the expectation of industry experts is that the expansion of omni-channel supply chains should result in new logistical networks.
“As e-tailers establish brick & mortar locations, big-box retailers shrink their existing footprint, and brick & mortar retailers expand their online presence, there will no longer be, for example, one distribution center (DC) for the store and one for exclusively on-line orders,” noted John Larkin, managing director and head of transportation capital markets research for Wall Street firm Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., in a recent research brief. “The supply chains are merging, and more flexibility will be required.”
The merger with HighJump follows several collaborative initiatives within the trucking space by Accellos, including integration with Rand McNally late last year.
