A strategic acquisition which will result in a powerful manufacturing and distribution software capability for the market leading systems company.
19th October 2012: Kerridge Commercial Systems Limited (KCS) today announces the acquisition of Datawright Limited. Based in Washington, Tyne and Wear, Datawright, with its Kingfisher product, specialises in solutions for the manufacturing sector with a client base in the UK and an international presence in China, Sweden, UAE and the USA.
KCS, based in Hungerford, Berkshire, with its leading K8 solution, specialises in business management solutions to the distribution industry. The company has operations in the UK, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa supporting customers in 15 countries.
Ian Bendelow, (CEO of KCS) comments, “We are very pleased to make this strategic acquisition. As our customers in the distributive trades continue to take control of their supply chain, they are looking to differentiate themselves through offering value-added processes and many require their systems to have manufacturing functionality. As a consequence of this acquisition, our customers will be able to take advantage of a fully proven manufacturing module which will be added to the K8 system. Equally, I believe that the strength of the larger KCS group and its enhanced product capabilities will enable us to achieve growth in the manufacturing sector.”
“The two companies have known each other for many years and share a common technology platform and we will immediately set about integrating the two systems to provide a single solution which will bring significant additional benefits to our customers. To reflect our new strategy, Datawright will become KCS Datawright and Kingfisher will be re-branded as K8 Enterprise. “
Jim Symonds (Managing Director of Datawright) comments, “This is a very positive move both for our customers and our people. Having known Kerridge Commercial Systems for many years, I believe that our cultures are remarkably similar. We both work extremely closely with our customers, have the same strong work ethic and we share a common technology platform. The greater development capability, resource and market presence of the combined organisation means that our customers will be able to benefit from better products, broader knowledge and experience together with a larger user community. The KCS expansion plan will also mean career development opportunities for our staff which are important considerations in the fast-changing world of IT. After 10 years as a Datawright customer and 18 years with the company, I am proud to be able to hand over the reins to the safe hands of Kerridge Commercial Systems, whose drive and integrity will take the company forward.“
Ian Bendelow says, “I’d like to thank Jim Symonds for his tremendous support. We have a great opportunity to deliver considerable benefits to our customers and our staff. We will continue to grow the business by making sure that we bring easy to use, scalable and flexible solutions to help our customers become more successful and more profitable.”
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