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Ingram Micro has acquired the cloud logistics and supply chain management SaaS provider Shipwire, which is based in Palo Alto.  The price of this acquisition has not... Ingram Micro Buys Shipwire

Ingram Micro has acquired the cloud logistics and supply chain management SaaS provider Shipwire, which is based in Palo Alto.  The price of this acquisition has not been disclosed. Shipwire has established itself as one of the foremost cloud logistics platforms for e-commerce companies and retailers. The company also provides shipping and developer tools. Ingram Micro, on the other hand, is well-known for providing logistics and supply chain technology for the business market.

INGRAM MICRO

Currently, Shipwire had received $15 million in venture capital. Back in 2011, the company had received a strategic investment from Newell Rubbermaid (the company behind the Calphalon, Rubbermaid and Goody brands) and eBay. The existing investor is Meakem Becker Venture Capital and they have also participated in the round.  The company has been a noted leader in the emerging market, but the company decided it would be better not to stand on solo ground.

VP of Marketing ad Business Nate Gilmore said, “Ingram is a powerhouse that we complement very well and allow us to ramp services and scale for our customers faster than we think we could have done with an IPO…We’re coming at the market from the smaller/mid space, they know the enterprise space well.”

The investment from eBay was a huge shot in the arm for Shipwire and is a model example of the value the company has for Ingram Micro. Online selling is one-click for the buyer but for the seller it is a complex undertaking that, in reality, is all about logistics. Online sellers need to be cognitive all of the time of the location of the product that they are selling. This is complicated by the manner in which products are often marketed and sold. Retailers will sell through multiple channels, but to get the product sold, the retailer must offer the channel the best rate possible.

Through the Shipwire SaaS platform customers can get on-demand access to warehouses located in Europe, the U.S. and Canada.  This allows merchants to access inventories closer to buyers so that they can cut the shipping costs and subsequently the delivery times.  Ingram Micro has lacked the SaaS capability that Shipwire provides. It does offer software but not the on-demand SaaS capabilities that it will acquire with Shipwire.

The cloud logistics and SaaS supply chain market does have numerous competitors.  The most dominate being Amazon, but there are a host of others companies such as Trade Gecko and Shipstation, which themselves offer a comparable service.

[Image via: ocregister]

SOURCE: http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/28/ingram-micro-buys-shipwire-the-cloud-logistics-and-supply-chain-management-platform/