Acquisition adds product information management, data management to GXS offering
Gaithersburg, MD — January 15, 2004 — Global eXchange Services (GXS) Inc., a B2B e-commerce software, services and solutions provider, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire HAHT Commerce, a provider of demand chain management applications.
Under terms of the agreement, Global eXchange Services will acquire all the capital stock of HAHT Commerce through a merger for approximately $30 million in a combination of cash and shares of GXS Holdings, which is the parent company of Global eXchange Services Inc.
The transaction is subject to the approval of HAHT Commerce's shareholders and other conditions. Global eXchange Services expects the acquisition to be completed in February 2004.
According to GXS, the acquisition will bring together two providers of complementary B2B e-commerce solutions for retailers, manufacturers and suppliers of all sizes. The solutions are designed to increase revenues, reduce costs, expand collaboration and expedite time-to-market for new products.
The company also said that with the addition of HAHT Commerce, it would be able to provide businesses of all sizes with a solution for product information management (PIM) and data synchronization so retailers, manufacturers and suppliers can manage product information from concept to consumer.
GXS' new solution suite offers software to integrate data into and out of back-end systems; management tools to publish and syndicate product information accurately; transaction delivery services to move the information; and community enablement to electronically connect all trading partners in the global retail supply chain.
"The retail industry sets the pace for the use of technology to improve and redefine business processes," said Gary Greenfield, Global eXchange Services president and CEO. "This combination is all about improving the quality and consistency of product information data flowing throughout the retail community."
Global eXchange Services said it would integrate the following HAHT Commerce components in its data synchronization solution: Product information management, simple syndication with UCCNet, hosted catalog Services and data pools, and worldwide community enablement.
Additional applications from HAHT Commerce that will enhance Global eXchange Services' data synchronization solution include order management, business intelligence, customer services and channel management.
According to the AMR Research report, "Data Synchronization Has Simply Become a Cost of Doing Business," retailers and suppliers that take a proactive approach will gain a competitive differentiator over those that wait for business partners to drive them to participate. Moreover, companies that embark on B2B initiatives without the necessary data synchronization foundation will waste as much as $2.1 billion by 2008.
