Atlanta — May 19, 2003 — Supply chain execution specialist Manhattan Associates today said it has agreed to purchase ReturnCentral, a provider of reverse supply chain software and solutions.
Manhattan said the acquisition would expand its reverse logistics capabilities and allow it to offer its customers an "end-to-end" returns management solution encompassing inbound returns management, returns processing management and outbound returns management. The offering is intended to provide enterprises with earlier visibility into the returns side of the supply chain and to help them achieve additional supply chain efficiencies.
"Today, companies are focused on reducing operational costs," said Richard Haddrill, president and CEO of Manhattan Associates. "One of the key costs in the supply chain is reverse logistics. Through this strategic acquisition, we will further streamline the reverse logistics process and continue to minimize the costs associated with returns for our customers."
ReturnCentral's solutions will be integrated into Manhattan Associates' trading partner management (TPM) solutions, which are designed to provide customers with real-time visibility and connectivity across their supply chains.
New functionality in the TPM solution will include a return policy rules engine to add visibility to established return rules; decision support for return to stock, liquidate and scrap inventory routing to automate stock routing based on item quality and volumes; automated, semi-automated and manual return merchandise authorizations (RMA) to meet the customer's RMA automation needs and to facilitate the generation of advanced shipping notifications (ASNs); and a workflow engine with a drag-and-drop configuration tool for overall solution ease-of-use.
Manhattan said the new functionality would compliment the existing returns functionality in its warehouse management system (WMS), which manages the physical processes that take place in the distribution center (DC).
"Nearly 20 percent of everything that is sold is returned," said David Hommrich, CEO and founder of ReturnCentral. "Creating efficiencies in the reverse supply chain is an often overlooked opportunity for companies to further streamline their overall supply chain, create better relationships with customers and trading partners and add solutions that can offer quick [return on investment]."
Manhattan Associates said it expected the acquisition of ReturnCentral to close later this quarter.
