But custom integration requirements leave room for smaller players, too, analyst firm finds
Natick, MA January 16, 2004 The manufacturing shop-floor software market has seen its share of consolidation recently as acquisitions have helped the big players get bigger, but the need for custom implementations to address company-specific integration issues is leaving the door open for smaller players in the market, too, according to a new report from VDC, a technology market research and consulting firm.
GE Fanuc, Rockwell Automation, Honeywell, Brooks Automation and Agilisys have expanded their manufacturing execution system (MES) portfolio through the recent acquisitions of leading shop-floor software vendors. These global giants are positioning themselves to provide end-to-end solutions, according to Taylor Smith, an analyst with VDC.
"The ability to offer complete solutions will be a competitive differentiator for leading industrial automation providers," Smith explains.
Some of the more significant acquisitions include:
"Most shop-floor solutions still require a high level of customization in order to interface with an organizations existing ERP system," he notes. "These customization requirements will continue to drive demand for smaller, specialized software vendors developing application-specific solutions for integration with leading ERP providers."
In fact, VDC reports, small suppliers with less than 1 percent market share still make up more than 35 percent of all global shipments. (See table following.)
Global Shipments of Manufacturing/
Shop-Floor Control Applications Software
By Supplier Share
(Percent of Revenues)
2002 Total: $88.2 million
Natick, MA January 16, 2004 The manufacturing shop-floor software market has seen its share of consolidation recently as acquisitions have helped the big players get bigger, but the need for custom implementations to address company-specific integration issues is leaving the door open for smaller players in the market, too, according to a new report from VDC, a technology market research and consulting firm.
GE Fanuc, Rockwell Automation, Honeywell, Brooks Automation and Agilisys have expanded their manufacturing execution system (MES) portfolio through the recent acquisitions of leading shop-floor software vendors. These global giants are positioning themselves to provide end-to-end solutions, according to Taylor Smith, an analyst with VDC.
"The ability to offer complete solutions will be a competitive differentiator for leading industrial automation providers," Smith explains.
Some of the more significant acquisitions include:
- GE Fanuc
One of the world's leading suppliers of industrial automation equipment, the company recently enhanced its software offerings through the acquisition of leading manufacturing software provider Intellution in November 2002 and Mountain Systems in July 2003. The acquisition improved GE Fanuc's vertical market reach with Intellution's installed base in consumer goods and food and beverage industries. - Rockwell Automation
Two recent acquisitions to improve the company's production management solutions include Propack Data a vendor of production management software for the life sciences industries and Interwave Technologies a consulting firm focused on manufacturing execution. A strong background in providing the hardware needed for industrial automation supports Rockwell's position to be a total solution provider. - Agilisys
Agilisys' acquired Brain, a German enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendor, at the start of 2003, and in June the company acquired Future Three, a specialist in electronic data interchange (EDI) for the automotive industry. The combined installed base of solutions between Agilisys and Future Three thrusts the total number of worldwide automotive implementations to over 2,400 for the new company, forming one of the leading solutions providers for the automotive industry. - Brooks PRI Automation
The acquisition of PRI Automation in 2002 increased Brook's position as a provider of MES solutions with the addition of Promis, a leading manufacturing execution system (MES) for the semiconductor industry. While the company may be considered a relatively young player in the manufacturing software market, with only about five years of substantial software offerings, Brooks has been catching up fast with numerous acquisitions such as FASTech, AutoSimulations, Domain Manufacturing and previously mentioned PRI.
"Most shop-floor solutions still require a high level of customization in order to interface with an organizations existing ERP system," he notes. "These customization requirements will continue to drive demand for smaller, specialized software vendors developing application-specific solutions for integration with leading ERP providers."
In fact, VDC reports, small suppliers with less than 1 percent market share still make up more than 35 percent of all global shipments. (See table following.)
Shop-Floor Control Applications Software
By Supplier Share
(Percent of Revenues)
Company....................................Market.Share
Invensys..............................................10.00%
GE Fanuc..............................................6.90%
Applied Materials.................................6.70%
Honeywell Industry Solutions...............6.50%
Rockwell Automation...........................5.20%
Motorola...............................................5.10%
Epicor Software...................................4.00%
Brooks PRI Automation.......................3.50%
Agilisys................................................3.10%
Syspro..................................................2.80%
QAD....................................................2.70%
USData................................................2.20%
Epic.Data............................................2.10%
Accu-Sort...........................................2.00%
COSS Systems...................................1.70%
Other.................................................35.50%
