Forterro has announced its second acquisition of 2021, the German-headquartered ERP vendor myfactory. According to the company, the acquisition will nearly double the customer base Forterro has in Germany. It will add 2,000 active customers and 96 sales partners in the DACH region and the Netherlands. Forterro is becoming one of the largest ERP companies in Europe, with more than 11,000 customers across its brands.
Dean Forbes, CEO of Forterro, commented, “myfactory is a tremendous win for Forterro. We have gained an extremely well-run business that has been steadily growing for the past 20 years and has already taken the steps to transition both its product and its customers to the cloud. Our primary goal will be to fuel the company’s continued growth and momentum.”
What changes for myfactory?
Very little. David Lauchenauer, CEO of myfactory, will continue in the general manager role, and the existing management team is also staying, according to the press release. Over time, there may be changes with the Forterro brand becoming more prominent. It is something that Forbes spoke about in an interview with Enterprise Times published later this week.
Lauchenauer commented, “We’ve developed one of the most complete, fully integrated cloud ERP solutions available in the European market today. Having achieved this position of strength, we saw it was the right time to find a strategic buyer that would help us go even further with what we’ve built.
“In Forterro, we saw a partner that not only has the infrastructure and capital we need for growth, but much more importantly, a strategy that values our brand, our people, our products and the investments that have been made by our existing customers. I simply couldn’t be happier with where we’ve landed.”
What is myfactory?
The myfactory ERP solution is available in a public or private cloud environment or licensed software. It consists of nine modules that companies can select from or swap out for third-party applications which are already integrated:
- ERP
- CRM
- eCommerce
- Business Manager
- Finance
- HRM
- MIS (Management Information Systems_
- PPS Production Planning System,
- POS
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Forterro has a very clear strategy. It aims to create a portfolio of companies that target the manufacturing sector across its target countries in Europe. This is not about having an ERP solution for every industry or even every manufacturer though.
Richard Furby, general manager of abas Software GmbH and president of M&A for Forterro, revealed how he believes abas and myfactory are complementary solutions for the market. He said: “The myfactory solution is the perfect addition to our portfolio. myfactory tends to serve the lower end of the midmarket, while abas is stronger in addressing the complexities of upper midmarket companies.
“The myfactory solution has a core competency in wholesale and distribution, while abas ERP is better suited for discrete manufacturing and production. Combined, these two offerings give Forterro the IP required to address nearly the entirety of the industrial midmarket in DACH, so we’re all excited about the opportunities ahead.”
Expect to hear about more acquisitions in the coming months and how Forterro will bring together these brands, not through mergers but with an umbrella to nurture and protect. This is the second acquisition of the year, the first being 123 Insight, a UK based ERP vendor.
