Panasonic is to acquire end-to-end digital fulfilment platform provider Blue Yonder to deliver autonomous and edge-aware supply chains.
Panasonic will purchase the remaining 80% of shares for US$5.6bn (£4bn), adding to the 20% it acquired in July last year.
The acquisition follows a rise in e-commerce and proliferation of data, with Panasonic now aiming to strengthen its portfolio and accelerate the company’s shared autonomous supply-chain mission.
According to Panasonic, the acquisition will combine its strength in industrial engineering, IoT and edge technologies with Blue Yonder’s AI/ML-driven supply-chain and commerce solutions.
Furthermore, the acquisition aims to drive more automation and actionable, real-time business insights that reduce waste and improve operations, while creating a more sustainable world.
Panasonic CEO Yuki Kusumi said: “Both companies have the same mission to support customers’ frontline operations and we have a high affinity in our corporate cultures.
“By merging the two companies, we would like to realise a world where waste is autonomously eliminated from all supply-chain operations and the cycle of sustainable improvement continues.
“There are still many such losses and stagnation in supply-chain operations, so through the drastic reduction of wasted labour and resources, we would like to provide better ways of working, and contribute to customers’ management reform and also to the realisation of a sustainable society by carefully using limited global resources.”
The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Panasonic and Blue Yonder. The deal is intended to close by the second half of this fiscal year and is subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals.
