Panasonic has snapped up digital fulfilment platform outfit Blue Yonder.
The move will mix Panasonic’s strength in industrial engineering, IoT and edge technologies with Blue Yonder’s AI/ML-driven supply chain and commerce solutions
Panasonic will buy the remaining 80 percent of shares (for $5.6 billion) of Blue Yonder, adding to the 20 percent Panasonic acquired in July 2020.
The additional investment totals $7.1 billion, including repayment of outstanding debt, valuing Blue Yonder at $8.5 billion. An agreement to buy the remaining shares of Blue Yonder was reached today between Panasonic and the existing shareholders New Mountain Capital and funds managed by Blackstone.
The outfits say more intelligent, autonomous, and edge-aware supply chains were needed thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of e-commerce and the proliferation of data.
By unifying supply, demand and commerce solutions with IoT and edge technologies, the companies can better utilise predictive business insights to pivot their operations in real-time, it’s claimed.
The pair have been working together since January 2019 with a partnership, followed by the creation of a joint venture company in Japan in November 2019. In July 2020, Panasonic took a 20 percent minority ownership stake and one seat on the Board of Directors of Blue Yonder. This acquisition brings the strategic relationship full circle.
Panasonic’s Connected Solutions CEO Yasuyuki Higuchi said Blue Yonder CEO Girish Rishi and the extended leadership team would join the new organisation. The Blue Yonder brand will be retained and function under the Panasonic Connected Solutions umbrella.
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 eliminated from supply chain operations, and the cycle of sustainable improvement continues.”
Kusumi said that there were 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 the realisation of a sustainable society by carefully using limited global resources. I am confident that by combining the power of Blue Yonder and Panasonic, we can create innovation in global supply chains.”
Rishi said: “This association came about after three years of working together, first with Panasonic as a Blue Yonder customer and then as a joint venture partner. We have developed mutual trust and have a shared vision for an Autonomous Supply Chain that delivers a better life and a better world.”
