Oracle did not disclose how much it paid for the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company, whose applications help companies manage and plan their marketing, sales and supply chain operations.
Demantra’s suite includes modules for supply chain planning, fulfilment and store replenishment. The software is deemed particularly useful for retailers looking to run profitable promotions based on accurate product demand data.
Demantra’s software is used by Unilever, 20th Century Fox and retail fast food chains like Dunkin Donuts and Wendy’s to align their supply chains to demand during promotions.
The deal is expected to close later this month.
Demantra was founded in Israel in 1996 and has received $42m in venture funding from investors including Intel Capital, Advent International and Cargill Ventures.
One Israeli newspaper, Globes, reported the deal to be worth around $41m, but did not disclose its source. If true it would mean a negative return for these investors.
All of Demantra’s 85 employees will be retained.
Integration into Oracle’s business applications stack should not be a problem according to John Bermudez, Demantra’s vice president of marketing. He said the company already had close ties with Oracle prior to the deal that has been brewing for a couple of months.
We share a lot of customers and we’ve been reselling into the Oracle ERP base. It becomes a natural evolution for Oracle.
Oracle has been snapping up software vendors since December to bolster its standing in the business applications market and wrestle market share from arch-rival SAP AG.
Interestingly Demantra’s software is also certified for SAP’s NetWeaver application integration platform. Bermudez, however, said the company intends to keep the NetWeaver support alive even after the acquisition is complete.
Demantra’s software is also certified to work with Siebel’s CRM applications which are now part of Oracle’s application suite.
Demantra is Oracle’s twentieth buy in the last 18 months. It will strengthen the database giant’s application offerings for the retail and consumer packaged good sector with demand-driven supply chain applications.
The acquisition follows previous acquisitions of Retek Inc, a retail systems provider, and ProfitLogic Inc, whose software helps retailers optimize their profits, and 360Commerce Inc, which provides store and multi-channel management software.
With these technologies now under its wing Oracle will now be able to assert much greater pressure on niche rivals like JDA Software Inc, which recently bought supply chain firm Manugistics Inc for $211m, and i2 Technologies Inc.
