Amber Road acquires product life-cycle management software company

Purchase of Hong Kong-based ecVision gives GTM solutions provider wider product reach at origin by extending into supplier management, while also strengthening its position in China.    The global trade management solutions provider Amber Road said Monday it has acquired ecVision, a cloud-based provider of global sourcing and collaborative supply chain solutions for brand-focused companies.
   Amber Road will pay an initial $24 million for ecVision, up to $9 million in potential additional payments over the next two years based upon achievement of certain revenue milestones and employee retention.
   “This acquisition delivers value for Amber Road customers by providing new global supply chain capabilities to increase product innovation while balancing product compliance risks and costs with shorter product lead times,” said Jim Preuninger, CEO of Amber Road. “It expands our solution footprint by providing more services at origin, where the global supply chain begins, and strengthens our value proposition in key industries. This combination extends our leading presence in the Asia Pacific region which continues to be a strong growth market for us.”
   According to Amber Road, ecVision’s solutions help large global brands manage their relationships with product suppliers, raw material vendors, product testing and social compliance audit firms, and global logistics companies.
   “U.S. and European-based brand companies are under constant pressure to bring new products to market faster,” said Kevin O’Marah, chief content officer at SCM World. “It’s all about accelerated merchandise innovation and rapid, profitable execution. More effective collaboration with Asian-based manufacturers is key to that equation. Where ecVision helps drive these benefits on the front end of the process, Amber Road picks it up at point of shipment to ensure compliant, cost-effective global delivery to the brand or retailer. It’s a very synergistic union.”
   Headquartered in Hong Kong, with company-owned operations in China and the U.S., ecVision links brand companies and their suppliers in more than 40 countries. Like Amber Road, the company operates under a software-as-a-service subscription-based payment model.
   ecVision customers include Li & Fung, PVH Corp., Coach, Brown Shoe Co. and VF Corp., with underlying brands such as Calvin Klein, Timberland, The North Face and Tommy Hilfiger. 
   “We’ve seen an increased focus on trade compliance and global logistics on the part of our customers over the past few years,” said Thomas Ng, Founder and CEO of ecVision. “Combining these capabilities with our platform in a fully integrated fashion will be a real game-changer. We’re delivering on a vision for retail that has long been aspirational but never realized. We are also very excited to expand our sales and marketing reach by leveraging Amber Road’s larger and more established presence across North America and Europe.”
   ecVision’s suite focuses on four primary areas: vendor and production management, material and product management, risk and quality management, and shipment and logistics management.
   Amber Road said the transaction is being financed with cash on-hand and a new $20 million term loan with KeyBank N.A.