Amphire Agrees Deal to Buy Barbox
Amphire(R) Solutions, the leading global Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider of technology solutions for the foodservice and hospitality industries, today announced that the Company has agreed a deal to acquire barbox. barbox, a joint venture between Coors Brewers and Scottish & Newcastle, is the UK’s leading online ordering service for the licensed beer, wines and spirits trade and provides an additional platform for expanding Amphire’s business into another large sector of the global foodservice market.
“The combination of barbox and Amphire creates a powerful market leader in foodservice and hospitality with tremendous growth potential in the global beer, wines and spirits sector,” said Mark Barnekow, president and CEO of Amphire. “The beer, wines and spirits industry continues to grow and consolidate. By leveraging barbox’s innovative technology across the globe we will be able to help operators improve business profitability by managing their supply chain upstream across a broader array of products.”
“This deal is great news for both businesses,” said Liam Taylor, Amphire’s chief operating officer. “In today’s challenging market, operators need solutions that enable them to cut costs, acquire new business and satisfy their customers. Our combined solutions will provide improved visibility throughout the supply chain enabling operators to minimize costs and maximize revenue.”
Because Amphire has focused on foodservice and hospitality and barbox has focused on beer, wines and spirits, the combination of complementary businesses and footprints produces a logical and robust set of solutions and customers. And with Amphire’s proven track record of integrating past acquisitions, the Company is well positioned to deliver again. Amphire continues to grow its business, expanding its product, geographic and customer footprint.
“We are really excited about the opportunity of working with Amphire to significantly enhance the quality of our online offering to our customers. The deal cements the company’s independence within our industry, and Amphire’s experience in the foodservice sector will be especially useful in expanding our offering,” said Mark Hunter, CEO of Coors Brewers. “barbox was a really innovative development when it was launched in 2000 and e-commerce is an increasingly important communication tool in the modern business world. It’s the next chapter in the barbox’s success story.”
About barbox
Established in 2000, barbox is a driving force behind licensed beer, wines and spirits trade’s move towards doing business online. barbox works in partnership with stakeholders in UK hospitality to build effective Internet offers that facilitate customers and suppliers transacting online.
barbox is best known for the leading free trade website, barbox.com. This website brings together the best line-up of industry suppliers, expert sector information and advice, as well as business building tools and downloads in one place. With nearly 15,000 outlets registered, and taking up to $16M in orders per week, it is the market leading transactional website for the licensed trade.
Equally important, barbox’s technology is also used to produce bespoke applications for managed retail groups and leased & tenanted pub companies. From helping enforce compliance, to cutting down on maverick spending, barbox’s modular approach means clients can access a very high specification solution both quickly and without the high overheads one might expect.
barbox prides itself on its industry knowledge as well as its technological expertise. These twin skill sets mean partnering with barbox delivers solutions that integrate not just with your organisation’s systems, but also with your business processes. In short, barbox becomes an extension to your team.
About Amphire Solutions, Inc.
Amphire Solutions provides global, end-to-end solutions to optimize the food service and hospitality industries’ supply chains, helping companies manage and automate supply chain transactions and processes. Currently serving over 700 manufacturers, 175 distributors and 100,000 operator end users, the company’s products allow enterprises to address fundamental supply chain challenges such as transaction management, contract management, compliance, reporting and analytics, purchasing, and supply and demand forecasting with configurable and user friendly web-based solutions. Amphire customers have greater control and visibility into their business to make accurate decisions, build brand loyalty and improve cash flow. For more information, please visit www.amphire.com.