Already the largest provider of enterprise management software to the transportation industry, TMW Systems announced another major acquisition to its portfolio of trucking software solutions: Integrated Support Decision Corporation (IDSC).
Previous to the acquisition, the two companies had 36 customers in common. The combined entity now has over 1,650 customers with a combined 12 months of revenue over $60 million, said Dave Wangler, president and CEO of TMW Systems. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The announcement was made Sept. 17 at the TMW Systems Trans Forum 2007 User Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Fla., which drew over 1,250 total attendees and 950 customers.
In September 2006, TMW Systems acquired a fleet management software rival, Maddocks Systems, based in Langley, B.C., Canada. In May, 2007, the company acquired TMT Software, a fleet maintenance management software provider. Based on its recent track record of acquiring software companies with shared customers, it was anyone’s guess what the next acquisition might be.
In retrospect, however, TMW Systems has not been shy about its intentions to become a major provide of power-to-load matching and optimization solutions. At its 2006 user conference, company executives told attendees that these solutions were part of the company’s product strategy and vision. At the time, TMW Systems was in the final stages of developing its own rudimentary power-to-load matching solution called I.D.A., for Intelligent Dispatch Assistant.
The discussions that led to the acquisition of IDSC, an independent provider of optimization-based decision support software for the trucking industry, began in the first quarter of 2007, says Ben Murphy, vice president and general manager of IDSC.
IDSC’s software works with all major dispatch and operations software platforms, and its solutions help carriers achieve higher revenue per loaded mile, control the route and minimize fuel and out-of-route costs, TMW Systems says.
IDSC has 145 customers using its client/server software, which includes the Netwise Enterprise and Netwise Frontline profitability and yield management tools; Match Advice, a dynamic and real-time power-to-load matching tool; and fuel and route optimization solutions Expert Fuel, Trip Alert, and Route Advice. In addition, IDSC offers two Internet-based applications, TruckloadRate.com and FuelAdvice.com, which have over 800 users – mainly owner operators and small fleets.
With IDSC’s decision support solutions, TMW’s ERP and fleet maintenance applications, TMW can provide an end-to-end solution for trucking companies, or focused complementary solutions that address specific needs, Wangler says.
TMW Systems says that customers of both companies will benefit from this acquisition through expanded products and services, broader geographic reach and greater scale. TMW Systems has extended its Lifetime Support Policy to include IDSC’s entire product line. This policy states that TMW Systems is committed to supporting any customer of any product as long as they continuously subscribe to support and maintenance or renewals.
TMW plans to accelerate growth of IDSC products, expand R&D investments, and increase employment. “With access to TMW’s more than 1,500 customers, and TMW’s considerable technology, personnel and financial resources, we have an unparalleled opportunity to grow our customer base,” said Richard Murphy, CEO of IDSC.
Murphy said that the same two principles that led him to start IDSC were the same two principles that guided him in the acquisition by TMW Systems: to maximize the value of the company’s products and services, and to provide better career opportunities for employees. Murphy said that customers will see improvements in support, new product development, and integration.
“Everybody wins in this,” he said. Although IDSC has been acquired by TMW Systems, the software will continue to be functionally independent of any dispatch software provider, Murphy says. The main difference, he said, is that the integration with TMW products will be “much tighter.”
