Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Peak Technologies and SCS merge to join forces in automatic ID and data capture sector

Private equity-backed firms have acquired a combined 21 logistics tech providers since 2020.

scs_wireless.jpeg

The private equity firm Sole Source Capital is merging two of its portfolio companies in the automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) sector, saying that the combination of Peak Technologies and Supply Chain Services (SCS) creates a full-service solution provider in a fragmented market.

The combined company, which will operate under the Peak Technologies name, will be headquartered in Littleton, Massachusetts. Peak Technologies CEO Tony Rivers will lead the combined company, and SCS CEO Dave Green will become executive chairman. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.


The new company aims to be an end-to-end provider of AIDC solutions that enable supply chain automation, answering a rising demand for solutions amid increasing technological, labor market, and supply chain complexity, Sole Source said.

One way it plans to reach that goal is by combining Peak Technologies’ existing focus on large, enterprise customers with SCS’ focus on small and medium-sized businesses. Another way is through increased scale; Peak Technologies says it will become the industry’s largest provider of end-to-end solutions that modernize the factory, optimize the warehouse, revolutionize the retail experience, and reimagine field services and last mile delivery.

The move is the latest step by Dallas-based Sole Source to consolidate the AIDC marketplace, following years of mergers and acquisitions conducted by those two portfolio firms.

Just last month, Peak Technologies acquired Siena Analytics, a Franklin, Massachusetts-based provider of supply chain and logistics analytics software and artificial intelligence solutions. That deal marked Sole Source Capital’s 16th investment in the AIDC industry, and the eighth add-on acquisition for Peak Technologies since Sole Source acquired the company in 2021. 

And likewise in January, SCS acquired Access POS, an Eagan, Minnesota-based provider of AIDC hardware and repair & maintenance services to the warehouse logistics, retail, and grocery end markets. That purchase marked Sole Source’s fifth add-on transaction for SCS since acquiring the firm in 2020.


Recent

More Stories

AI image of a dinosaur in teacup

Amazon to release new generation of AI models in 2025

Logistics and e-commerce giant Amazon says it will release a new collection of AI tools in 2025 that could “simplify the lives of shoppers, sellers, advertisers, enterprises, and everyone in between.”

The launch is based on “Amazon Nova,” the company’s new generation of foundation models, the company said in a blog post. Data scientists use foundation models (FMs) to develop machine learning (ML) platforms more quickly than starting from scratch, allowing them to create artificial intelligence applications capable of performing a wide variety of general tasks, since they were trained on a broad spectrum of generalized data, Amazon says.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Logistics economy continues on solid footing
Logistics Managers' Index

Logistics economy continues on solid footing

Economic activity in the logistics industry expanded in November, continuing a steady growth pattern that began earlier this year and signaling a return to seasonality after several years of fluctuating conditions, according to the latest Logistics Managers’ Index report (LMI), released today.

The November LMI registered 58.4, down slightly from October’s reading of 58.9, which was the highest level in two years. The LMI is a monthly gauge of business conditions across warehousing and logistics markets; a reading above 50 indicates growth and a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of top business concerns from descartes

Descartes: businesses say top concern is tariff hikes

Business leaders at companies of every size say that rising tariffs and trade barriers are the most significant global trade challenge facing logistics and supply chain leaders today, according to a survey from supply chain software provider Descartes.

Specifically, 48% of respondents identified rising tariffs and trade barriers as their top concern, followed by supply chain disruptions at 45% and geopolitical instability at 41%. Moreover, tariffs and trade barriers ranked as the priority issue regardless of company size, as respondents at companies with less than 250 employees, 251-500, 501-1,000, 1,001-50,000 and 50,000+ employees all cited it as the most significant issue they are currently facing.

Keep ReadingShow less
diagram of blue yonder software platforms

Blue Yonder users see supply chains rocked by hack

Grocers and retailers are struggling to get their systems back online just before the winter holiday peak, following a software hack that hit the supply chain software provider Blue Yonder this week.

The ransomware attack is snarling inventory distribution patterns because of its impact on systems such as the employee scheduling system for coffee stalwart Starbucks, according to a published report. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Blue Yonder provides a wide range of supply chain software, including warehouse management system (WMS), transportation management system (TMS), order management and commerce, network and control tower, returns management, and others.

Keep ReadingShow less
drawing of person using AI

Amazon invests another $4 billion in AI-maker Anthropic

Amazon has deepened its collaboration with the artificial intelligence (AI) developer Anthropic, investing another $4 billion in the San Francisco-based firm and agreeing to establish Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its primary training partner and to collaborate on developing its specialized machine learning (ML) chip called AWS Trainium.

The new funding brings Amazon's total investment in Anthropic to $8 billion, while maintaining the e-commerce giant’s position as a minority investor, according to Anthropic. The partnership was launched in 2023, when Amazon invested its first $4 billion round in the firm.

Keep ReadingShow less