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Konica Minolta Acquires MWA Intelligence

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Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. reported yesterday that it had acquired MWA Intelligence, Inc. (MWA) for an undisclosed sum. MWA is said to be a leading provider in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, MWA has over 20 years of experience in the office-equipment industry and is said to have pioneered the first ERP platform specifically designed to support the office-imaging channel.

According to Konica Minolta, the FORZA ERP solution, built on SAP Business One (SAP B1), is a single, integrated system that provides clear visibility and control over critical business operations encompassing accounting and finance, sales and customer management, inventory, and distribution, purchasing and operations, service and mobility, and reporting and administration. MWA employees will join All Covered, Konica Minolta’s IT services division.

Rick Taylor, president and CEO of Konica Minolta Business Solutions USA commented: “Part of our growth strategy is enabling our vision for the Workplace of the Future in the imaging channel. The future is already here and our customers will consume products and services based on demand generation versus owned assets. This new consumption model will require the flexibility of an ERP, such as FORZA, that can adapt with the changing market demands. The acquisition of MWA is key for delivering Konica Minolta’s corporate ambition to provide ALL dealers in the imaging channel a true ERP platform to facilitate the future of work, regardless of the product lines they support. This acquisition will help accelerate the pace of change in the market.”

MWA, an accredited SAP Business One Gold Partner, Reseller and Development organization, was awarded the SAP Innovation Partner of the Year Award. According to Konica Minolta, the unique capabilities acquired will integrate with All Covered’s Business Consulting Services Practice to deliver  end-to-end project scoping, implementation, and delivery.

“Konica Minolta’s strategic vision and insight into the changing business demands to support the Workplace of the Future is paramount to success in the Imaging Channel.  The acquisition of MWA speaks volumes to Konica Minolta’s leadership position and desire to ready the Imaging Channel for the Internet of Things,” noted Luis Murguia, SVP, Global Customer and Partner Operations, SAP Business One and SAP Business ByDesign.  “We now have two distinguished brands, SAP and Konica Minolta, leading the Imaging Channel ERP change management required for continued innovation and customer satisfaction.”

Mike Stramaglio, president and CEO of MWA, said, “The team here at MWA is thrilled to be joining All Covered, Konica Minolta’s IT services division. The blending of IT expertise, SAP integration services and ERP knowledge from the two organizations will allow us to accelerate product development and customer deployment. The added resources and investment will enable the execution of our promise to deliver the ERP platform to the Imaging Channel that sets the new standard of excellence.”

With the acquisition of MWA, Konica Minolta says it’s expanded its partnership with SAP to become an SAP Business One Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Master Value Added Reseller (MVAR).  SAP Business One is the most widely used ERP in the world with over 60,000 customers running their business on the platform. SAP B1 integrates with hosted and cloud based enterprise software offerings such as Concur for expense management, Ariba for procurement management and Success Factors for human resource management. The latest version of SAP B1 runs the HANA in-memory database platform delivering real-time access to speed data analysis and decision-making capabilities for business.

About MWA Intelligence

MWA Intelligence Inc. (MWA), an SAP Business One Gold Partner and one of five OEMs worldwide, provides innovative enterprise-class solutions for dealerships to sustain competitive advantages within the imaging channel. MWA FORZA, built on the SAP Business One platform, is a fully streamlined ERP solution centrally focused on delivering maximum efficiency and effectiveness in a vertical market. Having control over all functionality of every business process enables dealerships to have full transparency unparalleled in the marketplace while simultaneously managing vast amounts of data. Designed with open-architecture, organizations are allowed to freely seek out opportunistic growth without being hindered by inadequate solutions. MWA FORZA automates daily routine processes so dealerships can focus on making critical business decisions armed with smarter IT capabilities.

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