Warehouse Software Firm Made4Net Acquires Zethcon

Private equity firm Thompson Street Capital Partners (TSCP) announced Friday (June 10) its portfolio company Made4net had acquired warehouse management software maker Zethcon.

According to a news release, Zethcon’s cloud-based product platform is designed for the third-party logistics (3PL) market, while Made4net provides cloud-based supply chain execution and warehouse management system (WMS) software. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Combining Zethcon’s multi-decade track record of delivering premier 3PL WMS solutions with Made4net’s WMS product leadership across a broad diversity of end markets that extend beyond 3PL, creates a best-of-breed warehouse software company that serves an impressive global footprint of blue-chip 3PL and non-3PL customers, spanning virtually all industries,” TSCP said in the release.

Zethcon’s flagship project, Synapse WMS, helps 3PL and cold-chain customers improve the speed, accuracy and efficiency of their operations with real-time inventory visibility, extensive eCommerce and order management capabilities.

“The continued growth of eCommerce and omnichannel is massively disrupting in-house supply chain operations and distribution requirements for outsourced 3PL operators,” said Tom St. Geme, vice president of TSCP. “The combination of Zethcon and Made4net creates a world-class WMS software provider with innovative solutions tailored to the needs of the mid-market; it now further enables both 3PL and non-3PL customers to modernize their supply chains through automation and real-time visibility.”

As part of the the transaction, Chris Oechsel, president and CEO of Zethcon, will join Made4Net as its president of 3PL.

Learn more: Ushering In A New Era Of Intelligent Warehousing

As PYMNTS noted last year, the warehouse industry is under a lot of pressure from the rise of eCommerce in both B2C and B2B businesses and the shift to direct-to-consumer.

For several years, the rise of Industry 4.0 has led to conversations about how sophisticated supply chain technologies like the Internet of Things, voice commands and artificial intelligence bots can fuel warehouse efficiency. But shifting toward these often complex tools is not always easier, and adoption friction can hinder supply chain modernization.

“We’re really in a world today where customers want convenience, and they want it now,” Brandon Black, vice president and general manager, supply chain at Ivanti, told PYMNTS. “I don’t know that we ever go back from this.”