Company Spotlight: Datalogic Shifts to Acquisition-Based Growth Strategy

Datalogic has historically been the European share leader in the stationary industrial scanning market, relying on revenues derived from sales in the region to maintain its position on the global leaderboard. The company’s presence in the US – one of the biggest markets for these products – has, however, been fairly low following marginally successful attempts to effectively penetrate the region via organic growth strategies. The company is now employing an acquisition-driven strategy to ensure it is able to capture and grow share within the region. This strategy is designed to achieve the following goals pertaining to the US market:

• Increase presence and share
• Broaden product portfolios that enable the company to compete in adjacent markets
• Establish strong partnerships with distribution channel organizations

Over the past couple of months, Datalogic has made two acquisitions – Accu-Sort (Industrial Scanning/ Imaging) and PPT Vision – in support of meeting the stated objectives, having declared their intentions to investors over the course of 2011. This will significantly increase Datalogic’s presence in the US market (based on VDC data), enhance and expand its patent and product portfolio, and give it access to well-entrenched distribution channels. In fact, with the acquisition of Accu-Sort, Datalogic should now be the region’s stationary industrial barcode scanner share leader. The following table highlights some of the key drivers, from VDC’s perspective, for each of these acquisitions:

In our opinion, it was time for Datalogic to change course with regard to its expansion and growth strategy in the US, and we are bullish on its two most recent acquisitions. In one fell swoop, they become a share leader, expand their technology portfolio, inherit well-established distribution channels and gain access to new markets.

Despite immediate gains in the region, we believe that Datalogic’s ability to continue to grow in the US will be dependent upon whether it can:

• Seamlessly and efficiently integrate the acquisitions
• Reassure their ‘acquired’ clients and partners that being part of the Datalogic family will only improve upon and add more value to their existing relationship
• Overhaul existing channel strategy in the US, which has only met with limited success
• Educate these new channels about Datalogic-branded products to realize full potential of acquisitions
• Employ effective regionally-specific growth and defensive strategies
• Build upon the momentum generated by these acquisitions
• Maintain a high rate of innovation

Datalogic has learned over the years that the success that they have enjoyed in Europe does not necessarily translate into the same in the US – primarily because of limited channel and marketing resources in the region. With these recent acquisitions – which we believe are not the company’s last – they do have a promising new product, technology and distribution platform to build on.

Comments

[Former Accu-Sorter]

I think that the Accu-Sort acquisition will be good for both companies. Danaher ownership put a big hit on ASI, causing them to lose a lot of experienced employees, hurting their ability to innovate, and filling the management ranks with short-term profit seeking people.

Being owned by a company which is in the Auto-ID industry will be a benefit to ASI, and their product lines combined with Datalogic will be a good offering.

It's just strange to think that the former foes LazerData and Accu-Sort and now part of the same company....