Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A. Inc. (Konica Minolta) continues to accelerate its business transformation with the acquisition of MWA Intelligence Inc. (MWAi) a leading provider in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) space. Based in Scottsdale, AZ, MWA has over 20 years of experience in the office equipment industry and has pioneered the first ERP platform specifically designed to support the imaging channel.
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. The MWA team of professionals will join All Covered, the IT Services division of Konica Minolta.
Rick Taylor, president and CEO, Konica Minolta
“Part of our growth strategy is enabling our vision for the Workplace of the Future in the Imaging Channel,” said Rick Taylor, president and CEO of Konica Minolta. “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,” Taylor added.
MWAi, an accredited SAP Business One Gold Partner, Reseller and Development organization, was awarded the SAP Innovation Partner of the Year Award. The unique capabilities acquired will integrate with All Covered’s Business Consulting Services Practice to deliver unparalleled 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, MWA Intelligence
Mike Stramaglio, president and CEO of MWAi, 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 MWAi, Konica Minolta expands its partnership with SAP to become an SAP Business One OEM and master value added reseller. 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.
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About MWA Intelligence Inc.
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.
About SAP
As a market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 388,000 business and public sector customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably.
