WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. and FREMONT, CALIF. (May 17, 2004) - Optum, Inc. today announced it has acquired Fremont, Calif.-based WorldChain, Inc., a supply-chain execution firm specializing in network transactions management, real-time visibility and exception resolution. WorldChain’s hosted solutions have helped market heavyweights, including Gateway, Network Appliance, StorageTek and Verifone, remove hundreds of millions of dollars in excess inventory from their operations.
The deal marks Optum’s second major supply-chain acquisition of the year (see “Optum Acquires V3 Systems” press release dated February 25th), advancing the company’s market leadership in removing cost and complexity from global supply chains; expanding its blue-chip customer base; and furthering its technological edge and commitment to “open,” quick-to-deploy solutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Customers are demanding low-cost, flexible supply chain solutions, on demand,” said Bruce Richardson, senior vice president at AMR Research. “We have seen this translate into the prevalent use of open-standards technology; the emergence of secure, scaleable hosting operations; the importance of process-focused, quick-to-deploy solutions; and the need for transparency and strict performance management. With its acquisition of WorldChain, Optum continues to demonstrate its viability, putting the right pieces in place to meet the business needs of today’s discerning buyers.”
Added David J. Simbari, Chairman and CEO of Optum, Inc., “Supply chain management, as both a business principle and a market, is at an inflection point. Companies continue to want to cut costs, but also want to increase profits - and they want to do all this leveraging the systems they already have in place.