Xchanging announces acquisition of spend analytics company Spikes Cavell analytic limited
Bangalore, India, February 9, 2015: Xchanging plc, the business process, procurement and technology services provider, announces it has agreed to acquire 100% of the spend analytics company Spikes Cavell Analytic Limited (SCAL).
SCAL is a British company providing spend analytics technology and services mainly to public sector institutions in the UK and higher education authorities in the US, but also increasingly to the private sector. Based in Newbury (UK) and Virginia (US) and with 35 employees, SCAL brings to Xchanging a portfolio of c. 60 existing lead customers, some of which represent groups.
The SCAL technology, like the MM4 technology platform, can be offered both as a stand-alone Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product as well as part of a bundled offering within our Procurement-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering. SCAL’s low priced entry point option further enhances Xchanging’s opportunity to grow its customer base through cross-selling.
SCAL also offers two unique solutions tailored toward greater transparency and peer to peer comparison:
- The Observatory: Delivers better spend visibility to procurement and finance teams through a managed service: an aggregated database of spend data from discrete bodies within a public sector buying consortium or multi-divisional enterprise, allowd meaningful peer comparison;
- Spotlight on Spend: A managed service that enables publicly-accountable organisations to publish complex financial information that can be easily accessed and understood by relevant stakeholders.
The acquisition extends Xchanging’s strategy to differentiate its products and services through technology-enablement. Within Xchanging’s Procurement business, the SCAL technology will augment our existing MM4 platform, enabling MM4 to achieve ‘full-suite status’ in the sourcing technology sector.
Chirag Shah, Executive Director of Xchanging Procurement, commented: “Spend Analytics is one of the key components of the Source-to-Pay lifecycle, which we have previously accessed through 3rd-party providers. But our business has a strategic aim to offer an all-encompassing end-to-end procurement technology suite, which is one of the reasons we’re making this exciting acquisition.
“Going beyond this, we see enormous potential for the wider application of analytics throughout the supply chain, from spend benchmarking and supply chain optimisation, to risk management and greater CSR transparency. Building on the joint strengths of Xchanging and SCAL, I am confident we can deliver even more value-add to our existing customers, and develop compelling propositions for the wider market. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to Xchanging.”
Patricia Dreghorn, Strategy and Integration Director, Xchanging Procurement, said, “We have made significant investment in procurement technology since our acquisition of MM4 in September 2013, delivering an aggressive roadmap of product development. Recent additions to our portfolio include Contract Management and Supplier Relationship Management – and SCAL’s spend analytics platform fills the last remaining gap in sourcing technology.”
Luke Spikes, Chief Executive Officer of SCAL, said, “SCAL is an agile and innovative data-centric business with a unique combination of knowledge, skills and experience. The SCAL team has spent over 20 years transforming raw data into actionable intelligence to enable organisations to make better business decisions. Our expert staff are dedicated to delivering management information and business intelligence that significantly improves spend visibility. We are excited about the growth and development opportunities that will come from being part of Xchanging.”
The acquisition is subject to certain customary closing conditions and is expected to complete by the end of March 2015.
