Ingram snaps up Paradigm

Broadliner buys UK auto-ID player following year-long search

Ingram Micro has finally delivered on its pledge to build an auto-ID/data capture (AIDC) and point-of-sale (POS) business in the UK, by acquiring Paradigm Distribution.

The broadliner has been scouting for UK targets working in the sector since it snapped up Nordic POS distributor SymTech Nordic in 2006 (CRN, 30 October, 2006).

And Ingram has finally got its man, signing an agreement to purchase the assets of Oxfordshire-based Paradigm, which specialises in AIDC and POS technologies.

Paradigm will be folded into Ingram’s new data capture/POS division, which it will run as a separate business unit.

As part of the deal - which is expected to close in mid-January - Paradigm’s employees will move to Ingram’s offices in Maidenhead.

The entity will be headed up by Paradigm managing director Ralph Donohue, who will report to Johan Vandenbussche, vice president at Ingram Micro pan-European business unit.

Jay Forbes, president of Ingram Micro EMEA, said: “This acquisition reflects our determination and commitment towards the high-margin AIDC/POS space as well as the related radio frequency identification segment.

“This foundation in the key UK market provides us with the ideal platform for further European growth and differentiation from our peers while offering tremendous business opportunities to vendors and customers alike.”

Donohue argued the move would come as a boost for both Paradigm's vendor and reseller partners.

“I’m confident that our expertise in offering value-add AIDC/POS solutions in the UK coupled with the capabilities of the world’s largest technology distributor will result in an even greater degree of professionalism both for our partners and our customers,” he said.

Jeremy Butt, vice president of worldwide channels at Motorola EMb, claimed the acquisition would support the mobility vendor’s growth plans.

“Our experience with Ingram Micro DC/POS Division in the European Nordic region as well as in the US, Latin America and Asia Pacific, makes us fully confident that our reseller partners in the UK, Ireland and beyond will greatly benefit from this partnership,” he said.