Forterro, a European provider of ERP software solutions to more than 7,000 mid-market manufacturing and production companies, has acquired Southampton-based 123 Insight Ltd, a provider of MRP/ERP SaaS solutions for manufacturing companies of all sizes.

The acquisition of 123 Insight — Forterro’s ninth in Europe since 2011 and first in the UK — marks an important strategic milestone for Forterro, giving the group its initial footprint in one of Europe’s top industrial production markets.

Dean Forbes, CEO of Forterro, said: “We are thrilled to bring 123 Insight’s modern product and go-to-market approach into the Forterro group. Its keen understanding of the challenges small and mid-size manufacturing companies face when selecting and implementing ERP systems, and its forward-thinking ideas around how to minimise the complexities that are often associated deploying, maintaining, and upgrading an ERP system have made it the successful business it is today.”

Guy Amoroso and Craig Grant, co-founders of 123 Insight, will continue to support the business in the short-term, with the backing of its existing management team. Mr Amoroso said: “123 Insight experienced one of its strongest years to date last year despite the impact of the pandemic — further evidencing the strength of our business and technology, as well as the loyalty of our customer base. Having built this business over many years, it feels appropriate to hand over the company in such a strong position to a group that can take it to the next level.”

Mr Grant added: “Our subscription model has always allowed us to reinvest heavily in software development, delivering a product suitable for all manufacturing types hosted either on-premise or in the cloud.”

“We were looking for a partner who would allow us to continue doing great things for our customers, while providing us with the know-how, infrastructure, and capital we needed to take our new version to market.”

MR Forbes said: “With this acquisition, Forterro gains a modern, event-driven local or cloud-based ERP/MRP solution,. The potential here is extremely exciting, and our investment is a validation of the product strategy the 123 Insight team has chosen, as well as the great work they have done executing on it. I’m eager to begin collaborating with them to develop new growth strategies and determine how those can be amplified by the Forterro ecosystem.”