ADC to Acquire ShopperKit, Eyes Scaling E-Commerce Solution

The recent growth spurt in grocery e-commerce is attracting even more attention from longstanding grocery technology providers.

Applied Data Corp. (ADC) said Jan. 12 it has entered into an agreement to acquire ShopperKit in a deal combining established and emerging supply-chain management software companies.

ADC is a 30-year-old company known for its fresh item management software, called FreshIQ. ShopperKit, established in 2016, specializes in e-commerce fulfillment software.

The deal marks the second time a week a technology firm with deep roots in the supermarket industry announced plans to acquire a younger counterpart specializing in grocery e-commerce. Point-of-sale tech giant NCR last week said it was acquiring Freshop, the e-commerce solution provider focused on in-store fulfillment.

ADC, based in Tampa, said ShopperKit provides a “highly strategic” addition to its existing portfolio, helping its ambitions to serve ordering, production and fulfillment. It said fulfillment expertise was in high demand, with few providers capable of providing systems that can operate at scale.

ShopperKit

“This is an exciting time in ADC history. The ShopperKit team and platform are helping retailers gain control of their in-store fulfillment strategies, a critical component required to maintain their digital brands,” said Shamus Hines, CEO of ADC, in a release. “The addition of ShopperKit will give our customers a unified approach to their omnichannel strategy while providing them with visibility into store operations with user-friendly products that help grow sales, cut costs and improve operational efficiencies. This will allow ADC to expand our vision to include broad demand forecasting not just in fresh but also for the center aisles both in-store and online.”

ShopperKit, based in Atlanta, provides software helping retailers manage all in-store activities related to fulfillment, customer communication and execution of online orders. Its retail clients include SpartanNash, Lowes Foods, Roche Bros and Giant Eagle. ADC said it would work to begin an integration between the FreshIQ and ShopperKit platforms.

“Our vision for seeing ShopperKit become the leader in retail fulfillment is advanced by combining with ADC,” said Jack Record, CEO of Shopperkit. “This combination creates a unique set of capabilities needed to manage modern store operations. I am excited to help with the integrations of these two companies and seeing that vision become a reality.”