Monday, May 10, 2004

Intentia reaches for revival

Swedish ERP vendor Intentia is making a series of management changes intended to kick start growth, which has been languising the past few years. Björn Algkvist is moving out of the CEO slot and is limiting his role to board activities. He will be replaced by Bertand Sciard, who comes from GEAC. In addition, Henrick Billgren will take over R&D, and Lars Procheus will serve as Chief Marketing Officer.

Intentia certainly needs to do something. I've short listed Intentia several times for clients in the past, and I always like what I see. Its Movex product is strong--the most recent version is 100% Java, the only ERP vendor to make this claim. Yet, growth has been lagging the rest of the ERP industry. Furthermore, Intentia has been slow to gain a foothold in North America, although it has been trying to do so at least since 1997, as I recall. Although the company has broad functionality, in the U.S., it has been focused on a few verticals where it thinks it can win: food and beverage, and apparel.

Recent discussions with Intentia personnel indicate frustration with the situation. I hope the new management team is successful.

Related posts
Intentia wraps its apps around IBM--is there a Linux connection?

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