JSE-listed UCS Group has bought petrol retail company Branch Software as part of a strategy that it hopes will make it the dominant retail software and services supplier in the country.
No value was given to the transaction, as it is not considered to have any immediate impact on UCS`s revenue or turnover.
According to UCS, Branch Software is a development house and a solutions implementation company, specialising in point-of-sale and back-office environments for garage forecourts and convenience retail stores.
"UCS has rapidly grown into a retail technologies giant, with solutions for virtually every aspect of the retail and logistics industry, reaching from an individual point-of-sale in a high-fashion boutique, right through to direct integration into the supply chain of large consumer goods manufacturers," says Neil Michelson, COO of UCS Group.
Michelson says that with the acquisition of Branch Software, UCS is now uniquely placed in the petrochemicals industry. UCS had already started making strong inroads into convenience stores in garage forecourts. "Now we are able to tie it all together in a seamless whole that brings together fuel sales and retail operations."
Branch Software`s technology includes intellectual property in interfacing information systems with the various types of fuel pumps used in garage forecourts, as well as in the tagging technology that links a specific pump attendant with each transaction. The company says that when combined with UCS`s other retail technologies, garage owners can have a complete, integrated view of every part of their business.
"Becoming part of the UCS Group now is perfect in terms of where Branch Software wants to be. While we have technologies that are industry-leading, we needed the support and resources of a large partner to allow us to get into the large corporate deals that we were previously excluded from," says Clive Gillespie, MD of Branch.
"Our product is running in 800 sites around SA at the moment, and we expect this to ramp up dramatically."
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