ManH Dives Into ‘Clienteling’ with GlobalBay Buy

August 18, 2014 Alex Woodie

Manhattan Associates last week announced it has acquired the assets of GlobalBay Technologies to boost its omni-channel strategy with new “clienteling” capabilities. The deal with VeriFone nets ManH a collection of solutions designed to improve how retailers interact with their customers.

VeriFone’s sold a collection of offerings through its GlobalBay line that would allow smaller retailers to use their iPads to complete transactions. This included hardware like card readers, PIN pads, printers, scanners, and cash drawers. But for ManH, what likely grabbed its attention was the software side of GlobalBay, including offerings like inventory tracking, loyalty programs, and online appointment booking.

The GlobalBay software enables retailer to partake of a new class of applications dubbed “clienteling,” which is an extension of the omni-channel practice of centralizing consumer access to products via Web, mobile, and in-store channels.

“Moving beyond inventory and fulfillment and into sales and clienteling is one way we’ll provide a comprehensive store platform with omni-channel at its core,” Manhattan Associates CEO Eddie Capel says in a press release.

If you’re new to clienteling, you’re not alone. According to digital marketing expert Nathan Richter, the practice refers to how upscale retailers are combining data analytics and omni-channel distribution methods to create unique shopping experiences for customers.

“By turning excess inventory into a VIP environment for a group of premier clients–and giving them first dibs at the reduced-priced items–you’re not only getting rid of unsold merchandise that you’d have to do anyway, but you’re upping engagement and customer loyalty,” Richter writes in a blog post for Monetate, a provider of personalization solutions.

ManH will be selling GlobalBay’s clienteling offerings to its large base of retail customers in the consumer goods and clothing sectors, who use rely on its supply chain execution and warehouse management applications to manage logistics. Many of these customers run ManH’s flagship WMS on the IBM i platform.

GlobalBay Technologies was founded in 2002 and is based in South Plainfield, New Jersey. The company was acquired by Verifone in 2011. Manhattan Associates is not disclosing terms of its deal.