E80 Group, the Italy-based multinational specialised in the development of tailored intralogistics solutions for FMCG factories and distribution centres has acquired ERMES-X, which is active in the development and supply of software applications linked to the world of logistics and industrial automation. 

The focus for E80 Group in acquiring the Piacenza-based startup is on boosting the flexibility and efficiency of processes, while ensuring digital continuity. 

Building upon a strategy inspired by company synergies and continuous renewal, E80 Group – which anticipated the concept of Smart Factory back in 1992 – continues to provide business solutions for its customers, employment opportunities and occupation. With the 100-per-cent purchase of ERMES-X, the Group is fostering software development, which has always represented the added value of its solutions.  

"We are proud of the results we have achieved with ERMES-X; arousing the interest of E80 group was a very important recognition,” remarked Matteo Colonna, Davide Croci and Eglis Mella – founders of ERMES-X. “Rather than an ultimate aim, it is an opportunity to continue our professional path at a company that has innovation in its blood.”

Emerging as a cutting-edge software house

E80 Group is increasingly emerging as a cutting-edge software house; over a third of its global personnel are specialised in software development and R&D activities, and the Group aims to add dozens of new professionals in these areas over the next two years.

Founded by Matteo Colonna, Davide Croci and Eglis Mella during their university studies at Politecnico of Milan and Bocconi University, ERMES-X stood out thanks to the firm’s ability to develop innovative software solutions by using operative search algorithms and artificial intelligence. 

ERMES-X team supports the development of SM.I.LE80 (Smart Integrated Logistics), the E80 Group software platform for the optimal running of logistics operations, from the inbound of raw materials to the complete warehouse and shipments management, interacting with the ERP management program of the customers’ factories, ensuring traceability, efficiency and safety inside smart factories.

"I first came across ERMES-X and met its founders a few months ago, and I was pleasantly surprised by the mix of their skills and the results they have achieved,” commented Marco Lorenzini, Software Products Director at E80 Group. “This acquisition means we can accelerate the evolutionary path of SM.I.LE80 as a software platform, while also making the team more solid and complete.”

Placing distributed intelligence at the heart of processes

The acquisition of ERMES-X is another important step forward for E80 Group as part of its strategy to invest in talent, technological development, while sharing new skills and above all, fostering the concept of a short supply chain that has always distinguished the Group's vision. 

"We have always placed distributed intelligence, rather than machines, at the heart of processes, thanks to the software that co-ordinates and oversees a series of technologies that make all our hardware systems smart,” advised Enrico Grassi and Vittorio Cavirani, President and Vice-President of the Group. “We immediately understood the importance of teaming up with the young founders of ERMES-X. This synergy will enable Matteo Colonna, Davide Croci and Eglis Mella to join a Group that will further enhance their innovations in intralogistics – an ever-expanding sector, where software development plays a key role.

 

Investment in talent, training and innovation

“As a Group, we have committed ourselves for this partnership to become a significant opportunity in terms of professional and personal growth for them, at an international and dynamic scale,” E80 Group’s President and VP continued. “Our hope is that it will inspire youngsters who believe in the future,” noted President Grassi and Vice-President Cavirani, who added that E80 Group is investing in ERMES-X and their ideas with the knowledge that “this is where collaboration starts, along with the chemistry between people and companies: if values are shared, ideas are innovative and development is coherent, all the energy and investments put into it are rewarded.” 

One key strength of E80 Group is the investment in talent and continuous training through lifelong learning projects pursued thanks to the collaboration with many universities in Italy (the Universities of Parma, Bologna, Modena and Reggio Emilia, the University Cattolica of Piacenza, the Politecnico University of Bari) and abroad (the Technological University of Monterrey in Mexico, AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow in Poland, the University of Illinois, Chicago in the USA), as well as the foundation of its very own internal Academy, which prepares and trains the company population with an average age of 37 years old.

Thanks to its tireless investment in training and innovation, since the 1990s E80 Group has succeeded in delivering over 7,000 laser-guided vehicles (AGVs/LGVs) and 2,700 robotic systems, and since 2016 has delivered 50 automated high-density warehouses, completing 400 smart factories, all managed by the SM.I.LE80 software platform.

This constant drive for ‘Made in Italy’ technological progress has culminated in 30 patented systems developed across four decades of business – an achievement made possible thanks to the expertise E80 has acquired in different industrial sectors and the Group’s continuous investment in research and staff training. Year after year, this vision contributes to the growth of E80 Group, which generated an order intake of nearly €640 million in 2022, with 14 branches worldwide and over 1,200 employees.