A market roiled by mergers and acquisitions wouldn't ordinarily be expected to produce stellar results. Yet despite all the turmoil—there were over 20 acquisitions or mergers among companies with warehousing solutions in 2004—the worldwide market for warehouse management systems (WMS) in 2004 was the best in the past several years.

In fact, the worldwide WMS market grew by more than 5 percent last year to reach $1,067 million, according to Warehouse Management Systems Worldwide Outlook Through 2009, a report recently released by ARC Advisory Group. And the growth is expected to continue. ARC projects that revenues will surpass $1,339 million in 2009. "Based on the number of acquisitions and mergers in this market, the growth has been surprisingly strong," says Steve Banker, ARC's service director for supply chain management and principal author of the study. "While some acquired companies with WMS solutions can expect to continue to grow their revenues, historically mergers and acquisitions have more often served as a drag on growth."

For more information on this study, visit www.arcweb.com/res/wms.