Software group Benner eyeing health, logistics M&As in Brazil

Management software company Benner is readying acquisitions in the healthcare and logistics sectors in Brazil as part of its growth plan for the coming years, the company’s founder and CEO, Severino Benner, told BNamericas.

The M&As are designed to complement Benner's portfolio and could happen this year, according to the CEO.

“Our goal is to grow 25% per year organically and acquire companies with annual revenues of between 25mn reais [about US$5mn] and 50mn reais, but not necessarily startups,” Benner said.

The firm recently announced the acquisition of Moderna, a technology provider focused on solutions for the healthcare sector. 

The purchase is part of the group's expansion plans, which include an investment of more than 80mn reais to double in size over the next three years.

Focused on technology for the healthcare area, but with different lines of business, 1997-founded Benner claims to be among the five largest management software companies in Brazil, with around 1,000 customers, and behind SAP, Totvs, Oracle and Senior.

In addition to healthcare, the HR, legal, logistics and tourism segments are other verticals served by the company.

“We're dedicated to serving the health chain in an end-to-end way, interconnecting the ecosystem. We saw the need to have an operation more focused on clinics. Moderna had that focus,” he said.

Benner estimates that there are around 70,000 hospitals and clinics in Brazil with potential to be served with these solutions. As for new acquisitions, laboratories and medical offices are the focus.

The company positions itself as a leader in solutions for health plan operators and hospitals. Its main platform for this segment is the Otto HX solution.

According to Benner, these institutions require technologies to meet challenges that permeate their daily lives, such as the lack of integration of areas and systems, which can often lead to operational inefficiencies.

Benner estimates that a hospital ERP suite currently has 25 modules.

In logistics, the focus is on AI-based technologies for warehouses and cargo transportation, mainly in the context of e-commerce, targeting mid-sized carriers.

“I have international logistics clients who also use SAP, Oracle. But the logistics business is broad and requires specialization and integration. We get into that part."

CLOUD AND ONPREMISE

All of Benner's solutions are ready for the cloud, in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, said Benner.

Yet, the company still has an important base of legacy customers, that is, those who have not yet made this cloud migration.

Currently, cloud represents around 30% of the company’s revenue. Of new sales, about 80% relate to cloud, according to the executive.

Benner no longer has its own datacenters. The company's two main partners for public cloud services are Oracle and Microsoft.