UPSTACKthe announced that it acquired NPG Solutions LLC. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. NPG Solutions is UPSTACK’s 25th partner investment in the past two years.
As part of UPSTACK’s investment, NPG Solutions’ owners and managing partners, Bill Fuller and Bob Ray, will join UPSTACK as Partners.
Founded in 2009, NPG Solutions provides network, data center, cloud and security services to businesses of all sizes and industries, focusing on global companies in manufacturing, health care and finance. NPG Solutions provides supplier sourcing and management through its 10-step SmartSource process, which leverages the company’s proprietary SmartSpendIT supplier management tool to analyze customer needs, vet suppliers, and select and manage solutions.
“NPG was one of the first telecom agencies to realize the benefits of pairing expert advisory services with sourcing and management software,” said UPSTACK Founder and CEO Christopher Trapp. “NPG’s vision in developing proprietary tools to scale and improve client services aligns perfectly with UPSTACK’s, making NPG a great fit for our organization. We’re excited to welcome Bill and Bob to the UPSTACK team as our milestone 25th partner investment.”
Fuller and Ray first met as competitors before working together at Qwest Communications (now Lumen), where Fuller handled global sales and Ray managed the global sales teams. They left Qwest together to join a cost-management franchise. The telecom veterans quickly realized that of the 50 cost categories, they wanted to focus on technology services, so they formed NPG Solutions. Since then, NPG has evolved into a trusted advisor, guiding clients through technology’s rapid evolution.
NPG’s business has grown quickly to serve ever-larger companies that see the value in the company’s unique sourcing process and platform. Earlier this year, the two owners began to think about how to best manage their growth trajectory.
“When you’re successful with a small team, you have to turn up the business to grow, but you also need the right resources,” said Ray, noting that building and managing a bigger team was less appealing than joining a company with those assets in place. “We entertained offers but weren’t interested in just selling our commission streams. We wanted to find a better fit for us.”
UPSTACK was a better fit, said Fuller. “When we met with UPSTACK, we immediately clicked with the culture and the people,” he said. “It was like we were looking in the mirror. UPSTACK’s message and model resonated with everything we already do and want to do in the future.”
source: UPSTACK
