Plante Moran, a Top 100 Firm based in Southfield, Michigan, has acquired Planning Perspectives Inc., a research firm in Birmingham, Michigan, that studies relations between automobile makers and their suppliers.
The acquisition encompasses all of PPI’s intellectual property, including its Annual North American Automotive OEM–Tier 1 Supplier Working Relations Index Study conducted by Dr. John Henke, which Plante Moran plans to continue doing.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but under the terms of the agreement, Plante Moran will take over PPI’s annual study, while Henke will remain involved on a consulting basis for one year during the transition.
Plante Moran has 350 partners and affiliated entity members and 3,100 staff members. The firm's fiscal year 2018 revenue was $503,990,980. PPI has a core team of five, led by Henke, who is president of the organization.
Planning Perspectives and its studies will be merged into Plante Moran’s Strategy and Automotive/Mobility Consulting Practice, headed by partner and practice leader Daron Gifford. Leadership of the annual Working Relations Index Study will be overseen by Dave Andrea, who joined Plante Moran last month as a principal and reports to Gifford.
“We are thrilled to have a firm with the reputation of Planning Perspectives joining Plante Moran,” said Gifford in a statement. “Dr. Henke is the recognized expert in buyer-supplier relations and his work and reputation are second to none. That, combined with our portfolio of hundreds of automotive supplier clients, makes this a perfect fit and further solidifies Plante Moran's position as a leading consultancy with deep and specific expertise in the global automotive and mobility industries.”
He believes that adding Henke’s expertise in buyer-supplier relations will enable Plante Moran to provide market intelligence that no other firm can offer.
Henke has been planning to retire and has been looking for several years for a firm to take over his business. “We’ve had an incredibly successful run since launching our proprietary automotive industry research more than 25 years ago, and it is truly gratifying to know that we've had a significant impact on improving automakers’ purchasing practices and attitudes towards their suppliers,” he said in a statement. “In fact, several OEMs have told us this. But knowing that one day I was going to retire, I began talking to various consulting firms in both Europe and the U.S. about taking over the study. After two years of exploration, I concluded that Plante Moran was best suited to continue our research and maintain its academic-level integrity. In addition, having a major automotive financial and accounting firm presenting the data on the profit impact of good supplier relations to OEMs would only add to the results' credibility.”
Plante Moran ranked No. 15 on Accounting Today's 2018 list of the Top 100 Firms. In October, it added another Top 100 Firm,
