Despite the name, Manhattan Associates was born in Atlanta. Its first product, PkMS, shipped in 1990 and did one job in great detail: it ran the inside of a distribution center. It tracked every box from the receiving dock to a shelf, then to a picker, a packer and a truck. In 1998 retailers and manufacturers were racing to move goods faster with less inventory on hand, and Manhattan went public to sell them the tool.

PkMS and the Pick Ticket

Alan Dabbiere led the company, and his firm Pegasys Systems contributed the software and staff that became Manhattan Associates. PkMS managed receiving, stock locating, picking, order checking, packing and shipping in complex distribution centers. Customers bought it to turn inventory faster, cut errors and get orders out the door sooner. The bet was that the warehouse, long run on paper and habit, would become a place where software made money for its owner.

Still Shipping Software

Manhattan Associates sold shares at $15 on April 24, 1998, and listed on Nasdaq as MANH. It grew from warehouse software into a wider supply chain suite, covering transportation, inventory and store systems, and later moved its products to the cloud. Online shopping made fast, accurate warehouses matter more each year. Manhattan Associates is still independent and still trades on Nasdaq under MANH.

Cover: Old and New New York, Alfred Stieglitz. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for the old and new New York skyline (Manhattan).