Scandit, developer of the leading software-based barcode scanning and data capture platform for smartphones, tablets and wearable computing devices announced that it has raised $5.5m to strengthen its market leading position and transform the face of the automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) industry.

The investment has been made by a small group of high net worth technology entrepreneurs -all experienced in the development of successful enterprise software companies. The funding round was led by Ariel Luedi, CEO at hybris, the leading e-commerce vendor, which last year was acquired by SAP. Luedi has joined the Scandit Board of Directors.

Scandit was founded in 2009 and has established itself as the leader in the emerging BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) scanning market for employees and consumers while also providing a more cost-effective alternative to traditional, dedicated hardware device scanners. In the last 18 months the company has multiplied its licensee base by a factor of 30. Scandit now serves more than 12,000 licensees in 80 countries and processes hundreds of millions of scans per year.

Customers of Scandit’s enterprise-grade mobile scanning and cloud services platform include major retailers, manufacturers, logistics companies and other enterprises, such as Ahold, Bayer, Capital One, Coop, Homeplus (Tesco), NASA and Saks Fifth Avenue. Benefits range from increasing customer engagement and satisfaction (e.g., mobile shopping, self scanning) to improving customer service for merchants (e.g., clienteling, mobile point-of-sale) and streamlining back-office processes (e.g., inventory management, asset tracking). Scandit’s cloud services deliver user and license management, analytics, scan performance analysis, and more.

“There is a huge opportunity to transform the barcode scanning and data capture industry and expand the market through software-based solutions running on consumers’ and employees’ smart mobile devices,” said Samuel Mueller, CEO at Scandit. “The funding allows us to further expand our business internationally, invest heavily in R&D of disruptive data capture technologies and cloud services, and better serve enterprise customers, primarily in Europe and North America.”

“Scandit is in the process of disrupting the older, more conservative hardware-focused market while simultaneously creating new opportunities, both in the consumer and enterprise markets,” said Ariel Luedi. “We were surprised how many use cases rely on the capabilities Scandit can offer today. We have never seen an enterprise software company serving so many world-class brands at this early stage, and we are excited to join the Scandit team on their path to success.”

The ubiquity of smartphones and tablets in the consumer market and the benefits of mobile apps, have spilled over into the enterprise sector. Scandit is accelerating this trend by delivering enterprise-grade AIDC functionality, not just on smartphones and tablets but also for wearable devices. The company turns the traditional model for barcode scanning on its head by utilizing sophisticated software running on commodity mobile hardware and camera modules as opposed to building more expensive and less flexible dedicated hardware for particular applications. By allowing employees and consumers alike to participate in critical business processes through software-based scan technology, such as self-scanning or mobile ordering, Scandit removes operational inefficiencies and creates new revenue opportunities for its customers.