LMI has acquired JJR Solutions, a provider of low-code, cloud-based applications built with human-centered design and agile principles.
“By integrating JJR Solutions’ expertise into LMI, we are reaffirming our commitment to provide rapid, innovative, human-centered design solutions for our customers,” said Doug Wagoner, LMI’s CEO.
“We aim to empower the federal government to better understand and serve the needs of the people they support. Together, we will drive positive change for the constituents we serve, including our nation’s service members and veterans.”
JJR Solutions was founded in 2009 by Dave Judson, Jr., and is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. Rooted in military service, the company combines domain knowledge, people-centered transformation methods and innovation-based contracting to help government agencies achieve transformation goals faster, the company said.
This acquisition is part of LMI’s larger growth strategy, “buy versus build” approach and desire to expand in the defense health market, Wagoner told WashingtonExec. Plus, the company was looking to strengthen its human-centered design approach and focus on customer experience.
LMI has been growing its logistics work at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, which is where JJR Solutions is still based. The merger will add 120 personnel to the LMI team.
“Looking towards the future, we want the ability to scale our meaning and impact to deliver important capability to our military and citizens faster than ever before. Joining LMI will allow us to do just that,” said Carly Cox, JJR Solutions’ president and chief operating officer.
“They prioritize innovation at the pace of need, energize minds with emerging technologies to inspire creative solutions, and push the boundaries of what’s possible.”
LMI’s technology studio, the Forge, further complements JJR Solutions’ emphasis on technology-enabled, differentiated solutions, to include their proprietary human-centered design and transformation tool, Magnify.
Both companies also share a customer base with the Air Force, Space Force, VA and Defense Health Agency. This integration will expand on LMI’s impact in critical government mission sets, including space situational awareness, rapid technology fielding, weapon system acquisition, veteran suicide prevention and improving federal customer experience.
The companies also share similar culture objectives, which was an important factor for LMI, according to Wagoner. “That’s very important to us in any acquisition, there has to be a cultural match. And there’s a real strong cultural match here,” Wagoner said. “Dave created an employee first kind of culture, which is what we have at LMI.”
And along with the added depth of human-centered design, DevOps and human performance, JJR Solutions is responsible for the Veterans Crisis Line, which provides 24/7 confidential crisis support for veterans and their loved ones.
Wagoner said LMI is modernizing the system and moving it to cloud to be more digitally-enabled, and to be able to identify and provide faster services to veterans in crisis. “Those are the kinds of programs that we excel at that we’re proud of,” Wagoner said.
Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive financial advisor to JJR Solutions and Macquarie Capital served as M&A advisor to LMI.