Inmar, a company that operates collaborative commerce networks, announced its acquisition of Fremont, Calif.-based EXP Pharmaceutical Services Corp., whose core business of pharmaceutical returns and recalls aligns well with Inmar's healthcare service offerings.

Returned merchandise, which retailers have to discount or even dump, end up costing U.S. merchants as much as $20bn a year, and are a "ticking time bomb" that threatens retailers' profitability. To avoid that blowup, merchants are turning to new technologies.

Oracle Corp. has introduced a number of enhancements to its applications offered under the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne product line.