Japanese logistics company wins US port stronghold with 3PL acquisition – Sourcing Journal

Logistics M&A activity will continue in 2023, even as freight demand falls and the global economy remains buoyant.

Yusen Logistics, the freight forwarding division of Japan-based shipping and logistics company NYK Line, has acquired third-party logistics (3PL) and fulfillment provider Taylored Services from its private equity owner Saybrook for an undisclosed sum.

The transaction expands Yusen Logistics’ Contract Logistics Group’s warehousing network in certain U.S. sales territories and is expected to strengthen its end-to-end supply chain portfolio with specialized services such as omnichannel retail, wholesale and e-commerce fulfillment.

As part of the acquisition, Taylored Services will become part of Yusen Logistics’ US operations.

Yusen Logistics will acquire Taylored’s 11 distribution centers, many of which are located near major US ports including Los Angeles, Long Beach, New York/New Jersey, Savannah and Miami, and in Louisville, Kentucky. The facilities total approximately 2.9 million square meters of distribution area.

Yusen already has extensive global reach, providing warehousing, distribution and supply chain services through a network of more than 24,000 employees and over 630 offices in 47 countries. The company had 1,900 employees in the US prior to the acquisition and operated more than 5 million square feet of warehouse space.

Now based in New Jersey, Taylored Services operates as a multichannel logistics provider offering fulfillment, warehousing, transportation, rolling and transshipment services to retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers. Taylored also operates its own freight broker, Taylored Freight Services. The Company provides services to a customer base including Macy’s, Burlington, Nordstrom and Marc Jacobs, with expertise spanning multiple brand and accessory categories.

The respective Yusen Logistics and Taylored Services names and brands will remain.

“By combining the strengths of Taylored fulfillment centers in port-centric US gateway markets with Yusen Logistics’ global and domestic capabilities in international freight forwarding, warehousing and transhipment, and supply chain orchestration, we are able to deliver a full suite of Supply -Chain logistics solutions to our current and future customers,” said Mikhail Kholyavenko, CEO of Yusen Logistics Americas.

All of Taylored’s 350+ employees will be retained. Matt Ennis, formerly vice president of business development and customer solutions at Yusen Logistics Americas, Inc., has been named the new president and CEO of Taylored Services.

Taylored’s President and CEO, Jim DeVeau, will remain in an advisory capacity during the transition.

In a statement, DeVeau said Taylored employees and customers would have access to an extensive global network and supply chain solutions for international air and ocean freight forwarding and third-party logistics.

“We will do everything we can to ensure a smooth transition and successful outcome for our new friends at Yusen and our employee partners who have fueled the five-fold growth of the company,” said Jonathan Rosenthal, Taylored CEO.

ArcBest Sells $100M Fleet Maintenance Unit and Introduces Cargo Movement Technology

The deal between Yusen and Taylored wasn’t the only recent development in the logistics space that has also seen tech companies like BlueCargo and Slync generate new funding.

In another logistical consolidation, ArcBest, a truck load management and freight brokerage company, is selling its FleetNet America fleet maintenance and repair services unit to Cox Automotive for $100 million in cash.

FleetNet Mobile Emergency Services offers users a network of more than 60,000 independent service providers across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Services include arranging emergency mobile assistance, mobile truck repair, towing and recovery, preventative maintenance and tire repair.

Coupled with Cox Automotive’s expertise in facilitating market transactions, providing data insights and operating on a global scale, the acquisition aims to improve flexibility, transparency and communication before and during the fleet maintenance process.

In line with the goal of avoiding downtime for its customers, Cox Automotive’s purchase of FleetNet also builds on its mobility fleet operations vision to provide turnkey solutions backed by fleet experts and a network of service providers to make it easier for customers to find specialists and Service providers can contact them if necessary.

This proprietary technology, which includes FleetNet’s mobile app, is designed to automate the workflow so vehicles stay healthy and on the road and fleet providers can focus on their business.

“We’re relentless operators and innovators, and we’re obsessed with always putting our customers, service providers and our people first,” said Alex Fraser, associate vice president of fleet operations, Cox Automotive Mobility. “We invest in making fleet operations more efficient and solving our customers’ problems on the road or in the workshop.”

The sale of FleetNet allows ArcBest to delve deeper into cargo movement with the debut of Vaux, a hardware and software suite that enables warehouse workers to load and unload truck trailers faster, ultimately reducing truck dwell time. shortened drivers in camps.

Traditionally, trailers are loaded or unloaded piece by piece, often requiring workers to move individual pallets multiple times. However, Vaux’s shelving system is designed to sit under and around the load in trailer beds, allowing warehouse workers to lock a forklift onto a platform to push cargo into a trailer or pull cargo out in one movement.

Vaux also has in-transit tracking software that gives carriers insight into the location of their cargo. Bar codes on pallets are scanned as they are loaded, allowing the software to track the pallets based on their location in the racking system.

By reducing dwell time, which the American Transportation Research Institute calculated to 1 hour and 54 minutes per stop in 2021, truckers would have more time to complete their trips. Federal regulations limit most commercial truck drivers to 11 hours of driving time in a 14-hour workday.

“As a customer-centric logistics company, we understand the supply chain challenges our customers face related to inefficient cargo handling. The environment isn’t the same as it was 10 years ago, and we’ve heard from our customers that they need a solution,” said Judy R. McReynolds, ArcBest chair, president and CEO, in a statement. “In many of our customers’ warehouses, the traditional way of loading and unloading trailers piece by piece affects their supply chains. With Vaux, our innovation teams have developed solutions to address these challenges and transform the way cargo moves.”