Logistics software provider Kewill has signed an agreement to buy LeanLogistics, the transport management software provider, from Brambles for $115m. Brambles specialises in the pooling of packaging equipment and associated services.
The transaction is subject to standard regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed within 45 days, a spokesperson for Kewill told Automotive Logistics.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have LeanLogistics join the Kewill team,” said Doug Braun (pictured), CEO of Kewill. “Their solutions are feature-rich, highly scalable and managed by a skilled team and we are excited to support the ongoing growth and investment in LeanLogistics’ platform. We believe our global platform will help accelerate LeanLogistics’ already impressive growth through leveraging our extensive European and Asian networks.”
LeanLogistics supports a network of over 14,000 carriers with cloud-based platforms for the management of transport, including for shippers in the automotive industry.
“Our tenure with Brambles has provided us with the opportunity to invest in our solution and expand into different countries, and has been a tremendous learning experience. But as we strive to deliver value for our customers every day, there is power in combining with a global supply chain execution company,” said Dan Dershem, president and CEO of LeanLogistics.
Brambles CEO Tom Gorman said: “Over the eight years that we have owned the business, LeanLogistics has generated significant value as a service provider to other parts of the Brambles Group, in particular the CHEP pallet pooling operations. We are looking forward to continuing this relationship as a LeanLogistics customer for many years to come.”
Kewill and Lean Logistics both suggest combining their respective technologies will produce an enhanced service for shippers, carriers, freight forwarders and customs brokers.
“We see [LeanLogistics’] LeanTMS as a huge step forward for Kewill,” said Jim Hoefflin, president and COO of Kewill. “New components, like LeanDex for freight rate indexing, have applicability across many of our 7,500 customers. And when you combine our two carrier networks, we will have by far the largest in North America.”
From the other side, Chris Timmer, CCO at LeanLogistics, said the company could quickly integrate some key capabilities offered by Kewill into its LeanTMS, such as yard management, deficit rating, shipment tracking and settlement for rail, to better serve the needs of its customers.
LeanLogistics’ base in Holland, Michigan, will become Kewill’s largest office.
