Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) announced today it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Kuebix, a leading transportation management system (TMS) provider and creator of North America’s largest connected shipping community. This acquisition will enable Trimble to bring together its network of private fleet and commercial carrier customers, which collectively represent more than 1.3 million commercial trucks in North America, with Kuebix’s extensive community of more than 21,000 shipping companies, creating a powerful new platform for planning, execution and freight demand-capacity matching.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
This acquisition will augment Trimble’s comprehensive transportation technology portfolio and position Trimble to further its strategy to lead the industry’s transformation.
“Combining Kuebix’s innovative platform and rapidly-growing community of shippers with Trimble’s history of innovation, strength and scale will provide a transformative transportation supply chain solution that creates new opportunities for collaboration throughout the logistics ecosystem,” said James Langley, senior vice president, Trimble Transportation. “This combination will help carriers uncover inefficiencies in their network, make better decisions, optimize operations and transform the way the transportation industry works.”
Today, shippers, carriers and intermediaries operate with fragmented TMS software. The Kuebix acquisition will allow Trimble to break down technology barriers, enable actionable visibility and improve collaboration by delivering a single logistics platform for all participants in the supply chain. This Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), multi-tenant, cloud platform will optimize the entire logistics process from order management to financial settlement, improving efficiency and asset utilization for carriers and giving shippers access to expanded capacity and reduced costs.
“For more than a decade, Kuebix has served shippers with supply chains of all sizes and complexities, transparently connecting them directly to their carriers for the pricing, service levels and visibility they need to run their businesses,” said Dave Lemont, CEO of Kuebix. “We are excited to join Trimble and expand the investment in our platform to serve new audiences, and increase collaboration and savings for shippers and carriers alike.”
“The combination of Trimble and Kuebix will accelerate the realization of our vision; a world where shippers, carriers and intermediaries leverage the same powerful TMS platform to provide the market with unprecedented levels of visibility and efficiency,” said Dan Clark, founder and president, Kuebix. “A single-platform TMS across all transportation modes will make it easier for shippers and carriers to plan their strategy, design an optimized transportation network, improve execution, and more accurately manage settlements. When all players in the market work together, everyone wins.”
Kuebix’s business will be part of Trimble’s Transportation Sector.