3PL news: Geodis Wilson acquires One Source Logistics, expands U.S. presence

Geodis Wilson, a global freight forwarder, said it has acquired Minneapolis-based One Source Logistics (OSL), a non asset-based third-party logistics (3PL) services provider, focusing on truckload, less-than-truckload and transportation management system (TMS) services.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. OSL has 20 employees and more than 100 customers.

This move was made by Geodis as part of its strategy to accelerate the growth of its United States-based domestic product offerings.

“The United States is a focus area for Geodis Wilson, and we are looking at doubling our revenue in the next few years through acquisitions and through organic growth,” a Geodis spokesman told LM.  “With OneSource Logistics, we saw a great opportunity to both strengthen our domestic product as well as offer OneSource Logistics customers an international partner.  We have worked with OneSource Logistics as a partnership with various shippers for over a year now.”

Bringing OSL into the fold for Geodis will allow the company to leverage OSL’s domestic U.S. trucking footprint, coupled with access to a broader local distribution network for inland and final mile delivery services.

Shipper benefits of this deal will be an expanded and enhanced service offering, noted the Geodis spokesman.  He added that Geodis is looking at being able to over better pricing and more inland options for their international transportation, as well as an expanded and flexible domestic product with more options. For OneSource Logistics customers, he said, Geodis Wilson can now offer its international expertise in air and ocean freight forwarding, as well as warehousing and distribution services.

Geodis Wilson has been looking at various acquisition options in the U.S. for over a year, and the spokesman said the company “is definitely” looking at other options that would be a good fit for its core service offerings.

“Taking over One Source Logistics is a first step in the company’s growth strategy in the U.S.,” says Geodis Wilson’s Executive Vice President, Philippe Gilbert, in a statement. “With the extended link to domestic services in North America we are able to satisfy the needs of a wide range of our today’s air freight and ocean freight clients. We can offer them a better single source solution for end-to-end supply chain management into and from the U.S. At the same time we connect the domestic customer base of One Source Logistics to Geodis Wilson’s global freight services.”

Geodis Wilson hopes to double its freight forwarding business in the U.S. within the next five years, based on external and organic growth.

Dick Armstrong, president of supply chain consultancy Armstrong & Associates, said that this non-asset expansion keeps the pattern established by Geodis in North
America, adding that it follows in the footsteps of the December 2008 acquisition of IBM’s global logistics flow management platform, a multi-year outsourcing cash deal.