Kewill brings IBM’s Sterling TMS into the fold

Multimodal transportation software provider Kewill recently announced it acquired the IBM Sterling Transportation Management system.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“The acquisition of the IBM Sterling TMS enhances Kewill’s position in the multimodal transportation management space, and in particular in the North American marketplace, enabling us to extend the range of solutions we offer to shippers and retailers,” states Bob Farrell, President and CEO at Kewill, in a statement. “We believe that strengthening our offering in this key market is vital to enhancing the value we deliver to our customers, partners, employees, and shareholders.”

IBM Sterling Transportation Management system is a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)-based multimodal transportation management system (TMS), which Kewill said will be rebranded as Kewill Transport and join the company’s MOVE multimodal transportation management platform. Kewill recently announced that MOVE is also now accessible via the Cloud.  IBM acquired Sterling Commerce, which was an AT&T subsidiary, for $1.4 billion in 2010. 

Kewill officials said that this deal will help to extend the TMS capabilities of its MOVE platform, adding that Kewill Transport optimizes and transforms supply chain networks by planning and executing inbound and outbound transportation processes. And they added that it connects a collaborative logistics network of carriers, shippers, and customers, automating the entire transportation management process.

Kewill CMO Evan Puzey told LM that the company said it felt the IBM Sterling TMS was the “right fit” to compliment the Kewill MOVE platform by including a best-of-breed Shipper focused TMS, adding that the IBM Sterling SaaS delivery model with full multi-tenancy will fit nicely into its Kewill MOVE on the Cloud solution set, which Kewill had been planning for several months.

“Kewill now offers the only truly multimodal transportation management platform from a single vendor built for the mid-tier shipper, distributor, retailer and logistics service provider,” said Puzey. “And Kewill is also the only supplier with a truly multimodal transportation management solution suite, which incorporates integrated multi-carrier parcel, fleet management, warehousing, customs, compliance and visibility.”

When asked what the biggest competitive advantages of this acquisition are for Kewill, Puzey said that it significantly enhances Kewill’s position in the shipper space and its domain expertise in transportation for the North American market, augmenting its leadership position in Europe and Asia.

“We can now provide the systems that support best practice processes designed, delivered and supported by industry experts,” he said.
Another factor he cited is Kewill having the single biggest carrier network in the U.S., with nearly 16,000 carriers connected, which makes on-boarding shipper clients faster as it will have most, if not all, of their contract carriers already connected.