Ryder announces intent to acquire Impact Fulfillment Services

Miami-based freight transportation and logistics services provider Ryder System Inc. said today it has inked a definitive agreement to acquire the outstanding equity of IFS Holdings LLC, also known as Impact Fulfillment Services (IFS), a provider of contract packaging, contract manufacturing, and warehousing services for shippers in the consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail, and healthcare sectors.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Ryder did state that, as per the terms of the transaction, it will acquire 15 IFS locations in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and California. Ryder added that it expects bringing IFS into the fold to add roughly $250 million in annual total revenue to Ryder’s supply chain solutions group, with the deal expected to be made official in early November.

Established in 1998, Burlington, N.C.-based IFS brings a blue-chip customer base to Ryder, as well as a proven model for co-packing and co-manufacturing for food and non-food products, which includes a specialty in blending and filling dry powder and viscous products, according to Ryder officials.

“The acquisition of IFS supports our strategy to accelerate growth in our supply chain business, providing Ryder with new capabilities that are complementary to our existing suite of services,” says Steve Sensing, president of supply chain solutions for Ryder, in a statement. “Initially, the co-packaging and co-manufacturing services will roll into our CPG vertical; however, we see considerable opportunity to leverage these new capabilities across other industry verticals.”

In an interview, Sensing told LM that as part of Ryder’s strategy to grow its supply chain business, the company is always looking for new capabilities that complement its existing products and services. And this is where, he noted, this acquisition makes sense for Ryder, IFS provides co-packaging and co-manufacturing for customers primarily in the consumer packaged goods (CPG), retail, and health/beauty industries, where Ryder provides fully integrated port-to-door logistics services.

And he explained that this deal brings myriad benefits for Ryder’s shipper customers.

“Many of our customers come to us, because they’re looking for fully integrated, port-to-door logistics services,” he said. “With the acquisition of IFS, Ryder customers will have access to contract packaging and contract manufacturing, as well the supply chain and transportation expertise to speed their products to market. That is a very rare in this business. For warehousing operations dedicated to a specific customer, keeping the co-packaging and co-manufacturing in house can increase efficiencies and eliminate extra costs related to additional transportation, warehousing, and product handling needs. With the multiclient facilities, they are built to serve multiple customers, making them a good option for smaller startups where dedicated co-packing and co-manufacturing lines don’t yet make sense. They’re also a good option for larger companies with overflow or increased seasonal volumes.”

When asked how Ryder previously worked with customers in the segments and verticals IFS serves, Sensing said that Ryder provides dedicated and multiclient warehousing and distribution management, including automation technology, LEAN process engineering, facility design, labor hiring and management, some co-packing, and visibility tools to optimize customer operations.

What’s more, he also observed that Ryder provides cross-docking, secure cross-border capabilities, e-commerce and omnichannel fulfillment, and proprietary technology for end-to-end visibility and collaboration across the supply chain, in addition to dedicated transportation solutions with professional drivers, freight management and brokerage, truckload capacity, and transportation management, as well as truck leasing, rental and maintenance.

As for the main competitive advantages of this deal for Ryder, Sensing said that today Ryder does do some co-packing but only when it’s integrated into a warehouse and distribution operation.

“So, think about items packaged specifically for a particular retailer or for seasonal promotion, for example,” he said. “We have not done co-packaging as a standalone service, and we have not done co-manufacturing. Adding these capabilities will enable us to attract new customers. We see overlap between the Ryder and IFS customer bases as well as in our pipelines. We think this acquisition will allow us to strengthen relationships with our existing customers while also attracting new customers, and we see considerable opportunity to leverage the new capabilities across our other industry verticals.”

Looking ahead, Ryder said it will integrate the IFS facilities and operations into its supply chain solutions business, including nine multiclient and six dedicated customer operations, totaling just under four million square feet. And Ryder said it plans to retain IFS’ workforce of approximately 1,000 full-time employees, with IFS President Rob LeBaron joining Ryder as vice president of contract manufacturing and packaging.

“As we considered the next step in our growth strategy, it became clear that joining Ryder would open doors in just about every industry vertical while allowing our marquee customer base to leverage Ryder’s comprehensive suite of services,” said LeBaron in a statement.