Transplace brings Lanehub into the fold in a strategic acquisition

Earlier this week, Dallas-based Transplace, a non asset-based third-party logistics services provider, said it has acquired Green Bay, Wis.-based Lanehub, a cloud-based platform and community focused on shipper-carrier collaboration by automatically identifying and connecting companies with complementary freight lanes to save on shipping expenses.

A purchase price was not disclosed for what Transplace called a strategic acquisition.

Lanehub’s software is geared towards matching recurring freight lanes on a consistent basis, resulting in reducing transportation cost, increasing fleet revenue, and also improving carrier service and performance, according to Transplace. And it added that the Lanehub network is comprised of more than 150 shipper members, 250 carrier members, 180,000 lanes, and more than $23 billion in truckload spend, with Lanehub customers having 26 million matches in the Lanehub network.

“The strategic acquisition of Lanehub reinforces Transplace’s mission to offer our customers the most advanced technologies, giving them a competitive advantage in the marketplace,” said Transplace CEO Frank McGuigan. “Lanehub’s customer-base and experience in the automotive, consumer packaged goods, food, retail and manufacturing industries complement our area of expertise. By joining Transplace and Lanehub software solutions, we will create incredible opportunities to connect and convert traditional one-way moves into more collaborative round trips, significantly reducing empty miles and poor asset utilization. In addition, the combination of the software advancements bolsters Transplace’s Dynamic Continuous Moves solutions. Leveraging its $9 billion transportation network, Transplace can identify and execute continuous move shipments for its customers, helping them increase truck utilization and reduce their overall carbon footprint – the average reduced in transportation costs has been an average of $140 per load.”

When asked what the biggest benefits of this strategic acquisition are for Transplace’s shipper customers, McGuigan explained that Transplace is committed to finding synergies for its customers and carriers to reduce costs and improve service, adding that Lanehub’s software brings automation and enhancements to Transplace’s current continuous moves program, and the Lanehub customer network expands the available opportunities for our combined shipper community. He also noted that Transplace is creating a team to assist Lanehub shippers with execution of identified and agreed upon continuous move opportunities, working as an intermediary for management, tendering, and freight payment activities between shippers, particularly with identified opportunities for private and dedicated fleets.

“By unifying the Transplace and Lanehub teams and technologies, we are reinforcing our ability to instantly identify millions of potential pairings for tendering loads in pairs as continuous moves versus a single load,” said McGuigan. “Powered by AI, machine learning, and data within our Transportation Management System (TMS), those pairings are then narrowed down based on key parameters, including rate, equipment type, number of empty miles, and other service and equipment requirements. We believe there are billions of dollars and billions of miles of waste in logistics networks in North America. We want not only to reduce that for shippers but to improve carrier operations so they have an upside as well.”

As for the competitive advantages of this deal for Transplace, McGuigan said that adding Lanehub’s expertise allows Transplace to more effectively create continuous moves across multiple customers within its network, helping them lock in capacity at competitive rates while driving empty miles and operational inefficiencies out of the supply chain.

“In a tight capacity market, creating continuous moves maintains carrier capacity within the Transplace network while providing value to our carrier partners,” he said. “Transplace customers participating in our continuous moves program have already experienced nearly $2 million in savings over 12K loads. With Lanehub, the cost savings will be enhanced significantly!”

Mark Hackl, founder and CEO of Lanehub, said in a statement that this acquisition paves the way for a successful future.

“This is a major milestone for our company because of how much more we can do as part of Transplace, a true leader in the global logistics industry,” he said. “With an industry leading technology platform and $9 billion in freight under management, Transplace opens the door to an unrivaled network of carriers and shippers for unsurpassed freight lane collaborations and transportation cost reductions. We have high expectations about the opportunities ahead for our teams and customers as we join the Transplace organization.”