Trimble exec provides additional details about acquisition of Kuebix

As reported in our online news section last week, the acquisition of Maynard, Mass.-based TMS provider and creator of the North America’s largest connected shipping community Kuebix by Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Trimble, a provider of end-to-end technology solutions to for-hire motor carriers, private fleets, freight brokerage, and third-party logistics providers, was made official. 

When Trimble initially announced in January that it planned to acquire Kuebix, it explained that Kuebix will enable the company to mesh its private fleet and commercial carrier customer network, which is comprised of more than 1.3 million North America-based commercial trucks, with the more than 21,000 shipping companies network, which, in turn, it said, will form what it called a powerful new platform for planning, executing, and freight demand capacity-matching.

After the deal was made official, I reached out to Trimble with some additional questions about the deal, in terms of things like the integration process and next steps, with Kuebix in the fold, as well as trying to get some color on the biggest competitive advantages of this deal in a marketplace that is far from short of both established and emerging players.

I learned a fair amount about these things from Trimble Transportation Senior Vice President James Langley.

Regarding the integration process and next steps, Langley explained Trimble acquired Kuebix to develop a next-generation transportation management system (TMS) that enables shippers and carriers to collaborate more closely in one platform.

With the acquisition now closed, new opportunities will be created over time as collaboration accelerates to extend the Kuebix multi-tenant, cloud-based TMS platform to carriers and intermediaries,” he said. “We are already working on a common roadmap across all Trimble Transportation and Kuebix. We are adding resources to deliver to our expanded vision.”

From a branding perspective, Langley said that the acquisition of Kuebix is a key proof point that shows Trimble is delivering on its transformational vision to enable a truly connected supply chain. And he added that, over time, Kuebix will be integrated as part of the Trimble Transportation master brand.

As for the competitive advantages for Trimble now that Kuebix is in the fold, Langley had plenty to say.

“One of the unique aspects of this acquisition is that it augments Trimble’s comprehensive transportation technology portfolio and positions us to further our strategy to lead the industry’s transformation,” he said. “We are not aware of anyone in the industry with this large of a community providing deep transportation planning and execution capabilities to run both shipper transportation departments, 3PL and brokerage operations and carrier operations.”

What’s more, he also noted that connecting carriers and shippers in the same TMS, along with the ability to integrate with carrier telematics data, enables significant cost savings, advanced visibility into freight capacity and where shipments are, and improves operations by connecting the entire ecosystem holistically.

With so many players on the cutting edge of freight transportation and logistics technology, especially as it relates to things like TMS, freight brokerage, and securing capacity, among others, it stands to reason that Trimble’s acquisition of Kuebix will resonate in a crowded and competitive marketplace.