Trimble is to acquire privately-held Kuebix, a Massachusetts-based transportation management system (TMS) provider and creator of North America’s largest connected shipping community.
 
This acquisition will enable Trimble to bring together its network of private fleet and commercial carrier customers, which collectively represent more than 1.3 million commercial lorries in North America, with Kuebix’s community of more than 21,000 shipping companies, creating a platform for planning, execution and freight demand-capacity matching.
 
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of this year, subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
 
This acquisition will augment Trimble’s transportation technology portfolio and position Trimble to further its strategy to lead the industry’s transformation.
 
“Combining Kuebix’s innovative platform and rapidly-growing community of shippers with Trimble’s history of innovation, strength and scale will provide a transformative transportation supply chain that creates new opportunities for collaboration throughout the logistics ecosystem,” said James Langley, senior vice president at Trimble Transportation. “This combination will help carriers uncover inefficiencies in their network, make better decisions, optimise operations and transform the way the transportation industry works.”
 
Today, shippers, carriers and intermediaries operate with fragmented TMS software. The Kuebix acquisition will allow Trimble to break down technology barriers, enable actionable visibility and improve collaboration by delivering a single logistics platform for all participants in the supply chain. This software-as-a-service (SaaS), multi-tenant, cloud platform will optimise the entire logistics process from order management to financial settlement, improving efficiency and asset use for carriers and giving shippers access to expanded capacity and reduced costs.
 
“For more than a decade, Kuebix has served shippers with supply chains of all sizes and complexities, transparently connecting them directly to their carriers for the pricing, service levels and visibility they need to run their businesses,” said Dave Lemont, CEO of Kuebix. “We are excited to join Trimble and expand the investment in our platform to serve new audiences, and increase collaboration and savings for shippers and carriers alike.”
 
Kuebix provides a TMS that powers North America’s largest shipping community. It is transforming the transportation industry with a common TMS platform for shippers, carriers and intermediaries that enables more visibility and efficiency for the entire market. By connecting all logistics stakeholders on a single platform, shippers gain access to available capacity and competitive pricing, while brokers and carriers increase their business and gain better asset use. Kuebix is a modular platform that scales to meet the needs of supply chains of every size and level of complexity.
 
“The combination of Trimble and Kuebix will accelerate the realisation of our vision; a world where shippers, carriers and intermediaries leverage the same powerful TMS platform to provide the market with unprecedented levels of visibility and efficiency,” said Dan Clark, founder and president of Kuebix. “A single-platform TMS across all transportation modes will make it easier for shippers and carriers to plan their strategy, design an optimised transportation network, improve execution and more accurately manage settlements. When all players in the market work together, everyone wins.”
 
Kuebix’s business will be part of Trimble’s transportation sector. Kuebix is headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts.