Consultant Insight: The e-commerce logistics race is between two unlikely providers

Container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM jumped headfirst this week into the global e-commerce logistics market by acquiring parts of technology distributor Ingram Micro’s Commerce & Lifecycle Services business for $3 billion. [caption id="attachment_69752" align="alignright" width="298"] Cathy Roberson, Cargo Facts Consulting senior consultant and Air Cargo World columnist[/caption] Flush with cash thanks to exceptionally strong ocean freight demand due to inventory replenishments, Maersk and CMA CGM have been in a race to acquire and piece together an end-to-end supply chain focused on e-commerce logistics. Estimated at $4.9 trillion, the global e-commerce market is expected to grow 12.7% to $5.5 trillion in 2022, according to market research firm eMarketer. The logistics surrounding e-commerce is no longer the domain of just a few. Instead, we’re seeing many types of players entering the e-commerce logistics market. Third-party logistics providers (3PLs) such as DSV, Kuehne+Nagel, DB Schenker and SEKO Logistics, the integrators, FedEx, DHL and UPS, and technology-enabled startups are all investing resources in transportation, fulfillment, reverse logistics and last-mile solutions to address the speed that is often required with e-commerce. Meanwhile, Maersk, CMA CGM and other container shipping companies are expanding into end-to-end supply chain capabilities to move from shipping containers from port to port to shipping from door to door, according to Maersk Chief Executive Soren Skou . While Maersk has made several acquisitions in recent years including U.S.-based Visible Supply Chain Management LLC and Performance Team and Netherlands-based B2C, CMA CGM has made a bigger splash by establishing a French Air Operator Certificate and plans to launch service with 777 freighters in 2022. Earlier this year, it acquired four ex-Qatar Airways A330-200Fs, which are operated on a CMI basis by Air Belgium. By owning both physical air and ocean assets as well as a leading freight forwarder, CEVA Logistics, CMA CGM is able to provide more capacity and speed options for international cross-border e-commerce and other goods. CMA CGM’s latest acquisition, Ingram Micro’s Commerce & Lifecycle Services business (CLS), will be integrated into its logistics and forwarding subsidiary CEVA, which, as a result, will become the fourth largest global provider of contract logistics services and will compete head-to-head with top contract logistics providers, DHL, Kuehne+Nagel, GXO and others. The CLS business will provide CEVA with e-commerce capabilities such as reverse logistics management, parcel visibility, and same-day delivery. But an even bigger capability is Shipwire, acquired by Ingram Micro in 2013. At the time of acquisition, Shipwire was the leading on-demand fulfillment platform. Today, it continues to provide on-demand fulfillment services and also as a plug and play service for use on such online platforms as Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Magento and Big Commerce. “Shipwire will be able to access CMA CGM’s client base of more than 100,000 customers and CEVA’s warehouses to accelerate its development and extend its global footprint,” according to the announcement . “Together, CEVA Logistics and the CLS business will be one of the world’s leading end-to-end eCommerce services.” CMA CGM’s subsidiary NewOxatis, a publisher of e-commerce solutions, could possibly be integrated into CEVA Logistics as an additional service. In October, a partnership with Big Commerce was announced that would allow NewOxatis’ merchants to build digital storefronts powered by BigCommerce. “Through this partnership with a global ecommerce leader like BigCommerce and through the complementary expertise that exists within our Group, we can develop ecommerce and digital marketing solutions for our clients and also manage the entire logistics chain,” said Michael Miramond, chief digital officer of the CMA CGM Group and CEO of NewOxatis. “This partnership is fully in line with the CMA CGM Group's commitment to accelerate innovation and digitalization of its industry by providing an end-to-end digital offering to its customers.”

Consultant Insight: The e-commerce logistics race is between two unlikely providers

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