CMA CGM gains access to new e-commerce capabilities via its La Poste partnership

[caption id="attachment_76185" align="alignleft" width="298"] Cathy Roberson, Cargo Facts Consulting senior consultant and Air Cargo World columnist[/caption] Ocean freight carrier CMA CGM is extending its reach further into supply chains with the partnership between its logistics subsidiary CEVA Logistics and French postal operator La Poste. The memorandum of understanding, announced last week, establishes a closer business relationship between the La Poste subsidiary GeoPost and CEVA Logistics by capitalizing on their respective expertise, services and areas of operation in parcel delivery, transportation and storage. “I am very pleased with this partnership with La Poste that allows two French leaders to combine their expertise to strengthen each other,” Rodolphe Saade, chief executive of CMA CGM, said in a statement. “La Poste will be able to rely on our international network as well as on the expertise of our subsidiary CEVA Logistics in certain key businesses, just as we will be able to rely on theirs. This partnership will allow us to extend our service offering for our respective customers.” Both businesses should benefit from this partnership in terms of volume growth and geographic reach. GeoPost delivered 2.1 billion parcels worldwide in 2021. It also has created an air network through partnership agreements and equity investments. For example, it owns 35% of Sodexi, a joint venture with Air France Cargo that provides express operations. Sodexi operates from Chronopost’s Roissy-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) hub and delivers parcels to 230 destinations worldwide. Chronopost is part of GeoPost and is an express parcel delivery provider. GeoPost also oversees Asendia, a cross-border e-commerce platform formed in 2012 through a strategic alliance between La Poste and Swiss Post. Asendia offers logistics services for cross-border shipments of small goods and mail from 18 countries in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Through its subsidiary eShopWorld, it provides technology tools to brands to manage cross-border with a customer experience equivalent to domestic transactions. In 2022, Asendia USA announced its partnership with DPDgroup , GeoPost’s European parcel delivery network, to offer U.S.-based online retailers e-commerce parcel delivery services to Europe via the DPDgroup delivery network. CMA CGM will gain last-mile and express capabilities, complementing its ocean freight shipping and forwarding and logistics expertise through CEVA. The La Poste partnership is like a missing puzzle piece that CMA CGM and CEVA have been lacking. It will help drive more e-commerce volume into CMA-CGM and CEVA’s networks. CMA CGM’s strategy is easier to understand than Maersk’s strategy. Both ocean freight carriers have similar goals – to provide end-to-end solutions – but they are approaching that goal differently. CMA CGM is relying heavily on CEVA by incorporating these partnerships and acquisitions under the CEVA umbrella. It also has a strong French nationalistic feel with many of its relationships based in France, including CEVA, La Poste, its own partnership with Air France-KLM and rumors of either a GEODIS or Bollore Logistics acquisition. In contrast, Maersk’s strategy is not nationalistic; it has acquired last-mile capabilities via Pilot Freight Services, Visible Supply Chain Management and B2C Europe acquisitions. What’s similar with CMA CGM and Maersk is the desire to provide end-to-end supply chain solutions, disrupting not only the 3PL and freight forwarding markets but also the last-mile and express markets, putting the likes of DHL, FedEx and UPS on notice.

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