Redwood Logistics said Tuesday that it has acquired Rockfarm Supply Chain Solutions and Global Distribution and Logistics, a move that Redwood’s CEO said will enhance the company’s geographic scope and add a strong customer base for what he termed its “modern 4PL” services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Based in Dubuque, Iowa, and founded in 2008, Rockfarm is strong in the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains, areas where Redwood’s presence isn’t as strong, said Mark A. Yeager, Redwood’s CEO, who pointed out that Rockfarm adds international freight forwarding, trade compliance and customs brokerage capabilities to Redwood’s portfolio. Redwood’s North American footprint includes a sizable position in cross-border services with Mexico.
Under 4PL services, a business outsources its entire supply chain management and logistics to one external service provider. Yeager said Redwood’s 4PL services focus on “orchestration” and go beyond the traditional execution capabilities of a third-party logistics partner.
Chicago-based Redwood’s three businesses are managed transportation, digital freight brokerage and IT-driven optimization and installation work. The acquisition of Rockfarm adds a large layer of loyal customers to Redwood’s customer base, Yeager said.
Rockfarm “has long, established customer relationships, multiyear in nature,” said Yeager. “They are bringing in great relationships.”
The combined entity will bring $5.5 billion in Redwood’s total freight under management between its 3PL and 4PL services, Redwood said.
Rockfarm brings a long history of integrating the MercuryGate suite of products and optimizing freight data, Redwood said in a statement.
“Redwood will continue to implement and integrate multiple Transportation Management Systems with a … TMS-agnostic approach, now with dozens of integrators each for MercuryGate and Oracle product suites, along with a variety of other TMS systems and FreightTech apps leveraged across the RedwoodConnect open ecosystem,” the company said in the statement.
Rockfarm will initially operate as a separate entity but eventually will be brought under the Redwood umbrella, Yeager said. Rockfarm’s ownership, key leadership, management teams will operate as Redwood employees. Rockfarm’s Dubuque operations center will continue as a Redwood logistics center.