Transflo has acquired Markham, Ontario, Canada-based Microdea, a provider of document management workflow automation tools for the transport and logistics industries. Terms were not disclosed.
“We are extremely excited about joining forces with Microdea and adding its impressive product suite and client roster under the Transflo brand umbrella,” Frank Adelman, CEO of Transflo, said. “The transaction is a strategic step in growing our footprint in the key Canadian supply chain sector and will drive additional efficiencies and solutions to the market today.”
Microdea’s paperless Synergize platform is used by more than 400 companies to manage document flow, including same-day billing, cash flow and days sales outstanding. The company offers billing, collections, accounts payable and accounts receivable, driver recruitment and file management, and rate confirmations and carrier pay solutions for enterprise clients.
Adelman told FreightWaves that Microdea represents a complementary fit to Transflo with a similar business model.
“We saw this as an opportunity to expand our presence into a new region,” he said. “The industry has been steadily moving towards digital transformation, even more so now that the pandemic has disrupted essential businesses and the supply chain as a whole. The talent that Microdea brings to the table, along with its solutions, will facilitate the North American transportation industry’s transition into digital document management during a critical economic time.”
Microdea Origin is an end-to-end management tool for midsize customers that offers digital document transfer including bills of lading and management for quicker billing and payment processing.
Transflo, which is known for its mobile, telematics and business process automation tools, will combine its operations with Microdea’s employees, customer relationships and products. The combined business will operate under the Transflo brand as the leading provider of end-to-end supply chain solutions for shippers, freight brokers, carriers and drivers in North America.
Adelman noted that Microdea has a strong foothold in Canada and the two companies will be able to push benefits for both customer bases.
“Both companies have loyal existing customer bases, and the acquisition allows us to expand access to more products and services to more freight-related businesses,” Adelman said. “This merger is a cross-pollination between two market leaders in the North American supply chain and we’re excited to be a part of expanding solutions to the supply chain as a whole.”
The Transflo Digital Ecosystem incorporates telematics and the Transflo T-Series ELD, which is connected to both the vehicle and Transflo Mobile+ app via a driver’s mobile device. The company’s suite of solutions includes electronic bills of lading, electronic proof of delivery, Velocity+ broker services, document scanning, freight visibility, truck navigation and other features such as image optimization and digital workflow management tools.
Additionally, Adelman said that the increased bandwidth of the combined organizations will help Transflo continue to innovate “for digitized workflows within the supply chain and help mitigate these challenges within the industry.”
“Microdea has done an outstanding job in providing value and significant ROI to their customers. We hope to capitalize on those areas where they excel,” Adelman said.
Jonathan Cowie, general manager of Microdea, said, “The joint strength of Microdea and Transflo will solidify our position as a leading provider of best-in-class mobile and back-office workflow automation technology solutions in the transportation industry. We’re excited to join forces and help carriers and brokers get more value from their Microdea and Transflo technology investments.”
Transflo has made several announcements this year related to the digitization of the supply chain. In August, the company paired with Schneider (NYSE: SNDR) and TriumphPay to speed the payment process for Schneider’s brokers, carriers and shippers. According to Schneider, the pairing of Transflo with TriumphPay cuts the payment process from as much as 40 days to as little as two. Carriers using Transflo are able to quickly scan documents to confirm load completion and submit those documents within seconds. The carrier can then select their payment terms, including QuickPay, via TriumphPay.
It also reached a strategic collaboration with EKA Solutions to expand on a partnership first announced in 2018. The new agreement automatically transfers and indexes into EKA’s platform documents captured by Transflo’s mobile workflow.
With the transaction, Transflo will now have over 5,000 transportation-related customers in its network.
Click for more FreightWaves articles by Brian Straight.
You may also like:
Here’s where electric trucks make sense
Technology is changing the way freight brokerages operate
Trucking companies caught in Trump’s payroll tax deferment order