The Supply Chain Matters blog features its latest full edition of This Week in Supply Chain Technology. This column serves as a news capsule of specific developments occurring in the supply chain technology sector.
Featured names in this latest edition include Slync, Ryder System, IFS and Transfix.
Slync to Wind Down Operations
According to two published reports from supply chain focused media, freightech and Cloud based logistics visibility platform provider Slync is winding down operations and seeking an alternative form to bankruptcy. The action is termed an assignment for the benefit of the company’s creditors.
In early August of last year, Supply Chain Matters alerted readers to reports that this tech provider’s CEO and Board chair, Chris Kirchner, had been fired, amid allegations that he personally ordered the suspensions of a certain amount of current and former employees for speaking out internally or alleged, publicly, about their not being paid, and then retaliated by locking out certain other executives from their access to the company’s communication channels which he personally controlled.
The CEO was subsequently indicted on fraud charges for reportedly swindling $25 million from investors for personal use. The former CEO has since filed a lawsuit against his former employer for compensation of ongoing legal costs and indemnification. Reportedly, a legal team advising Slync has indicated that the company lacks sufficient liquidity to fund any advancement.
After the firing of the company’s former CEO, John Urban, who had previously founded Cloud based B2B supply chain platform provider GT Nexus, was tapped as CEO and Board chair.
The logistics orchestration platform provider was co-founded by Kirchner along with Chief Product Officer Rajan Patel in 2017. Early employees were enterprise software and artificial intelligence veterans with many coming from Salesforce.com. The founders described their notion of Slync to be an intelligent, blockchain-based platform revolutionizing how partners exchange value throughout the supply chain.
Reports at this point indicate that a likely option is for the supply chain tech provider to sell its intellectual property to a likely buyer.
Ryder Announces Acquisition of Contract Packaging Provider IFS
Ryder System announced a definitive agreement to acquire Impact Fulfillment Systems (IFS), a contract packaging production and warehouse services provider primarily catering to consumer product goods and healthcare companies.
IFS specializes in contract manufacturing, contract packaging and assembly, display engineering, product launches, multichannel programs, and club store programs and has operations among 15 U.S. states.
According to the announcement, Ryder will acquire 15 operations across Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and California.
The transaction is expected to add approximately $250 million in annual total revenue to Ryder’s supply chain solutions business segment and be accretive to shareholders. Ryder and IFS expect to complete the transaction in early November 2023, subject to satisfaction of antitrust approvals and customary closing conditions.
Commenting on the move, Steve Sensing, President of Supply Chain Solutions for Ryder indicated in the announcement: “The acquisition of IFS supports our strategy to accelerate growth in our supply chain business, providing Ryder with new capabilities that are complementary to our existing suite of services. Initially, the co-packaging and co-manufacturing services will roll into our CPG vertical; however, we see considerable opportunity to leverage these new capabilities across other industry verticals.”
Ryder indicated plans to retain IFS’ workforce of approximately 1,000 full-time employees. President of IFS Rob LeBaron will join Ryder as Vice President of Contract Manufacturing and Packaging.
No financial details or terms were shared regarding this transaction.
Transfix Closes $40 Million Series F Round
Cloud based digital freight platform provider Transfix recently announced the closing of a reported $40 million Series F funding round led by investors New Enterprise Associates and C Squared, with participation from Canvas.
According to the announcement, this new capital will further strengthen the tech provider’s financial position, support a path to profitability, and represent confidence from investors in the company’s differentiated approach targeting sophisticated shippers and mid-sized carriers.
Transfix reportedly connects shippers to nearly 30,000 carriers with real-time, many-to-many freight matching and the visibility needed to make their supply chains more efficient and environmentally responsible.
This column previously highlighted that in June of last year, Transfix had plans to partner in a SPAC arrangement that would have valued this tech provider at slightly over $1.1 billion, but the move had to be postponed. During that time period, the CEO of the company had stepped down and was succeeded by the company’s Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer. In October, the SPAC plan was terminated due to existing market conditions.
We would add that a Series F funding round has been rare in the current investment environment.
This concludes our latest full news capsule edition of Supply Chain Matters This Week in Supply Chain Tech. Our previous full edition was published on October 10th.
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