Wincanton is buying the rights to Zeus’s cargo management technology in the UK and Ireland.
British grocery’s leading logistics provider has landed an exclusive deal with Zeus – one of the fastest-growing supply chain technology startups in Europe – to own the evergreen rights to its digital freight management software.
Zeus will effectively withdraw from servicing the UK market as part of the deal, however it will continue to operate from its London headquarters.
The tech company’s Freight Connect and Freight Command software has taken the supply chain sector by storm in recent years, as it optimises freight management via a digital platform that connects hauliers in real time to local businesses in need of transportation.
It also allows shippers to automate a lot of their subcontracting processes, while giving drivers a user-friendly app that allows them to easily access their routes.
The deal builds on Wincanton’s ambitions to grow its EyeQ division, a digital transportation planning and optimisation product that gives customers better visibility of their supply chain, as well as better data and insight.
The company will integrate Zeus’s software with its own EyeQ technology.
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Meanwhile, the deal will allow Zeus to “invest in its next growth phase and strategic direction”, it said, taking its sustainable freight management solutions to other markets across Europe as well as other target markets such as India.
“For an angel-funded business to achieve a partnership of this magnitude, against these economic challenges, just shows what can be achieved with a clear business mission to move a market forward,” said Zeus co-founder Clemente Theotokis.
“With Wincanton, we have found a partner who shares this vision, with the scale and scope to make a dramatic difference to the sustainability of freight in this country, now and into the future.”
The move came shortly after Wincanton announced it was being bought by French logistics giant CMA CGM for £567m.
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Wincanton’s strategy director Daniel Porte said: “Our agreement with Zeus for the exclusive use of its proven technology will greatly enhance our customer and subcontraction solutions.
“By investing in innovation, we are transforming subcontractor management and supercharging Wincanton’s capabilities as the supply chain partner of choice.”
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