One of the best-known names in truck rentals and logistics has acquired one of the oldest and most prominent names in U.S. ecommerce distribution.

Ryder System Inc. — which manages nearly 239,000 commercial vehicles and operates more than 330 warehouses, encompassing more than 80 million square feet — has acquired Dotcom Distribution.

Maria Haggerty, CEO, Dotcom Distribution

Based in Edison, New Jersey, Dotcom Distribution was an early pioneer in U.S. B2B and B2C ecommerce. The company has been in business for 22 years and currently operates 12.8 million square feet of warehouse space. It also ships about 5.3 million ecommerce orders annually and manages more than 100,000 SKUs, the company says.

Terms of the deal were not announced. But Dotcom Distribution founder and CEO Maria Haggerty and the company’s operations team, totaling approximately 100 full-time employees, will join Ryder. Dotcom Distribution’s ecommerce and retail customers include FAO Schwarz, Bliss, and others.

Ryder gains Dotcom’s ecommerce experience

Steve Sensing, president, Supply Chain Solutions and Dedicated Transportation Solutions, Ryder System Inc.

“Dotcom Distribution has been doing e-fulfillment since ecommerce was still in its infancy,” says Ryder president of supply chain solutions Steve Sensing. “Maria and her team bring 22 years of knowledge, expertise, and experience in helping customers weather market fluctuations — that’s a big benefit for Ryder.”

Ryder, an 89-year-old Miami company, provides:

• Full-service truck and vehicle leasing, rental, and maintenance
• Used vehicle sales
• Transportation management
• Professional drivers
• Ecommerce fulfillment
• Last-mile delivery services

The company, which generated 2021 revenue about of about $9.66 billion, is making ecommerce logistics and last-mile delivery a key strategic initiative and growth opportunity. And it’s doing so primarily through acquisition and start-up financing.

In January, to grow and diversify its range of logistics services to ecommerce companies, Ryder acquired Whiplash for approximately $480 million in cash. Whiplash is a national fulfillment and logistics services provider.

Whiplash brings access to ports and gateway markets

Based in City of Industry, California, Whiplash provides ecommerce and fulfillment services to more than 250 brands. Whiplash operates 19 warehouses totaling 7 million square feet. It also provides access to “key port operations and gateway markets,” the company says.

In November 2021, Ryder also acquired Midwest Warehouse and Distribution, a warehousing, distribution, and transportation company based in Woodbridge, Illinois, for $284 million.

“Our two recent supply chain acquisitions, Whiplash and Midwest Warehouse and Distribution System, continue to perform well and were accretive to earnings. These acquisitions support our strategy to accelerate growth in our asset-light supply chain business,” says Ryder CEO Robert Sanchez. “Whiplash significantly grows our fulfillment network with scalable ecommerce and omnichannel fulfillment solutions, and Midwest expands our multi-client warehousing offering.”

The company’s investment arm corporate venture capital fund, Ryder Ventures, is investing $50 million over five years in companies creating solutions in ecommerce fulfillment, asset sharing, next generation vehicles, supply chain automation, and data analytics.

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