Logistics Firm Vos Logistics Makes Strategic Acquisition To Expand Services In The Benelux Region

European logistics service provider Vos Logistics announced that it will acquire 100% of the shares of SNEL Shared Logistics, which is based in Woerden, the Netherlands, to strengthen its presence in the Benelux region. 

SNEL Shared Logistics operates a 65,000-square meter warehouse (m2) in Woerden, and is favourably positioned to offer logistics services to businesses and consumers in the Randstad region – home to four major cities in the Netherlands – Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Hague and Utrecht. 

The Woerden warehouse is also near the port of Rotterdam, the largest seaport in Europe, making it a valuable acquisition for Vos Logistics to further its plans for expansion in the niche of fine-meshed distribution, warehousing and cross-docking of goods. In the time of ecommerce and rapidly evolving consumer expectations, the well-established SNEL Share Logistics network in the Randstad area gives Vos Logistics improved scope in order fulfilment for customers in the region.

"By scaling up and digitizing business processes, we are able to deliver faster throughout the Benelux, better integrate with customers' systems and keep rising costs under control. In this way, we remain an attractive partner to work with," said Ben Vos, the chief financial officer at Vos Logistics. 

In the recent past, both companies have shown significant commitment to sustainable logistics, and as a consolidated company, Vos Logistics looks to continue down the same path. 

Frank Verhoeven, the CEO of Vos Logistics, explained that it was the company's prerogative to cater to the "growing demand for more efficient and sustainable mobility and logistics" that can be achieved by combining the freight volumes of both organizations to increase the overall occupancy rate of delivery vehicles. "This reduces CO₂ and nitrogen emissions, and enables us to respond in time to the energy transition for distribution in cities," he said. 

That said, Vos Logistics is much larger than SNEL Shared Logistics, currently employing 2,560 people and having a fleet of 1,250 vehicles and 250,000-m2 of storage capacity spread over a network of 30 branches across Europe. Albeit smaller, SNEL Shared Logistics holds a denser network in the Randstad region, which can be leveraged by Vos Logistics to improve its efficiency. 

Peter de Vries, director of SNEL Shared Logistics, commented that his company's takeover by Vos Logistics was a favourable move, bringing together the best of both worlds and helping both companies expand. He was also optimistic about the impact the merger would create for its employees, mentioning that this consolidation will provide an attractive perspective to workers and also help anticipate any looming scarcity in the labour market. 

In an internal letter to his employees, De Vries wrote that this was a decision taken after careful consideration of SNEL Shared Logistics' interests and the scope of its continuity as a logistics business. De Vries explained that for the company to surge ahead in its transition towards electric transport and expand on its fine-meshed distribution network, it required a partner that had the resources to make it happen. 

Currently, the acquisition is pending approval from the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). For Vos Logistics, this acquisition comes in quick succession to two other similar transactions. It acquired Dutch logistics companies Gebroeders Joosten in early 2018 and Gehlen Schols in November 2018. 

Image by Jason Goh from Pixabay