Summary: Last week, Transplace announced that it was acquiring SCO Logistics, a Philadelphia-based 3PL serving the chemical industry. I shared my initial reaction to this deal in last Friday’s “This Week in Logistics News” posting. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak with Tom Sanderson, President and CEO of Transplace, and Frank McGuigan, President and CEO of SCO Logistics, to gain additional insights and perspectives on this deal. Here are some of the questions and topics that we discussed: Based on the press release, it seems that SCO's experience in the chemical industry was a key factor in Transplace’s decision to acquire them. Why is the chemical industry--and SCO's experience serving this industry--attractive to Transplace? Transplace's tagline is "The 3PL and Technology Company" and SCO had "Powerful Logistics and Technology Solutions" prominently displayed on its website. Technology, therefore, is core to the business models of both companies. What role did this alignment play in the acquisition? What role will technology continue to play moving forward? What does this acquisition mean for existing clients? How will it benefit them? M&A activity is starting to heat up in the 3PL industry, and this probably won't be the last acquisition for Transplace. Why is M&A activity on the rise again? What is Transplace's M&A philosophy--i.e., what do you look for in a candidate, what are you trying to achieve in making an acquisition, what are the potential risks involved and how do you mitigate them? Our recorded conversation is the inaugural edition of Viewpoints On the Air, our new podcast series where we discuss emerging trends and breaking news in the supply chain and logistics industry. You can listen to my conversation with Tom and Frank below. Viewpoints On the Air will soon be available on iTunes too (we’ll let you know how to subscribe when it becomes available).
