Maersk spending close to $1bn to beef up its e-commerce logistics offerings

The transformation of A.P. Moller – Maersk under CEO Soren Skou enters a new, important chapter today with the decision to acquire two e-commerce logistics companies, helping the Danish giant build an asset-light business based on e-commerce technology across Europe, US and Asia and further blurring the lines between container carrier and express operator.

“Fast-changing consumer buying patterns and digital platforms are accelerating online consumption, redefining business models across the globe,” Maersk pointed out in a release today. Many Maersk customers are seeing strong e-commerce sales growth as they roll out digital first strategies and are looking for support of their business-to-consumer supply chain growth.

“The acquisitions will provide Maersk with a strong growth platform in the rapidly evolving field of e-commerce, where our investments in digitalisation and integration will create significant synergies and make a big difference for customers’ ability to sell across multiple channels effectively. Furthermore, they will allow us to have a more comprehensive offering towards small and medium sized customers,” said Maersk Ocean & Logistics CEO Vincent Clerc.

Within e-commerce Logistics, Maersk is building an asset-light, global business focused on two core capabilities: B2C fulfilment and B2C delivery.

Visible SCM enables e-commerce businesses to ship and compete with the biggest brand names out there today. Visible SCM uses a geographical network that places fulfillment centers closer to the consumer, with less distance and faster delivery. Maersk’s customers can tap into Visible SCM’s e-commerce network to deliver goods to 75% of the US population within 24 hours and reaching 95% of the US geography within a two-day delivery window.

B2C Europe, meanwhile, is in parcel delivery services for both retailers and brands as well as for logistics operators, with a focus on cross-border deliveries.