April 2, 2024
Onward is excited to announce its acquisition of HOW Logistics Group – a fast growing and forward thinking logistics company led by previous third-party logistics providers (3PLs) industry executives. This strategic move allows Onward to strengthen its carrier network and scale its quality control as it continues its rapid growth, enhancing its offering to 3PLs and freight forwarders.
Partnering with four of the top 10 3PLs in the big and bulky industry, Onward is on a mission to fill the underutilized capacity on box truck fleets across the nation. Through a series of integrations with the leading final mile TMS softwares on the market, Onward extracts key data points to understand the real time capacity, performance and driving direction of local box truck companies. Then through a click of a button, its 3PL partners can easily access empty space in trucks that are already heading in the direction of their clients, removing the barriers to help defragment the carriers each 3PL has access to in any given market.
HOW Logistics Group, dubbed the “forwarder’s forwarder,” brings to Onward over 60 years of collective experience building, educating and managing agent networks within the last mile, white glove industry for the past 20 years. What makes HOW special is their unwavering commitment to supporting the local delivery companies through fair practices and a best in class LMS.
“For years the last mile, white glove, big and bulky vertical has struggled with understanding capacity, coverage and the true nature of partnership with the most important part of this being the final mile agent,” Steve Nelson, CEO of HOW Logistics Group, said. “Onward’s dynamic platform and marketplace brings together the opportunity to educate both the agent and forwarder on each other's KPI’s and align them under a single platform all striving towards a single north star. This alignment will develop standardization, more repeatable processes, influencing improved quality deliveries as well as gross margins for all parts of the supply chain. The true win-win all managed through a single platform that evolves with the needs of the marketplace.”
Echoing this enthusiasm, Grafton Elliott, CEO of Onward, emphasized the perfect synergy between the two companies.
“When working with the great 3PLs partners we have today, each of them are the experts in their prospective niches,” Elliott said. “Because of this, to provide true value to these experts, we need to have an extremely advanced product and top quality network. The data we leverage to allow 3PLs to connect to carriers in our network is best in class, and the knowledge on how to facilitate consistent quality standards and maintain a high performing network at scale is what Steve and his team are truly great at. Combining our technology with their expertise and carrier network is going to be a game changer for our 3PL partners. It’s a perfect fit at the perfect time as we attack this next evolution of the company. I couldn’t be happier to welcome everyone at HOW to the team.”
The acquisition underscores Onward’s dedication to maintaining the quality of its carrier network as the company rapidly scales and bolsters its offerings to its big and bulky forwarders and 3PLs.
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About Onward
Onward is revolutionizing the logistics industry by connecting 3PLs with the untapped potential of local delivery and moving companies. By focusing on solving the intricate challenges of big and bulky deliveries from the local agents point of view, Onward’s platform offers a dynamic solution that enhances efficiency, quality and carrier growth.
About HOW Logistics
With a rich history of fostering the agent networks of leading 3PLs, HOW Logistics stands as a beacon of innovation and excellence in the big and bulky delivery market. Their expertise and forward-thinking approach of building their network based on a carrier centric focus have made them an invaluable asset to the logistics community.
Media Contact
Grafton Elliott
grafton@onwarddelivery.com
