Rumours that AP Moller Maersk is in discussions to take over Hamburg-based freight forwarder Senator International reinforces the company’s repeatedly articulated ambition to extend the scope of its service offering beyond shipping.
Senator specialises in international freight, with its main focus on air and sea freight, as well as logistics, packaging and customs services.
According to news portal EXbulletin, talks are “at an advanced stage”.
Maersk’s integration of the Safmarine and Damco brands last year was described by the company as a means of improving end-to-end service delivery and providing an integrated offering.
And this year’s many acquisitions are part and parcel of the company’s integration ambitions.
In September it announced the acquisition of HUUB, a Portuguese cloud-based logistics start-up, specialising in technology solutions for B2C warehousing for the fashion industry.
The company is described as “a disruptive force, which, according to Vincent Clerc, APM executive vice president and CEO of ocean & logistics, would help to accelerate the development of Maersk’s omni-channel offering.
Earlier this month, it announced that it had completed the acquisition of Netherlands-based B2C Europe. The 20-year-old- European logistics company focuses on business-to-consumer (B2C) parcel delivery services in Europe – with particular emphasis on cross-border deliveries
“With B2C Europe, we are closing the circle around our e-commerce logistics expansion,” Clerc said at the time.
Carriers have, however, had some run-ins with competition authorities in various places, based on their leverage of their dominant positions. As they go down the integration road, they could become more vulnerable to attack on that front, SA Association of Freight Forwarders director Mike Walwyn told Freight News earlier this year.
And Maersk is not the only carrier encroaching on forwarders’ territory. Following the acquisition of Ceva, CMA CGM Group chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saadé commented: “With Ceva, CMA CGM has confirmed its position as a worldwide maritime transport and logistics group. We can now offer our customers a complete range of solutions that meet all their needs and set us apart from the competition.”
