Phoenix announced the sale of Global Freight Solutions (GFS), a leading Enterprise Carrier Management (ECM) company, to industry-leading e-commerce fulfillment specialists International Logistics Group Ltd (ILG), part of the Yusen Logistics/NYK group of companies. Launched more than 20 years ago, GFS pioneered ECM technology and multi-carrier parcel services.
Since investing, Phoenix has worked alongside GFS CEO Neil Cotty and the management team to develop and enhance GFS’ suite of software solutions. And Phoenix has also helped to transform the company’s sales and marketing approach, a combination that has seen GFS double in revenue and profitability during the firm’s investment period.
GFS now offers single access to over 1,000 shipping lanes across more than 220 countries in the UK and worldwide, backed by technology that automates and simplifies multi-carrier shipping from checkout to doorstep and back again. This acquisition by ILG will allow GFS to accelerate the development of its multi-carrier ECM platform and leverage the capabilities and infrastructure of the wider Yusen Logistics group to provide B2B and B2C customers with global end-to-end support across the entire supply chain.
KEY QUOTES:
“GFS has transformed in recent years, and Phoenix has been instrumental in helping us on that journey. They understood our ambition and supported us in the delivery of our growth objectives. We are entering a very exciting new phase for GFS – the partnership and synergies with ILG and the wider group will help us realise our vision. It allows us to offer our B2B and B2C customers greater cost-benefits, unrivalled services, and expertise across every aspect of their supply chain, in every corner of the world.”
– Neil Cotty, CEO of GFS
“GFS is a fantastic software-driven services business, and we have thoroughly enjoyed working with Neil and his team to grow and develop the company over the last few years. The company looks very different to the one we first met – we’ve invested across all areas of the business, most noticeably in further developing the technology proposition and product suite, whilst also transforming the sales and marketing approach. GFS provides a win-win solution for its customers and suppliers and its rapid growth reflects that, with the business currently onboarding more customers than ever before. We wish Neil and the team all the best in what promises to be a very exciting future.”
– Mark Sargeant, Partner at Phoenix
