As a disruptive force in the e-commerce space, the acquisition of HUUB strengthens Maersk´s technology capabilities, bringing the attributes of a modern entrepreneurial agile workplace.
HUUB is a Portuguese tech start-up founded in 2015 that proposes a fully digital, end-to-end, and omnichannel experience of the supply chain with a particular focus on the fashion industry.
The platform manages all fundamentals of a logistics operation, such as inventory, fulfillment and delivery. At the same time, it connects with the other business parties like warehouses, carriers, online stores, and ERP systems in a plug & play solution.
Thus, HUUB becomes the orchestrator of all the relevant stakeholders of a supply chain, promoting an ecosystem where suppliers meet brands and brands meet clients in a single source of truth.
Once HUUB´s technology is embedded into Maersk’s existing solutions, customers will get fully integrated Maersk e-commerce logistics products with user-friendly customer and partner interfaces. Furthermore, Maersk customers will have a single source of truth for stock visibility.
“Since day one, HUUB has had two main purposes: disruption and scale. Disruption to have the capacity – and courage – to say that a multi-billion dollar industry needs a digital revolution and to envision and create a revolutionary supply chain platform and ecosystem” – explains HUUB CEO Tiago Paiva. -„In addition, there is the scale that allows disruption to occur, feeding it with the volumes that can make a difference.”
Maersk Growth, the corporate venture arm of A.P. Moller – Maersk, first engaged with HUUB in May 2019 as they believe collaboration with start-ups is an important lever for innovation. With this acquisition by Maersk, Maersk Growth as well as the rest of the investors are exiting the company.
To strengthen its integrated logistics offering, Maersk set out two and a half years ago on an M&A journey, acquiring Vandegrift, a customs broker; Performance Team, a warehousing and distribution specialist and, KGH a Customs Services. In earlier August 2021, Maersk expanded its e-commerce footprint by announcing the acquisition of Visible MSC and its intention to acquire Europe B2C.
HUUB is the third acquisition within e-commerce Logistics, underlining that this is a new and important strategic focus area towards delivering integrated logistics to customers.