Accel-KKR completes acquisition of Navis

(Posted on 05/07/21)

Navis, the provider of operational technologies and services that unlock greater performance and efficiency for leading organizations throughout the global cargo handling industry, today announced that leading technology investment firm Accel-KKR has completed the acquisition of Navis LLC with all business units and employees transferred by the end of 2021. The acquisition was first announced in March 2021.

The acquisition comes at a time of unprecedented demand for optimized operating solutions among terminal, vessel, carrier and inland rail freight operators, as well as the urgent call for enhanced visibility and control of cargo flow across the global supply chain. Navis, together with Accel-KKR, is well-positioned to accelerate organic and strategic investments to bring greater efficiency, control and predictability to ocean and landside logistics through advanced technology.

“Weaknesses in our global supply chains have been tested during this pandemic and the results have been telling. These disruptions have created more urgency for advanced technology to better plan, execute and optimize cargo movement in order to provide a more predictable delivery experience for all shipping partners,” said Park Durrett, Managing Director of Accel-KKR. “With the addition of Navis to the AKKR portfolio, we’re building on a strong foundation and extending capabilities to deliver greater value and more actionable insights for supply chain stakeholders.”

Together, Accel-KKR and Navis will focus on continued expansion of existing solutions to provide greater customer value through:

?     Optimization of Operational Systems: Navis will further optimize planning processes, execution and visibility and control of operations through tapping more real-time operational data and use of AI/ML to make operations more intelligent and predictive for operators and their customers around the world.

?     Visibility and Control: A recent report from Gartner estimates that the North American freight visibility market will reach $1B by 2024, up from $300M in 2020. Shippers, terminal operators, carriers and other stakeholders are grappling with the need for greater visibility across the supply chain. Mission critical information systems have proven their value over and over again in better operational decisions taken. Navis will extend operational capabilities to enable these critical systems to play an essential role in future end-to-end supply chain visibility, control and performance.

?     Cloud Technology: The cloud technology era is increasingly influencing the way mission critical operating systems and software are developed and deployed. Nearly 80% of Navis customers surveyed in 2020 indicated they are considering moving their software to the cloud to increase their operational performance, improve flexibility, security and disaster recovery plans.

?     Strategic M&A: Through the acquisition of added key capabilities across the supply chain, Navis and Accel-KKR will continue to invest in solutions that can be integrated to improve operations and performance within and between critical supply chain nodes, further improving the flow of cargo.

?     Sustainability: With environmental sustainability gathering momentum as an industry priority, companies need solutions to help them operate more sustainably and comply with evolving global regulations. From software designed to reduce energy consumption in terminal operations, to calculating CO2 emissions for container moves, vessels and fleets through Navis Carrier & Vessel Solutions, the company will continue to pursue avenues to support decarbonization of global shipping.

“The acquisition marks a thrilling new chapter for the entire Navis team and our customers we proudly serve around the world,” said Benoit de la Tour, President and CEO, Navis. “Accel-KKR’s proven track record in growing supply chain software companies, combined with our market leadership position, will enable us to accelerate innovation and address rapidly-evolving challenges impacting the flow of cargo globally. We’re eager to see what the future holds and what we can accomplish together.”

Accel-KKR’s acquisition, which will complete the transfer of all business units by the end of 2021, includes Navis’ full software portfolio, including N4, Master Terminal and Octopi by Navis terminal operating systems (TOS), Navis Carrier & Vessel Solutions (NCVS), as well as Navis Rail Intermodal TOS and Freight Rail Planning & Scheduling, powered by Biarri Rail. Finally, all current Navis employees will remain with the company, operating under the direction of the existing leadership team, led by Benoit de la Tour.

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