XPO Logistics & US LTL: Scaling via M&A
Former Head of M&A and Data Science at XPO Logistics
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Former Head of M&A and Data Science at XPO Logistics
The expert is the former Head of M&A and Data Science at XPO Logistics, where he oversaw 400 deals, focused on customer-centric technologies and data strategies. Prior to XPO, the expert served as the Chief Supply Chain Officer and President at Inditex, where he was responsible for the merchandising strategy, inventory management, and distribution. He oversaw the construction of a 5 million square foot distribution facility in Spain. He also developed predictive modeling algorithms for inventory and demand management.
Interview Transcript
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I've been studying the transport sector for a while, particularly the LTL market. It's fascinating to see the variety of growth models. Old Dominion grew almost entirely organically. XPO rolled everything up. My initial question is why choose to grow through acquisitions instead of organically?
Brad's acquisition strategy was aggressive, to the point of considering the purchase of Old Dominion, which would have doubled the size of the company. However, the family had no interest in pursuing this.
This is a snippet of the transcript, sign up to read more.
I've been studying the transport sector for a while, particularly the LTL market. It's fascinating to see the variety of growth models. Old Dominion grew almost entirely organically. XPO rolled everything up. My initial question is why choose to grow through acquisitions instead of organically?
XPO LTL also grew by acquisition, which meant we had to spend a lot of time integrating software systems. We quickly realized we were not as efficient as we needed to be, driving our prices up to maintain our margins. LTL was Brad's main focus. He saw the growth potential in the e-commerce market and the bulk transfers with LTL, which he believed would drive the company's growth.
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Why is the LTL market so fragmented?
We were in the right place at the right time to start the consolidation of the LTL market. However, we noticed that many companies were reluctant to sell to XPO. We often had to increase our offers by 30% to 40% above market value to persuade them to sell. Brad was willing to do this, despite the potential reduction in ROI over a five to seven-year period.
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