Rakuten Super Logistics acquired by executive of firm it once bought

The third party logistics provider (3PL) Rakuten Super Logistics has rebranded under the name ShipNetwork after being acquired on Monday by Devin Johnson, the founder of a company that Rakuten itself had acquired in 2019.

By reclaiming his old company, Johnson now becomes CEO and owner of both ShipNetwork and its sister company, FirstMile, the Utah-based e-commerce solutions provider acquired in a package deal three years ago with fellow fulfillment firm IFS360. At the time, Rakuten Super Logistics had said it planned to add those two firms to its portfolio of 11 fulfillment centers providing two-day delivery throughout most of the U.S.

The new owner bought Rakuten Super Logistics from its corporate parent, San Mateo, California-based Rakuten Americas, which is the North American division of Japan’s Rakuten Group Inc., an internet service provider. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and ShipNetwork did not reply to a request for comment on how the deal was financed.

Las Vegas-based Rakuten Super Logistics has historically acted as an order fulfillment arm both for its sister company Rakuten.com—the online marketplace formerly known as Ebates—and for other e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Amazon, Magento, Walmart Marketplace, and eBay.

In a statement, Johnson said that ShipNetwork will soon add to its current footprint of facilities in both the eastern and western regions of the nation. Plans are for new facilities to be larger than the current locations, in a bid to support larger-scale retail distribution for current and future clients.

"Clients of both ShipNetwork as well as FirstMile will gain added volume and density from our expanded network, enhancing both company's abilities to reach deeper into postal and regional carrier networks," Johnson said in a release. "We expect this to result in both reduced costs to our clients, as well as improved service performance."

According to Johnson, the move will capitalize on the explosive growth of online commerce during the pandemic, helping e-commerce merchants to focus solely on operating—and growing—their respective businesses. "We assume responsibility for warehousing, warehouse technology, fulfillment, and shipping expertise," Johnson said. "For our clients, that means their entire focus can be on ensuring that their e-commerce businesses run at optimal capacity and continue to prosper."

We are excited to share that Rakuten Super Logistics is Now ShipNetwork Under New Ownership. Read More: https://t.co/0kLJWNNBMH

— Rakuten Super Logistics (@rakutensl) August 1, 2022