FedEx brings Northwest Research Inc. into the fold

Transportation and logistics bellwether FedEx said last week it has acquired Northwest Research Inc., a Salt Lake City, Utah-based inventory and research management firm.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

FedEx said that Northwest Research’s proprietary technologies and capabilities complement and expand the FedEx portfolio of offerings important to the rapidly growing global e-commerce marketplace. Northwest Research was established in 1996. The company’s core focus is on helping customers proactively seek new approaches to inventory management, including specialized research to maximize successful outcomes for challenging shipments. Northwest Research also has operations in Memphis and Canada.

“Northwest Research’s unique technological capabilities will further enhance the FedEx customer experience by adding a suite of solutions to the FedEx portfolio that help proactively resolve at-risk shipments,” said Robert B. Carter, executive vice president and chief information officer of FedEx Corporation, in a statement. “This further demonstrates our commitment to the Purple Promise: to make every FedEx experience outstanding. On behalf of our more than 400,000 FedEx team members, we are thrilled to welcome the Northwest Research team members to the FedEx family of companies.”

And Jon Asay, founder and CEO of Northwest Research, said that Northwest’s knowledge and experience with inventory research and management, coupled with the company’s customer-centric culture, is a perfect fit with FedEx, calling it a huge win for customers and team members.