• E-commerce logistics provider Stord has acquired rival Shipwire from Ceva Logistics to significantly expand its scale and capabilities in a competitive market.
• The acquisition adds 12 fulfillment centers, access to Ceva’s global network of 1,000 warehouses, and Shipwire’s AI technology, enhancing Stord’s capacity and tech-enabled services.
• This move supports Stord’s strategy of aggressive growth through acquisitions and investment in artificial intelligence to offer comprehensive logistics solutions for small-to-medium businesses.
• The deal positions Stord to capitalize on robust e-commerce demand by consolidating fragmented services and improving operational efficiencies through advanced technology.

E-commerce logistics provider Stord has acquired rival Shipwire from parent company Ceva Logistics, in a move aimed at adding scale and capabilities in a highly competitive market, the growth-mode company announced Monday.

The deal enables Stord to expand its fulfillment volume and footprint with the addition of 12 fulfillment centers, AI technology and access to Ceva’s global network of 1,000 warehouses. By adding Shipwire’s existing Ceva connections to Stord’s logistics platform, customers will be able to stage inventory across either warehouse network, management said.

The Atlanta-based fulfillment specialist highlighted the customer benefits of marrying new artificial intelligence capabilities for order management with its existing outsourced fulfillment platform and low-price parcel shipping.

Tech-enabled e-commerce logistics providers are investing to build out regional networks, service offerings and customer relationships, and pursuing strategic acquisitions, to leverage demand for online shopping, even as economic uncertainty and higher vacancy rates have pressured deal activity in the broader warehouse sector, analysts say.

E-commerce growth has cooled off since the Covid-induced spike in 2020 and 2021, but is still robust as consumers value the convenience, wider selection and lower prices often found on digital channels. Over the past decade, U.S. e-commerce retail sales have jumped $275% to $304.2 billion, according to the Census Bureau. E-commerce represents 16.3% of retail sales as of mid-2025, up from 14.6% in 2021.

Many logistics providers went into business as online shopping took off last decade. Acquisitions are tempting because growing revenue can be difficult for companies that depend on startup and mid-size product sellers, many of whom struggle to achieve profitability, said Chris Considine, retail supply chain practice leader at Alix Partners, in a phone interview.

Stord, founded in 2015, serves as a one-stop shop for e-tailers, handling more than $10 billion worth of transactions from customers’ online checkout to last-mile delivery, as well as returns, with a suite of software for managing inventory, order processing, warehouse picking and packing, and parcel transportation. The company’s business model focuses on helping small-and-medium companies that lack resources to efficiently manage orders and inventory inhouse, and achieve delivery speeds comparable to large retail enterprises. It operates 11 major fulfillment hubs in 13 buildings, including in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and relationships with many lead logistics providers to provide excess capacity in dozens of locations.

Direct-to-consumer and B2B brands that use Stord include Seed Health, Native (personal care), Jolie (shower filter), Quip (oral wellness), Zero Proof (non-alcoholic beverages), Athletic Greens (supplements) and Goodr (sunglasses). Stord says it delivered more than 30 million packages to around 11.5% of U.S. homes last year.

“The timing is good for them to make acquisitions right now because the market’s challenged. If you believe people will keep ordering stuff to their homes [now is good for transactions] because they’ll get better deals. And if you believe in the longevity of the market and the brands that they’ve managed to secure, which are hot brands, then I think they can continue to grow,” Considine said of Stord. “I think they can use the additional capacity because their customers are growing.”

Shipwire is Stord’s fifth acquisition. In May, Stord raised more than $200 million in Series E funding in equity and debt from several banks and venture funds, which valued the company at $1.5 billion. In total, Stord has raised $325 million from investors. A week later, it acquired Ware2Go, an on-demand warehousing and fulfillment network from UPS for an undisclosed sum. Stord said the acquisition added 2.5 million square feet to the company’s existing warehouse network.

Stord generated $147 million in revenue in 2025, according to database GetLatka.

“In terms of e-commerce fulfillment, they have good capabilities. They’ve built their own tech stack, which they claim gives them an advantage and helped them get their valuation,” but their valuation is running far ahead of their results, said Evan Armstrong, a logistics industry analyst and CEO of Armstrong & Associates. He estimates Stord’s valuation is probably closer to $2.3 billion now, which is more in line with companies that have earnings interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $280 million. Stord’s EBITDA is probably in the range of $28 million, he said.

“I’m not sure how that adds up,” Armstrong added. He ranked Stord at about 75th in the nation for size of warehouse space under direct management.

Shipwire rationale

Silicon Valley-based Shipwire provides fulfillment, warehousing and shipping service for direct-to-consumer and dropshipping retail channels. Stores that dropship purchase items from a third party and ship directly to the customer without keeping the products in stock. Shipwire’s technology hub integrates directly with more than 200 e-commerce platforms and marketplaces, allowing online retailers to organize and implement their supply chains from a single connected platform.

The Shipwire acquisition primarily expands capabilities in the United States, but also adds warehouses in Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia.

Monday’s deal includes Shipwire’s technology division, a group of experts that has built proprietary interfaces between the company’s platform, customers and marketplaces, and is aggressively deploying AI functionality. Stord, which previously announced plans to hire more than 50 AI specialists in 2025 and 2026, said the Shipwire team will help upgrade its existing order management system and integrate Shipwire’s partners into Stord’s ecosystem, accelerating Stord’s AI initiatives.

Warehousing and fulfillment providers investing in AI for technology-enabled capabilities, operational efficiencies, and high-touch customer services are expected to outperform competitors with outdated operations, favoring companies with the resources to invest in technology, according to investment bank Capstone Partners.

Stord also gains a large base of customers across apparel, consumer electronics, consumer goods, food-and- beverage, and health-and-beauty sectors.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Shipwire was acquired by Ingram Micro, a technology distribution giant, in late 2013 and expanded globally. In 2022, French ocean shipping and logistics conglomerate CMA CGM acquired Ingram Micro’s e-commerce and lifecycle services unit for $3 billion and combined it with Ceva Logistics, the contract logistics firm it bought in 2019.

“In concentrating on our core offering via this divestment, Ceva Logistics will continue to deliver world-class logistics to our global customers and supply chain partners, including for Shipwire and Stord,” Ceva said in a statement provided to FreightWaves.

“By acquiring Shipwire, Stord is even better positioned to help brands of all sizes deliver unparalleled consumer experiences on every order, every time, anywhere in the world,” said Sean Henry, CEO and co-founder of Stord, in a news release.

Considine said his experience with Stord while interim supply chain officer at Thrasio, a company that aggregates third-party Amazon sellers to create greater portfolio value, was positive.

“They were distinctively better at helping me as a customer understand my own business transaction trends and reporting my inventory health. They were doing things that the typical 3PL doesn’t do in a quarterly business review. They were distinctive in their systems, customer interfaces, and use of data and analytics,” he said.

And on a personal level, “whenever I order a product from them, it always arrives properly on time, well packed out, well labeled, in good condition. They do a good job of execution,” Considine said.

Stord recently acquired U.K.-based Penny Black, a startup software-as-a-service solution that provides hyper-personalized post-purchase inserts to enhance a brand experience and generate new revenue. And last month it announced plans to invest $40 million over the next decade to expand and modernize its largest shipping center, located in Hebron, Kentucky, near the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, to keep up with growing demand for online shopping.

“They are making smart acquisitions of businesses that have value and growing customer bases. Some of the people they acquired maybe were not growing like they wanted, and so it was a good time for them to sell,” said Considine.

Stord’s multi-user facilities process orders that flow in from various marketplaces and other sales channels. Initially, inventory in inbound containers is catalogued in Stord’s warehouse management system using barcode scanners. Pick-and-packing is customized to each customer’s needs, assisted by robot shuttle carts that move between stations.

Stord’s parcel technology automatically selects the best parcel carrier and service level for each package based on the shipment’s individual characteristics, such as size or geographical region, and which delivery provider can meet the expected delivery date at the cheapest cost. In addition to moving packages to clients’ website customers, Stord also helps brands build pallets for less-than-truckload fulfillment to retail distributors.

Stord said shipment processing increased more than 50% for Black Friday and Cyber Monday versus the same period in 2024, while reducing click-to-ship times by over an hour on every order.

Other recent e-commerce-focused transactions include Handled Commerce buying Hook Logistics, a third-party logistics provider of e-commerce and B2B fulfillment services, in July and DHL acquiring IDS Fulfillment and reverse logistics specialist Inmar Supply Chain Solutions last year.

“The warehousing and fulfillment space is massively fragmented and ripe for accelerated consolidation as technology and nationwide networks become increasingly important to compete. Deal activity has slowed with broader economic headwinds, but it will likely reaccelerate when growth around the goods part of the economy strengthens,” said Gordon Mackay, managing director for transportation and logistics at Capstone Partners, in a market update last month.

Click here for more FreightWaves stories by Eric Kulisch.

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