Earlier this week, St. Louis-based global freight audit and payment services provider Cass Information Systems said it has acquired AcuAudit, a freight audit platform for ocean and international air freight, from Acuitive Solutions LLC.
A purchase price was not disclosed.
A Cass spokesperson told LM that prior to this deal being made Cass was already the only freight audit and payment provider to offer a full solution for global shippers—including all modes & all geographies. And she added for a point of comparison for AcuAudit that years ago, Cass invested in a purpose-built solution for shippers to manage their parcel costs.
“Like parcel, a best-in-class approach for managing ocean freight costs requires a distinct process and technology,” she said. “AcuAudit gives Cass a premium offering for high-volume shippers of ocean freight.
As for the key components of AcuAudit, she cited the following:
- provides landed cost details at the product level, regardless of the number of products or POs in one container, for example, which is essential for many retail and fashion brands;
- ties all costs related to the shipment (ocean freight, drayage, D&D) together for a comprehensive understanding of the total cost; and
- Provides reporting specifically structured for import costs
The spokesperson explained that this acquisition enables the company’s shipper customers to choose Cass for a best-in-class freight audit and payment (i.e. spend management) solution for every mode and every geography, adding that doing so gives them single-platform visibility to their global transportation spend.
What’s more, she said that many of Cass’s clients are perfect candidates for converting to the premium AcuAudit platform, with benefits including more of a granular view of landed costs and enhanced visibility to their imports.
“Now under the Cass umbrella, AcuAudit’s clients will have access to a multitude of benefits and additional services, including our payment offering and related support for carriers (not available with AcuAudit today),” she said. “Closing the loop from invoice receipt-to-payment provides complete invoice visibility and one source of visibility and support for carriers.”
Tony Urban, president of Cass’s freight audit and payment group, said in a statement that the Acuitive team has built a truly exceptional solution to support the advanced needs of global shippers.
“Today, with a best-in-class solution for every mode as well as full global coverage, Cass offers the most robust freight audit and payment offering worldwide,” he said. “We are the sole global provider for large shippers with complex transportation operations across all modes. We look forward to working with AcuAudit’s current clients, delivering the same extraordinary services they’re accustomed to, while offering payment options as well as audit capabilities for all other modes.”
Cass said that Phil Marlowe, president and co-founder of Acuitive, will continue to support Cass, providing strategy and industry expertise, noting that Marlowe will retain and lead Acuitive Solutions as it continues to expand its expedited shipment routing and multi carrier parcel manifesting solutions for the retail and high fashion industries.
“I am excited for AcuAudit to become a part of Cass as I’ve always wanted our vision to endure and thrive beyond me,” said Marlowe. “I’m thankful for the efforts and dedication of the entire Acuitive team who made this possible. They, and our customers, will benefit from AcuAudit being integrated into Cass, with its financial capabilities and global reach,” said Marlowe.
