Dive Brief:

• Ryder has purchased MXD group, an e-commerce fulfillment provider, for $120 million, the fleet management company stated in a press release. 
• The expanded network gained from MXD facilities will help Ryder with e-commerce fulfillment and last mile deliveries. The facilities combined cover "more than 95% of the U.S. and Canada within a two-day delivery timeframe," Ryder stated in the release. 
• The acquisition makes Ryder the second largest last mile delivery provider of big and bulky goods.

Dive Insight:

Location, location, location. While still pertinent and borderline cliche in real estate, the phrase is becoming relevant to supply chains, as consumers demand shipments delivered to their doorsteps in record time. 

A fulfillment center located in a rural part of the Midwest may offer the best bang for the buck in square footage, but a truck can't reach every home in the U.S. from that central point in under three days.

A long delivery time is increasingly unacceptable for consumers, who have "come to expect rapid deliveries,” Steve Sensing, Ryder President of Global Supply Chain Solutions, said in the release. 

With Ryder's acquisition of MXD, the company's network now includes 121 e-commerce fulfillment centers across the U.S. and Canada, giving the carrier the ability to transport to a large breadth of consumers in a short period of time.

Knight Transportation made a similar move last month, with its acquisition of Richmond, Virginia, based Abilene Motor Express, giving Knight increased access to the mid-Atlantic region. 

While dominant logistics providers like UPS and FedEx also have an expansive network, they fall short in their ability to transport and deliver bulky products. 

That's a window of opportunity for Ryder, which has a wealth of experience in transporting large items. While consumers used to primarily purchase books and apparel for delivery, online sales of home furnishing are on the rise. 

On top of that, Ryder says it will offer white glove installation, a service that may differentiate the carrier from its competitors that deliver but don't install.

The true test of Ryder's success will lie in its ability not only to deliver quickly, but accurately. Delivery quality is dropping, with more consumers reporting problems with damaged or incorrect shipments. If Ryder can fulfill orders correctly and in just two days, it may have a leg up on its competitors.