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NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS Takes Minority Stake in Wiz Freight, India’s Leading Digital Forwarding Service Provider

Published

11 months ago

January 19, 2024

TOKYO, Jan. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — NIPPON EXPRESS HOLDINGS, INC. acquired a minority equity stake in Wiz Freight (hereinafter “Wiz”), a leading digital forwarding service provider in India, on January 12 as its third investment made via the NX Global Innovation Fund, a corporate venture capital (CVC) fund established in January 2023.

Logos:
Wiz: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/img/202401155299-O3-27ZY3v6W
NX: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/img/202401155299-O1-UAs7xMsJ

Profile of Wiz

Wiz, founded in India in 2020, addresses rapidly growing needs for digital cross-border supply chain services in emerging countries. The company has more than 900 employees working at over 25 offices in six countries/regions (India, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and USA). Using cutting-edge technology, the company provides digital forwarding services for the global supply chain sector.

Investment background and objectives

The international logistics industry has been facing major challenges in recent years, among them being the increasing complexity of supply chain and the standardization/streamlining of trade operations due to the expansion of global transactions. It is thus expected that international logistics operations will become ever more digitized to create logistics platforms that optimize logistics by standardizing arrangements and visualizing information such as operational progress and transport status.

In view of these circumstances, the Nippon Express (hereinafter “NX”) Group has been pursuing digital transformation (DX) and, in July of last year, it launched e-NX Quote and e-NX Visibility, both digital forwarding services that enable online quotation and tracking. To further promote DX, the Group has been actively exploring the use of external resources, including collaborations with startup companies in Japan and overseas, as one solution.

By investing in Wiz, a company strong in digital forwarding services in India and other emerging markets, the NX Group will bolster its own global forwarding business and accelerate its DX initiatives.

The NX Group will continue co-creating* new business values with promising startups by leveraging its domestic and international networks.

*Co-creation activities refer to collaborations between NX Group companies and CVC to invest in startups that will offer added value to customers and on-site operations, with the NX Group and the startups working together to achieve business growth.