Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Peak-Ryzex buys fellow data collection provider Bar Code Direct

Private equity owner Sole Source Capital rolls up eighth auto-ID acquisition since 2020.

peak_ryzex_Image_5-18-21_at_2.31_PM.jpg

For the second time in a month, the barcoding and data collection provider Peak-Ryzex has gone back on the acquisition trail, announcing today that it has leveraged its private equity backing to buy another auto-ID provider, Bar Code Direct.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but investment firm Sole Source Capital LLC said the move would add to Columbia, Maryland-based Peak-Ryzex’s ability to serve its expanding array of client segments.

The deal comes as retailers and third party logistics providers (3PLs) are hustling to keep up with an e-commerce boom and economic recovery, even as pandemic pressures constrict the labor pool and freight capacity sectors.

Sole Source Capital itself has been on an acquisition tear in the sector, with this latest deal its eighth purchase of companies providing automatic identification and data capture tools since 2020. The California-based firm in April bought Peak-Ryzex and Optical Phusion Inc., merging them into a single company. In May it added Inovity Inc. to that collection, and today added Bar Code Direct to the group.

Headquartered in North Grafton, Massachusetts, Bar Code Direct says it is a value-added reseller of AIDC solutions for the manufacturing, retail, consumer, and healthcare end-markets. It is focused on applications for warehouse workers, freight truck drivers, field service technicians, in-store associates, package delivery, and sales personnel.

The Latest

More Stories

US Capitol building

Duffy wins Senate Committee approval as Transportation nominee

Sean Duffy won approval before a Senate Committee today to draw closer to becoming Transportation Secretary in the new Trump Administration, putting him on track to replace Pete Buttigieg in that job thanks to bipartisan support in Congress and calls from the freight business community for a quick confirmation.

The former Republican Congressman from Wisconsin was nominated for the job in November, had a smooth committee hearing on January 15, and today won approval before that committee in a vote of 28-0.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

autonomous tugger vehicle
Lift Trucks, Personnel & Burden Carriers

Cyngn delivers autonomous tuggers to wheel maker COATS

graphic of cargo in motion

Disruption events to global supply chains rose 38% over 2023

Overall disruptions to global supply chains in 2024 increased 38% from the previous year, thanks largely to the top five drivers of supply chain disruptions for the year: factory fires, labor disruption, business sale, leadership transition, and mergers & acquisitions, according to a study from Resilinc.

Factory fires maintained their position as the number one disruption for the sixth consecutive year, with 2,299 disruption alerts issued. Fortunately, this number is down 20% from the previous year and has declined 36% from the record high in 2022, according to California-based Resilinc, a provider of supply chain resiliency solutions.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of cargo theft activity in 2024

Cargo theft activity set new highs in 2024

Cargo theft activity across the United States and Canada reached unprecedented levels in 2024, with 3,625 reported incidents representing a stark 27% increase from 2023, according to an annual analysis from CargoNet.

The estimated average value per theft also rose, reaching $202,364, up from $187,895 in 2023. And the increase was persistent, as each quarter of 2024 surpassed previous records set in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
photo of containers at port of montreal

Port of Montreal says activities are back to normal following 2024 strike

Container traffic is finally back to typical levels at the port of Montreal, two months after dockworkers returned to work following a strike, port officials said Thursday.

Canada’s federal government had mandated binding arbitration between workers and employers through the country’s Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) in November, following labor strikes on both coasts that shut down major facilities like the ports of Vancouver and Montreal.

Keep ReadingShow less
photo of a cargo ship cruising

Project44 tallies supply chain impacts of a turbulent 2024

Following a year in which global logistics networks were buffeted by labor strikes, natural disasters, regional political violence, and economic turbulence, the supply chain visibility provider Project44 has compiled the impact of each of those events in a new study.

The “2024 Year in Review” report lists the various transportation delays, freight volume restrictions, and infrastructure repair costs of a long string of events. Those disruptions include labor strikes at Canadian ports and postal sites, the U.S. East and Gulf coast port strike; hurricanes Helene, Francine, and Milton; the Francis Scott key Bridge collapse in Baltimore Harbor; the CrowdStrike cyber attack; and Red Sea missile attacks on passing cargo ships.

Keep ReadingShow less