Newgistics purchase takes it beyond returns

Returns management company Newgistics Inc. of Austin, Texas, has acquired Cornerstone Shipping Solutions of Milan, Ill., a shipping management company.

Cornerstone provides small package shipping through the use of zone skipping. By consolidating shipments and transporting packages closer to their delivery point, it is able to obtain lower rates from the post officer that are then passed on to shippers, Cornerstone said.

It's the second acquisition by Newgistics in a year, following its purchase in April 2007 of Logistics Management Inc., a provider of transportation brokerage services for less-than-truckload shipping.

Newgistics said with the purchase of Cornerstone it will expand into the delivery as well as the return side of the business. Company officials said in the direct retailing and marketing business, deliveries are about 12 times larger than returns.

Source:American Shipper