Wabash forms joint venture to expand e-commerce offerings
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Lafayette-based Wabash is expanding its parts distribution network and trailers-as-a-service as part of a new joint venture with California-based investment firm Fernweh Group LLC. The trailer and truck body manufacturer said the goal is to enhance its e-commerce platform and partner ecosystem.
Fernweh has a focus on the industrial technology sector, and in the joint venture, Wabash said it plans to accelerate its end-to-end digital platform to improve the customer and supplier experience. The companies will also work with Ayna.AI as an implementation partner.
Wabash said Fernweh was chosen for its experience with similar companies looking to expand their digital capabilities. The company also expects the joint venture will allow them to experiment like a startup with experience as an industry leader.
“The transportation, logistics and distribution industry continues to experience a rapid pace of change,” Wabash President and CEO Brent Yeagy said in a news release. “This joint venture with Fernweh is the next step in that transformation and will allow Wabash to experiment, learn and iterate with speed.”
The Wabash trailer-as-a-service (Taas) offering allows carriers and shippers access to trailers and maintenance and repair services through the company’s dealer channel and parts distribution network.
The growing e-commerce platform will be available through parts.onewabash.com and expanded over time, Wabash said. The TaaS will be also be scaled up, with new services being added.
“We see the digital platform as the next evolution in Wabash’s TaaS offering, adding value to all stakeholders by connecting Wabash’s dealers, customers and suppliers to facilitate interactions across the transportation ecosystem in a one-stop shop,” Fernway CEO Nick Santhanam said. “We look forward to helping Wabash accelerate its technology roadmap by expanding partnerships with third parties in the logistics ecosystem that reduce customer and supplier friction in the exchange of services and solutions.”