NOTED [ IN FOCUS ]
The Supply Chain in Brief
> GOOD WORKS
> M&A
GrubMarket acquired JR Holland, a fresh produce and foodservice distributor serving North East England and Scotland. It is the California-based company’s first entry into the UK market. JR Holland employs over 120 people and makes 3,000 deliveries per week via 32 temperature-controlled vehicles. FORT Robotics, a safety platform for physical AI, is going public via a definitive business combination with Newbury Street II Acquisition Corp. The combined company has an implied enterprise value of $556.6 million and will trade on Nasdaq under the ticker FROB. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2026. Fishbowl Inventory , an AI-powered inventory and manufacturing platform for small and midsize businesses, acquired Repfabric , a CRM and commission-management platform built for manufacturers and distributors. The deal creates a single system spanning the sales pipeline, commission tracking, inventory management, and order fulfillment. American Industrial Partners completed its acquisition of Honeywell ’s Intelligrated and Transnorm, combining them with Trew under common ownership to form a warehouse automation provider with more than $1 billion in combined 2025 revenue and 3,700 employees. Alfred Rebello was named CEO of the combined organization.
• Avianca Cargo flew 60 tons of humanitarian aid, including electric generators, hygiene products, and nonperishable food, from Florida to Colombia on an A330F freighter. The company flew a total of more than 150 tons of cargo to Colombia in the first two days after the country’s latest earthquake.
• The CMA CGM Foundation announced two new Kenya-based initiatives at the Africa Forward Summit. Plans include a renovation of the University of Nairobi’s main football field and seven additional containers to expand an innovation center in Mombasa, a Red Cross-managed hub.
> UP THE CHAIN
Michael Loeffler joined BAE Systems as vice president of supply chain. He reports to President and CEO Tom Arseneault. Loeffler most recently served as vice president of global supply chain and logistics at Bell and previously held supply chain roles at L3Harris, GE Aviation, and Boeing.
> GREEN SEEDS
Leonhardt & Blumberg installed Econowind VentoFoils, compact autonomous wing systems that use boundary layer suction for additional thrust, onto one of its four new general cargo vessels. The technology is projected to cut fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by about 10%.
12 Inbound Logistics • September 2026
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