Merging Tech Stacks in Freight M&A: How to Avoid Losing Customers in the Process

Freight forwarding M&A is booming.

For many forwarders, acquiring or merging with another company is the fastest way to expand market share, services, or global reach. But there’s one part of the deal that can quietly derail customer loyalty: tech stack integration.

When two forwarders merge, combining people and processes is already hard enough. But merging technology—especially customer-facing systems—can make or break retention. Shippers notice the difference immediately, and if the transition feels clunky, they start looking elsewhere

Why Tech Stack Mergers Are So Risky

After an acquisition, forwarders often find themselves running multiple TMS, WMS, customs, and order management systems—sometimes a mix of enterprise platforms, homegrown tools, and delicate spreadsheet workflows. This comes with a series of challenges for the customer experience:

• Fragmented experience: Customers may need multiple logins or portals just to track a shipment.

• Data silos: Critical updates lag or get lost between systems.

• Inconsistent branding: Two portals with two different looks can undermine trust.

Shippers already have options. In a post-M&A environment, if you make them work harder to get answers, you’re handing competitors an opening.

The Real Cost of Getting It Wrong

We’ve seen it happen:

• A forwarder spends months merging internal systems, leaving the customer portal as a low priority.

• Meanwhile, customers experience slower responses, incomplete tracking, and a confusing mix of platforms.

• Within months, high-value accounts quietly shift business to forwarders with smoother digital experiences.

As one forwarder told us:

“Importers have so many choices and can easily hop around to other providers, but our customers don’t.” — Mike Hoffman, Branch Manager, LOGISTEED America

How Forwarders Can Protect the Customer Experience

The best-performing forwarders in M&A situations decouple internal system migration from the customer experience. Instead of waiting for the perfect internal integration, they prioritize giving shippers a unified, consistent portal from day one.

Here’s how:

1. Create a single pane of glass for customers
   Use a platform that can integrate with multiple TMS/WMS systems at once—so even if your back-end remains fragmented for a while, customers see one seamless interface.

2. Preserve familiar workflows
   Shippers shouldn’t have to relearn how to interact with you. Keep navigation simple, with their most-used features front and center.

3. Unify branding quickly
   White-label your customer portal so both legacy and new customers see one cohesive brand identity, reinforcing trust post-merger.

4. Communicate early and often
   Let customers know what’s changing (and what’s not). Transparency reduces anxiety and makes them more forgiving if small hiccups occur.

Why the Right Customer Experience Platform Changes Everything

Logixboard was designed for this exact scenario. Our platform:

• Integrates with any TMS or WMS, regardless of vendor

• Pulls data from multiple systems into a single, modern, shipper-friendly portal

• Ensures branding consistency while you work through the internal system merger

• Reduces “Where’s my stuff?” calls, freeing ops teams to focus on strategic integration work

The Bottom Line

M&A deals are about growth. But growth stalls if customers feel neglected or confused during the transition. Forwarders who keep the customer experience stable and modern, even while back-end systems are in flux, win the retention battle.

If you’re facing an M&A tech stack merger, the smartest move you can make is to shield your customers from the chaos. Give them one portal, one brand, and one clear view of their supply chain from the start.