GES Logistics

What GES Logistics does

GES Logistics is a privately-held freight forwarding and integrated logistics provider formed from the 2010 merger of two entities: Overseas Development, founded in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 1976, and Globe Express Services, founded in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1990. The company operates 40 directly-owned offices across the Middle East, North America, South America, Asia, and Europe, with a network of reliable agents extending its reach to more than 100 countries. Its legal identity traces to Globe Express Services (US, North Carolina) with historical roots in Jeddah, KSA, and the firm is privately held with no disclosed institutional ownership, parent company, or public listing.

The company's core products span multi-modal freight transportation—sea freight (FCL and LCL), air freight, overland freight (FTL and LTL), and temperature-controlled reefer freight—complemented by warehousing, customs brokerage, cargo insurance, project logistics for out-of-gauge and bulk cargo, facilities management, and freight tracking. Underlying operations rely on a proprietary ERP/portal system, an owned truck fleet supplemented by third-party transporter agreements, IATA licensing for air freight, certified warehousing facilities in Jebel Ali (UAE), Jeddah and Dammam (KSA), and Charlotte, NC (USA), and trained specialist teams for handling dangerous goods across all IMO hazard classes, pharmaceutical cold chain, and oversized cargo. No proprietary AI/ML capabilities, patents, or technology stack details are disclosed.

GES generates revenue predominantly through transaction fees across each of its service streams, with quote-based custom pricing and no publicly listed pricing tiers. The go-to-market is sales-led, executed through direct enterprise sales teams in each regional office, relationship-based account management, online quote request functionality on its website, and a 100+ country agent channel. The company serves six primary verticals—FMCG, perishables, pharmaceuticals, chemicals & dangerous goods, furniture, and cosmetics—with named customer testimonials concentrated in furniture and stone/tile importers, and no enterprise anchor customers publicly disclosed.

Name

GES Logistics

Legal name

Globe Express Services

Website

https://geslogistics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

GES Logistics is a privately-held freight forwarder and integrated logistics provider operating 40 offices globally and an agent network in 100+ countries, offering multi-modal transport, warehousing, customs brokerage, and specialized cargo handling for FMCG, pharma, chemicals, perishables, furniture, and cosmetics shippers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Forwarding and Logistics Services

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510), Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance (48423), Air Transportation (481), Warehousing and Storage (493)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412), Trucking & Courier Services (No Air) (4210)

akta.pro primary industry

Trade Compliance & Ocean Regulatory Services (Sanctions/Export Controls) (TLACABAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Cargo Air Freight Carriers (Scheduled & Charter) (TLADAAAA), Shipping Management, Labeling & Carrier Integration (Multi-Carrier) (TLAEACAE)

Keywords

• Freight forwarding services
• Supply chain solutions
• Customs brokerage
• Warehousing and storage
• Multimodal transportation

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices23 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Freight Services: Core revenue from sea freight (FCL and LCL), air freight, and overland (FTL and LTL) shipping services. Provides door-to-door, port-to-port, and intermodal transportation solutions.
2. Warehousing and Storage: Revenue from providing warehouse facilities for storage, commodity handling, packing, labeling, repacking, and bundling services.
3. Customs Brokerage: Custom clearance services for sea, land and air freight shipments, managing documentation to avoid delays, fines, and seizure of goods.
4. Project Logistics: Specialized handling of heavy equipment, machinery, in-gauge, out-of-gauge, and bulk cargo services, including on-site packing for oversized or sensitive cargo.
5. Insurance Services: Third-party cargo insurance services to secure shipments against loss or damage.
6. Reefer Freight: Temperature-controlled freight services for sensitive commodities via land, air, and sea, including third-party reefer storage.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

GES Logistics is a freight forwarder providing international ocean, air, and overland (FTL/LTL) transportation along with temperature-controlled reefer freight. Its offering is built around multi-modal shipping (door-to-door, port-to-port) for imports, exports, and cross-trade, supplemented by warehousing, project logistics, customs brokerage, and cargo insurance delivered through 40 offices worldwide.

Product overview

GES Logistics operates as a freight forwarding and logistics services provider offering a comprehensive suite of interconnected services. The core product portfolio centers on multi-modal freight transportation including Sea Freight (FCL/LCL), Air Freight, Overland Freight (FTL/LTL), and Reefer Freight for temperature-sensitive commodities. These core freight services are complemented by value-added logistics support modules including Warehousing at certified facilities in Jebel Ali, Jeddah, Dammam, and Charlotte NC; Facilities Management; Project Logistics for heavy/out-of-gauge cargo; Customs Brokerage; Cargo Insurance; and Freight Tracking. The company serves specialized industry verticals including Perishables, FMCG, Chemicals & Dangerous Goods, Pharmaceuticals, Furniture, and Cosmetics. GES operates its own portal/ERP system and maintains 40 offices across 100+ countries through a network of reliable agents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sea Freight International ocean freight services offering both FCL (Full Container Load) and LCL (Less than Container Load) options for imports, exports, and cross-shipping with door-to-door and port-to-port service options. Targeted at businesses shipping pallet- to container-volume cargo internationally.
• Air Freight International air freight services providing end-to-end import and export documentation, IATA-licensed services, in-bond air or truck shipments, air consolidation with global chartering options, and freight tracking. Targeted at businesses requiring time-sensitive international shipments.
• Overland Freight Intermodal transportation services including Full Truck Load (FTL) and Less Than Truck Load (LTL) shipping for international overland and domestic shipping, operated via a company-owned truck fleet supplemented by third-party transporter agreements. Targeted at businesses needing road freight across regions.
• Reefer Freight Temperature-sensitive cargo transportation across land, air, and sea freight modes with third-party reefer storage for full supply chain cold-chain solutions. Targeted at shippers of perishables, pharmaceuticals, and other temperature-sensitive commodities.
• Warehousing Diverse warehousing options with state-of-the-art certified facilities located in Jebel Ali (UAE), Jeddah and Dammam (KSA), and Charlotte, North Carolina (USA), featuring inventory control and network design services. Targeted at businesses needing storage in key trade hubs.
• Facilities Management Local and global express logistics support including storage, commodity handling, packing, labeling, repacking, and bundling services. Targeted at businesses needing value-added handling alongside freight.
• Project Logistics Heavy equipment and machinery handling including in-gauge, out-of-gauge, and bulk cargo services with on-site packing for oversized, sensitive, or heavy cargo. Targeted at industrial, energy, and infrastructure projects.
• Customs Brokerage Custom clearance services for sea, land, and air freight shipping that manages documentation to avoid delays, service failures, fines, and seizure of goods. Targeted at importers and exporters across GES's markets.
• Cargo Insurance Third-party cargo insurance securing shipments against loss or damage so goods arrive intact and on schedule. Targeted at businesses shipping valuable or sensitive cargo internationally.

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hellmann Worldwide Logistics: German-headquartered mid-tier global forwarder with air, ocean, road and contract logistics, including a strong perishables/pharma focus that closely mirrors GES's vertical positioning.
• Agility Logistics: Kuwait-headquartered global logistics provider with strong Middle East footprint and integrated freight forwarding, contract logistics, and customs. Direct peer overlap with GES on GCC-anchored multi-modal trade.
• Expeditors International: US-headquartered global freight forwarder with comparable multi-modal service mix (air, ocean, customs) and similar enterprise customer orientation. Comparable scale and asset-light forwarding model to GES.
• C.H. Robinson: Major North American freight forwarder and 3PL providing global ocean, air, and truckload forwarding plus customs. Direct competitor on US-origin/Asia trade lanes where GES's Charlotte and LA offices operate.
• Kuehne+Nagel: One of the world's largest multi-modal freight forwarders offering sea, air, overland, customs brokerage, and contract logistics. Directly comparable to GES across all core service lines and industry verticals (pharma, perishables, FMCG).

Emerging players

• Flexport: Digital-native freight forwarder offering tech-enabled ocean, air, and trucking with portal-based booking. Represents the technology-led competitor encroaching on relationship-led forwarders like GES, particularly for SMB shippers.

Others

• Freightos: Digital freight marketplace and forwarding platform. Not a direct competitor but adjacent technology provider reshaping how shippers book ocean and air freight, putting pressure on traditional relationship-based forwarders like GES.

Broad incumbents

• DHL Global Forwarding: Freight forwarding arm of Deutsche Post DHL, providing global air, ocean, road freight and customs services. Operates as a broad incumbent with overlapping capabilities but at vastly larger scale and broader portfolio than GES.
• DSV A/S: Danish global freight forwarder and logistics provider with air, sea, road, and contract logistics. Larger and broader incumbent pursuing aggressive M&A in the same fragmented space GES occupies.
• DB Schenker: DB-owned global freight forwarder and logistics provider with integrated air, ocean, road, and contract logistics. Comparable end-to-end multi-modal offering but at broader incumbent scale than GES.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GES Logistics