Ex Works

What Ex Works does

Ex Works, Inc. is a privately held Transportation Management System (TMS) provider headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 2004 by Gregg Borgeson to address information-management challenges between international freight forwarders and their fragmented trucking vendor networks. The company's core platform acts as an integrated extension of forwarders' forwarding systems, providing automated rate comparison, order placement, compliance verification, POD tracking, and invoice auditing across cartage, drayage, linehaul, parcel, and LTL modes. Ex Works differentiates from truck brokers by connecting forwarders to their own established trucking vendors rather than intermediating commission-based relationships, and serves over 3,000 cartage and drayage trucking companies while processing approximately $1 million of trucking services every business day.

The underlying technology is a high-throughput TMS built on EDI connectivity and direct integration with forwarders' proprietary systems and leading forwarding software platforms. The platform captures 118 datapoints per order, assembles rate comparisons (including freight, fuel, and accessorials) in 12 seconds or less, and processes hundreds of thousands of EDI messages alongside approximately 50,000 automated emails per business day. A self-serve web portal (truckers.exworks.com) extends the system to low-tech trucking operators who are not yet EDI-ready. Ex Works also operates WatchDog Reports, an industry intelligence content line launched in 2022, and the Remote Control America subsidiary.

The business model combines enterprise software integration with large forwarder clients (quote-based multi-year subscription contracts) and a self-serve portal onboarding path for smaller trucking vendors. Go-to-market is hybrid: direct enterprise sales complemented by integration partnerships and minimal-friction SMB adoption. The company employs 11-50 staff distributed across the United States and Europe, with leadership including founder Gregg Borgeson (former Emery Air Freight, BAX, and Hellmann executive), Penny Bullen (finance/administration, former IES Ltd./Descartes), Tom Outwin (business development, Remote Control America president, former Hellmann/Panalpina executive), John Garibaldi (technology group lead, ex-IPI), and Rachel Loehner (customer operations, ex-Agility). In July 2022, Ex Works acquired Intelligence Pursuit Inc. (IPI), adding engineering capacity and 30 years of forwarding software IP.

Name

Ex Works

Legal name

Ex Works, Inc.

Website

https://home.exworks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ex Works, Inc. is a Boston-based Transportation Management System (TMS) provider serving international freight forwarders by automating rate comparison, order placement, and EDI-based connectivity with 3,000+ cartage, drayage, and linehaul trucking companies across the United States and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Forwarding Software

NAICS

Other Support Activities for Transportation (48899), Freight Transportation Arrangement (4885)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Carrier TMS (Trucking Dispatch & Back-Office) (TLAEAAAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Freight Rating, Tariff & Contract Management (TMS Add-on) (TLAEAAAH), Invoice Matching & Cost Allocation (3-Way Match, GL Coding, Project/Customer Chargeback) (TLAEAIAG), Contract & Tariff Management (Carrier Contracts, Accessorials, Lane/Zone Rates) (TLAEAIAB)

Keywords

• Freight forwarding software
• Transportation management system
• Trucking rate comparison
• Freight invoice auditing
• Cartage drayage automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Transaction Processing Fees: Ex Works processes trucking transactions (bookings, accruals, events and audited invoices) for forwarders and their trucking vendors. The platform facilitates approximately $1 million of trucking services every business day, suggesting a transaction-based revenue model where fees are collected on processed shipments and invoices.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Ex Works provides a Transportation Management System (TMS) for international freight forwarders that connects to their established trucking vendors, enabling rate comparison, order placement, compliance verification, POD tracking, and automated invoice auditing across cartage, drayage, linehaul, parcel, and LTL operations. The platform integrates with forwarders' existing systems via EDI and a self-serve web portal, processing approximately $1 million of trucking services every business day.

Product overview

Ex Works provides a single unified TMS platform (the Ex Works TMS) that serves as an integrated extension of forwarders' forwarding systems. The core platform combines rate comparison, order placement, POD management, compliance verification, and billing audit capabilities into one seamless process. The WatchDog Reports module provides supplementary industry intelligence and analytics. Remote Control America operates as a subsidiary focused on specialized remote operations. The company also offers customer support services (Remote Control America) and EDI connectivity to both forwarders and trucking providers. The platform processes approximately $1 million in trucking services daily and connects over 3,000 cartage and drayage trucking companies with forwarders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• WatchDog: Provides critical ground transportation-related information and insights to air and sea forwarders, including reports on business issues facing trucking vendors.

Products and services

• Ex Works TMS (Transportation Management System) A fully featured Transportation Management System providing rate comparison and order placement for international freight forwarders. Enables staff to view and compare trucking rates (including freight, fuel, and accessorials) from multiple truckers and execute orders in under a minute. Covers cartage, drayage, linehaul, parcel, and LTL operations, processing approximately $1 million of trucking services every business day.
• WatchDog Reports Industry intelligence module providing ground transportation insights and reports to international air and sea forwarders. Covers regulatory changes (e.g., AB-5), fuel surcharge management, financial compliance, and operational issues facing cartage and drayage trucking vendors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 7-16% trucking cost reduction
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• NCBFAA (National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America)minorOthersEx Works displays NCBFAA membership/logo on its About page, indicating industry association membership rather than a formal partnership.
• Leading Forwarding Software PlatformscoreTechnology or IntegrationEx Works has pre-built integrations with many leading software platforms that forwarders use to run their business. The company integrates with forwarders' own proprietary systems, eliminating double-entry and ensuring data accuracy. Logo images of these integration partners are displayed on the Connections page.
• Intelligence Pursuit Inc. (IPI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Garibaldi and his team of software engineers joined Ex Works through the acquisition of Intelligence Pursuit Inc. in July 2022. IPI was a company focused on supporting forwarders and logistics companies for 30 years.
• Leading Cartage and Drayage Software ProviderscoreTechnology or IntegrationEx Works maintains full connectivity with leading providers of cartage and drayage software. Logo images of EDI partners are displayed on the Connections page, showing established integration relationships.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Descartes Systems Group: Descartes offers TMS, compliance, and forwarding software, notably having acquired IES Ltd. (Ex Works' original technology partner). Descartes is a broad incumbent that competes head-on in forwarding-side TMS and compliance, the same workflow Ex Works automates.
• Turvo: Turvo provides a cloud-native TMS for forwarders, 3PLs, and brokers with collaboration, document, and order management features that overlap with Ex Works' automated order processing and rate comparison capabilities.
• Riege Software: Riege offers Scope, a TMS/forwarding execution platform for air and sea forwarders. It competes directly for the same international forwarder customers Ex Works serves, particularly in Europe, with comparable rate, booking, and documentation automation.
• Alpega (Transwide / Nexeedi): Alpega offers TMS and transport procurement solutions to shippers, forwarders, and 3PLs in Europe, including Transwide for forwarder/3PL carrier management — directly comparable to Ex Works' carrier-relationship automation focus.
• WiseTech Global (CargoWise): WiseTech's CargoWise platform is a leading end-to-end TMS/forwarding execution suite used by global forwarders. It directly overlaps with Ex Works' core TMS capabilities for freight forwarders managing carrier relationships, though at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Softlink Global: Softlink's Logi-Sys and iForward platforms provide TMS and forwarding software for global freight forwarders, with direct overlap in rate management, order processing, and carrier connectivity.
• Magaya: Magaya provides a freight forwarding and logistics platform covering shipment, warehouse, and TMS workflows. It serves a similar customer base (forwarders, NVOCCs) with overlapping TMS and operations functionality.

Broad incumbents

• MercuryGate International: MercuryGate provides a broad multi-mode TMS for shippers, brokers, and 3PLs. It overlaps with Ex Works' rate comparison and order placement features but serves a wider customer set beyond freight forwarders.
• nShift: nShift offers shipment management, TMS, and delivery management software, particularly in Europe. Its multi-carrier rate and booking capabilities overlap with Ex Works' rate comparison and order placement.

Emerging players

• Aljex Software: Aljex provides a brokerage/3PL TMS and transportation management platform for freight intermediaries with rate, dispatch, and accounting features — comparable niche to Ex Works' carrier-facing order and rate automation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Ex Works