Pickands Mather Group

What Pickands Mather Group does

Pickands Mather Group is a privately held U.S. company founded in 1883 in Cleveland, Ohio, now headquartered in Kirtland, Ohio near Lake Erie. It provides origin-to-destination bulk material supply chain management, specializing in multi-modal transportation across vessel, river barge, rail, and truck, with deep expertise in the Great Lakes and Inland River Systems spanning the United States and Canada. The company serves clients ranging from Fortune 500 enterprises to independent terminals across mining, manufacturing, energy, and agriculture verticals, handling commodities such as iron ore, coal, limestone, gypsum, grain, and fertilizer.

The company's core technology asset is Match Tracks, an AI-enabled supply chain management software platform that delivers real-time visibility into inventory, transportation, and quality metrics for terminal operators, plant managers, and logistics professionals. Match Tracks is positioned as the technological backbone of the broader service portfolio, which includes supply chain consulting, 3PL services, multi-modal transportation management, customs processing, and raw materials sales and purchasing. Historically the company also operated what became the Interlake Steamship Company, one of the largest shipping fleets on the Great Lakes, though that entity was separated in 1987.

Pickands Mather operates on a consultative, sales-led go-to-market model with quote-based, enterprise-customized multi-year service contracts. Revenue is generated through managed logistics services (the primary stream) and through licensing of the Match Tracks platform as a subscription. The company conducts no paid digital acquisition, relying instead on relationship-based channels including an annual industry event (the Noon Day Club), LinkedIn, content marketing, and direct consultation requests. It has remained independent for over 30 years following its 1992 sale out of Cleveland Cliffs stewardship, with no disclosed venture capital or institutional ownership.

Name

Pickands Mather Group

Legal name

Pickands Mather Group

Website

https://pickandsmather.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1883

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pickands Mather Group is a privately held, 140+ year-old U.S. firm that provides bulk commodity supply chain consulting, 3PL, and multi-modal transportation across the Great Lakes and Inland River Systems, supplemented by its AI-enabled Match Tracks software platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bulk Commodity Logistics

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Tower-by-Mode Managed Transportation (Air/Ocean/Rail/Truck Control Towers) (TLAIABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Project Logistics & Heavy Lift / Oversized Cargo Management (TLAIAAAK), Cross-Border & Trade Compliance Management (Customs, Duty, Documentation) (TLAIABAD)

Keywords

• Bulk material logistics
• Supply chain consulting
• Multi-modal transportation
• Third-party logistics
• Raw materials sourcing

Headquarters

HQ city

Willoughby

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Logistics and Supply Chain Services: Revenue is generated through a combination of 3PL services, supply chain consulting, multi-modal transportation management (vessel, river barge, rail, truck), customs processing, and raw materials sales/purchasing. The company operates on a service-contract basis with enterprise clients, providing comprehensive supply chain solutions across the Great Lakes and Inland River Systems. Services include real-time stockpile monitoring, onsite inspection, and logistics coordination across multiple transportation modes.
2. Software as a Service (Match Tracks): AI-enabled supply chain management software licensed to clients for managing their logistics operations. The platform provides real-time insights, data-driven decisions, and supply chain cost optimization for terminal operators and production facilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Pickands Mather Group provides third-party logistics (3PL) services, supply chain consulting, multi-modal transportation across vessel, river barge, rail, and truck, customs processing, and raw materials sales and purchasing for bulk commodities across the Great Lakes and Inland River Systems. The company also licenses its proprietary Match Tracks software, an AI-enabled supply chain management platform providing real-time visibility into inventory, transportation, and quality metrics for terminal operators, plant managers, and logistics professionals.

Product overview

Pickands Mather Group offers a single core software product called Match Tracks, an AI-enabled supply chain management platform. This platform is complemented by a suite of logistics and consulting services including Supply Chain Consulting, 3PL Services, Multi-Modal Transportation, Customs Processing, and Raw Materials Sales and Purchasing. The software serves as the technological backbone for their service offerings, providing centralized supply chain visibility while the service divisions deliver the actual logistics execution across vessel, river barge, rail, and truck transportation modes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Match Tracks: AI-enabled supply chain management software platform designed for terminal operators, plant managers and logistics professionals to manage supply chain logistics with real-time visibility.

Products and services

• Supply Chain Consulting Advisory and consulting service for designing, implementing, and managing the movement and delivery of bulk commodities and raw materials across multiple transportation modes. Intended for mining, manufacturing, energy, and agriculture enterprises in the Great Lakes and Inland River Systems.
• 3PL Services Third-party logistics service managing end-to-end bulk material supply chains for enterprise clients across mining, manufacturing, energy, and agriculture sectors.
• Multi-Modal Transportation Coordination and management of bulk commodity transportation across four modes—vessel, river barge, rail, and truck—with specialized expertise in the Great Lakes and Inland River Systems.
• Customs Processing Customs clearance and processing service for cross-border movement of bulk commodities between the United States and Canada across the Great Lakes and Inland River Systems.
• Raw Materials Sales and Purchasing Sourcing, sales, and purchasing service for raw materials and bulk commodities such as iron ore, coal, limestone, gypsum, sand, grain, and fertilizer for industrial and agricultural buyers.
• Match Tracks AI-enabled supply chain management software providing real-time visibility into inventory, transportation, and quality metrics. Serves as a centralized platform for terminal operators, plant managers, and logistics professionals to manage supply chain logistics with data-driven decision support and continuous consulting.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced transportation costs
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• C.H. Robinson Worldwide: One of the largest US 3PL/4PL freight brokers and contract logistics providers, operating across truck, rail, ocean, and air with technology-enabled supply chain visibility tools — directly comparable to Pickands Mather's multi-modal 3PL/control tower model, albeit at vastly greater scale.
• Hub Group: Asset-light intermodal and logistics services company combining rail, truck, and technology-led supply chain visibility — comparable to Pickands Mather in multi-modal brokerage and emphasis on tech-enabled visibility (analogous to Match Tracks).
• Landstar System: Asset-light freight broker and logistics provider using BCO/agent model to deliver multimodal services — comparable in being non-asset-based, multi-modal, and serving enterprise shippers with consultative relationships.
• Odyssey Logistics & Technology: Provider of 3PL/4PL services focused on chemicals, industrial, and bulk commodities with multi-modal transport and supply chain technology — directly comparable end-market (bulk commodities) and 4PL capabilities to Pickands Mather.
• Echo Global Logistics: Tech-enabled non-asset 3PL arranging truck, rail, ocean, and air freight for shippers across multiple modes — mirrors Pickands Mather's managed, asset-light, multi-modal service approach with software overlay.

Broad incumbents

• Schneider National: Diversified multi-modal logistics provider with truckload, intermodal, and logistics services offering technology-enabled supply chain solutions — comparable in multi-modal offerings and digital services, at greater scale.
• J.B. Hunt Transport Services: Large multi-modal carrier and logistics services provider (intermodal, dedicated, ICS) with own digital platforms (J.B. Hunt 360) — operates broadly across same modes and customer set, but at significant scale versus Pickands Mather.
• XPO (now RXO and GXO): Major North American 3PL/brokerage provider (RXO) and contract logistics provider (GXO) with broad multimodal capabilities — broadly comparable in 3PL service model, but at far greater scale than Pickands Mather's niche.

Regional players

• American Steamship Company: Operates self-unloading bulk carriers on the Great Lakes transporting iron ore, coal, and limestone — a regional bulk commodity peer to Pickands Mather's multi-modal inland water capability, focused on Great Lakes shipping only.
• Great Lakes Towing: Provides vessel assistance, towing, and ice-breaking services across the Great Lakes — regional water-side infrastructure peer supporting the same bulk shipping ecosystem Pickands Mather arranges cargo for.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pickands-mather-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Pickands Mather Group