The Cardinal Partnership

What The Cardinal Partnership does

The Cardinal Partnership, operating commercially as Cardinal Global Logistics, is a UK-headquartered, employee-owned international logistics company founded in 1998 by Brian Hay and Rob Cross. The company provides a full-stack suite of logistics services spanning ocean freight forwarding (LCL, FCL, and wholesale), air and road freight, project cargo, 3PL warehousing and fulfilment (including e-commerce and Amazon FBA programmes), customs brokerage, supply chain solutions, and trade finance and insurance. Cardinal serves over 6,000 clients globally through more than 28 international offices covering 500+ ports and airports, with stated annual throughput of 100,000 containers (~150k TEU) and over 4 million kilograms of air freight across more than ten industry verticals including retail and fashion, manufacturing, e-commerce, aerospace, food and drink, consumer goods, industrial, technology, automotive, and chemicals.

The company's core technology is Leda, a proprietary supply chain visibility platform developed in-house that delivers real-time shipment tracking, PO management, a document vault, shipment approval workflows, hot shipment and delivery warning alerts, a carbon calculator, and a Quick Quote instant-pricing tool, alongside API integration for client systems. Leda underpins an account-manager-led service model. Coverage is organised through dedicated trade-lane pages and country-specific sites, with stated ESG partnerships including The Planet Mark, Cool Earth, Eden Project, Wellspring, Bambisanani, and Donna's Dream House.

Revenue mechanics combine transactional freight forwarding fees per container and per kilogram, recurring 3PL warehousing and fulfilment charges, customs brokerage commissions, subscription-style supply chain platform access, and commission-based trade finance and insurance products. Go-to-market is B2B direct, supported by a dedicated account manager model and a growing self-service instant-quote channel via Quick Quote. Customer concentration sits across a diversified mid-market and enterprise base with no publicly disclosed anchor-client dependency, and specific revenue attribution is not disclosed.

Name

The Cardinal Partnership

Legal name

CARDINAL GLOBAL LOGISTICS Limited

Website

https://cardinalgl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Cardinal Partnership is a UK-headquartered, employee-owned global logistics company founded in 1998, providing ocean, air, and road freight forwarding, 3PL warehousing and fulfilment, customs brokerage, supply chain technology, and trade finance to 6,000+ clients across 28+ international offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Freight Forwarding & Logistics Services

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Ocean Freight Brokerage (FCL/LCL) (TLADAMAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

LCL (Less-than-Container Load) Consolidation/Deconsolidation (TLACABAB), Ocean Import Forwarding (Destination Handling/DO/ISF) (TLACABAE), Ocean Export Forwarding (Booking/VGM/SI/BL) (TLACABAF), Customs Brokerage for Ocean Shipments (Import/Export Clearance) (TLACABAG), Cross-Border E-commerce Ocean Forwarding (DDP/DDU) (TLACABAK), Time-Critical & AOG (Aircraft on Ground) Specialized Forwarding (TLACAJAI)

Keywords

• Freight forwarding
• Supply chain visibility
• Ocean and air freight
• 3PL warehousing
• Customs clearance

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices27 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Global Freight Forwarding: Core logistics business providing ocean (LCL, FCL, Wholesale), air, road freight, and project cargo services. Serves over 6,000 clients globally with integrated network covering 500+ ports and airports.
2. 3PL Services: Secured warehousing and contract logistics services with AEO-approved UK facilities. Includes pick, pack, and dispatch operations.
3. Internet Fulfilment: E-commerce fulfilment, Amazon Fulfilment, B2B Fulfiment, and Value Added 3PL services for online retailers. Operates as a multi-channel online retailer fulfilment service.
4. Customs Bureau: Customs clearance, advisory, and regime management services for import/export compliance.
5. Supply Chain Solutions: PO Management, APIs for system integration, and carbon calculator for supply chain optimization.
6. Financial Services: Trade finance and insurance services to support client business growth.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Cardinal Partnership (operating as Cardinal Global Logistics) is a global technology-led logistics business providing ocean freight (LCL, FCL, Wholesale), air freight, road freight, project cargo, 3PL warehousing and fulfilment, customs brokerage, and trade finance services to over 6,000 clients across 500+ ports and airports. Core differentiator is the proprietary Leda supply chain visibility platform providing real-time shipment tracking, PO management, document management, and vendor compliance monitoring. World's largest employee-owned logistics business with 400+ colleagues across 11+ international offices.

Product overview

The Cardinal Partnership operates as a logistics and supply chain services provider offering a portfolio of freight forwarding, 3PL, customs brokerage, and supply chain visibility services. The core technology product is Leda, a proprietary supply chain platform providing real-time shipment tracking, purchase order management, document vault, reporting dashboards, and delivery booking capabilities. This platform is complemented by traditional logistics services including ocean freight (LCL/FCL/wholesale), air freight, road freight, project cargo, and 3PL warehousing and fulfilment. Additional services include customs bureau operations, trade finance, insurance, and a carbon calculator for environmental impact measurement. The company serves over 6,000 clients across manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, technology, aerospace, and chemical sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Leda: A highly intuitive supply chain platform that provides real-time control and processing of sales and purchase transactions, offering true visibility within supply chains and enabling vendors to manage by exception.
• Logiport

Products and services

• Leda Leda is a proprietary supply chain visibility platform providing real-time control and processing of sales and purchase order transactions, dashboards, vendor compliance monitoring, KPI tracking, shipment tracking, document management, and delivery booking capabilities. Includes Live View real-time tracking, Active Shipments Dashboard, PO Management, Document Vault, Quick Quote, Carbon Calculator, Delivery Bookings, Shipment Approvals, Hot Shipments Alerts, and Delivery Warnings features.
• Ocean Freight (LCL, FCL, Wholesale) Ocean freight forwarding services including Less than Container Load (LCL), Full Container Load (FCL), and Wholesale consolidation services for international cargo transport across the global network of 500+ ports.
• Air Freight Air freight forwarding services for time-sensitive cargo shipments globally, handling 4 million+ kilos of air freight annually across the network.
• Road Freight Road freight forwarding services for overland cargo transport within the UK and across regional networks.
• Project Cargo Solutions Award-winning project logistics solutions for break bulk, out of gauge, and heavy lift cargo including worldwide ocean services, full and part charters, and specialised transport.
• 3PL Warehousing and Fulfilment Third-party logistics services including secured warehousing with AEO-approved UK facilities, e-commerce fulfilment, Amazon Fulfilment, B2B Fulfilment, and Value Added 3PL services including pick, pack, and dispatch operations.
• Customs Bureau

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% client satisfaction rate
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Planet MarkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic sustainability partnership with The Planet Mark for measuring and reducing carbon footprint. The Planet Mark is an internationally recognised sustainability certification for business acknowledging continuous progress, encouraging action, and building an empowered community of like-minded individuals. Partnership supports Cardinal's commitment to carbon neutrality and environmental responsibility.
• Cool EarthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough The Planet Mark partnership, Cardinal protects an acre of endangered rainforest via Cool Earth - a charity working alongside rainforest communities to halt deforestation. Support goes directly to the Asháninka community in Central Peru. Part of Cardinal's carbon neutral commitment.
• Eden ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThrough The Planet Mark commitment, Cardinal supports the Eden Project - an educational charity connecting people with each other and the living world, exploring how to work together towards a better future.
• The WellspringminorOthersResource centre for homeless and disadvantaged people providing advice, support, and referrals to housing or supported accommodation. Cardinal supports through charitable trust and employee volunteering.
• Bambisanani PartnershipminorOthersInternational project bringing together school children in the UK and South Africa. Cardinal actively participates through charity trust committee and employee engagement.
• Donna's Dream HouseminorOthersCharity providing free family holiday experiences for children with life-threatening illnesses. Supported through Cardinal Trust charitable giving.
• Haveley Hey Primary SchoolminorOthersCardinal Trust supports Haveley Hey in providing financial assistance to their child residential programme, helping bring about life-changing experiences for year 6 pupils.
• Leeds Liver TrustminorOthersCharity supporting anyone affected by liver disease. Supported through Cardinal's charitable trust program.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Yusen Logistics: Japanese-headquartered global logistics company providing ocean/air forwarding, contract logistics, and supply chain solutions. Comparable on service mix, vertical coverage, and multi-region footprint including strong Asia origins.
• DSV: Danish global transport and logistics company built via serial M&A (Panalpina, DB Schenker). Competes head-to-head with Cardinal on air, sea, road, and contract logistics, and represents the M&A-driven scale model Cardinal has not pursued.
• Kuehne+Nagel: Swiss-headquartered global freight forwarder and3PL offering ocean, air, road, contract logistics, and customs services. Comparable to Cardinal across core product set, multi-modal forwarding, customs, and 3PL — but at vastly larger scale.
• Expeditors International: US-headquartered global logistics provider focused on ocean and air freight forwarding plus customs. Closely comparable to Cardinal on forwarding product mix, multi-region coverage, and asset-light operating model.
• CEVA Logistics: French-headquartered global 3PL offering freight management, contract logistics, and ground transport. Direct peer on forwarding and 3PL fulfillment, comparable in customer segments to Cardinal's enterprise and e-commerce mix.

Regional players

• Kerry Logistics Network: Hong Kong-headquartered Asian logistics provider with strong intra-Asia and Asia-Europe forwarding, contract logistics, and freight forwarding. Direct peer given its Asia-anchored network overlapping Cardinal's strongest trade lanes.
• Sinotrans: Chinese state-linked logistics company offering forwarding, contract logistics, and e-commerce logistics in China and globally. Direct peer on China-origin forwarding given Cardinal's deep mainland China office footprint.
• Wincanton: UK-headquartered 3PL and contract logistics provider focused on UK and Ireland fulfillment, transport, and supply chain services. Closely comparable on UK 3PL, e-commerce fulfillment, and retail/B2B customer segments.

Emerging players

• Flexport: US-headquartered digital freight forwarder offering ocean, air, trucking, and customs with a software-led platform. Represents the digitally-native challenger model putting pressure on traditional forwarders like Cardinal on pricing and UX.

Broad incumbents

• DHL Global Forwarding: Division of Deutsche Post DHL offering ocean, air, road, customs, and supply chain services globally. Direct overlap with Cardinal on ocean, air, and customs forwarding; broader portfolio across express, parcel, and contract logistics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thecardinalpartnership

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 The Cardinal Partnership