Going Beyond Rebranding: Europartners Experience

Q: How is  Europartners Group transitioning to xpd global? 
A: We started as Europartners Group in Monterrey 20 years ago with a small team. We rapidly grew in Mexico, which led us to further expansion in Chile. After the Chilean project, we started replicating the model and opening offices in Panama, Costa Rica and eventually Germany, where we have been for 14 years.  When we opened offices in Germany, we discovered that the name Europartners was already taken, and we had to create a whole new brand for Europe. 

When we entered the US and Canada, we also decided to use a different brand. This led us to have several brands for the same operation, which we did not consider viable and decided to rebrand the whole company. Rebranding is totally focused on our clients: we want them to understand that we are one team with the same commitment, whether it is in the country of origin or destination. It also makes it easier for us to be identified by suppliers when we form strategic alliances. 

Thus, rebranding as  xpd global is also in line with our mission of becoming the best in the world in time-sensitive and critical cargo logistics solutions. We seek to provide certainty, visibility, and peace of mind on their cargo delivery times, even when there is an urgent shipment. The name  xpd, especially when pronounced as "expedite," is related to speed, which is all about expediting urgent cargo. There is always resistance to change, but the team is super excited. We have also received comments from clients and suppliers who think it is great that we are doing this because, when they think about an urgent need, they think of us as the experts.

Q: What are  xpd global main differentiators in a highly competitive sector like logistics? 
A: We empower our team and train them to make decisions quickly and in line with our values, which are highly speed centered. This allows for minimal bureaucracy, as the customer is able to speak directly with a specialist executive who can make decisions on the spot.

Another critical aspect is digitization. We have made a commitment to evolve and view ourselves as a technology company that provides logistics solutions, rather than just a logistics solutions company that has the best technology. We have strong initiatives in place and implement methodologies used by top companies like Google, such as lean agile methodologies and experience design. A few years ago, we changed our focus from a product-based to a customer-centric solution. This means focusing on customer experience rather than just selling products, as we realized this small but significant factor makes a big difference.

Q: How can technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) help the logistics sector? 
A: Many tasks that are currently done manually can be automated with artificial intelligence. Platforms using AI can also learn and operate autonomously, providing forecasts for delivery fulfillment or risk management. We believe that AI will be an ally in managing risks and anticipating them but above all this, logistics is about people centered on streamlining supply chains which is part of our team's mindset.

Q: How will xpd global cope with the emerging trends cooking for 2023? 
A: We are strengthening our services and solutions for the US, which is key to understanding the nearshoring phenomenon. There is also a connectivity and systems integration issue, meaning that systems are constantly changing through technology and there is no single company that has the best technology platform. We are accelerating integration with these actors in the nearshoring ecosystem to offer a broader portfolio of solutions. So, if a customer, for example, requires a warehousing service on the US border, cross-docking, or inventory management solutions, we now have more capabilities to provide them with technology and greater visibility. 

We are in the best position to address future challenges since there is no other Mexican company that has the level of international presence we can offer. Being a Monterrey-based company made us the way we are. Monterrey is highly industrialized and, from the beginning, we focused on handling the machinery and spare parts of these industries, as well as their production lines. This has always been our core business. Transporting a spare part is usually very delicate and production lines can stop if the component does not arrive on time.  Our clients only want the most reliable option and our commitment has been to be the most reliable company, with a strict vendor selection process. 

One of our goals for the near future is to be considered by industrial clients as the world’s most trusted brand providing time-sensitive and time-critical logistics solutions We have a list of 100 important cities in terms of logistics that we want to target more heavily. We also have another list of 85 key cities that are gateways and cargo terminals, where having 24/7 solutions is essential. We have a structured team with night and weekend shifts so there is always someone available to offer a solution, provide a quote or handle a situation whenever a customer needs it.


Europartners Group now becoming xpd global is a Mexican freight forwarder specializing in integrated logistics solutions for the automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, and technology industries, among others. With a focus on quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction,  epGroup is evolving to gather all its brands into one called  xpd global.