Essendant has partnered with Roadie to boost its local delivery capabilities and support the rapid growth of its ecommerce operations.
Essendant is a distributor of business supplies. The United Parcel Service (UPS) owns Roadie, a crowdsourced delivery platform. The agreement gives Essendant access to Roadie’s network of more than 200,000 independent drivers. That enables the distributor to offer same-day and next-day delivery in metropolitan markets and hard-to-reach locations without expanding its own fleet. The move is part of a broader push to modernize Essendant’s logistics infrastructure. It seeks to meet the demands of B2B and hybrid ecommerce buyers who increasingly expect consumer-grade delivery speed and flexibility.
Essendant and Roadie partnership
The partnership allows Essendant to integrate Roadie directly into its existing fulfillment network, which includes 30 distribution centers across the U.S. This integration will allow ecommerce orders to be routed dynamically based on proximity, carrier availability, and delivery times — key requirements in a B2B market that is rapidly adopting digital-first procurement practices.
“As ecommerce continues to reshape how businesses source and receive supplies, delivery speed has become a competitive differentiator,” said Tim Engstrom, senior vice president of supply chain at Essendant. “Our partnership with Roadie helps us close the last-mile gap without investing in dedicated assets, allowing us to move faster and smarter.”
Essendant’s logistics overhaul is part of a larger digital transformation strategy under new CEO Dave Rickard. He took the helm earlier this year following the departure of interim CEO David Boone. Rickard previously served as the company’s interim chief transformation officer. He brings experience from Uline, US Foods, and Boston Consulting Group.
Rickard now leads the company’s connected commerce initiative multi-pronged effort to:
- Grow ecommerce sales
- Integrate with online marketplaces
- Offer seamless fulfillment options for both resellers and end-users.
Essendant says it currently partners with over 1,300 brands and 560 suppliers. It also says it supports ecommerce fulfillment to 98% of the U.S. population with next-day service.
The Roadie integration builds on this foundation by enabling Essendant to better serve B2B, B2C, and B2B2C channels through more responsive and scalable delivery solutions.
With more than $5 billion in annual net sales, Essendant is competing in a digital commerce environment where speed, transparency, and service reliability increasingly determine market share. The company says strategic partnerships like this one are key to meeting the expectations of modern ecommerce buyers while maintaining operational efficiency.
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