Pitney Bowes is putting a fresh stamp on its shipping capabilities by acquiring Royal Alliances, Inc.’s presort business. Royal Alliances, which is headquartered in Irving, Texas, provides technology-enabled shipping and mailing solutions.
According to an announcement from Pitney Bowes, the acquisition, which was finalized on Jan. 20, is expected to add more than 100 million First-Class Mail pieces annually to the Pitney Bowes Presort Services Network. Meanwhile, Royal Alliances will continue to operate its technology-driven freight brokerage business as Direct Logistics.
132 retailers in the Top 1000 use Pitney Bowes as a carrier. Those 132 retailers made $529.64 billion in 2024 web sales, according to Digital Commerce 360 data. Additionally, 68 use it for international ecommerce services, and 16 use it for fulfillment services. The Top 1000 is Digital Commerce 360’s database ranking North America’s largest online retailers by annual web sales.
Why Pitney Bowes is acquiring Royal Alliances’ presort business
“The acquisition of Royal Alliances’ presort business is another strategic step forward for Pitney Bowes,” said Debbie Pfeiffer, executive vice president and president of Pitney Bowes Presort Services. “We are excited to welcome Royal Alliances’ valued clients to Pitney Bowes and look forward to the opportunities ahead.”
Royal Alliances also praised the acquisition, crediting its team.
“This acquisition is the culmination of over a decade of innovation and growth from the Royal Alliances team, and I’m excited for the opportunities that this transaction will provide to our customers,” said Aaron McDaniel, chief executive officer at Royal Alliances.
The company will process the increased volume in several of its existing locations, including in Detroit; Salt Lake City; Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida; and Dallas, each a part of the more than 30 Pitney Bowes Presort Services operating centers located across the United States. Pitney Bowes Presort Services processes more than 15 billion pieces of mail each year, according to the company.
In addition, Pitney Bowes Presort Services is the largest workshare partner of the U.S. Postal Service. Through that work, it helps mailers of various sizes capture measurable postage savings while simplifying the complexity of sending mail and parcels.
The acquisition’s wider implications
“The acquisition is likely to have a pretty big impact in the mailing sector,” Rich Pleeth, co-founder and CEO of United Kingdom-based shipping logistics company Fin, told Digital Commerce 360.
Pleeth predicts the acquisition will lead to increased efficiency.
“Everyone needs that now that tech is moving so quickly,” Pleeth explained, adding that he hopes to see a lot of innovation from the combined companies.
Still, integrating the two companies may pose challenges.
“The integration process will present enormous challenges; integrating their IT systems will take a long time,” Pleeth said, estimating a full integration could take a year.
Bringing Royal Alliances’ presort business into Pitney Bowes
Pleeth stated that it’s not a matter of combining two “plug and play” systems; both companies have complex legacy equipment that require learning to “talk to one another.”
“It will be executed successfully and reshape the industry,” Pleeth assessed.
He added that he hopes to see innovations and new technologies that result in a speedier system through supply chain efficiencies.
Pitney Bowes handles parcels of all sizes. Forest Webber, owner of online businesses The Fireplace Distributor and The Trade Table, said he looks forward to the innovations the acquisition might bring to their space of larger item shipping. Webber’s company, for example, recently shipped a 605-pound sauna.
“Shipping items at this size is complicated and must be closely monitored to ensure success,” Webber noted.
In that context, he hopes this acquisition will ultimately result in more affordable and reliable service.
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