Rotate acquires DBC to expand air cargo data services and AI push

Rotate has acquired Data Build Company (DBC), a Netherlands-based data engineering consultancy, to support the launch of Rotate Data Services and strengthen its data capabilities for the air cargo industry.

The acquisition brings DBC’s enterprise-scale data engineering expertise into Rotate and aims to help air cargo companies address data-related challenges, from developing data strategies to building data foundations through hands-on engineering support. DBC has experience building technology solutions for organisations across aviation, logistics, pharmaceuticals, finance, retail and government.

According to Rotate, the air cargo industry has access to large volumes of data but often struggles to turn it into action due to siloed systems, poor data quality, incomplete records and a lack of standardisation. The company said these issues also affect the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), as fragmented and unreliable data makes AI applications difficult to implement.

With the acquisition, Rotate said it can now offer a combined team of strategy consultants and experienced data engineers with expertise in both technology and air cargo operations.

Ryan Keyrouse, Chief Executive Officer of Rotate, said the company’s focus is to help the industry make better use of AI and improve the quality of data at the source.

“The air cargo industry is excited about AI, and we want to help enable that. Over 15 years we've received enormous amounts of data with all the quality issues that come with it and that has made us very good at fixing them. Now we want to fix those issues at the source,” said Keyrouse.

He added that Rotate launched Rotate Data Services last year after identifying a gap in the market for support tailored specifically to air cargo data challenges, and said acquiring DBC would help the company support the industry in gaining more value from investments in data and technology.

Tom Schummer, Managing Partner of Data Build Company, said DBC has helped global companies across industries define data strategies, build data foundations and adopt new technology and AI capabilities based on business goals.

“We are excited to join Rotate to bring these best practices to air cargo,” Schummer said.

Rotate provides data-driven consulting, data services, software and data products to the air cargo industry. The company has offices in the Netherlands and Malaysia and is part of CargoTech, a consortium focused on accelerating digital transformation in air cargo.