March 10, 2021 Recent News
As we come to the end of our 40th year in business we’ve been reflecting on how much has changed over the last four decades serving the Greater Washington, DC area. Starting with around 100 couriers only delivering paper documents, we’ve since expanded with multiple specialized divisions, applied advanced technology and continue to thrive in the fast-paced, logistical realm. Take a look at the Washington Express journey below.
1987 – Executive Couriers, another local courier service of equal proportions, merged with Washington Express creating one large company retaining the Washington Express name. The company soon after became the number one courier service for law firms in the DC-metro area and grew to 200 couriers.
1998 – Washington Express was sold to Dispatch Management Systems (DMS); a company participating in the large-scale acquisition of courier services and merging into one known as an industry “roll-up”. WEX effectively sold the business in exchange for stock, but in the same year, started advancing our technology by using Kiwi; a dispatching software that gave a countdown on the delivery.
2000 – As the commerce world flocked to the internet, the first Washington Express website was created. WEX has always maintained the importance of staying up to date in the fast-changing technology-driven times. The website also allowed for the launch of the internet-based WEXlink online ordering system, which remains a vital component of our company to this day. Even though ordering by phone remained the popular method for years, WEX maintained a steady course of advancing our technology.
2001 – Washington Express was bought back from the bank following the dissolution of Dispatch Management Systems. However, through this process, we were able to keep the technology WEX received from DMS. Unbeknown to them, this whole transition helped set us up for greater success.
2007 – The demand of courier services was great, and Washington Express was continuing to grow and acquired several other courier companies in the area, including Apple Courier Merger. With growth also came the need to find better technology to handle the volume. So we made the switch to e-courier; a delivery and dispatch software. The very next year, couriers started using their own smart phones to access this technology on the go, which is still used today.
2011 – Then came the launch of Washington Express Visas and Documents, which specializes in providing work visas and passport processing; eventually evolved into primarily document legalization and authentication. Washington Express was already providing these types of services, making up 10% of our total revenue, by delivering client’s application to embassies/state department, but ran into many rejected documents. This was due to the mistakes made on the applications themselves, so WEX saw a need and evolved our resources. This ushered in a dedicated department to help clients file the appropriate information per embassy/state department. In 2012, Washington Express Visas was up and running in their own office in the heart of DC to further expedite these documents.
2017 – Our newest division to date, Washington Express Movers, was established. This division specializes in commercial moving and performing short-notice office moves of any size, along with long/short-term storage of office equipment, furniture, etc… This came about because WEX was already being asked to move large items frequently, so a dedicated division to help with small, internal, last minute moves seemed to be a great next step. Additionally, Office Movers, who was the largest exclusive commercial office mover in the country, had just gone out of business, so it opened an opportunity. Since not many moving companies in the area specialize in this, we started sharing with our current WEX customers this new service. As the momentum grew, we started making investments in infrastructures, trucks, moving equipment, and warehousing for storage. This quickly grew in helping with larger move projects and office relocations. We are now known as Office Movers Express (OMX) as we really wanted a name that says what we do, especially in the age of internet marketing, and to differentiate from WEX’s services.
2019 – After 20 years at our headquarters off Route 1 in Beltsville, MD, WEX and OMX badly needed a new space that included a much larger warehouse space to accommodate our growing moving and storage clients. The tables had turned and now our own office relocation was in order, and we relocated to a 30,000 square foot office and warehouse facility. This allowed for new services aimed at providing customers with flexibility and easy access to stored items.
2020 – Logistical needs continued to change in the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. WEX moved quickly and continued to evolve with the changes while maintaining the same level of services. That year, 95% of our clients ordered through WEXlink as online ordering continues to be popularized and mainstream. Through these orders, we noticed a greater need for home deliveries, and food subscription box companies started seeking us out for regular deliveries. OMX noticed some office downsizing and provided office space reconfigurations and temporary storage while offices created social distancing workstations.
Washington Express looks forward to serving our clients for another 40 years as we look to the future of the exciting and ever-changing logistical industry.
