Descartes Systems Group, a Canadian supply chain information technology (IT) company, said today it acquired Customs Info LLC, a U.S. provider of trade data content to power global trade management (GTM) systems, for $45.1 million in cash and Descartes' stock. The move expands Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes' presence into the automated global trade management arena.
Based in Salt Lake City, Customs Info provides trade data and related research tools to more than 800 multinational shippers in 160 countries. The data populates global trade management systems with information on tariffs, duties, regulations, trade agreements, rules of origin, and other trade-related content. Customs Info also provides online global trade research tools, and "software as a service" (SaaS) classification systems to help shippers build and maintain complex classification databases for their worldwide operations.
In addition, Customs Info provides duty and tax content to some of the world's largest e-commerce sites, Descartes said in a statement.
Descartes operates a global logistics network used each day by more than 10,000 customers to share critical supply chain information to manage their trade flows. By integrating a trade data provider, businesses can do a more effective job of planning and managing their supply chains, according to Edward J. Ryan, Descartes' CEO, in the statement.
