Logistics technology provider Descartes Systems Group and software firm SAP SE will collaborate to develop logistics messaging software for regulatory compliance and other content, strengthening both firms' service offerings in that area, the companies said today.
Under the deal, the companies will build a platform to support a logistics message exchange between Descartes' cloud-based Global Logistics Network (GLN) and the SAP Transportation Management (SAP TM) application. The exchange will act as an end-to-end business-content network for users of the GLN, an electronic communications network connecting more than 220,000 users performing complex global freight forwarding, logistics, customs brokerage, and related services.
The alliance will broaden the reach of SAP's transportation management system (TMS) product and will help Descartes strengthen its position in transportation networking, the companies said. For example, by adding a link to SAP's transportation management service, the GLN will enable users to comply with unique rules for customs security and fiscal filings in each country, the companies said.
Descartes will also provide GLN-based messaging and filing services for cross-border security filings and transit, export, and import declarations for forwarders and brokers. These services will leverage the transportation information created by the SAP TMS and provide filing status updates to provide improved shipment visibility.
For Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes, the announcement with the German software giant comes about a week after it closed on two acquisitions that it said would broaden connectivity for its users. On July 22, it acquired Columbia, Md.-based MK Data Services LLC, which provides a "denied-party screening" service that allows clients to avoid doing business with banned partners by searching for their names on multiple government sanction lists. Two days later, it acquired BearWare Inc., a Cleveland-based company that helps retailers collaborate with logistics service providers by using mobile technology to scan cartons at each point between a distribution center and a storefront.
