The Kitchener-Waterloo-based Descartes Systems Group acquired English shipping management platform provider BoxTop Technologies, for PS10.25million ($18million CAD).
Descartes has grown by actively acquiring companies in the freight, transportation and supply chain management sectors.
BoxTop, based in Windsor, UK, is a platform that allows small-to medium-sized logistics service providers to manage their shipping operations. It includes quoting, booking, routing and analytics dashboard.
Scott Sangster said that Descartes and BoxTop have been working together for several years. He added that the acquisition of BoxTop was the next logical step in their partnership.
Sangster stated that “BoxTop is an excellent solution for smaller- to midsized LSPs and we see the opportunity to integrate it with other solutions on [the global logistics network]”. This will allow us to provide more value to BoxTop’s customers and expand our geographic footprint into more European countries.
Descartes CEO Edward J. Ryan stated that LSPs continue to digitize their operations, and that the company wants small-to-medium-sized LSPs to have access to the same solutions to “manage the lifetime of shipments.” Ryan also added that Descartes was “excited to welcome BoxTop employees, partners, and customers” to the company.
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Descartes, founded in 1981 and listed at the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) since 1998, offers software solutions to manage and monitor logistical processes, such as delivery resources and invoices.
Descartes has grown by actively acquiring companies in the freight, transportation and supply chain management sectors.
Descartes purchased Irish Aerospace Software Developments for EUR54m ($79m CAD) in April. The deal was closed with cash on hand, but “final arrangements” are expected to be completed by the end January 2025. Ken Wood, executive vice president of product management at Descartes said that the firm saw potential combining ASD’s RFID tracking solutions with their own real-time tracker.
In 2018, Descartes acquired Toronto-based PinPoint which collected real-time information on trucks and mobile employees. Descartes acquired Foxtrot and XPS Technologies in 2022 for a total of $61.1 million USD. In 2023, the company continued its acquisition spree by acquiring Supply Vision from Arizona for $12 million USD, and GroundCloud from Minnesota for $138 millions USD.
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