Descartes Systems Group has just closed its 31st purchasing deal in 9 years – this time it has invested 57 million euros (USD 61 million) in the acquisition of Aerospace Software Developments (ASD). Of those, 54 million euros were paid cash in hand upon closing, while the small rest is expected to be handed over to Descartes in the fourth quarter of this ear. ASD has its headquarters in Ireland and provides customs and regulatory compliance solutions aimed at facilitating customs processes for importers, exporters, and LSPs and helping them comply with Irish regulatory requirements, when looking to import or export their shipments. Descartes thus gains intelligent customs filing solutions all about Irish customs procedures. “Additionally, ASD’s RFID solutions complement Descartes’ CORE BLE real-time tracking platform for the air cargo industry – helping global airlines and ground handlers eliminate manual tasks and comply with various airline regulations more efficiently through the unique identification, tagging, and tracking of assets,” the release states.
Ken Wood, EVP Product Management at Descartes, said: “Descartes’ Global Logistics Network (“GLN”) was built to help shippers, carriers, and LSPs connect and collaborate to manage the complete lifecycle of shipments. This combination with ASD is highly complementary to our current product footprint. ASD adds deep Irish customs domain expertise and a modern multi-country customs technology platform. We also see great synergies for the airline community by combining ASD’s RFID-based solutions with Descartes’ CORE BLE real-time tracking platform.” Edward J. Ryan, CEO of Descartes, stated: “As customers increasingly look to cover more business processes with one provider, we continue to add solutions to the GLN for them to do so. ASD shares a common vision to serve the wider global logistics community of shippers, carriers and LSPs. We’re excited to welcome the ASD employees, customers, and partners into the Descartes family.”
