Descartes Systems Group has acquired MacroPoint, an electronic transportation network providing location-based truck tracking and other services.
Descartes said it will pay some $107 million for MacroPoint, broken down with approximately $87 million in cash and $20 million in shares. The share consideration is subject to a 12 month hold period, with 50% of the share consideration required to be held for at least 18 months. capacity data content, the company said.
“Consumers expect to see the location and progress of shipments from the point of order to delivery,” said Ken Wood, executive vice president of product management at Descartes.
“With leading e-commerce retailers and other shippers demanding that their transportation providers provide real-time location-based information, the business-to-business market now has the same expectation of full visibility into transportation moves," he added. "To meet this expectation, MacroPoint has established what we believe is the preeminent network of connected vehicles and location-based content in North America.”
According to the company, MacroPoint runs a connected network of over two million trucking assets and drivers. MacroPoint connects to trucks through integrations to on-board electronic logging devices (ELDs), transportation management systems, GPS-enabled smart phone applications and location-based mobile phone triangulation. MacroPoint uses this data to help transportation brokers, logistics service providers and shippers track the locations of deliveries in trucks.
“MacroPoint is the market leader for truckload shipment visibility,” said Bennett Adelson, CEO of MacroPoint. “We believe that the combination of Descartes’ Global Logistics Network with our cloud-based, real-time load visibility platform creates a truly differentiated offering that helps customers research, plan, execute and monitor multi-modal shipments around the world.”
“Descartes has a successful history of electronically connecting transportation providers to transportation brokers, logistics intermediaries and shippers to share data, automate processes, and run more efficiently,” said Edward J. Ryan, Descartes’ CEO. “With this experience, we appreciate the unique value of a network-based business focused on the transportation industry with a track record of high revenue growth, high recurring revenues and profitability. We’re excited to have MacroPoint join the Global Logistics Network so that we can jointly deliver even more value to the logistics and supply chain community.”
