Canadian logistics software firm Descartes Systems (NASDAQ: DSGX) acquired BestTransport, a U.S. cloud-based transportation management system (TMS) provider specializing in flatbed moves.
Descartes paid US$11.2 million for the Columbus, Ohio-based firm in a deal announced on August 21. BestTransport’s TMS suite serves shippers and carriers in North America and the European Union across the lifecycle of a shipments.
“Moving goods in the flatbed market requires domain expertise and special equipment, and the associated transportation management processes have some unique characteristics,” Andrew Roszko, executive vice president of global sales at Descartes, said in a statement. “BestTransport has built a great business by creating a platform that addresses these unique characteristics with solutions available for both shippers and carriers.”
Apart from its TMS, BestTransport offers on-demand consulting services including lane analysis, freight cost modeling, and carrier contract development and negotiation.
BestTransport marks the fourth acquisition by Descartes in 2019.
Descartes purchased the Swiss B2B consulting firm STEPcom in June. In May, it bought New Zealand-based CORE Transport, which specializes in shipment tracking. In February, Descartes acquired fellow Canadian company Management Systems Resources, a provider of software for customs clearance.
Waterloo, Ontario-based Descartes last reported earnings in May, covering its first fiscal quarter of 2020. It reported US$7.9 million in net income on US$78 million in revenue. Net income increased 4 percent and revenue jumped by 16 percent compared to the first quarter of 2018.
