Descartes Acquires Impatex

Descartes Systems Group, a global company uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, acquired Impatex Freight Software Limited, a provider of electronic customs filing and freight forwarding solutions in the U.K.

Impatex brings more than 200 freight forwarder customers to Descartes’ Global Logistic Network, with the majority of these in the U.K. By combining Impatex’s leading U.K. customs and forwarding solutions with Descartes’ global community of logistics participants and logistics management solutions, customers now have a single trusted partner to help them manage their shipments across the globe.

The European customs compliance market is characterized by a complex framework of member states, each with different regulations, languages and systems. Transportation carriers, logistics intermediaries and shippers look to technology partners, like Descartes and Impatex, to manage this complex environment. Freight forwarding operations are also faced with similar business and regulatory challenges at a local level. Freight forwarding technology solutions address those local challenges to allow users to operate efficiently and with a high degree of confidence.

“Impatex has been developing its feature-rich, U.K. customs compliance platform in a transaction-based revenue business model for more than 20 years,” said Edward J. Ryan, Descartes’ CEO. “Impatex strengthens Descartes’ Customs and Regulatory Compliance platform with additional functionality and a broader set of services for the U.K. market. In addition, Impatex’s NetFreight forwarding application provides an agile operations platform for smaller forwarders to address local needs while extending their business reach and efficiency through integration with Descartes’ Global Logistics Network.”

Impatex is headquartered in Cadnam, U.K. The all cash purchase price for the acquisition was GBP 5.1 million (approximately USD $8.3 million at December 20, 2013). Descartes funded the purchase price for this acquisition by drawing on its existing acquisition line of credit.