WATERLOO, Ont. – Descartes Systems Group announced today it has acquired MacroPoint, a provider of truck tracking and predictive freight capacity data content.

“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. To meet this expectation, MacroPoint has established what we believe is the preeminent network of connected vehicles and location-based content in North America.”

MacroPoint runs a connected network of more than two million trucking assets and drivers. It 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 can also use this content to provide transportation brokers and shippers with predictive freight capacity to help identify early opportunities for additional freight moves.

“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.”

The deal was worth approximately US$107 million.