Descartes Systems Group has expanded its European presence with the purchase of Exentra Transport Solutions Limited. Exentra is a UK-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider of driver compliance solutions in the European Union (EU).
The purchase gives Descartes a strong foothold inside the EU, where every vehicle over 3.5 tons is required to have a tachograph. The tachograph records a vehicle’s speed and distance, together with the driver's activity.
Exentra’s cloud-based compliance management platform, Smartanalysis, helps customers leverage the data from a vehicle’s tachograph to comply with EU-wide legislation, Descartes said.
“The EU driver compliance legislation has been in place longer than comparable regulations in North America. In the EU, not only is every vehicle required to have tachograph hardware, but the hardware is standardized and fitted during vehicle production,” said Steve Fisher, CEO of Exentra and director of compliance at Descartes. “Our experience strengthens Descartes’ Routing, Mobile and Telematics suite to address the U.S. regulatory environment, while our combined solutions also have an immediate impact on the quality and safety of route planning for our collective UK customers.”
“Guided by our customers, we continue to invest in our Routing, Mobile and Telematics suite of products,” said Edward Ryan, COO at Descartes. “We’re particularly excited about making this incremental strategic investment in the UK market where we have a long history of route planning success with marquee customers such as John Lewis Partnership and Wolseley.”
