Descartes Systems snaps up Oz Development

Descartes Systems Group said Wednesday it has acquired Oz Development, a provider of application integration solutions that help small-to-midsized businesses automate their logistics and supply chain processes.    Descartes Systems Group has acquired Oz Development, a Westborough, Mass.-based provider of application integration solutions that help small-to-midsized businesses automate a number of their logistics and supply chain processes, the company said Wednesday.
   The purchase price for the acquisition was about $29.5 million, which was paid in cash, according to Descartes.
   For more than 10 years, Oz has helped many businesses connect and integrate with various leading enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, e-commerce and supply chain platforms. The company has built a community that includes nearly 7,000 end customers, Descartes said.
   “The e-commerce market in North America continues to grow as consumer buying patterns and expectations evolve,” said Ken Wood, Descartes’ executive vice president for product management, in a statement. “A large portion of this growth in the market is being addressed by the SMB community, where companies typically don’t have a fleet of vehicles and rely on third parties, such as UPS, for the final-mile delivery. By combining with Oz, we can better address this segment of the retail community and extend the reach of our Global Logistics Network to drive more logistics messaging and application adoption.”
   “We’re excited by the opportunity to leverage this domain expertise to expand beyond what Oz does today and to provide Oz’s customers with access to the complementary solutions available on Descartes’ Global Logistics Network,” added Descartes CEO Edward J. Ryan.
   Descartes has made several acquisitions this year, including BearWare, an Ohio-based provider of mobile solutions that connect logistics companies with retailers, and denied-party screening technology provider MK Data to bolster its trade compliance solutions.