Descartes Systems Group announced that it has acquired NetCHB, a leading provider of customs filing solutions in the US.NetCHB business is based around automating customs filing processes in the US.
The company’s cloud-based platform is used by more than 700 customs brokers to connect to the US Customs and Border Protection (CPB) Automated Broker Interface (ABI) to electronically execute both fiscal customs declarations and security filings.
More recently, the company has built on its success with traditional customs filings to capitalise on changes in the regulatory filing framework for Section 321 Type 86 e-commerce shipments.
Section 321 Type 86 is a voluntary filing initiative for low-value e-commerce goods that CBP introduced in 2019 to streamline border crossing.“Section 321 Type 86 compliance is complex, but brokers and forwarders that take advantage of it can reduce the amount of time e-commerce packages are waiting for customs release,” said Ken Wood, EVP product management at Descartes. “NetCHB’s platform automates the declaration process for high volumes of e-commerce shipments and helps keep them moving quickly to consumers, helping some of the largest e-commerce customs brokers and forwarders process shipments in a compliant and efficient manner.”“As the digitisation of the logistics and supply chain industry picks up pace, we continue invest in complementary solutions that add depth and breadth to our Global Logistics Network (GLN),” said Edward Ryan, Descartes’ CEO. “NetCHB has a team of deep customs domain experts, scalable and robust technology solutions, and a large group of customers that will benefit from additional solutions available on the GLN to help them manage the lifecycle of shipments.”NetCHB is headquartered in Arizona. Descartes acquired NetCHB for up-front cash consideration of $40 million, plus potential performance-based consideration.
The maximum amount payable under the all-cash performance-based earn-out is $60.0 million, based on NetCHB achieving revenue-based targets over the first two years post-acquisition.
