Descartes Users Form Global Customs Filing Working Group

CHICAGO, Sept. 22, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CSCMP Annual Conference -- Descartes Systems Group (TSX:DSG) (Nasdaq:DSGX), a federated global network logistics solutions provider, announced the formation of a Global Customs Filing working group by its customers to help them interpret, understand and prepare for the various existing and upcoming country-specific and international customs filing mandates across modes of transportation.

Descartes' working groups are formed by users with common interests to standardize business processes and develop best practices.

The Global Customs Filing working group brings together members of Descartes' European- and American-based Customs Advisory Councils, with the aim of expanding the discussion on optimal approaches to security adherence, enriching solution design, testing offering, developing industry insight into adoption and rollout, and working together with government representatives to better understand and normalize compliance requirements for smoother adoption.

The Global Customs Filing working group includes members of Descartes' forwarder, carrier and trading customer base. This group, along with the customs brokerage community, has government-mandated responsibility for security around cross-border shipments, and are relied upon by their customers to transmit filings to ensure supply chain integrity.

A key objective of the Global Customs Filing working group is to assist Descartes in advancing its comprehensive Global Filing Portal initiative, as announced by Descartes earlier today. The Global Filing Portal initiative focuses on the design of solutions that meet compliance requirements, are commercially viable, scale a variety of IT and operational environments and provide for an effective end-user experience.

Descartes' Global Customs Filing working group's other objectives include:

-- Providing input on the interpretation and understanding of the filing mandates ruling and its impact on industry;

-- Providing insight on optimal data and multi-party workflow options between the importer/exporter, forwarder, broker, carrier, other agents and governments around the world;

-- Participating in the testing of new Descartes offerings;

-- Reviewing and guiding Descartes' near/mid/long term product development priorities; and

-- Provide guidance on future complementary solutions or services to assist in further streamlining international trade.

More than 30 countries have security manifest system initiatives that have or are scheduled to become effective between 2008 and 2011. This compares to only seven countries that instituted such regulations in the seven years after the tragic events of 9/11, said Jonathan Wasserman, Senior Vice President, Global Trade and Compliance Solutions at Descartes. We believe that organizations around the world need to work together to determine how to manage and simplify these multi-party, multi-country processes and strive to make them as standardized and as efficient as possible. This working group is a perfect forum for shippers, carriers, forwarders, customs brokers and governments around the world, to Standardize Transactions Automating Multi-Party Processes related to customs filing.

For more information or to sign up for the Descartes working group please visit www.descartes.com/globalfilework

For more information about Descartes' federated platform, its other value-added logistics solutions, the customers announced this week or more about 'The State of Things United' join Descartes in Chicago at CSCMP at one or more of the following events:

• Tuesday, September 22 7:00am - 7:45am, Descartes Press Conference Breakfast Meeting, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, Regency D or via a teleconference using designated numbers 800-895-5087 for North America or +1 212-231-2929 for international or via an audio web cast on the Descartes Web site at www.descartes.com/company/investors.

• Tuesday, September 22 10:00am - 11:30am, presentation by Art Mesher, CEO, Descartes Systems Group The State of Things United - The Next Big Thing McCormick Place, West Building, Room 187C * Tuesday, September 22 5:15pm - 7:00pm Networking Reception, Sponsored by Descartes, McCormick Place, West Building, Skyline Ballroom

About Descartes

Descartes (TSX:DSG) (Nasdaq:DSGX) is making the world a better place by enabling global organizations with logistics-intensive businesses to save money by improving the productivity and performance of their operations. Underlying Descartes' offerings is the Descartes Global Logistics Network (GLN), one of the world's most extensive multi-modal business applications network. As a federated platform, the Descartes GLN combines with component-based 'nano' sized applications to provide messaging services between logistics trading partners, shipment management services to help manage third party carriers and private fleet management services for organizations of all sizes. Descartes' solutions and services deliver results by enabling organizations around the world to reduce administrative costs, billing cycles, fleet size, contract carrier costs, and mileage driven; improve pickup and delivery reliability; and optimize working capital through fleet visibility. Descartes' hosted, transactional and packaged solutions deliver repeatable, measurable results and fast time-to-value. Descartes customers include an estimated 1,600 ground carriers and more than 90 airlines, 30 ocean carriers, 900 freight forwarders and third-party providers of logistics services, and hundreds of manufacturers, retailers, distributors, private fleet owners and regulatory agencies. The company has more than 450 employees and is based in Waterloo, Ontario, with operations in Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Montreal, Miami, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Derby, London, Stockholm, Shanghai, and Toronto. For more information, visit www.descartes.com.

The Descartes Systems Group logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4065

This release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (forward-looking statements) that relate to Descartes' solution offering and potential benefits derived therefrom; Descartes' Global Customs filing working group; and other matters. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the factors and assumptions discussed in the section entitled, Certain Factors That May Affect Future Results in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Ontario Securities Commission and other securities commissions across Canada. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. We do not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.