WATERLOO - Descartes Systems Group , announced today that Con-way Freight, a leading North American less-than-truckload carrier, is joining the pilot phase launch of the Advance Commercial Information (ACI) Highway electronic filings with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Con-way Freight, a subsidiary of Con-way, Inc. (NYSE:CNW), has been a leading advocate of the ACI program as an active member of Descartes' Americas Customs Working Group, which supports the CBSA requirements outlined in the CBSA's Electronic Commerce Client Requirements Document (ECCRD). Con-way Freight's leadership laid the groundwork for the development of the pilot at Descartes and provides an industry-proven framework for other carriers to join the pilot, which is designed to validate operational aspects of this emerging requirement and quantify the benefits from a streamlined, electronic filing process for imports in advance of the formal regulation mandate.

"We are pleased to be participating with Descartes and the working group members to improve and validate this platform as the standard for electronic trade security filings enabling more efficient cross-border trade between the U.S. and Canada," said Melissa Mathew, manager of customs compliance for Con-way Freight.

"Descartes brings proven expertise and experience to this important initiative, and has been instrumental in helping Con-way Freight ensure compliance with existing and emerging e-commerce trade security requirements," she noted. "We're confident this pilot will validate opportunities to optimize our operations, improve service to our customers, and smoothly address this important new government security initiative as it is implemented and enforced."

On November 10th, the CBSA finalized its initial regulation ECCRD for EDI Highway Cargo and Conveyance. This ACI e-Manifest initiative mandates that CBSA receive advance electronic notification of cargo shipments arriving in Canada by highway.

Already a leading service provider for reporting cargo data for air and marine shipments entering Canada and the United States, Descartes has extended its Global Logistics Network Compliance service to help the international carrier community comply with this e-Manifest initiative.

"We work with our clients and working groups to ensure that our compliance solutions not only adhere to the requirements, but that they leverage existing operational data partnerships through our federated Global Logistics Network using standards we help to establish between trading partners," said Jonathan Wasserman, Senior Vice President Product Strategy for Global Trade Compliance at Descartes. "When the CBSA released its interim requirements early, we were able to go live with the CBSA testing facilities in a matter of days. We anticipate continuing to work closely with the CBSA, our customers and the ACI Highway Working Sub-Group of our America Working Group to fine-tune our offering between now and the mandate of the regulation in 2010."

Descartes' ACI Highway solutions are part of Descartes' GLN Customs Filing & Compliance suite. The GLN helps automate, manage and streamline the end-to-end shipment process, from source to consumer, with ongoing real-time visibility. Descartes' customs filing and compliance services help companies meet regulatory requirements for international shipments for both international customs agencies and security initiatives.