German business software provider SAP SE SAP -2.67% is linking up with Descartes Systems Group Inc. DSGX 0.48% to give its transportation management customers access to a cloud-based logistics messaging network to better manage shipping functions, the companies said Wednesday.

The Descartes messaging service, called Global Logistics Network, will be included as an option for users of SAP’s transportation management software, linking them to a network of 220,000 parties in over 160 countries.

The users, many of them shippers who normally would have to set up individual communication channels with individual carriers, can use Toronto-based Descartes’ messaging network to manage orders, set up contracts, send customs forms and other transportation-related operations.

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The tie-up underscores the growing demand for collaboration between companies up and down supply chains as distribution channels become more complex and global. Companies are looking for ways to more easily share information with their service providers and simplify communication so they can more easily track shipments, plan production and procurement, and perform other functions.

Automating the flow of crucial information, such as customs and shipment forms, can simplify coordination between multiple parties in a transportation network and reduce shipment errors, such as misfiled paperwork that can cause delays in international shipments, said Chris Jones, executive vice president of marketing and service for Descartes.

When transportation networks aren’t integrated, “it will slow your supply chain down, or cost you money,” Mr. Jones said.

“Across today’s complex global supply chains, the movement and sharing of data between logistics parties is as important as the physical movement of goods,” said Franz Hero, senior vice president of supply chain management and logistics at SAP, in a news release. The partnership with Descartes will provide “more comprehensive, timely and accurate logistics information.”

Write to Loretta Chao at loretta.chao@wsj.com