World Trade - September 2008 - (Page 47) ernment agencies and international regulatory bodies. Growing compliance requirements also demand standardization. In order to manage, airfreight stakeholders now have to automate and standardize the shipment management process so that both carriers and freight forwarders around the world are not reinventing the wheel every time a shipment occurs. The changing cross-border picture For decades, prior to 9/11, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency has accepted hand-written, single-paged shipping manifests from carriers on behalf of shippers at the point of arrival at border posts. The 2002 Trade Act and subsequent regulations, however, mandate that any inbound shipment to the United States, regardless of mode of transport (ocean, air or truck), have manifests filed with the CBP to inform them of shipment details. Subsequently, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) mandated similar regulations expected to take effect this autumn. Global security and customs filings initiatives in the future will become even more challenging with the anticipated forthcoming extension of the 10+2 regulation (requirements for ten more items of information from the shipper and two from the transport provider). It is evident that the processes and requirements are not going to get any easier over time. Therefore, shippers and logistics service providers need to develop a vision for the future to prepare themselves for the inevitable new regulation mandates and process requirements. Preparing for the inevitable James R. Tourtellotte/ U.S. Customs and Border Protection To meet growing compliance requirements in this new security-focused environment, shippers must work in conjunction with global trade service providers to find new and innovative ways to move data and documents around the world quicker and more efficiently. That starts with more open communications and systems to support them. Data requirements are higher than ever. Security systems designed by customs agencies worldwide are demanding advanced commercial information from shippers and exporters on a 24/7 basis for ‘real time’ processing. Suppliers must exchange information to let officials know if errors, omissions or no-load requests exist. As a result, companies are struggling to adapt to working in a parallel environment with customs agencies so they can react quickly and efficiently to meet security demands. They know all too well that if they do not structure their processes to meet the demanding environment, they can expect missed deadlines and disruptions in delivery schedules. The electronic movement of information, documents, and such critical trade data as permits, certificates, invoices and bills of lading is becoming essential to ensure information is delivered to the right place and at the right time for a smooth and fast border crossing. But how can this information be moved electronically when a shipper’s trading partners have different proprietary or off-the-shelf systems? In order to facilitate timely exchange of information, systems need to talk to each other and pass relevant data between and amongst the trade chain players in a highly secure and expedited manner. Shippers and their trading partners also need to be networked together to automate and standardize business processes, share vital data for immediate and automatic integration with their business systems, and comply more easily with required regulations in order to avoid potentially costly penalties and delays. Because this approach requires a high level of collaboration, new and sometimes non-traditional alliances need to be developed to ensure that all the links are made and the responsible parties are defined according to who will provide what data and when. This demands clearly defined data elements as a means to establish accountability for participants. Given the changes to come—and the increased demand for collaboration in the supply chain—organizations must be prepared to invest in processes that will ensure the trade chain can continue without interruption. A solid vision, good strategic planning and a communications infrastructure within a trading community will be the keys to future success. A detailed look at third-party services Technology and multi-modal global logistics networks are being embraced by many shippers and their logistics service providers. However, as with any initiative that involves technology, there are both great benefits to be gained and challenges to overcome. While shippers, carriers, brokers and importers are keen to take advantage of electronic delivery, many are simply not adequately prepared to make the transition because of both technological and financial limitations. Creating, maintaining and supporting the required infrastructure in-house is expensive, complex and difficult to maintain; that is why many are turning to thirdparty service providers to manage their customs filing WWW.WORLDTRADEMAG.COM 47 http://WWW.WORLDTRADEMAG.COM
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