Accurate costing information is vital

The movement of project cargoes is an involved and complicated task, and requires a lot of additional management and attention, according to Nachi Mendelow, marketing manager of freight system specialists, Compu- Clearing. “For the shipping industry,” he told FTW, “this could refer to large shipments arriving at different ports at differing times, and then needing to be transported to multiple locations. Obviously, with such shipments, serious planning is needed.” A first priority is to work out all the different costs that are involved in the shipment – including everything from overseas freight charges to local port charges, from currency fluctuations to container cleaning fees. “All these myriad charges come together as the final landed cost per shipment,” Mendelow added, “which can be further broken down into the final landed cost per unit. “And obviously, the lower this final landed cost per unit is, the more profitable the shipment becomes, and the more chance a project has of reaching successful completion and remaining within its budget.” Then, Mendelow added, you have to add in the complexity of different suppliers, overseas freight forwarders and shipping lines offering differing rates and routes. “It is therefore of great importance to be able to factor in all of these different options when planning your shipment,” he said. “You need to have accurate costing information prior to the placing of the order.” A second very important aspect of projects is the actual tracking of goods. “It is of vital importance for you to know exactly where all your containers are and where they need to get to,” Mendelow said. “Many projects fall behind schedule due to goods not arriving by the required delivery date. “You could, for example, have the entire construction teams sitting waiting, unable to work, due to cement not arriving.” To overcome these problems, Mendelow told FTW, Compu-Clearing has now introduced ‘Trade & Track’ – a new product that deals specifically with these issues. This system is designed to help the importer and clearing and forwarding agents to get detailed costing information, freight analysis reports and pro-forma clearing and forwarding invoices – all prior to the actual placing of the order. “It will also assist with the tracking of goods, ensuring that there is absolute visibility throughout the shipment, and that the goods arrive at the importer before the required delivery date,” said Mendelow. “As always, it follows our basic company philosophy – that Compu- Clearing offers rock-solid systems for rock-solid companies.”