Full guarantee offered on bill of entry

Shippers of durable goods cross-border face aggravations enough with customs delays, but for perishable shippers such hiccups can ruin a cargo shipment. “There are many changes in customs procedures. Perishables are particularly sensitive to this because when you’re dealing with such cargo it’s very important to know that your software is always up to date with the latest changes from customs,” said Nachi Mendelow of Compu-Clearing, which offers perishable shippers computer software that assists with the smooth passage of goods through border crossings. “When we provide software for perishable shippers, it starts with understanding the customer’s unique requirements. We offer systems specific to them. For instance, a big part of perishable shipping is the tracking of the goods – where they are and when they need to get to where they must be. Our software’s Trade and Track facility allows users to track shipments from the beginning to the end of the journey and, most importantly, allows users to communicate with all parties involved in the movement of the goods. The programme also allows for the pre-shipment calculation of landed costs. The cCloud System allows shippers to submit all supporting documents to Customs electronically, further helping to reduce delays,” said Mendelow. Having in place one key document required for perishables, the Phytosanitary certificate, ensures smooth passage through the border. The alternative is product-damaging delays. Compu-Clearing’s system allows shippers to produce the certificate as needed. “All entries can be electronically submitted to Customs via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and users who deal with Customs in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland benefit from our system’s integration into those countries’ Asycuda systems. The shipper who does a bill of entry in South Africa is able to transfer all the data from the Compu- Clearing system into the Asycuda System to allow for the quick production of the bill of entry on the other side of the border. Not only is this quite a time saver, but there is another important benefit. It’s an accuracy guarantee because whatever is entered in one system is reflected in the other system,” says Mendelow. Compu-Clearing also offers a full guarantee on the bill of entry, even against consequential losses. If an entry comes out wrong due to a system error, and there is a penalty, Compu-Clearing will pick up the penalty. If there is no penalty but there is a consequential loss, such as storage or demurrage, Compu-Clearing will pick up these costs. “We guarantee our software, as well as public information data, duty rates, permit requirements and exchange rates (Customs),” said Mendelow.