New system slashes data capture time

JUST AS the vinyl record,
the age of the fax seems
to be drawing to a close as
more and more companies
move towards EDI receipts
for their bill of lading
documents.
“We are now on
the verge of creating a
compatible interface with
our own recently upgraded
system and have set up
dialogue between USAbased
Carotrans and our
service provider in South
Africa, Corefreight,” says
Colette Smith of World
Groupage Services. The
company was formed as
the first South African
NVOCC on the USA-SA
route, and the introduction
of an automated EDI
receipt in mid-2008 is set
to further boost efficiency
for the Gauteng-based
firm, she added.
"The new system will
reduce the time taken for
data capture dramatically,
thus increasing efficiency,
reducing human error
and providing fast and
accurate data to our
clients."
An electronic transfer
will eliminate the time
and labour-intensive
manual data-capture
process as the company
moves to cut out the
human-error factor. “It’s
going to be more efficient
with fewer errors. We also
anticipate faster dispatch
times as the SOB will
be able to be sent out
quicker,” adds Smith.
Recent fears caused
by increasing incidents
of electronic fraud since
the advent of electronic
document transfer were
cast aside by Smith, who
concludes, “We know our
clients and we trust them.”
Since its inception in
1991, the company has
seen year-on-year growth
in terms of volumes and
margins with regular full
container load imports on
the USA-SA route.