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.