The role of the consultant is becoming increasingly critical in an industry where skills are in short supply and economic realities demand close attention to the bottom line – and that includes permanent head count. Established three years ago, D Liebenberg Consulting provides importers and forwarding agents with an outsourced option for all their brokerage and compliance issues. “People with my skills set are diminishing – and that’s largely because the majority of processes are automated,” says David Liebenberg, who has 24 years of customs experience and was senior manager in the customs compliance department of UTi before opening his consultancy business. “In my day I had to write out a bill of entry and know how to do the calculation. Now staff input the information into a software programme and get the answer so they don’t learn the basic skills.” A fulltime customs expert generally comes at a big cost, says Liebenberg, which is why a number of companies tend to go for the outsourced option. Employing someone to run the operations while outsourcing appeals, classifications, audits and the like to a customs specialist on a retainer basis is the route that most companies tend to take, he adds. Customs modernisation has automated a large part of the process, but when it comes to classification and other aspects of customs that require “interpretation” this is never going to change – regardless of any advances in technology. “You will always need someone with the skill sets because being good at classification comes with time. You can learn general rules and how to apply them but the only way you become proficient is by practice and by reading up on rulings that have been made. Modernisation will make life easier from an operational point of view, but things like classification will demand a lot more than that.” And while customs has made significant strides in its modernisation process – part of which is the first 28 preferred traders announced last month – Liebenberg points to a sense of frustration in the industry over delays in implementation of the New Customs Act Programme (NCAP). “Even though there have been draft documents for comment and feedback sessions our clients are looking for the date of implementation and the date keeps moving. “Industry just wants legitimate trade to flow – and for trade to flow we need a lot more collaboration between customs and trade to ensure that when the NCAP is rolled out, it is as seamless as possible”. Liebenberg’s range of services is varied. Apart from the customs compliance service offered to importers and logistics companies, he is also involved in the training environment.
For trade to flow we need a lot more collaboration between customs and trade. – David Liebenberg
