System tracks documents through regional customs process

Bar code contains all consignment details ALAN PEAT IN THE increasingly complex world of logistics, electronic communication gives unprecedented control, according to Guy Hancock, regional operations executive at Manica Africa. Added to that is the sheer transparency offered by a web-based system, the minute accuracy of global real-time vehicle and cargo tracking systems, and a wealth of performance management information. “The system ensures Manica Africa’s competitive advantage over competitors in the clearing and freight forwarding industry,” said Hancock, “and offers clients a value-added service.” It covers the company’s logistics network in southern Africa - spanning SA, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and the DRC. In logistics management, according to information technology (IT) manager Fernando de Carvalho, it’s a system that will track and monitor the progress of the customs documents of Manica Africa, Hi Speed Carriers, Swift and other clients, through the regional customs clearing process. “The tracking mechanism will provide information on the documents’ progress through all the customs offices,” De Carvalho said, “naturally giving information on the cargo’s whereabouts en-route to its final destination.” With the incorporation of bar-coding applied to every consignment, this system has been refined even further. “We have developed a system where the bar code will contain all the consignment details from the manifest,” said Hancock. “Just like a bill of lading for road transport.” All the group’s manifests have a bar-code printed on them – information which is scanned at Manica offices at each of the border posts, and marks the progress of the documentation through the customs clearing processes. When this information is cross-referenced against the road transporter’s satellite tracking of the vehicle’s positioning, it supplies an accurate reading of the progress of both vehicle and cargo clearance.