Systems allow smaller agents to compete in the market

Reworking – or fixing
problems after products roll
off the production line – is
one of the biggest costs that
manufacturers like the motor
assemblers in the Eastern
Cape strive to eliminate
from their systems.
The same philosophy can
be applied to data capture
and information processing
for imports and exports,
says Glenn Lawson, head
of customer services at
CoreFreight.
“The primary business in
the Eastern Cape obviously
relates to the motor
industry, and our client base
services two of the major
manufacturers located in
this region.
“These are sophisticated,
competent IT environments
and hence provide a
great opportunity to take
advantage of the electronic
interchange of data – not
only to handle the volume
of transactions, but also to
ensure the accuracy of the
information processed in
this environment.
“The cost benefits in
terms of efficiency and
avoidance of any rework of
processing to correct errors
that may be experienced
in the manual data capture
provide tangible benefits to
these companies,” he says.
“Likewise the
management of the import
process in compliance with
Customs requirements
is facilitated by the
CoreFreight application.”
Import management is
“particularly pertinent”
to the control of bonded
warehouse stock, whether
the goods are released
for local consumption or
subsequent export, he says.
The CoreFreight systems
are also being used by fruit
exporters in the Eastern
Cape.
According to Lawson, the
CoreFreight systems allow
smaller agents to compete in
the market.
“Smaller agents access
the application over the
internet in a secure hosted
environment. This frees
the organisation from the
burden of the hardware
and software infrastructure
maintenance and facilitates
the growth of a branch
network as the agent’s
business expands.”
Real-time tracking is
done through the internetbased
CoreQuery module,
which provides the importer/
exporter with comprehensive
real-time insight into
the shipment file being
processed on his behalf by
the forwarding/clearing
agent,” he says.
Data shared through the
system includes copies of
documents such as the bill
of entry, agent’s indents,
clearing and export files and
even the agent’s invoice, all
of which can be downloaded
and are available in Excel
format.
Another advantage is
that the systems are
constantly being updated.
“CoreFreight
representatives have actively
participated in the Sars
Customs Modernisation
exercise to ensure that the
application accommodates
all new requirements and
that these are integrated into
the existing CoreFreight
functionality in a manner
that makes the transition
by the system operators
with least disruption to the
existing workflow,” he says.