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.