Windows-based programmes attract positive comment

RAY SMUTS
KEEPING UP with the Joneses is not Chrissie du Barry’s cup of tea; staying abreast of new customs developments certainly is.
“We at Shipshape Software keep very busy at what we do, having to continuously stay abreast of the many changes within customs, so we certainly ensure we keep up to date,” says MD Du Barry whose late husband Alain started the software business 17 years ago, having first cut his teeth in the clearing and forwarding business.
Today Shipshape Software has a clearing and forwarding customer base of more than 100 throughout the country of which some 25% are in Durban and surrounds.
Du Barry, who heads a complement of seven from offices in Edenvale near Johannesburg International Airport, says latest developments are the rolling out of two new Windows-based programmes replacing the company’s DOS programme.
Shipshape Sofware’s Windows Forwarding and Groupage programme was recently supplied in customised format to Durban company International Forwarding Services.
“We are doing very well in Durban thanks to exposure (in FTW) which we did not have previously and are receiving quite a lot of enquiries.”
The company, specialising in the clearing and forwarding industry, leases rather than sells its product at a base price of between R2 000 and R3 000 a month.
“We also provide the EDI link with customs for our clients, which rapidly speeds up the entire process. Companies which have customs accreditation can obtain a release within ten minutes through EDI,” says Du Barry, who makes a point of visiting Durban on a regular basis to maintain contact with customers.