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THE IT SECTION


FULL SCREEN VIEW - by Marcia MacLeod


Are software claims all they’re cracked up to be?


Will your shiny new software package live up to its billing? Two new software


packages


aimed at the freight market have been launched, one for forwarders and one for shippers. I’m sure it seemed a good idea at the time - but the developers of both these embryonic packages make claims for their products that are simply untenable. The first, e2cargo, allows small and medium-sized forwarders to provide quotations, monitor shipments, and create invoices and some shipping documents, in English, German or French. It also has links to Free Agent accounts software; a POD system provided by PODfather; and is developing links to customs in the UK. Airwaybills and Bills of Lading are being worked on. But many will find claims from its designer, Kathrin Riemer, that most smaller forwarders still use Excel to create invoices surprising, to say the least. Another apparent selling


point is the fact that it is purely web-based, or rather, she says, cloud computing. What a nebulous term - and one bandied around as if it was some mysterious, magical new solution to all your computing problems, when in fact it has been going for at least 10 years, albeit under different names. Remember ASP (Application Service Provider)?


Or web services, hosted solutions or Software as Service (SaS)? They’re all the same thing. “I looked around and couldn’t find a web-based package for small forwarders,” Riemer said. Really? What about Impatex, e-Customs, Descartes and SCS, to name just a few who provide their software on a SaS basis. Besides which, as Peter MacSwiney of ASM points out, the web is too slow for many forwarder requirements: imagine the time it takes to download shipping documentation over the Internet!


The other package, TAILgate,


won’t be out for another year, and yet its developers are still hailing it as the best thing since...well, since the laptop, if not the PC, was invented. A joint venture between OmPrompt, the Transport Exchange Group and ELUPEG, TAILgate is intended to enable shippers to gain visibility of multi-modal freight movement


across the supply


chain and allow them to match empty vehicles, rail wagons and, ultimately, short sea vessels with shippers’ requirements. “SMEs can’t get hold of information about intermodal shipments very well,” says Steve Rinsler, a director of Bisham Consulting,


which is helping


create the software specification. “Forwarders do not have a good idea of where to get intermodal information, either.” Duh. Isn’t that the meat and drink of forwarders’ very existence? And if they don’t provide much information on intermodal movements, maybe it’s because there isn’t a suitable intermodal option available. As for matching capacity with cargo, I sense deja vu coming on. TAILgate, too, will be available on a pay per use basis. Plans include POD provision to ensure more accurate invoices, and CO2 calculation for each route. Both of these systems will undoubtedly have some benefits and attract some customers. But, as Ken Gower, head of the Association of Freight Software Providers, points out: “Claims about new or unique systems need to be viewed with a degree of scepticism; our members have generally been in business for many years and can truly be said to have their fingers on the pulse of all new developments.” The advice to buyers remains


the same: ignore the sales hype; decide how you want to run your business; work out how IT can help you achieve your goals; and then look for the package that best meets your requirements.


ISSUE 2 2011


Costing is the key to success, says forwarder


For forwarders, the key to success is good job costing, says Geoff Hogg, MD of Unsworth Global Logistics. “We have to know how much we make a month, and to do that we have to know what we spent,” he points out.


party without us having to invest in in-house resources.”


After looking at eight systems, Unsworth shortlisted that down to two, ultimately selecting Forward Office from Forward Computing Ltd (FCL).


“When we started looking in early 2007, the one thing we valued most highly was to have a good integrated job costing system. But we also wanted the capability to produce documentation, do customs entries,


produce Geoff Hogg: better integration


So when Unsworth, a forwarder with a world-wide network of partners, three UK offices and a turnover of around £18m, looked to replace its IT system, integrated job costing was a prime requirement. “We had a basic bespoke system which we maintained ourselves to cover job costing, operations and sales. Then we used Impatex for customs entries; Cargo Cost, developed in-house to handle online quotations and bookings; and Access Diplomat, an


accounting package. The


whole thing was clunky and ‘bitty’. We needed better integration and something that could be maintained by a third


quotes and


handle sales enquiries. And we wanted better track and trace for our customers and partners, too. FCL offered all that - and they seemed to have the best training and support to get us up and running in the shortest time possible.”


The FCL system went live by the end of 2007 and has been fine- tuned ever since. “We get much better tracking, with carefully structured levels of access, which improves security.” says Hogg. “A whole range of KPIs are listed, too, allowing us to measure our performance against pre-set criteria. For example, we could look at how long cargo spends in a transhipment point, how long it takes to de-van a container or on-time delivery of containers from port.


IT NEWS Seeing the wood from the trees


Agency Sector Management (ASM) is now rolling out its Sequoia customs clearance platform which will replace its existing GeMS software. It promises a much more flexible platform, capable of adapting to the many changes expected in the customs environment over the next five years, including the recently introduced Import Control System. Sequoia has been designed to look like a standard Microsoft product and information can be stored in folders, which can be customised by the user - for example, Status 1 consignments or entries created within the last eight hours and so on. It is possible to search, sort and filter on every field and the user can customise the screen view. There is also the facility to upload information from barcodes. ASM has also built the customs tariff into the software including a fully indexed version of the ‘green pages’ index – never before available in electronic form, says ASM. The tariff display has been designed to mimic the printed version – for example it is possible to see the commodity codes immediately above and below the one selected – to replicate


the process of leafing through the printed version. Information on preferential rates has also been designed to be less confusing than the paper version. For example, for an import from China, it will only show preferential rates relevant to that country. Whereas GeMS was based on a set sequence of events – for example, an entry couldn’t be started until details of the consignment were available – it is possible to create a partial declaration first in Sequoia and populate it with information as and when it becomes available. It also highlights errors and it is possible for users to create their own rules to remind users not to make recurrent mistakes, which should help keep the HMRC inspectors happy. The system has also been designed for connectivity to devices such as mobile phones – which will make it possible to supervise a freight forwarding operation from home – or the pub. Costs will be comparable to GeMS and ASM chairman Peter MacSwiney said that attractive deals would be offered to enable existing GeMS customers to cut over to the new system.


Italians get their ICS act together


Cargoitalia has become the first airline in Italy to submit the new electronic Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) message - part of the new EU Customs ICS (Import Control System) regime being introduced throughout the EU.


The Italian all-cargo flag-carrier has been sending the ENS message for all inbound flights from 1 March, four months ahead of the Italian


Customs deadline. The airline must lodge the ENS for each flight at least four hours before touchdown at its Milan (Malpensa) hub. In early trials, Cargoitalia has already achieved 100% accuracy in ENS data transmission for its Hong Kong, Shanghai and US flights. Italian Customs said that no other airline is currently as advanced as Cargoitalia in its ENS preparations.


“An electronic dashboard gives us another dimension. We set up rules that trigger the software to show us data on a certain process or procedure, using the dashboard to drill down into that data. For example, if we asked the software to show us all shipments that are delayed by more than a certain time, we then get the details of the job and what happened to cause the delay.”


The customs module is now integrated into the back-office, too, and there is better communication with partners to enable manifests and other documents to be sent electronically. ‘E-docking’ enables


documents to be


automatically related to a cost, with all relevant correspondence attached.


Installing the new software proved a major investment - around £40,000 plus annual maintenance fees - but it was worth every penny. Although it is impossible to quantify the benefits of the new system, Hogg believes


that Unsworth


is now able to offer a superior level of service and much greater efficiency - and in these competitive times, no forwarder can ask for more.


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