Tag / Freight Forwarding

by Mike Poverello

Kuehne + Nagel introduces ‘industry-leading’ sea freight carbon calculator

imagesCAQOK2YRKuehne + Nagel has introduced what it claims is the freight forwarding industry’s most advanced environmental emissions calculator tool, providing “exact data” on sea freight and intermodal shipments.

K+N said it had been “continuously enhancing its CO2 emission calculating capabilities and is the first to offer its customers exact data instead of estimations”. The Global Seafreight Carbon Calculator (GSCC) allows calculations of CO2, SOx and NOx emissions for container and LCL movements from door-to-door.

Built upon the European Standard EN 16258, it said the GSCC is a planning support tool that helps customers to calculate and model complex supply chains. The underlying methodology of the programme is based on the Clean Cargo Working Group standards for CO2 emissions, whereby an individual trade lane-based CO2 footprint per gramme/TEU/km can be obtained. Additionally the GSCC features detailed information about SOx.

K+N said the GSCC also provides: real-time CO2 emissions; a calculation model for strategic carbon footprint simulation; a high-level overview of CO2 emissions for sea and intermodal transport; carrier-based CO2 emissions reports.

On request, Kuehne + Nagel can also provide customer-specific CO2 emission reports with its advanced Global Transport Carbon Calculator. This tool is designed to monitor carbon emissions from specific transport activities and the reports include actual ocean carrier emissions data provided by individual carriers.

K+N said the data was fully integrated into the KN Login platform and allows scalable reports per trade lane, region, country, mode of transport and carrier. Source: http://www.kn-portal.com

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by Mike Poverello

SAAFF Accredited to Award FIATA Diploma

SAAFFFreight & Trade Weekly reports that the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) has been accredited to present and award the internationally recognised FIATA Higher Diploma in Supply Chain Management. “The industry  body was accredited following presentations to the FIATA Advisory Board on Vocational  Training at the FIATA Congress in Singapore at the end of October this year,” says Tony d’ Almeida, director at SAAFF responsible for education, training and development.

He said SAAFF was effectively one of only 14 professional bodies around the world accredited to offer this industry leading qualification. “SAAFF will be the custodian of the Higher Diploma which is pitched  at NQF level 7, two levels higher than the FIATA Diploma in Freight Forwarding which SAAFF is also entitled to award in South Africa, and which has already produced 22 graduates,” says d’Almeida. He notes that the minimum requirement for consideration for entry into this Higher Diploma is a relevant university degree, or a national diploma or the FIATA Diploma in Freight Forwarding.

“All accredited SAAFF  training providers may offer this  programme to suitably qualified students,” d’ Almeida states. He says this qualification is “very relevant” to the freight forwarding industry. “SAAFF therefore made the strategic decision to apply for accreditation to help alleviate the current critical shortage of skilled people who not only know the process of supply chain, but can also apply their expertise in innovative ways that add value to the entire process,” he says. D’ Almeida adds that aspects relating to global supply chains are constantly evolving, making it vital for every player to be at the forefront and fully aware of these trends.

“Added to this, the industry has to come to grips with rapidly evolving technology in our everyday business practices that is coming at frightening speed. Being able to ratify skills against global standards  and benchmarks brings enormous value to the business, the client and the individual,” he says. Source: Freight & Trade Weekly.

by Mike Poverello

Freight Forwarding Event – South Africa

The fifth annual congress of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) takes place on 8-9 October 2013 at the Hilton, Sandton.

David Logan - SAAFF

David Logan – SAAFF

David Logan, CEO of SAAFF says, “The freight forwarding market has been a major beneficiary of an increasingly globalised world economy. The significant year-on-year growth in international trade volumes has driven the evolution of the freight forwarder, inherently linked to the success of global trade and the development of new markets.  Against this backdrop, it hardly seems surprising that the congress continues to grow and attract robust debate from key players in the market.  This year’s event also receives the endorsement and support of the South African Express Parcel Association (SAEPA), which represents the multi-billion Rand South African courier industry, another major role player in facilitating global business.”

“Having long-abandoned the image of transport intermediaries, today’s freight management logistics providers manage an array of complex functions and issues, being responsible for an entire array of services within the supply chain. The two-day congress will highlight and debate many of the pressing issues from customs modernization, security, piracy, supply chain efficiencies, trade credit, risk management, political risk, legislation, FAIS, economic trading factors, transformation, training and in-demand skills and more.”

“Our industry is also in a unique position to tap into the incredible growth currently shaping the African continent where some of the fastest growing economies reside.  Added to this the rapid reconstruction and development projects taking place throughout the continent will rely heavily on the services of freight forwarders.  Africa’s abundance of commodities is estimated to generate about a third of Africa’s growth.  All this requires trusted partners in the movement of goods to facilitate global trade, and the forwarders best positioned to capitalise on this are those that have robust infrastructures, global capability, solid expertise and a deep understanding of trade in African countries, which is not without its fair share of risk,” adds David.

“Global pressures on world markets are impacting on our members and the congress is an ideal platform to really get to grips with the realities and challenges of our current trading environment.  It’s an ideal platform for sponsors and suppliers to engage directly with the senior decision makers of freight forwarding companies, government, suppliers and policy makers,” he concludes.

Running alongside the congress will be a two-day industry supplier exhibition as well as a one day training and education workshop on Tues 8 October covering important issues regarding skills development, industry qualifications, talent management, training, BBBEEand more – all critical issues for HR managers and directors in the freight forwarding industry. For more information about the congress or to book your seats contact the congress organisers, Teresa Settas Communications on (011) 894 2767 or e-mail nadine@tscommunications.co.za. Source: transportworldafrica.co.za

by Mike Poverello

Freight-forwarder liability at a glance

services_import_SnapseedActually, this is a view from the Ukraine. In modern practice, the organisation of the transport process often necessitates direct international multimodal transportation, in which case the freight forwarder carries out the contract of carriage as a multimodal transport operator, even if it does not directly own any vehicles. However, a trend has arisen in which the functions of the carrier and forwarder are combined. Under this model, traditional carriers diversify their activities by creating a forwarding unit within their companies, or forwarding agents acquire vehicles or create dependent carriers. Furthermore, forwarders often hire subcontractors to undertake the shipment; as a result, cases of loss or shortage of goods and claims against forwarding agents can become quite complicated. 

General provisions

Ukrainian legislation does not provide detailed rules governing freight-forwarding activities. The Law on Freight-Forwarding Activities, the Civil Code and the Economic Code stipulate only the general regulations of freight forwarding.

In accordance with Clause 1 of the Law on Freight Forwarding Activities, the contract of freight forwarding is a contract in which the freight forwarder agrees, at the client’s behest, to perform or arrange for the performance of certain contract work related to the transportation of goods. The forwarding agent is entitled to engage other parties for the execution of certain work under the contract (eg, transportation, storage, loading and unloading).

The law includes only general provisions under which the freight forwarder may be held liable to the customer (unless provided otherwise in the contract) for:

  • the number of packages;
  • the weight of the packages (if the weighing was conducted in the presence of the carrier and confirmed with its signature); and
  • packaging requirements under the related shipping documents (signed by a representative of the carrier).

Issues regarding the forwarder’s liability are also governed by the general provisions of the Civil Code, which provides for liability for breach of obligations under the contract. Thus, Article 623 of the code provides that a debtor in breach of its obligations must compensate the creditor for losses caused.

Where the freight forwarder engages third parties to fulfil its obligations under the contract of freight forwarding, the forwarding agent will be held fully responsible for the actions and omissions of the third parties.

Ukrainian law lacks specific rules that directly limit the freight forwarder’s liability to the client. Detailed rules governing the forwarding agent’s liability to the customer, as well as grounds and limitations of such liability, are fixed by the parties in the contract of freight forwarding.

At the same time, Ukrainian legislation contains general rules that allow for the release of the freight forwarder from liability. In accordance with Clause 614 of the Civil Code, a party that has violated its obligations will be held responsible only if found guilty (intently or negligently), unless otherwise agreed in the contract. Disputes in connection with claims against freight forwarders for loss of cargo in transit are common in Ukraine, so there is ample case law in the area. However, since Ukrainian legislation provides only general provisions on the freight forwarder’s liability, court practice for such disputes is often ambiguous and contradictory. In particular, there have been separate cases with similar circumstances in which the court variously found the freight forwarder both liable and not liable for cargo loss in transit. Continue reading →

by Mike Poverello

Customs Modernisation – some benefits in the offing

 

Its been a while since I penned some comment on the customs modernisation programme in South Africa. Amongst the anxiety and confusion there are a few genuine ‘nuggets’ which I would hope will not go unnoticed by the business community. With stakes high in the area of business opportunity and competitiveness, such ‘nuggets’ must be adopted and utilised to their fullest extent. Lets consider two such facilities.

The widespread implementation and adoption of electronic customs clearance has allowed brokers to file declarations for any customs port from the comfort of their desks. Brokers can now consider centralised operations especially for customs clearance purposes. Likewise the withdrawal of the annoying goodwill bond should also come as a welcome decision. Hopefully this may translate into cost-savings over time.

As of 11 August 2012, the business community will also be glad to learn that imported goods which do not fully meet all national regulatory requirements can be entered into bond on a warehouse for export (WE) basis. While this may not sound like anything new, the provisions which come into effect, will accord the identical treatment of such goods as if they were being entered for warehousing. In short the new provisions will allow more flexibility with the ability to re-warehouse WE goods; the ability to change ownership on WE goods; and the ability to declare WE goods for another customs procedure.These provisions can be considered a relaxing of the original approach which mandated compulsory exportation. All government regulatory requirements (i.e. permits, certificates, etc.) will however be strictly enforced upon clearance of WE goods for home use or another customs procedure. The apparent relaxation forms part of ongoing alignment of customs procedures with the Customs Control Bills, which are in the process of finalisation.

For those who have enquired about the followup to the national transit procedure, I have not forgotten about it. The ‘touchy’ nature of the subject requires a mature and fair response. Please bear with me.

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by Mike Poverello

The meaning of a Customs Broker

The following article comes from the 22 June 2011 issue of the American Shipper. It was written by the president of The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA). I do believe that it is poignant for African’s to better understand what makes trade tick. It is particularly relevant in the South African context where certain service providers and consultants believe it is they that ‘turn the wheels of trade’ and that the ‘real’ end users are merely a consequence to push the ‘enter button’. While the ‘brokering industry’ has been tainted by criminal activities (in many cases ex-customs officials) there is a legitimacy to the continued existence for the trusted customs broker. The importance is even more pronounced today  where South African importers and exporters will soon face the brunt of the new Customs’ law – the need for skilled and experienced brokers should be an imperative within our local industry. So lets put ignorance aside and consider the article, below.

As a third generation customs broker, I know what it takes to enter goods into the commerce of the United States. As president of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, I know that the customs brokerage industry consists of thousands of individuals who work for small and large, old and new, struggling and successful companies for fees that do not reflect the true value of the service they provide.

It is unfortunate that some would say we “stubbornly stand in the way of progress.” The fact is that without the leadership of the brokerage industry and the NCBFAA, importers would still be taking their commercial invoices and bills of lading to the Customs House only to wait weeks for release and it would be impractical to conduct international business.

If you have never cleared goods entering the United States, I encourage you to try. It is naive to believe that all a broker does is push a couple of buttons and magically goods are released and delivered to your door.

To start, let’s look at the new Importer Security Filing (ISF). Pre-arrival shipment information that was considered unavailable three years ago is now given to U.S. Customs and Border Protection prior to loading for more than 90 percent of the goods heading by vessel to the United States. Customs brokers or freight forwarders receive and process practically all that information before transmitting it to CBP. What if you didn’t have access to the broker’s Automated Broker Interface system or the forwarder’s Automated Manifest System connection to transmit this data? How would you send the ISF? How would CBP receive it? Would every importer have to establish and maintain a CBP-compatible computer system? At what cost?

CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin has said that other agencies generate two of three import exams. In addition to myriad CBP regulations, there are numerous other regulations you must know to import successfully. Do you know the Food and Drug Administration rules? What about the Bio-Terrorism Act — did you research it yourself or hire another industry expert to figure out how this was going to impact your company? Then there are FDA product registrations and Prior Notice requirements and now the new Food Safety Act. Of course your broker can help with that. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Communications Commission, Transportation Department — more than 20 agencies with requirements that must be met every time a shipment is presented for entry. Anti-dumping, free trade agreements, quota, denied parties, State Department, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, Office of Foreign Assets Control, etc. Can you imagine what would happen if your broker didn’t know about those things? How would your goods get cleared? Would your goods be detained or seized? What if multiple shipments were en route when the problem was identified? It is a good thing that you have somebody in your corner paying attention to this stuff.

I hear over and over how CBP wants to reduce the cost of importing. Let’s review the costs associated with importing: Freight ocean/air, duty and customs fees, broker fee and delivery fee. Freight we can’t control, duty is a given, Merchandise Processing Fees and other government fees we cannot control. There are exam fees, Vehicle and Cargo Inspection Systems exam fees, storage fees caused by exams, VACIS handling charges by some carriers and port facilities, trucking fees to get containers positioned for exams, and so on. A great number of these costs are a result of government security efforts. The broker fee averages about 0.1 percent of the cost of the imported goods, and then there is the truck fee plus a clean truck fee to pickup and deliver the goods. Hmm … what should be reduced?

“It is a good thing that you have somebody in your corner paying attention to this stuff.”

During the CBP Trade Symposium, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) described a tip about two containers that might contain non-compliant goods so they worked with CBP to perform an intensive exam. Luckily the tip did not pan out and the goods were found to be compliant. “Disaster avoided!” What CPSC didn’t say or didn’t know was that the storage and handling costs associated with having two containers held for two weeks exceeded $4,000. There was also no mention about whether the goods were time sensitive. At most ports in the nation, if a government agency puts a hold on a shipment, the expenses do not go on hold. Demurrage and per diem costs accumulate daily. Who creates those extra costs? I suggest that those who want to reduce the cost of importing consider where the real costs are being accrued — it is not in the brokerage industry, which works very hard to help reduce the cost of importing. 

That leads to the discussion of using brokers as a “multiplier” to reach small and medium-size importers. That is, in fact, what brokers do for the thousands of importers who know their product but have limited knowledge of the importing process. We get the importer’s goods cleared through the maze of government regulation and delivered to them within days of arrival into the United States. Talk about a multiplier. The fact is that we do that for businesses of all sizes, from the biggest multinational corporations with multiple import divisions and thousands of different products to the start-up business with a single product. Moreover, we do it every day … routinely.

Let’s talk about the Automated Commercial Environment. Do you know why few brokers use ACE? The system doesn’t always work and you can’t use it to release a shipment into the commerce of the United States. While you can use ACE for certain entry related functions, to the extent that brokers do utilize ACE, they must maintain two operating systems and train their personnel to perform limited tasks in both systems. What a nightmare! Talk about inefficiency and the bloated cost of importing!

We would love to have ACE working as promised. For more than 10 years the brokerage industry has gone to Congress and asked for money for ACE development. Three billion dollars later, the system is a fraction of what was promised and we have been told it will have reduced functionality in many of the areas that are crucial to our businesses. Would you change to a new system if it was worse than the one you currently use? The answer is “no” and neither will we.

Two years ago, the NCBFAA gave CBP a white paper that outlined the minimum system requirements needed before we would encourage our members to make the switch. Once ACE development has met those minimum requirements, we will encourage our membership to transition to the new system. CBP understands exactly where we are on this and we continue to vigorously support ACE development. We are excited about the progress that Cindy Allen has made in her limited time as the ACE project leader. That gives us hope that this endless project will have value and will be completed before we all retire.

The brokerage industry is comprised of highly regulated, dedicated professionals who must pass a rigorous examination to become a licensed customs broker. Did you know the annual pass rate for this examination is less than 10 percent? That is a lower pass rate than the CPA exam, the attorney’s bar exam, doctor medical boards, or the insurance broker exam. Talk about tough. Five years ago, the NCBFAA developed a six-month certification program called the Certified Customs Specialist (CCS). At the outset of the program, licensed brokers who wanted to participate were grandfathered into the CCS program, but had to earn 20 units of continuing education annually. Interested parties who were not licensed customs brokers, brokers who missed the grandfathering, and anyone who simply wanted to learn more about the import process, could enroll in the CCS program. We encourage anyone with a desire to learn more about the importing process to take the CCS course. In our role as professionals we know that we must keep current with the regulatory changes and in an industry where change occurs daily, annual continuing education is important.

We appreciate the recognition that the brokers are the most knowledgeable and trade savvy individuals to effect positive change on their industry. We are the biggest supporters of ACE, ISF, Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and other government programs that are reasonable and improve trade facilitation. We make the highly complex, tightly regulated and difficult process of importing into the United States so easy that not only the biggest corporations can do it but also the smallest ones can do it just as well.

We welcome positive change but, yes, we are stubborn when promises made to us are not kept and the costs associated with short-sighted, ill-conceived programs are dumped on our industry and the trade.

There’s a lot more to customs brokerage than pushing a button. Licensed customs brokers handle more than 95 percent of the entries filed with CBP with the single goal of getting our customer’s goods entered into the commerce of the United States legally, quickly and as efficiently as possible. And we do it proudly, professionally and humbly.

Is this situation any different elsewhere worldwide?

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by Mike Poverello

Aircargoshop – a revelation for shippers

The following piece suggests that the realisation of AEO obligations on shippers is real and will be augmented by support systems that may marginalise the highly competitive freight forwarding industry.  While there is a suggestion of cost savings due to non-reliance of shippers on traditional forwarding agents, I believe this is a short-sited view as the ‘real challenge’ lies in whether or not shippers are up to the task in meeting these obligations given their unfamiliarity with customs and transport requirements. I see many shippers having to recruit experienced customs and forwarding experts to maximise their compliance given the burgeoning obligations materializing in international shipping!

In October 2011, Aircargoshop an online booking portal provided shippers the possibility to book their own airfreight without involvement of the traditional shipping agent via the online portal Aircargoshop. This is a development that might have important consequences for the closed airfreight industry. As a consequence the online booking portal offers a lower-priced, more efficient and more transparent process for aircargo booking.

Founder Paul Parramore of Rhenus Logistics suggests that this system will bring down the cost of airfreight by as much as 50%. The Dutch Shipping Council EVO, gave the system the thumbs up and said that it will revolutionise the manner in which the freight business is currently being conducted.

Joost van Doesburg, a consultant with EVO said that in the long run restructuring of the industry is necessary in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Many of the forwarders will lose out, but the system is geared towards cost effectiveness and being competitive. He also added that if the forwarder is to add value to the supply chain, then he has to comply to adapting to the system rather than working against it.

On the home front, a recent article featured on the website Freight into Africa reports that the South African Cross Border Transporters Association (SACBTA) will be introducing a similar system which is currently under development for the cross border road freight industry. It will be called “ROAFEonline” or shortened form of Road Freight online which will allow the customer to book directly his freight with accredited SACBTA members hence cutting out the middleman and brokers.

All payments can and will be done online and this system will integrate with SARS EDI (Would like to hear more on this!). The consignor will only have to ensure that his goods are loaded onto the truck, the rest will be done by the system. The cost per transaction to the customer will be a paltry R100.00 in relation to a few thousand Rands normally swallowed up by the middlemen.

Based on our estimations a regular consignor can save up to R3-5 million Rands per annum which hopefully will be passed onto the consumer. With the looming integration of the SADC countries towards one stop clearing, it makes sense to further integrate the system. So whether you are in Dar es Salaam or Lubumbashi, you can now book your freight from Cape Town without having to go through a string of brokers. You also have the assurance that your cargo will be loaded by an accredited SACBTA transporter who complies to the standards set out by SACBTA. It will facilitate consolidations as any accredited transporter will at any given time be able to see what cargo is available. If Transporter A has only 20 tons, he can check which other transporter on the system has another 8 tons to Dar es Salaam for example. The transporters can then consolidate a load on the system which will happen in a shorter period of time than say for instance waiting a month to fill a tri axle.

This system will have many other functionalities that have been incorporated like online tracking, bar coding, which will give the consignor and consignee piece of mind knowing at any given time where their cargo is. It will also be accessible to border agents and customs officials who will be in a position to extract vital information on any consignment long before it actually gets to a border.

The system will go into testing around March of this year and if all goes well should be ready for implementation by the latter part of 2012 or early 2013. We hope that this will go a long way towards restructuring the industry for the better. It has long been the desire of SACBTA to allow industry players to come on board to create a better industry. However, there has been very little interest shown in transforming the industry and we feel this system will by virtue of its nature, transform the industry whether industry players are willing participants or not. Source: Freight into Africa and various own sources.

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by Mike Poverello

Freight forwarders’ liability is being boosted by expanding supply chains

TT Club, the international transport liability insurer, is warning that freight forwarders and other transport intermediaries face increasingly significant liability risk, particularly in emerging markets, as they take on additional supply chain services for their customers. TT Club specialises in the insurance of liabilities and equipment for multi-modal operators.

Traditional freight forwarders, who have seen the opportunity to offer extended warehousing, packaging, delivery fulfilment and even purchasing functions for shippers are not always fully aware of the liabilities for cargo loss and third-party damages that these additional tasks are opening them up to, according to Andrew Kemp, European regional director of the TT Club.

He told the Cargo and Freight Insurance Annual Conference in Moscow that as supply chains continue to develop to supply emerging markets, where the cargo owners are not always willing to invest in distribution infrastructure, the out-sourcing of such tasks will proliferate.

This could bring significant new business opportunities to companies, which had previously limited their service offerings to freight forwarding and the organisation of international transport, but these additional procedures could be complex.

“A typical new type of activity would be the packaging, for the local retail market of an item with a sales promotion attached (price discount or two for one offer). This task is straightforward in itself but brings with it risks of errors and possible damage to the items. This would be something not experienced by transport operators in the past,” he said. Source: Logisticsmanager.com

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by Mike Poverello

Who’s data is it, anyway?

What with increased automation and the plethora of services becoming available to brokers, traders and specialist duty/tax recovery consultants, it would seem that the virtual nature of business has overlooked some key criteria which is cardinal for trader compliance with Customs. Lets deal with one of these – customs clearance (goods declaration) and cargo reporting (cargo manifest) information. Before I forget, as of June 2011, this also includes supporting documents. South African Customs law prescribes an obligation on traders to maintain documents (which includes any electronic transcription/version thereof)  for a statutory period of 5 years. This applies to all customs’ registrants and licensees.

While service providers (computer bureaus) provide a vital service in the provision and maintenance of software, hardware and communication services to the trade, site should not be lost of the fact that at any point in time, the trader may need to access, produce or submit documentation to support a claim or proof of their compliance in any customs matter. As one ‘provider’ recently exclaimed – since the inception of SARS’ electronic supporting document facility E@syScan, ‘gigabytes’ are now being transmitted over the internet. No doubt SARS endeavours have (or are) making service providers more profitable, but these also require a fair measure of support and ongoing maintenance to ensure such facility work at optimum performance. But, I’m digressing somewhat.

My point is that traders must have full rights, access and ownership of such data, including so-called product libraries. SARS has not imposed any view or directive on this matter, and has left it to the terms and conditions of the commercial agreement between the trader, broker and the service provider. Should a broker/trader wish to terminate his/her relationship with a service provider, the agreement should provide for a transfer of ‘customs transactional data’ from the service provider to the trade entity. There are no doubt instances of breach of contract which may cause either or both parties to sever the commercial relationship under a cloud. Nonetheless, my advice to the trader/broker is to ensure that their contractual agreement includes a clause which provides for the availability or transfer of ‘data’ to the trading entity in the event of a termination of the agreement. A ‘can’ of worms? Speak to me!