access at overseas supply chain points. CEO Leon Turetsky
says a number of large, international clients have asked the
company to develop simplified data formats and even Excel-based data entry options for use by their suppliers.
Because CBP’s filing timetables are based on vessels’ loading
and departure dates, some of QuestaWeb’s customers have
also asked that vessel sailing schedules be incorporated into
the vendor’s ISF module to warn them of missing data when
deadlines approach, Turetsky says. Customers have also asked
that notifications of incomplete, misfiled, and erroneous data be automatically distributed to the
originating and related parties as well as to a
central ISF unit.
To collect as much of the required infor-
mation as early as possible—and see what’s
missing—filers say they must be able to
gather data from multiple sources here and
abroad. That led one software developer, Charlotte, N.C.-
based Integration Point, to develop a program that allows
“any commercially available electronic data [to] be mapped
directly into filings, in any combination,” says Melissa
Irmen, the company’s senior vice president–products and
strategy. Irmen says that capability makes it easy for “cus-
tomers [to] focus on the highlighted gaps in the data.”
But it’s not enough to pull in data from multiple sources;
importers are finding they also need a means of sharing it
with supply chain partners. “[Using software to develop] a
centralized repository for product classification that allows
for data, including updates, to be shared automatically with
the entire supply chain ensures that everyone is using the
same database for item classifications,” says Irmen. With
tight deadlines to meet, having standardized information
readily available helps supply chain partners process infor-
mation quickly and accurately and makes for more timely
ISF filings, she adds.
Automate and integrate
Software vendors report that three other requests are on
almost every ISF filer’s wish list. Kevin Gavin, vice president
of supply chain services for Midland Park, N.J.-based IES
Ltd., sums them up: “Our customers have been continuously seeking new and more sophisticated reporting features. They are seeking event-generated automated messages. And, of course, they are seeking additional automation and EDI integration.” Most of the engineering IES is
currently engaged in, he adds, relates to automation
requests via XML (extensible markup language) and EDI
(electronic data interchange), such as integrating purchase-order data into the ISF.
It’s no surprise that these are top priorities. Analytical
and management reports highlight both good performance
and bad, and they allow users to proactively address problem areas. Event-generated automated messages bring the
user into the picture only when an exception occurs, eliminating the need to babysit every transaction.
Process automation and integration with other systems is
a huge productivity booster, says Nathan Pieri, senior vice
president, marketing and product management for
Management Dynamics Inc. of East Rutherford, N.J. “By
integrating the ISF data with a trade compliance or supply
chain visibility solution, you can eliminate the manual
entry of many of the data and transmit the ISF via EDI or
XML to your broker or directly to customs,” he says.
Integrating data with other systems is the best way to
increase productivity without sacrificing
compliance, says Alan Rosenblatt, ISF
product manager for Kewill Inc. in
Chelmsford, Mass. Using data interchange
between two or more trading partners, he says,
can in some instances cut the time needed to create
an ISF by 90 percent. There are three paths to reaching that goal, he explains: more integration via EDI
with trading partners; improvements to the Web user interface, which speeds up the filing process; and making sure the
right information is in the right hands at the right time.
Importers are realizing some unexpected side benefits from
ISF automation. In Rosenblatt’s experience, companies are
achieving process improvements across the import supply
chain because ISF drives more information toward the front
end of the cycle. Attendees at Integration Point’s annual user
conference in June reported that the exercise had spurred
automation of other logistics processes and provided better
visibility into their supply chain activities. One importer that
created an ISF data integrity team is now using that approach
in other areas where data integrity is important.
What comes next?
In the past few months, CBP has been revising some of its
requirements to address difficulties filers have encountered. In
response, software developers are working on appropriate
modifications to their systems. For example, CBP’s announcement that it will compare ISF filings with import entries
(which may be filed weeks apart) prompted Integration Point
to develop tools that let customers compare the documents
automatically, on a single platform, says Irmen.
Pieri adds that once CBP’s enhanced cargo-manifest query
function is ready, importers and brokers will be able to use
software to determine the proper bill of lading number for
their ISF filings—and do it much sooner than they can now.
Technology is a necessary partner in ISF compliance, but
it’s not the only key to success, says Judith S. Wynne, systems administrator for customs broker and Kewill customer J.F. Moran Co. Inc. of Providence, R.I. “ISF success is
as much about understanding what data is needed and the
various sources of the ISF data—who has it and when is it
available to the ISF filer—as it is about the technological
ability to transmit the ISF data accurately and [quickly],”
she says. “Of course, having a robust and functional ISF
software tool … is essential because you are dead in the
water without one.”
