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Internet still king of trade innovation
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
In a world of ever-sophisticated gadgetry, the most profound innovation for the port industry may well have been one of the first—the widespread use of the Internet, said one of Charleston’s customs brokers and freight forwarders.
“There’s no question the Internet, and changes in federal laws that made it practical to use in my business, changed my business considerably,” said Bradley J. Ward of Access Worldwide, a privately owned firm that maintains its headquarters on East Bay Street.
“Today, 80% of my business is outside of Charleston, and yet I can conduct business in locations as far away as Seattle, Wash., without having to maintain an office there.”
As a customs broker, Ward acts as an agent for importers, conducting business, namely making sure cargo is cleared for delivery, on their behalf.
Among his daily duties are preparing and filing the necessary customs entries, arranging for the payment of any duties found, and assisting clients in regard to transportation options and shipping routes.
“To me, I think the most critical piece of legislation, the one that really fostered the use of the Internet in international trade and allowed me to broaden my horizons beyond where I maintained a physical office, was the federal Customs Modernization Act, which was actually part of the North American Free Trade Agreement,” Ward said.
Contained in NAFTA’s implementation legislation, the CMA established the National Customs Automation Program, which radically changed how commercial imports are processed.
For the first time, brokers like Ward were authorized to file entry information from remote locations. The act also provided for the electronic transmission of manifests, invoices, drawback claims and other documentation related to the cargo entry process and established the admissibility of electronically transmitted information in administrative and judicial proceedings.
“As you can imagine, that one change in how things could be done dramatically reduced brokers’ overhead and allowed them to have all their operations in one centralized location if that was their desire,” Ward said. “Just by passing that, Congress opened up a lot of opportunities when it came to international trade.
“Suddenly, from our desks on East Bay Street, we could easily and effectively manage cargo arriving from all over the world through what we call RLFs, or remote location filed entries.
In some ways, given the way technology has evolved since the early 1990s and how events like 9/11 have changed the security landscape, customs was forced to try to take advantage of technological advances, but they’ve done it in such a way that it’s been of benefit to everybody.”
Of course, interacting with customs isn’t the only way Ward and his workers use the Internet in their daily business. Access Worldwide’s employees also rely on proprietary software created by Integrated Export Systems of New York to manage cargo in transit.
“That software is a real enhancement to our ability to provide high-quality customer service because it provides Web visibility to all in-transit containerized cargo and greatly simplifies the booking management process,” Ward said.
Among the other users of the software are Maersk Logistics, Ocean World Lines, Leschaco Inc., COSCO, K Line Air, Meiko America, Wice Logistics and KOG Transport.
Integrated Export Systems’s Web site says more than 150 companies engaged in international trade use its system.
“Connectivity is the key,” Ward said. “Changes in technology that enhance that, as well as the passage of laws, when necessary, to allow their usage, really has been a big part of this industry’s story for several years.”
Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.
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