3/31/2004
General
Motors Corporation says that a new FAST software program developed
by TradePoint Systems is currently helping them clear over 7000
shipments each week in Detroit and Port Huron, Buffalo, and Laredo,
Texas.
"The carriers for these types of loads would typically
spend 2-4 hours at the border having their paperwork processed. With
FAST there is no paper, only the electronic transaction data and the
pre-approved account data," says Gilbert S. Duhn Jr., Customs
Manager for General Motors Corporation (GM).
The FAST
software GM uses was developed by TradePoint Systems and has allowed
GM's carriers to improve their productivity by providing electronic
manifest data in advance to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP),
says the company.
"We can clear up to seventy shipments on
one truck using a bar code containing the Trip number or with the
transponder in less than 30 seconds! Our carriers are better able to
utilize their equipment and drivers by reducing the border wait time
by several hours. CBP is able to process the shipments much faster
with a higher level of confidence on these FAST loads. This allows
CBP to spend their time saved looking at the more risky shipments.
We were also able to take the release message from CBP which
includes the ship from DUNS and SID (Shipment ID number) to import
our Advance Shipment Notice (ASN) from the shipper, append purchase
order price, tariff classifications, weight, country of origin, and
NAFTA eligibility to populate the CBP Entry. The entire process has
been automated using the TradePoint FASTPoint solution," says
Duhn.
"We were the first to offer carriers and importers our
commercially available FASTPoint software application. We will
continue to work every step of the way with CBP to ensure that our
customers are ready in advance with any mandated changes. TradePoint
is at the forefront of all new and future programs associated with
ACE, AES and C-TPAT," says Ken Halle, Executive COO at TradePoint
Systems.
The cities of Windsor and Sarnia, Ontario,
meanwhile, have agreed to allow FAST trucks to utilize traffic lanes
normally prohibited to truck traffic to move to the front of the
line. This is accomplished utilizing a special placard placed in the
window to the truck to identify it as FAST. Trucks without the
placard will be ticketed. In Nuevo Laredo there is a special lane
used for empty trucks and cabs only. FAST shipments can now use this
lane to move to the front of the line.
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