3/31/2004
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WINDSOR,
Ont. -- 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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