As US export regulations are continually tightened to reflect the changes in current global developments, exporters are subject to the demands for compliance and increased scrutiny. The US Census Bureau recently noted that although the use of the Automated Export System (AES) is not yet mandatory for all exporters, approximately 92% of all Shipper's Export Declarations (SEDs) are now filed through AES.

To facilitate the AES filing requirement SPEX, the export document production software from TradePoint Systems, incorporates VPN connectivity to AESDirect for automated "hands free" electronic filing of SEDs through the US Customs & Border Protection's AES process without redundant data entry.

SPEX incorporates VPN connectivity to AESDirect for automated "hands free" electronic filing of Shipper's Export Declarations (SEDs) through the US Customs & Border Protection's (CBP) Automated Export System (AES) process without redundant data entry.

SPEX users validate the AES data, which is subsequently extracted and electronically transferred to Census through AESDirect. AES provides immediate feedback to the filer when data is omitted or incorrect. The filer can then correct the data straight away, ensuring compliance with export reporting requirements and reducing the chances that the shipment will be delayed by Customs. The AES Transaction Number is saved in the SPEX system as confirmation that the SED was filed electronically.

Through the years TradePoint has been first to the marketplace with many innovative products and services. With respect to AES, in May 2000 TradePoint was the very first company to successfully use the Customs Proprietary Format to send SEDs via EDI upload to AESDirect through the Internet. In October of 1999 TradePoint‚s Alliance Forwarding package was the first to transmit live AES Option 3 data, and TradePoint was also the first company to transmit AES data of any kind back in May of 1995.

"With the understanding that electronic filing of SEDs will soon become mandatory, we incorporated this functionality into SPEX to make this requirement easier for our customers to manage," said Ken Halle, Chief Operating Officer at TradePoint Systems. "TradePoint will continue to remain at the forefront of technology systems associated with international trade initiatives, including AES, ACE and C-TPAT."