A Customs Brokerage (ACB) Case Study

A Customs Brokerage (ACB) is a high-volume third-party logistics provider (3PL), Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC), and international freight forwarder that provides full-scale logistics services including end-to-end import and export forwarding, customs brokerage, direct consolidation services, local and national trucking, insurance and warehousing. Services range from local delivery to large-scale multimodal project cargo. The company also maintains a fleet of trucks through its subsidiary Mantra Trucking, Inc. and through its network of carriers, transports and distributes Full Container Load (FCL) and Less-than-Container Load (LCL) shipments to some of the largest importers and exporters in the Americas. Challenge A Customs Brokerage was approaching a critical threshold that required added automation in its operations. According to Gabriel Rodriguez, President at A Customs Brokerage, We have seen a consistent growth trend year-over-year, even reaching a double-digit growth rate throughout the economic downturn. The business was reaching a stage where additional automation and systems integration were needed in order to maintain the highest caliber of customer service. Mr. Rodriguez adds, However, the number of technology providers we were using seemed to increase in parallel to our business growth. This meant that in order to effectively track and clear a shipment, a representative would need to switch to different technology systems and various methods of record keeping. The constant shift of context and focus was ineffective. As a result of the numerous technology systems in use, ACB was experiencing a fragmented view of logistics visibility and higher IT maintenance costs. He continues, The multi-vendor, multi-process system was not working for us. We began to look for a higher level of service offering when we were unable to achieve our goals using existing solutions. Time Business Growth Increase in Providers/ Processes over Time Business Growth Single Provider Inefficient Usage Effective Usage Utilizing multiple technology providers caused staff to shift context and focus and resulted in additional cost outlay. Solution When searching for a new logistics technology platform, A Customs Brokerage contacted a few logistics technology providers. After a thorough evaluation process, ACB selected Descartes to manage its international freight forwarding, customs house brokerage, security fi ling and accounting functions using options within the Descartes OneView Forwarder Enterprise and Descartes OneView CHB solutions. Descartes implementation team fully trained the staff to ensure a successful rollout, Having used a number of logistics technology solutions, I have seen first-hand the degree of outstanding services and domain expertise shown by Descartes, he continues, The expertise of Descartes on-boarding and technology support teams is world class. The support is local, and the implementation team has shown a long-term commitment to the success of our business. Shifting the Bell Curve, A Customs Brokerage also noted that its business model is one of its largest competitive differentiators. We can handle any size shipment and have an enormous variety of clientele. ACB has seen the greatest success by serving mid-size clients simply because they comprise most importers and exporters in the industry. However, there are still so many business opportunities out there. We have seen a 25% increase in volume since implementing Descartes technology. Descartes currently manages 95% of our business operations, the technology and automation offered by Descartes helped us not just increase the volume of customers but gave us an opportunity to grow our range of service offerings. This has helped drive our business to a higher level of operational efficiency and added to our mission of being a cargo concierge. Throughout our 8-year relationship with Descartes, we have doubled our customs-bonded warehouse operations from a 25,000 sq ft building into a 50,000 sq ft location. There is so much potential we can tap into with Descartes and this is a direct correlation to the level of customer service we are able to offer our client base. Range Volume Descartes solutions have helped A Customs Brokerage increase its volume of customers and range of service offerings.

Assignment Instructions Review the case study titled "A Customs Brokerage (ACB) Case Study" Respond to the following questions: Case Study Questions 1) What are the main issues that the company is currently facing? Why? 2) Do any of the international trade players that were studied have an impact on the processes and solutions of this organization? Explain why or why not? 3) Which specific customs regulations would apply to this company and its operations? Why or why not? 4) Recommend additional potential solutions that ACB could implement. Do you foresee any restrictions from a customs standpoint on the proposed solution(s)? Why or why not? Elaborate