Archive for the ‘US Customs’ Category

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Update on Wood Packaging Materials Moving Between Canada & USA

Wooden palletsOver the past few weeks, Pacific Customs Brokers has noticed a marked increase in U. S. Customs and Border Protection demands for shipments to be “direct exported” back to Canada due to non-compliance with the Solid Wood Packaging Materials (SWPM) regulations.

While we have not receive any official U. S. notification of this increased enforcement, Customs officers have verbally advised us that they would prefer to see the SWPM statement with any shipment that contains pallets that may not be properly marked. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has provided us with the following information – Update on Wood Packaging (PDF).

Please note that no recent changes have been made to the regulations, however, we strongly advise that all shippers to the USA review the requirements and their internal practices to assure that you are in compliance. Should you have further questions, please contact Pacific Customs Brokers at 604.538.1566 and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Posted on March 6th, 2012 by April Collier
Tags: , ,
Posted in Canada Customs, Carrier, Transportation, US Customs

Importing Realities of Unexpected Delays & Hidden Costs into the U.S.

HourglassHidden costs that can sap your bottom line while importing into the United States

So there you are, after months of painstaking research and hours upon hours of development and negotiation, your first shipment has landed in the United States with all the promise of untold profits and growth. That”s when you receive the phone call that brings you back to reality. “Your shipment has been scheduled for an Non-Intrusive Imaging (NII) exam” your custom broker calmly explains.

NII exams commonly referred to as x-ray or Vacis exams are performed daily in ports all across the United States, and are designated randomly and are totally unavoidable.   The costs average around $250 per container and can take up to two weeks to complete, depending on the amount of containers scheduled for the x-ray exam.

A Non-Intrusive Imaging exam was not part of the discussion when you were negotiating the terms of sale with your overseas supplier.

Can you imagine explaining to your new client why their first shipment is going to arrive a week to two weeks later than you promised. Rubbing salt into the wound, you also now have to pay an additional $250 just for the pleasure.

Steering through the unforeseen challenges of importing into the United States can seem daunting. With a professional team in place surprises are eliminated and the unforeseen challenge is handled efficiently and effectively.

So what are some of the steps you should take to deal with possible delays and additional costs? The first step is to acknowledge that they exist. Once you come to terms with the fact that you are not exempt from problems, planning for them becomes that much easier.

Some key suggestions:

  • Determine the best ports of entry for your goods. Los Angeles is one of the busiest ports in the world and the back log of containers to be examined can stretch for weeks.   Oakland and Seattle are good alternatives, usually have lower fees and are serviced by the major rail lines.
  • Subsume possible delays into your projected delivery dates. This will allow for a surprised and happy client when the goods arrive a few days earlier than anticipated.   If there are delays the client is still assured of receiving the goods around the time you promised.
  • Present the documents to your customs broker in advance of the vessel arriving. Customs brokers are allowed to transmit shipment information 5 days in advance of the vessel arriving in port, meaning the goods can be pre-cleared and ready to go once the container becomes available.
  • Have your designated carrier on alert and make sure the container is picked up, delivered and returned to the terminal depot within their time frames to avoid costly demurrage and per diem fees.

As with most unexpected surprises, a good contingency plan will take the sting out and give you the opportunity to still realize some of the rewards you imagined when you started to develop your business plan.

 

 

Posted on February 14th, 2012 by Lou Kaszubski
Posted in US Customs

BorderPro iPhone App – How to Use SMS and Email Subscriptions

BorderPro iPhone app SMS screenshot

Border Pro for Carriers powered by Pacific Customs Brokers, introduces a number of new features which leverages technology developed to support the BorderPro iPhone app. A not so obvious feature – is the addition of short message service (SMS) and email subscriptions to PARS and SCN shipment entries.

Email and SMS subscriptions are now offered on both our website based PARS and SCN tracking pages, as well as our iPhone application. At the time of submitting your PARS or SCN number,   the user can also provide a valid email or SMS/mobile number. We will then confirm/validate that your PARS or SCN number is valid and then subscribe you to that tracking number.  You will receive a subscription confirmation by SMS or email as well as an email or SMS for every status change to the point of release. Using this you can search once, subscribe and be notified as your shipment is prepared and released. This can also allow your dispatch office to enter the tracking number on behalf of trucks en-route and providing the drivers SMS or email address for receiving updates. Invalid entries will not be subscribed for reasons such as; the number does not match in our system. This may be because Pacific Customs Brokers is not the designated customs broker associated to the shipment or simply human error and the number was entered incorrectly.

Be sure to give this a try on your next SCN or PARS lookup, submit once – add your preferred method of getting tracking updates and you will be notified on all status changes for that given shipment. For more information, please visit our BorderPro for Carriers web pages or contact our carrier help desk for assistance with this new and exciting feature.

Watch for multi-PARS and SCN support later this year as we continue to develop the back end support for the BorderPro iphone app.

Posted on January 31st, 2012 by Jeff Bourassa
Tags: ,
Posted in Canada Customs, Carrier, Transportation, US Customs, Your Broker Knows

The Road to an iPhone App – BorderPro Launches

Border Pro for iPhone“What do we need an iPhone app for?” Was the question asked when I suggested attending an iPhone Developer Course in the 2011. After some convincing, I registered and flew to Atlanta, Georgia to attend the course. A year later, Pacific Customs Brokers releases “BorderPro” iPhone application v1.

As the General Manager of Information Technology for Pacific Customs Brokers, it was obvious from the beginning, Pacific”s commitment to technology. In the early 1990”s, Pacific”s primary focus was to be established on the internet, with email services and websites. Shortly after, we developed a PDF document system (www.formlink.com) that allowed our clients to submit customs documentation directly through an online forms system, which is still used by many of our clients today for both U.S. and Canadian documentation. Almost 20 years later the technology landscape is quite different.   The focus now is on services and website users expect more than just marketing material. The reach of internet is everywhere and smartphones, iPhones and iPads are now commonplace. Mobiles are becoming the platform (some might argue it has already became the platform) and Pacific Customs Brokers recognizes the need for an iPhone Application for carriers.

The concept was a fairly simple one, create an iPhone app that exposes our PARS and SCN tracking lookups.   Our existing website based tracking is heavily used by many carriers servicing our clients for tracking the release status of shipments. Our development focus over the past 10 years has been on web-based solutions.   Developing an iPhone app required a change in our development process, a change in technology and a re-tooling of our backend web-services to leverage the iPhone platform.   An iPhone application is quite different from the fluid nature of developing website based applications.   With a website we can tweak on the fly, make changes, test and fix. The iPhone development is much more stringent – it is about getting it right before it is released.   For us this meant rethinking our design process, our marketing process and our development process from the ground up.

The “BorderPro” iPhone app is a first for Pacific Customs Brokers, and a first in North America for a purpose built customs brokerage tracking application.   It provides direct lookups for both PARS and SCN entries into our backend systems – giving the end user real-time clearance status updates.   It also provides the end user the ability to subscribe to a SCN or PARS tracking feed and receive SMS/Text messages with up to date tracking changes for any number of PARS or SCN numbers.   Any client can easily track and get tracking updates from any iPhone anywhere, anytime of the day or night.

The BorderPro iPhone app is the result of close to a year of planning, testing, design, and learning and is clearly a stepping stone into the future for Pacific Customs Brokers.   Our IT team has plans for the next version of our iPhone app that will add new features and functionality to this platform making it even more useful to our customers, clients and partners.

During that time, Pacific has taken many twists and turns, but always committed to technology.

Learn more about the BorderPro iPhone app »

 

Posted on January 24th, 2012 by Jeff Bourassa
Tags: ,
Posted in Canada Customs, Carrier, Transportation, US Customs

Changes to Your Existing Carrier Code?

CBSA logoBusiness is constantly changing but it”s your reaction to those changes that is important to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Your unique 4-digit assigned carrier code identifies you to the CBSA. It”s very important to keep your account in good standing in order to prevent any delays at the border. The easiest way to do so is to communicate with the CBSA.

Some of the changes you need to communicate to the CBSA are:

  • if your business is moving & a change of address applies
  • if your business changes its name
  • if you want to add/remove a vehicle to/from your fleet
  • if you want to revise contact information

All of these updates can be done by calling, faxing or emailing the CBSA at:

  • Telephone: 1-866-749-6623
  • Fax: 613-957-9717
  • E-mail: carrier-cargo@cbsa.gc.ca

You must indicate the name of your business, your carrier code and specify the information you wish to update.

There are times that the CBSA will send out questionnaires that require your response. If you are in receipt of one of these questionnaires, do not ignore it. Respond promptly to ensure that your account is not deactivated.

A carrier in good standing with the CBSA will benefit by being able to provide efficient service to their customers.

 

Posted on December 14th, 2011 by Sonia Stanton
Tags:
Posted in Canada Customs, Carrier, Transportation, US Customs, Your Broker Knows

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