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Third route to compliance
By Alan M. Field
When it comes time to choose software for managing compliance with import and export regulations, many companies think there are only two alternatives: Either install compliance software behind your own firewall or subscribe to an
application service provider (ASP) and pay for Web-based service “on demand.” But software vendor QuestaWeb is trying to make it easier for importers and exporters to pursue a lesser-known third option.
QuestaWeb’s TradeMasterQW product line provides Internet connectivity along with the greater control and security that come from running your own software on your own network behind your own firewall. Westfield, N.J. based QuestaWeb sells importers and exporters its software that is then installed on servers inside customers’ own firewalls, not the firewalls of the service provider. This is a one-time investment, and there are no monthly fees, hidden or otherwise.
Vendors of on-demand Web services boast that their products require none of the up-front headaches and costs involved with installing and implementing your own software. However, Wayne Slossberg, vice president of sales at QuestaWeb, says many companies would prefer to take control of their own compliance software.
“Most importers and exporters do not want to be on someone else’s server,” Slossberg said. “With an ASP, you integrate your ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems with something that you do not own.”
Although the front-end costs are greater, Slossberg says the long-term costs are lower for customers. “Within 24 months, we are more cost-effective than the ASP model,” he said.
Many companies have been reluctant to pursue this third choice because of the up-front costs and challenges involved with integrating the software with their current ERP systems. QuestaWeb has addressed this problem with a new Integration and Communication Module that automates the integration process. This means “you don’t need an army of people” to implement the QuestaWeb model, Slossberg said. “If you have basic IT skills, you can do this.”
QuestaWeb’s corporate targets are mostly companies with annual sales of at least $150 million that import 90 to 95 percent of their products, and manage between 25 and 60 documents for each transaction. “This allows them to see where their stuff is all the time, and have all the information available if something is wrong” with the compliance process,” Slossberg said.
Like some products from its competitors, QuestaWeb’s TradeMasterQW attaches all the documents related to any purchase order so that manufacturers on the other end of the supply chain have access to them online.
When a foreign vendor logs onto a QuestaWeb system over the Internet, he or she views purchase orders and automatically generates commercial invoices, country-of-origin certificates and other documents. If a foreign vendor prefers to use fax and e-mail, it makes no difference, Sloss-berg said. All the required information about each shipment is integrated into the company’s ERP system, which can calculate total landed costs and assess the bottom-line impact, using the corporate accounting software.
Juna Kim, import manager at Yamaha Corp. of America, has used QuestaWeb software since 2003 to handle imports of musical instruments, commercial and audio equipment from the company’s factories in numerous other countries. She said the software is integrated with Yamaha’s Oracle ERP system. “Data is input in our ERP and sends it to our QuestaWeb system automatically. The QuestaWeb system handles it from there,” without additional data entry.
Kim said that as a Web-based system installed behind Yamaha’s firewall, QuestaWeb “opens up the entire flow of information to be accessed from anywhere in the world at any time” and offers excellent security.
Only about 2 percent of all importers and exporters decline to use brokers when they do their submissions to Customs, Slossberg said. “It’s the fear factor,” he said. “They see a broker as a trusted adviser and a buffer.” For those who prefer to go it alone, QuestaWeb offers an Automated Broker Interface module.
Larger companies are more likely to have customs brokers on their own staffs, Slossberg said, and more onfidence about going it alone. At QuestaWeb, it’s about gaining more control of any processes that may be too tricky or confidential to leave to outsiders.
QuestaWeb’s alternative to ‘on-demand’ services
allows shippers to retain control
© 2007, Copyright The Journal of Commerce. All Rights Reserved
Published with copyright permission from The Journal of Commerce.
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