Juno Logistics Earns Certified Partner Status in Microsoft Partner Program!!
Juno Logistics is proud to announce that it has earned certified status in Microsoft’s Partner Program with an ISV/Software Solutions competency. This certification recognizes Juno Logistics’ expertise and impact in the technological marketplace. One of the main factors that has contributed to the company earning this prominent status was the completion of testing on j-TRAK, Juno Logistics’ transportation management system.
“Becoming a Microsoft Certified Partner enables us to take our business to the next level,” stated Tim Campbell, President of Juno Logistics. “The requirements to become a Microsoft Certified Partner are significant, but the benefits to our internal users, customers and overseas partners are even greater. This status will allow us to clearly promote our expertise and relationship with Microsoft to our customers. We are excited about the substantial new opportunities that now exist for us to generate greater visibility, capture new customers and increase revenue.”
Juno Logistics will gain access to a rich set of resources designed to help the company build revenue, sales momentum and marketplace prominence while increasing market impact. Meeting stringent qualification requirements, Microsoft Certified Partners are independent companies that provide the highest levels of technical expertise, strategic thinking, and hands-on skills.
“Our j-TRAK system has been built from the ground up to utilize the technological advances offered by Microsoft including the latest SQL Server database and .NET platform. By using these technologies as a foundation, we are able to create a global logistics and supply chain system that caters to the growing needs of our customers and also integrates effectively with their systems” said Tahir Sair, Director of Information Technology at Juno Logistics. “The certified status allows us to reiterate our determination and capabilities in providing cutting-edge logistics solutions to our customers and to clearly promote our technical expertise and relationship with Microsoft”.
Certified Partners are provided with software licensing, development, training, marketing tools, technical support and other services designed to improve operations and customer satisfaction and to deliver the best customer experience.
ISF Liquidated Damages Delayed to 4th Quarter 2010
The official start of enforcement for the Importer Security Filing began January 26th, 2010, but under the graduated approach outlined last week by U.S. CBP, importers shouldn’t worry about getting hit with liquidated damages right out of the box.
CBP will not start issuing claims for liquidated damages associated with ISF compliance violations until the fourth quarter of 2010, said Richard DiNucci, Field Operations official in charge of the program, at a trade seminar in Los Angeles organized by the American Association of Exporters and Importers.
“Don’t get nervous about the 26th. You’re not going to see a sudden rush” to hit importers with damages for late or incomplete filings, DiNucci stated.
Liquidated damages is a Customs term that means an importer or their agent failed to meet the conditions of a bond, such as filing complete, accurate and timely documentation. The “10+2” rule allows for liquidated damages of $5,000 per ISF violation, which could reach $10,000 on a shipment if amendments to the ISF are filed with errors.
Penalties are issued for violations of law, such as fraudulent activity, and are intended to be punitive. CBP delayed enforcement of the rule for one year so that importers could adapt to the new requirements for advance, electronic filing of 10 pieces of commercial data and ocean carriers could submit two data sets for each vessel sailing. Jayson Ahern, then-acting commissioner, said in December that the agency would not immediately move to strict enforcement, but DiNucci publicly spelled out details of the phased approach for the first time.
During the first quarter, CBP officers will monitor ISF submissions and issue warnings to those with errors or shipments that do not have an ISF attached to their file. The warnings will be accompanied with some tips on how to meet the requirements of the “10+2” rule.
There still will be consequences for shipments for which there is no ISF on file by the time of vessel arrival in the USA, despite the postponement of liquidated damages. Importers in that circumstance should expect their shipments to receive further scrutiny and delay as CBP requests additional documentation, non-intrusive inspections or full physical exams before the cargo is released, DiNucci said.
A first-time importer without a track record with CBP that has not filed an ISF form, for example, should expect its shipment will undergo an intensive examination in which the contents of the container are stripped out and searched. “I guarantee you that shipment is going to be looked at,” DiNucci said, adding that ignorance of customs rules after more than a year of reminders is not an excuse. The costs for delayed release can add up in terms of fees for non- intrusive exams, physical searches at a private container examination station, truck delivery to and from the exam warehouse, storage, demurrage, general order charges, and a big bond premium.
During the second and third quarters of the year, CBP will escalate enforcement by holding shipments for inspections that do not have an ISF or have serious errors or discrepancies.
Companies that do not have a special ISF bond, or a continuous bond, and have not filed an ISF are likely to face the most scrutiny early on, said Bruce Leeds, an attorney with Braumiller & Schulz and former industry liaison on the Commercial Operations Advisory Committee that provides input to CBP. The agency will not release the shipment until the importer files an ISF, but obtaining a bond at that late stage may be difficult and expensive, he warned.
Claims for liquidated damages will begin in the fourth quarter, DiNucci said.
The early stages of enforcement essentially are to build a baseline on how each importer is complying, he explained, which means that the agency will not go back and issue a claim against first and second quarter shipments, or for those occurring during the past year of practice runs, unless there was a serious smuggling or other law enforcement violation involved. An importer’s overall record will be taken into consideration as a mitigating factor when determining whether to issue claims, DiNucci said. That means CBP is not likely to go after a company for a few mistakes if that complies with ISF requirements 98% of the time.
“We’re not in the game of gotcha. We want the data,” DiNucci said.
CBP previously announced that all claims for ISF violations will be routed from ports of entry through headquarters for review to help ensure the rule is being enforced uniformly across the country.
DiNucci said his office has developed a process and a software package for receiving and reviewing the claims. DiNucci will review each case and make a recommendation to higher ups on whether to approve the assessment, which will be sent back to the originating port to issue the notice of liquidated damages.
DiNucci said ISF claims review will be centralized for at least a year before a decision is made whether to return responsibility for issuing damage claims to the ports of entry. Source: American Shipper Magazine
10+2 Importer Security Filing
US Customs has proposed a change to the existing importer security filing (ISF) processes known as the 10+2 program. This program has taken immediate effect January 26th, 2010 for all ocean freight cargo (LCL and FCL) bound to the USA. The 10 data elements must be submitted electronically either via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) or Automated Manifest System (AMS) by one of the following parties:
1. ISF Importer - the party causing the goods to arrive within the port limits of the US
2. Customs Broker / Freight Forwarder – a third party agent who is authorized by a power of attorney may file ISF on behalf of the importer
A customs bond must be posted by either the ISF importer or the ISF filer (the agent designated by the ISF importer). The bond must be approved by US Customs and it should be a continuous entry bond, an international carrier’s bond or an Importer Security Filing Bond. The ISF bond is similar to a single entry bond (single entry bonds for ISF is still under review by US Customs) and only secures the ISF filing and a separate bond must be posted for customs entry purposes.
How do I ensure that I am compliant?
For customers that elect Juno Logistics/Juno Customs Solutions to file the ISF on their behalf, we kindly ask for you to please pass the attached 10+2 ISF informational sheet to all of your overseas suppliers/manufacturers. Our offices overseas will in turn work with your suppliers to ensure that the data elements on the form are completed in a timely fashion and our local US offices will transmit the necessary data via our ISF software.
24 hours prior to loading of goods onto the vessel, we require the following to be completed on the form and sent to our attention:
• Seller (owner) name and address
• Buyer (owner) name and address
• Importer of record number
• Consignee number (can be the same as importer of record
number if shipping to same location)
• Manufacturer (supplier) name and address
• Ship to Party
• Country of origin
• Commodity HTS numbers
No later than 24 hours prior to arrival of goods at first US port, we require the following to be completed on the form and sent to our attention:
• Container stuffing location
• Consolidator name and address
Important Notation: For customers that may have shipments prepaid at origin (under DDU or DDP terms) and the supplier did not nominate Juno Logistics or our agent as the nominated freight forwarder, Juno Logistics assumes no liability in accurate and or timely ISF filing. Importers are strongly encouraged to review their supply chain and appoint an ISF filer for all shipments subject to the 10+2 ISF ruling. Please note that ultimately, it is the importer's responsibility to ensure that the ISF is filed in an accurate and timely fashion. Failure to show a good faith effort and/or non compliance to provide the data elements to CBP on time will result in issuance of liquidated damages or penalties, not to mention the cost of shipping delays. US Customs has indicated that release of freight arriving via ocean carrier with no corresponding ISF transaction may be held until the ISF has been filed.
In the future, you will be able to enter your 10+2 ISF filing information on-line via our j-TRAK PO management system at the same time that you are initiating a purchase order. The j-TRAK PO management system provides you with global visibility to all of your PO’s in the logistics process and will also ensure that your ISF is filed on time, 100% of the time (you will be provided with secure access to all of your 10+2 ISF information as well as an ISF approval number and date that the ISF has been approved/filed).
TSA Lines Offer Upbeat 2010 Asia – US Trade Forecast
As the Asia - US freight market begins to gradually improve heading into 2010, the Transpacific Stabilisation Agreement (TSA) is pressing ahead with revenue improvement efforts, along with internal changes intended to expand direct member line involvement as the Agreement addresses long-term challenges facing the transpacific trade.
TSA lines' optimism is based on a combination of economic indicators and forward bookings during the off-season Lunar New Year period. With 2009 cargo demand likely to fall 15-20% below 2008 levels, carriers are looking forward to a significant year-on-year increase in 2010 traffic.
Among the factors contributing to a positive forecast are rising US consumer confidence and spending, and the need for retailers and other businesses to replenish inventories and upgrade physical and technology infrastructures.
Forward bookings by the individual TSA lines suggest that vessel utilization levels in the trade will remain in the mid-high 90% range in most trade segments in the coming months, with a typical dip for the Lunar New Year period in Asia when factories are closed but picking up quickly after that.
"Carriers face difficult choices throughout 2010, as they ramp up their networks to meet service demand," said TSA chairman Ronald Widdows. "At the same time they will have to precisely calibrate their fleets and schedules to control costs, and also make long-term strategic decisions relating to market focus, network productivity, environmental mitigation and other factors."
He added that TSA carriers have embarked on a multi-year process focused on improving the economics of the trade, with the aim of achieving rate levels that will enable carriers to make the investment decisions required to meet customers' long-term supply chain needs. TSA carriers' short-term focus remains revenue improvement in the second half of the 2009-10 contract year, with many rates in major commodity segments down $1,000 or more per 40-foot container from late 2008 levels. TSA reported that member lines are actively pursuing a previously announced Emergency Revenue Charge (ERC) and that carriers are seeing a high degree of success leading up to the January 15, 2010 effective date. "The bottom line for transpacific operators is to gradually fine-tune their operations, moving from an environment of contraction to one of preparing for growth," said Widdows. "That adjustment begins with a stable revenue foundation for gradual reinvestment in the trade. The ERC is a positive first step towards recovery in 2010, and lays important groundwork for the critical general rate increase to follow in the 2010-11 round of contracts." TSA executive committee membership will be expanded from four to six lines, with Maersk Line and OOCL joining APL, Evergreen, Hanjin and NYK Line.
