Make paperwork easy

Any business that exports products will tell you that when it comes to paperwork, it’s a complicated business.

Any errors or delays in processing documents for customs and other government agencies, and business owners could see their shipments delayed or rejected, or even face penalties for non-compliance. Adding to the challenge is the fact customs rules vary from country to country and constantly change.

As a producer and exporter of gluten-free bakery products, Jerry Bigam, chief executive of Kinnikinnick Foods Inc. in Edmonton, has more complexities to work with than most.

“Within two years of 9/11, the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] in the U.S. set up requirements that every delivery to the U.S. needed prior notice of products being shipped and who they were going to,” he said. “Now every time we ship an order, we need a prior notice for every customer times the number of products being shipped.”

What makes it especially problematic is the company’s 30,000-strong internet customer base. “When you have 1,000 customer orders a week, and six to 10 products per order, that’s huge,” Mr. Bigam said. “At 500,000 prior notices a year, we could very well be the world’s largest consumer of them.”

Rather than setting up a distribution centre in the United States, Bigam decided to go the software route to automate paper processing. As he describes it, the system “shakes hands” with the FDA program 24/7.

“It’s a seamless system you access through a portal. Orders come in on the internet or by phone and are sent to a bake sheet, then to a pick sheet. Once it’s picked and filled, it generates an invoice, prior notices and shipping documents. It’s all electronic.”

Processing filings can be especially challenging for small to medium-sized businesses, said Cindy Yamamoto, vice-president of global logistics product strategy for Waterloo, Ont.-based Descartes.

“One of those challenges is keeping up with the legislative requirements. It’s not just about security and what you’re shipping to whom.," she said. "The types of shipments also fall into many different categories with government agencies that have unique taxes and duties.”

Electronic filing can help simplify the process considerably, she said. “The key to business success is getting accurate information early to your trading partners and brokers. You can either use a hosted type service for a monthly fee, or access an electronic filing offering from your forwarder or broker, or develop something yourself.”

Electronic capabilities also mean you can track documentation and shipping status through a Web-based portal.

“The way this technology works, it’s all tied together. In that way you can share information such as proof of delivery and certificates, track and trace shipments and file the correct documents over secure connections to trading partners in other countries. It’s a great way for SMBs to stay on top of things,” Ms. Yamamoto said.

Having an electronic filing system in place already will prove handy as Kinnikinnick Foods expands into the British market and beyond, Mr. Bigam said.

“We assume it will be easy to electronically hook up into Europe. It’s a simple matter of using what we have now.”

Financial Post