Freight firm spreads its software net
OPEN architecture software will become an increasingly important part in the computerisation of freight forwarding networks, according to Gene Boyer, managing director of U-Freight America.
Mr Boyer's remit has been to extend the scope of the firm's Air Freight Forwarding System Architecture (AFSA) through a diverse network of subsidiaries and franchises.
''All these companies have invested heavily in their own systems, so I can understand that they don't want to swap them for ours,'' he said.
''But AFSA's open architecture approach allows them to interface with us without having to rebuild their entire system.'' AFSA has already been introduced into U-Freight's Amsterdam operation and the system is being progressively introduced into the worldwide network.
U-Freight, which originated as a Hong Kong-based forwarder dealing mainly with the United States West Coast, now has partnership agreements in Ireland, Germany, Italy, Britain and elsewhere in Europe as well as subsidiaries and partners throughout the Far East, North America, Latin America and Africa.
U-Freight operates a comprehensive office network throughout North America.
It is also one of the major forwarders in South East Asia and has set up a Chinese subsidiary, China Express, as a joint venture with the Chinese Government.
The group operates through domestically incorporated companies in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Australia.
There is also a dedicated hub in Miami for handling sea-air traffic to and from Latin America in conjunction with regional agents, Lafco.
Central America and South America are emerging as an import market for U-Freight and already provide the fourth most important source of business for the company after Asia, North America and Europe.
U-Freight has invested US$3 million in AFSA in addition to a year of development time.
The system is designed to give complete management and accounting information including sales and purchase orders and track and trace and invoicing.
The software has been developed by Hong Kong-based Integrated Concepts International.
One of the requirements of the software was that diverse offices should be able to run the system in their respective languages - such as Japanese, Thai and Chinese - although standard air freight documentation was in English.
The system has also been designed to be easy to learn - with staff requiring no more than two days' training.
It also incorporates sufficient capacity for software enhancements and is based on industry-standard graphic user interfaces.
''The pool of information and its built-in flexibility mean that shippers can also retrieve relevant data and direct it into their own systems,'' Mr Boyer said.
''It gives them the ability to compile management reports and obtain a host of data which most other forwarders' systems cannot provide.'' AFSA is a Windows-based system.
