PART 2 of 3 - How a Post-Millennial or Gen Z will want to WORK in Shipping & want to be serviced as our "Customers of the Future"

ARTEMUS has put together a 3 PART Series to identify, define and suggest how the new Transportation Employee and Transportation Customer will want to work within our industry in the next 2-5 years.  

This three part series will first define the way 18-26 yr olds promote themselves online and use online apps communicate (PART 1).  Then, ARTEMUS will define how those same people will want to work within the shipping industry and be serviced by the shipping industry PART 2.  and Finally!....what we see as a MUST HAVE and MUST PROVIDE to be successful for these new shipping people to grow and thrive in an international trade industry and how you will need to service these people as your future customers!

PART 2 of 3 - How a Post Millennial or Generation Z will want to WORK in Shipping and want to be serviced as our "Customers of the Future"

Written by ARTEMUS Internet, SEO and Social Media Expert -  Natalie Novkovic

The POST MILLENNIAL of today as we defined last posting (18-26 yr old) is GLUED to their hand held devices.  They type but only for “texting and tweeting” They don't email!
but a POST MILLENNIAL will swipe left and swipe right, up and down to surf sites.  

They want to push buttons, enlarge photos, make tons of comments in between their time between TEXTING and TWEETING. 

So, how will these “POST MILLENNIALS or GEN Z workers” want to work at a job, once its time to start working and earning a living. 

First, let’s not kid ourselves…these new workers still desire face to face interaction, socializing “in person” hanging out etc.  There is still the need to show their work, communicate what they stand for and speak out about their likes, dislikes, motivations and distractions.  So, let’s try to define the new worker now. 

The work place will not be confined to a certain DESK and a certain location.  There will be a home base, somewhere to say…I work there…but going to an office, 8 – 10 hours a day, staying in one place will have a limitation on this generation’s ability to provide high quality, productive work.  So, first, the workplace will be anywhere or everywhere.  So, for lack of a better word…mobile!  These workers will want to CARRY or HOLD their office…not go to it all day long. 

Next, the tools of the trade.  Sales will require the ability to not only face to face selling and communicating but high powered social media marketing and electronic selling….through words, photos or creations that can be sent quickly and visually attractive. Operations people want to eliminate double work…reuse previous work and copy/paste should be as easy as swipe left or swipe right.  Service people want to ensure they can communicate in a way that is more personal than ever.  So, call, chat, email but its personal. 

So, International Transportation and Trade – How does this work in Shipping?  Well, Information is still not centralized, not easily available and readable and the reliance on paper is nothing short of a joke.  These 18-26 year olds are going to laugh when we tell them…that shipment you just swiped right and sent to the carrier to book, save a copy of the receipt here or print one out and put it in a folder….WHY???  I sent it, there's the record…why do you need a copy?  Filings with Customs…why do I have to store that transmission in a folder?  Why do I need a copy of the source of information I entered and why do I have to fill out any forms?  

So, to end this submission, keep one thing in mind…the International Transportation and Trade industry is NOT ready for these type of workers.  In our next submission, we will provide some STATE OF THE ART suggestions on how these workers can work in our industry and how the industry can change to attract and accept these workers and thrive as this generation becomes our new customers!

Until next month, ARTEMUS OUT!

Does investment in Technology or Service give you an advantage?

Technology or Service - Some say they can be one in the same but the experience in our industry would argue that they are very different. Service is the interaction with the client (your people)...the alerts, the phone calls, the emails, the overtime hours getting the job done. Technology supports service but so many use Technolgy as a "service" or more specifically, "self service"

The way we see it here at Artemus is that service is and always will be human interaction with the customer. The "may I help you", or "would you like me to call you when.....". or even "there has been an issue with your shipment, we did X and all is back on track". or, "I'll do that for you" That's service.

Our clients are telling us that to compete, they need access to better systems and technology, they need to move, send, received and provide more information. But none of them ask us to make technology replace them. The small to medium size carrier or freight intermediary wants to be close to the client. They need the phone, the want to talk to them but they want the ability to proactively advise and service them, update them, counsel them or even replace much of the time consuming work they perform with smart technology applications and smart process improvements.

NONE of the client of Artemus ask us to find the most advanced technology for them so that they can replace their service with it.

The final facts are these...in international shipping, service will always be what makes you successful and technology will hopfully go from a mentality of "serve yourself" to let us serve you better and in doing so, technology will make our clients better service providers and also make them more profitable.

So, does an investment in technology or service give you an advantage? The investment in service, which includes people first and technology second, gives you an advantage and if you invest in people first, then the investment in technology should make you more profitable.

Artemus OUT!

TECHNOLOGY IN TRADE - YES, WE ARE BEHIND!

Technology usage in international transportation and trade is a must. One of the oldest industries is one of the slowest to ditch the paper and go "e". E-Commerce is an old term that is now be replaced by terms like "cloud", "virtual", "flash", "beam" etc etc. Moving information without even a file or just a transfer through blue tooth, beaming, place in a virtual environment.

But in international shipping, why can't we ditch the paper and go "E" in total.

Example....a Bill of Lading....still in so many places in the US, you have to present it to get cargo...why can we just show up and beam the information to you? Why can't I upload it to you from a flash drive....or why can I just send you one of these QR Code things on email or from my hand held device or smart phone?

Got a smart phone? Click on the image below and scan it with a smart phone app bar code scanner....You'll see what I mean!

I could put all the information in a Bill of Lading and store it on a little image like this....so when I scan it with my smart phone, it loads my system and WHOOSH...no data entry, no paper, nothing?

Why can't we get over it and lose the paper!

So many other industries, even RETAIL can keep inventorys with bar codes and scanners....I can use my smart phone, scan a bar code and get an instant BEST PRICE for an item with walking

distance...within seconds! Why can't the shipping industry DITCH THE PAPER and go totally "E"

At Artemus in 2011, our clients will have that option....and provide their clients with electronic transfer of shipment data, automatic upload and download to avoid data entry and state of the art communication abilities to lessen the time it takes to do the work and provide their clients with high end services in a totall web based, cost effective manner.

Artemus clients are going "E", why can't the rest of the industry go "E" in total for all transacting?

Cheers!

Technology - What is the future for International Transportation and Trade?

I am sure this topic has been written about over and over. The bottom line is.....the US Transportation and Trade Industry is NOT taking advantage of all that is available. Why? simple, competition!

Let me explain, in a recent speech given at Old Dominion Propeller club, the question was, where do I see the biggest opportunities for graduating college students in the Maritime Industry? I say, technology...the ability to take a work process and automate or program a product to conduct that process electronically. Why, because it makes sense, it allows electronic transfer of data, correcting mistakes automatically, control strategies for inaccurate data or data combinations, it allows electronic checking and for the sole purpose of cutting out errors and increasing satisfaction of the client....the ultimate user. So, staff would then focus on building relationships with clients and less on data entry, double entry and manual "checking". All those last things being archaic ideas.

Example - In Australia in 1999 (yes, 11 years ago) the entire import and export process of a container or piece of cargo was ELECTRONICALLY done. Yep, starting from booking over the phone, to phone recognition link to internal systems, to bringing up history, copying and updating a shipment, transmitting that shipment to transport providers, vessel planners, export documentation, terminals, customs etc. Yep, then picking up the phone and creating an ELECTRONIC appointment to delivery cargo to the terminal, which was sent to a transponder, that was read at the gate, instructions issued, information of receipt back to the carrier, which was electronically sent to planners at the terminal and the carrier and CUSTOMS and AQIS and yep, documents were released ELECTRONICALLY with electronic signatures, incripted files with password protection and oh yeah...ELECTRONIC billing and payment to the back for the shipment.

This was 1999 in Australia. Is this happening in the US today? in some places with some providers and in a few different formats but is there a standard? NOPE. Can everyone access this type of communication? NOPE. Why? Competitive Advantage.

Why can't the US International Trade Industry set some simple standards and require everyone to follow them, from the BIG TERMINALS to the small forwarders?

We have done a great job in focussing on security of cargo and national security with CSI, CTPAT, ACE etc. So, as an industry, let's focuss on being "state of the art" as a whole and not state of the art, as long as you can afford it.

Finally, Artemus will provide electronic data exchange systems to all customers of its transportation software. Visit our website www.artemus.us or call 866-744-7101 and we will show you our approach and our products and show you how affordable they are. So, be ready, get your smart phone, Iphone, computer and electronic internet device and get ready to provide your clients with state of the art service at very, very affordable prices.

Talk to you soon

Artemus OUT!

Is Reporting ISF Timely a Myth?

Everyone who is filing ISFs by now knows that they are still not seeing any monetary penalties being issued by customs. While this is a good thing, you have to ask yourself why is it being delayed? It was reported that penalities would be assessed by the fourth quarter of 2010. Is it because everyone filing an ISF is in compliance? According to the progress reports being sent out by customs the answer is no.

So what gives? We have seen numerous reports of untimely filings. The standard is that the ISF should be reported 24 hours prior to vessel loading. Customs has reported that more than 90 percent of shipments comply with this filing deadline while only 2.5 percent are rejected for being inaccurate or incomplete.

We have been told by customs that the reports on timeliness are not perfect and probably won't be. It still takes human intervention to catch errors made on these reports and customs is working to improve the problem with each new release that comes out. Meanwhile the client should be protected from fines or penalties.


Customs has under law a six-year window to find an ISF violation and issue damages. What will this mean to the importer down the road? Once all the "bugs" are worked out, will customs then proceed to go back and fine violators on past proformance? It will be interesting to see how this plays out and how the implementation of ACE will benefit filers to extract their own data for the reporting of ISFs going forward.

Check back next month for more on ACE.

Visit our site at www.artemus.us

Import Security Filing - US Customs Bonds

Myth becoming a legend.......so many clients, importers especially, come to me and say, I cannot get my broker to do the ISF filing for me because they tell me I have to get a bond. They say it is required. How come I did not have to have a bond to file an AMS or ABI filing? Well, because a broker and an AMS filier live by different requirements. First of all, to make any filing, AMS, ABI or ISF, a bond is required. At a minimum, the bond is required by the company who is filing the information on behalf of another. So, let's say an Importer used to use a broker to do all import filings for them, that was ok, before because the broker had a license and a bond to cover them in cases where they needed it. For an ISF filing, the broker is requiring the bond, not US Customs. US Customs requires the FILIER to have a bond. A broker has a bond but chooses not to use it. In the case of an AMS Filing, the filier has a bond and that bond is also good to use for ISF Filings. Since the ISF filing and the AMS filing are similar...in data sets and in the overall purpose of the filing (an informational filing only) than the bond the AMS filier uses, they also use to cover the ISF filing they make on behalf of their clients.

Bottom line is that there are SO MANY options to getting your Import Security Filing done, a broker is not the only option and in most cases, is not the cheapest and the most cost effective option for an importer or a forwarder. If you want more information and proof of the above, just let us know and we can help. 100+ plus customers in 17 countries will vouch for what is written above....

www.artemus.us

Let's Get Started - Importing Cargo into the US

Are you an importer, forwarder or carrier? If so, requirements are different. Simply put, without someone "in the know" or with previous experience, this will be a search for WALDO. Today, let's first bring up National Security. For all import cargo coming into the US, even if it is staying on a carriers ship or air freight, all cargo details MUST be given to US Customs before it loads at its origin point overseas. Yep, all details..then, each shipment requires an Import Security Filing, and Automated Manifest Filing and a Customs Broker Entry. All of these can be done by the importer or by using a variety of other partners. Tune in tomorrow for more details on each.

By for now...

www.artemus.us