Covid-19 has impacted us all in many ways. For logistics professionals, there are three new trends that are emerging as the world returns to normalcy.
CBP is conducting far more examinations.
Unsurprisingly, anything that could require an FDA approval is being increasingly held for physical inspection. A lot of this stems from people trying to import Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”) while trying to bypass FDA inspections. CBP and FDA are wise to these schemes and your importer should understand that they will likely not be kind to those they catch trying to flout the law.
Everyone wants their documents available 24/7 and accessible from web and mobile platforms.
Even the most reliable professionals cannot possibly get you your docs in the middle of the night or over the weekend. Covid-19 has also shown that events beyond what we can plan for happen, and that your broker might not be able to deliver documents quickly if their office is closed or if they are shut down.
Updates need to come straight from the source.
Even the best broker cannot get you documents before the manufacturer or carrier has sent them to the broker. That means that at the very least, you won’t get the important information about your shipment until your forwarder and customs broker get around to sending it to you. With direct document sourcing, you can get the docs as soon as the originator shares them. If there is a change, for example, a split purchase order resulting in a change to a commercial invoice or packing list, the originator can simply upload them to your system and you have them. This, of course, assumes you forwarder and customs broker are up to date on new tech. If they are not, look for a provider that is.