The Philippine Ports Authority's (PPA) nearly P900 million Trusted Operator Program-Container Registry and Monitoring System (TOP-CRMS) and Empty Container Storage Shared Service Facility (ECSSSF) will empower the logistics industry, particularly Customs brokers and truckers, to work more efficiently.
The initiative quickly drew praise from the Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc., (CCBI) after President Adones C. Carmona wrote a letter to PPA General Manager Atty. Jay Daniel. R. Santiago expressing the CCBI's appreciation "with your initiative of the Container Monitoring Project that no longer requires the container deposits and covers the loss and damages of containers."
The Professional Regulation Commission and the Professional Regulatory Board for customs brokers have accredited the CCBI as the only integrated professional organization of customs brokers in the Philippines. It is supported by a membership of 14,000 Customs Brokers across the country.
According to the PPA in an article published in Port Call, the TOP program would "introduce rational, cohesive, and integrated solutions which will solve persistent systemic problems affecting the overall performance and efficiencies of the PPA in areas related to its frontline and regulatory services, third-party managed services, enforcement services, and inter-agency services."
The early warning signs the container monitoring technology will provide could moderate the costs that customs brokers pay for demurrage, detention, and insurance coverage for the containers. These savings can be invested back into ensuring reduced prices for customers, enhancing customer loyalty.
The technology will even allow them to gain new customers with an accurate and up-to-date communication system.
The TOP-CRMS and ECSSSF are real-time container tracking systems. They are a series of technological functions that allows customers, shippers, carriers, and freight forwarders to access the latest status updates on cargo. The technology is effective regardless of location, time zone, route, port, personnel, and cargo type.
The CRMS would streamline transactions to support the ease of doing business, trade facilitation, and border protection, the article added.
Using industry-accepted data interchange formats through secure and encrypted channels, the container identification and control system will enable PPA to digitally capture all inbound shipping containers before entering any country's ports.
The container tracking technology will allow the PPA to digitally tag all inbound shipping containers with a tracking device, giving complete visibility of every foreign-owned container's utilization, movement, and location.
CCBI welcomes initiative
In his letter to the PPA, Carmona said that for the last two decades, practicing customs brokers have seen and experienced the perennial problem in the requirement of the different international shipping lines of container deposits before the release of Delivery Orders/Container Release Orders ranging from P10,000 to P20,000/TEU up to P100,000 for specialized containers such as Flat Rack and Reefer Container.
"The claim of refund after the return of the empty container and submission of the request for the return of the container deposit ranges from a month to a year that made life difficult for our members and with subsequent claims by the shipping lines of damages and unfair deductions are made to the deposits," Carmona said.
Indeed, many small customs brokers have closed shop after shipping lines failed to refund their deposits. The TOP technology will eliminate this risk.
In addition, customs brokers will benefit from the reduced cost of using the system. It would eliminate the payment of the standard container insurance that they shoulder instead of the consignees.
For their part, truckers do not need to queue for long hours in the ports to wait for their cargo as they will have real-time information on their status.
This can declog the streets leading to entry points in all the ports across the country as usual practice now when you see long lines of trucks waiting for the release of their containers (cargoes). Truckers will go in when they need to go in and move out when they have to move out.