| Langdon Goes On-Line |  |
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International Freight Weekly - January 2003 |
Langdon has been providing Duty Management software since 1984, often with high levels of customisation, and boasts an impressive base of large customers, including Danzas, Reebok, British Aerospace and Panasonic.
Now Langdon has adopted the Application Service Provider (ASP) model and is offering e-CFSP, aimed mainly at SMEs. The idea is straightforward: SMEs want a Customs reporting solution that is simple to use, quick to set up and requires low investment.
e-CFSP meets the spec. The user logs on to www.e-CFSP.co.uk through a web browser and completes the customs warehouse removal schedule in the online application. This configures the data to the format required under CFSP for the Supplementary Declaration Warehouse (SDW) submission and transmits it to Customs' Chief system. The Chief response is recorded and reported by e-mail to the user.
Langdon has designed e-CFSP to include full Import and Customs Warehousing functionality for a wide range of products that can be accepted by Chief. This includes all dutiable products, as well as excise goods like wines, beers, spirits, tobacco and common agricultural goods (CAP). The application now also supports Single European Authorisation (SEA); e-CFSP already supports SEA for Intel, reporting imports into the UK and the Netherlands.
Mike Dixon, Langdon's MD, said e-CFSP had been 'very successful' as a shop window for internet-based applications. With 25 companies now signed up, 4,000-5,000 entries a month were being handled.
Customers are using it in different ways, some as a complete solution, others as an add-on to existing systems. Brian Richardson of Louie Clothing said: 'Our CFSP requirements are not complex and e-CFSP fits the bill perfectly. It's cheap, easy to use and is fully Customs compliant'.
By contrast, Honda UK Manufacturing uses e-CFSP alongside existing systems. 'We required a system that would enable us to capture ad-hoc imports for which we do not receive electronic data' said Sharon Griffiths. 'The e-CFSP option offered us a system solution without lengthy contracts and with no initial investment, but with the flexibility to remain in line with our CFSP authorisation.'
Dixon sees lots of growth potential for hosted products. 'We now have a proven web-based customs platform being used in the UK. As Intel has shown, it can be used just as well elsewhere in the EU.'
This article was reproduced from International Freight Weekly with their kind permission |
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