Kiwis beat Aussies at own game — Exporter Magazine
Photo: Russell Beswick and Andrew Hickton.
A small Tauranga company is beating their large Australian competitor to be the first software provider to integrate with the Trade Single Window facility introduced by New Zealand Customs and the Ministry of Primary Industries.
SpeEDI Software Limited has launched its new FreightShare software that cuts around six steps down to one – “a massive time and money saver for exporters, importers and customs brokers,” says Russell Beswick, FreightShare Limited director. “We are thrilled to be the first software provider to offer our customers the benefits of a single import or export declaration to obtain goods clearance from the two main border control authorities. It will appeal because of its simplicity, flexibility, nil start-up costs and low ongoing costs. Plus, with the volumes of international trade increasing every year, traders and their service providers need to be using the very best tools available and FreightShare ticks all the boxes,” says Beswick.
“Furthermore, FreightShare is designed on a data-sharing model that is new to the industry and this will ultimately allow most of the parties involved in the international trading process to work together in a very efficient and mutually-beneficial environment.
“All exporters, importers and customs brokers will have to be using Trade Single Window by December 2016. By changing to our new software now, they will be ahead of the game. Something that is crucial in this industry.”
FreightShare has been developed by SpeEDI Software, who has an impressive history of software development for the industry spanning over 30 years. “We have built on the wealth of our experience to create a user-friendly application that is very accessible from PCs, Macs and iPads, and it is designed to be adaptable for future demands,” says Andrew Hickton, development manager of SpeEDI Software. “Applications running within web browsers in the cloud on reputable servers is where it is all heading, especially now we have very fast Internet speeds around the country.
“As FreightShare is cloud based, there is no installation or maintenance required. You can also easily access information anywhere in the world and it enables staff in various locations to work concurrently.
“Anyone can register for free by going to freightshare.net to see first-hand how efficient the software is. It can also integrate with other customer applications like Xero accounting and Power BI, the new Microsoft product that provides users with easy-to-use tools to analyse and report their data. “FreightShare operates on a very robust and secure platform provided by Microsoft Azure. Reliability, security and confidentiality are the most important aspects of the software, so that our clients can have complete faith in the product. This is the next generation of freight software and we are very proud to lead the market.”
The company will be releasing more features early next year including an interface to proprietary websites to meet the needs of freight forwarders, traders, trucking businesses and others involved in international trade.
