Product Information

Ocean Automated Commercial Environment Service

Meeting U.S. Customs Requirements

Today, companies must comply with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP’s) Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Requirements 24-hour reporting rule. Companies whose internal business processes rely on faxing, telephoning, or sending courier packets of documents are finding themselves ill prepared for this regulatory requirement.

The Descartes Global Compliance Ocean ACE service utilizes a simple web user interface (UI) to enable customers to login via the Internet and monitor the progress of all ACE eManifest submissions with comprehensive validations. The service sends the data directly to the CBP’s ACE service and provides a view of the status of that filing. Additionally as a fallback procedure the eManifest filing can be created, edited and submitted within the application. Customers have the option of receiving status updates via electronic data interchange (EDI) if they choose. E-alerts can also be used to notify the customer via email if there is a problem.

Descartes Ocean ACE service is part of the Descartes Global Logistics Network™ (GLN), which enables the world’s leading transportation providers to connect to their trading partners and reliably exchange information to drive delivery performance and high levels of customer satisfaction. The Descartes GLN helps companies better manage their logistics book-to-bill process, track inventory, meet regulatory requirements, optimize fleet performance, and effectively communicate with their logistics partners.

The Descartes GLN features multi-modal electronic data interchange (EDI) messaging services that simplify cargo and freight management operations by providing electronic services to the cargo industry and to companies.

The Descartes Ocean ACE service is a solution that helps users easily manage shipment information electronically and enables compliance with the requirement to electronically submit shipment information to the U.S. Customs Department’s Ocean ACE service for ocean cargo. Three different service delivery options accommodate a customer’s existing in-house technology set-up:

Option 1 – Traditional value-added network (VAN) services. This service transmits electronic information to Customs authorities in their required proprietary data format (known as CAMIR) or in the ANSI X12 format.

Option 2 – In-network translation services. Beyond the VAN services, this option can also convert information from other electronic formats to meet AMS requirements.

Option 3 – Web forms. For customers that cannot create an electronic structured message to supply to AMS, Descartes offers a Web form product that allows users to manually enter data before converting it into the required format and submitting it to U.S. Customs and local Customs authorities where required.

Benefits

The Descartes Ocean ACE service helps manage an ever-increasing amount of legally required containerized shipment information in a small window of time. It helps shippers, carriers and intermediaries:

• Ensure compliance with U.S. Customs’ CSI programs

• Deploy quickly across an organization

• Have a solution suited to users’ existing technology

Status Querying

Lets users electronically submit queries in a Web form to determine the status of an individual cargo manifest. Enables searches using the same basic information included in the actual paper document, including bill of lading, container number, and port of origin. Can print a list of status information, such as “released,” “on hold,” etc.

Features

• Reference and Reporting: Captures shipment information from the electronic manifest and stores it in a secure data repository. Lets users select optional extended storage that permits historical review of the information and customized reporting such as shipment volume by customer, by type of cargo or by port.

• Flexible Templates: Uses the Web form option to present shipment information in templates that can mimic existing paper documents. Allows authorized users to add, modify and delete cargo manifest templates to accommodate the fields important to their customers and business processes. Descartes offers similar services for the VAN and in-network translation options.

• Information Privacy: Transmits information via the secure Descartes GLN, protecting the privacy of all parties. Links information to trading partners or regulatory agencies as specified by the customer.

• Have a single point of contact for data connectivity

• Have easy-to-use Web forms