DHL Global Forwarding, Kewill release customs brokerage system

As the import-export industry prepares for the coming Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) being set up by the end of this year by U.S. Customs and Border Protection as the new “single window” through which international trade will be processed, DHL Global Forwarding (DHL-GF) has introduced its new U.S. Customs brokerage management system, in conjunction with software firm, Kewill.

DHL-GF, the freight forwarding arm of Deutsche Post DHL Group, said the new rollout is one of the first IT systems to be “ACE-certified” by U.S. Customs, and will be fully integrated with DHL’s Document Management System and Inland Transportation Management System, and will also be connected seamlessly with DHL-GF’s Unified Reporting System, which will be expected to start by the fourth quarter of 2016.

Jim Miller, senior director for customs brokerage in the U.S. for DHL-GF, said the new customs system will help speed up customs filing for DHL’s customers in the United States by way of Kewill’s “graphical user interface” and faster data interchange that will increase productivity.  “We have been using the system on a trial basis since May 2015,” he said, “and currently file close to 100 percent of the ACE entry summaries allowed at this time with minimal to no issues.”

To protect the security of DHL-GF’s information, all critical data will be hosted in DHL’s secure data center. “We understand DHL’s need to have an internal system to manage connectivity to all customs authorities while meeting all new requirements under ACE,” said Jim Hoefflin, president and COO for Kewill.

The Kewill system comes pre-programmed with information on the Lacey Act wildlife trafficking law and will be able to interface with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and other participating government agencies.

Software firm Kewill said it has provided IT systems to 7,500 companies in more than 100 countries.