Well, life at work has been busy lately. We have launched an export consolidation initiative for the company that will reduce our exposure from six Fish and Wildlife ports down to two. This is huge from a compliance standpoint. I have developed the process flows and initial rollout communication and am on the verge of offering a position to a potential candidate. Next week will be filled with training and fine tuning the procedures and also the rollout of the program to all the NM stores as well as Bergdorf Goodman. Should be fun!
I received my Customs Broker Application packet from the port of Dallas. In addition to the application in duplicate, I have to submit a recent credit report, two fingerprint cards, a receipt from the police station where I was fingerprinted, the letter stating I passed the test, plus a check for $270. Good thing the company is footing the bill on this! Once I receive the check from our accounting department, I will be sending the packet in. Then starts the government process of the involved background check, which the initial letter states 8 to 12 months. Hopefully it is more like 8! What I am concerned about is the talk about all the port workers may be required to be cleared with a background check. If this is the case, I want my packet at the front of the line. It will backlog the FBI years to clear all the thousands of port workers. Crazy!
I just hired an additional person to conduct our import and export audits. She is someone that has worked for me before in another area, so I was pleased that she came forward for the open position. She will do a great job. My plan is to utilize her to develop our audit programs and to position our company for the next step into Custom's Importer's Self Assessment Program (ISA). I figure another good year before we are ready to pull the trigger on launching ISA. I have the bare bones programs in place, but have lacked the manpower (or womenpower in this case) to fully achieve the results we need.
The other project I have been working on (for the past year) is a document management system for our Import Operations Department. Due to some funding issues, the program stalled out last fall, but is has now been revived. We are in the process of bidding out to different providers, but pending no surprises, I have decided on the software we will be utilizing. It is called Laserfiche and is perfect for our needs. I now need to refocus and dig out the old process work flows. One of the good things about the Laserfiche software is that it supports complex work flows. For instance, you may have one person who creates a file and then passes it to another person who matches invoices and an additional person who pays the vendor, etc. With a physical file, you simply pass the file to the next person when you are done. But when the file is electronic images, how do you perform the same task without completely redesigning your procedures? Workflow is the answer. Person A would initiate the electronic file and mark it done. The system will know, based on a predetermined workflow, the next person who needs to touch the file. It will then be routed to their work queue. Pretty slick.
Anyway, enough about work for now. As you can see, there is plenty to keep me out of trouble. Or in trouble depending on how you look at it!
Later...
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