World Courier UK

Brendan Gough, Head of Imports & Customs Liaison, World Courier (UK) Ltd. discusses working with ASM and migrating from GeMS to Sequoia.

“We have been customers of ASM for some time, since the days of ASM2000NT software. Over the years, we’ve followed them through generation upgrades and revisions, SAD harmonisation and GeMS, to our latest migration to Sequoia. With all ASM’s products there’s always a logical, user-friendly interface for keying entries into customs.

“Our migration from GeMS to Sequoia was as well-prepared as it reasonably could be with everything ‘as-expected’ and that includes accepting the challenge of not migrating our client database, which we discussed in advance with ASM.

Eventually, any client database accumulates out-of-date information and duplicate records. To effectively cleanse ours meant facing an enormous task, so ASM encouraged us to create a fresh database. We retain access to our GeMS files because we need that information for retrospective customs records, and also use it to pull valid information from GeMS to populate Sequoia.

“Actually, the biggest challenge was not becoming accustomed to Sequoia but the time and effort need to re-enter the data. That’s not in any way meant to be a criticism, in the long term it pays you dividends. It’s almost a medicinal pain you have to go through to achieve what you need.

“We’ve known about Sequoia for a few years, and we’re fortunate that we could time our transition to Sequoia’s tried and tested solution. We scheduled our migration to avoid the Christmas rush and also the introduction of the Union Customs Code. GeMS is not fully compliant and unable to develop within UCC guidelines, so we wanted to avoid any urgency to migrate to Sequoia ahead of UCC implementation in May 2016.

“Our migration was a straight cut-over. We did not run two systems in tandem or adopt a phased implementation. Of course, we benefitted from ASM setting up a scheduled introduction and training programme. This included team-viewer sessions prepared in advance through remote connections, with ASM presenting the different import and export applications to groups of five or six people.

“With teams in Poyle, Manchester and Edinburgh, we implemented a tight schedule to ensure everyone was trained by ASM to avoid the possible problems of people learning from each other. We also dedicated ‘super-users’ to visit ASM to see Sequoia up-front, benefit from in-depth discussions about our business needs and tackle any questions.

With any migration, certain processes are inevitably different, there are new solutions or dissimilar approaches to tasks, so it was important to fully understand those.

“We are part of a global operation, so we don’t use some of Sequoia’s features, however its configuration allows components to be unplugged, developed and used as needed. That’s good from our point of view because ASM take note of what their customers ask for and react accordingly.

The inclusion of their Customs Tariff Viewer is an important example. It’s integrated into Sequoia in a way that replicates the hard copy tariff to provide a complete, fully-searchable electronic customs tariff, with all the visual benefits of the traditional paper tariff and the advantages of searchable electronic media.

“Another positive to the migration from GeMS to Sequoia was ASM’s support services, they are never overwhelmed and always easy to contact.

Their strategy of proactive training reduces the levels of support needed with many questions answered before they’re asked. Also, ASM’s doors are always open, we can book training sessions either online or in their training rooms, and their team is always ready to go through any issues or train new staff.

“Their industry awareness is outstanding, they understand the nature of our business and importantly they comprehend the workings of customs.

With ASM, you’re dealing with people with a freight background. I’ve heard people complain that software packages are written by people that don’t understand business applications, that’s not the case with ASM. They appreciate what we do, understand the freight business, possess the necessary knowledge and employ staff with the right backgrounds.

“With software it’s always a confidence issue. Sequoia is a key tool for us as we use it for import and export, so we must be confident in the supplier and the product. I’m a great believer in trusted relationships and we have that with ASM. They are constantly innovating and ‘plugged-in’ to what’s happening in the industry. I hope to work with them for many years to come.”