Automation boosts electronics exports

A pilot project to automate the processing of export documents for electronics companies has been proven successful in cutting down the time it takes to move finished goods from factories to the airport.

In a demonstration made before leaders of the Export Development Council (EDC) and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) last week, the Automated Export Documentation Systems (AEDS) took only a few minutes for an export transaction to move from an exporter to the Bureau of Customs and the forwarding company at the Manila International Airport.

The system has made possible the "just-in-time" delivery of electronic exports from manufacturers’ plants to cargo planes with little interference from government regulations.

The project was jointly undertaken by the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines (SEIPI), the Bureau of Customs and the Philippine Export Zone Authority.

Five big electronics companies led by Intel Technology Phils. involved in the project made over 4,000 automated export shipments since it took off last July 22.

Among the benefits derived from the system were: the speed of time it takes from lodgment of an export cargo to the printing of its authority to loan in an airplane was trimmed down to just one minute.

An exporter no longer needs to go to the BOC or PEZA office for the processing of its papers. Export goods are now moved directly from the gates of the exporter’s plant to the cargo receiving station in the airport.

It also cut down transaction costs after paper work was reduced to the barest minimum and manual processing ended.

With its success, the Bureau of Customs said that the system will soon be rolled out to all special economic zones and all ports of entry, to customers bonded warehouses, used in the liquidation of raw material imports and eventually, to all exporters.

The technology has been tested and proven effective. Its roll-out to other segments of the export sector will entail the installation of hardware and software in each of their plants.– Philexport News and Features