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	ICECORP continues to lead Canadian freight industry with new Visual DataFlex powered XML Web App

Canadian freight forwarding company ICECORP, based in Ontario and offering transportation & logistics services worldwide, has once again led their industry in developing and deploying an XML-based interface with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for submitting approvals for shipment of goods.

The CBSA’s Website shows the results of ICECORP’s uploading of XML data. (Click image for larger view.)

With the recent implementation of the CBSA’s Advance Commercial Information (ACI) program for airfreight, all shipments arriving at Canadian airports must be reported to CBSA a minimum of four hours before “wheels down”. It is mandatory that the data be transmitted electronically in order to ensure quick and efficient processing. The CBSA then uses a risk-management approach, with sophisticated selection and targeting capabilities, to detect high-risk or unknown shipments.

Hanna Philippi, system analyst, programmer and webmaster for ICECORP, designed the Visual DataFlex-powered web application to meet this requirement, and had it up and running even before the CBSA itself was officially open for doing business via XML.

"Middle sized company like ICECORP, we’re among the first people to have this running," says Mr. Philippi. "Our overseas partners are able to submit just as easily as anyone in Canada. All software development was completed “in house” using Visual DataFlex."

Mr. Philippi worked in partnership with the CBSA to coordinate on the XML schema and ensure that the system performed perfectly. The CBSA supplied the XML schema, and ICECORP built the software to utilize it using Visual DataFlex’s XML libraries.

Using Visual DataFlex to build the application and incorporate the XML schema was fast and easy, according to Mr. Philippi. "It took us very little time to complete it using VDF’s libraries," he says.

Once built, a two-month trial of the new system was conducted, and the CBSA assisted ICECORP by returning lists of errors and other information needed to validate the system. After some fine-tuning, the system was deployed and now connects every 15 minutes to the CBSA’s host application to submit the ACI required shipment information and retrieve any approvals that are in waiting.

Using Visual DataFlex’s FTP capabilities, the Scheduler portion of the application extracts any new data from ICECORP’s database, creates an XML file, and then sends it to the CBSA. In about 5 minutes, the CBSA will either accept it, or deny it if there’s an issue. The CBSA’s application then puts a response (with error codes for refused orders) into a mailbox that the Scheduler checks, retrieves, and sends on to the appropriate people. The process is automatic, and the application gives reports about what was sent or refused and any other pertinent information.

Francis D’Oliveira, ICECORP’s V.P. of Information Systems, says about the process, "It’s transparent for us. Once we get a response back, the system just updates everything with the latest status. So our operations people are able to immediately find out whether the shipment is approved, or if not, why not."

"So far it’s been working really well. Probably over 99% of the messages returned from the CBSA are approvals," Mr. D’Oliveira says. "And this is across Canada – whether it’s submitted from Vancouver or Montreal. There is a three-hour difference in time across Canada, so the scheduler runs every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day, so time zone differences are not an issue.

ICECORP continues to lead the pack in providing Canadian freight shippers with online business processes, as Mr. Philippi has also added many new improvement to the company’s existing applications (read the previous success story), now offering a web-based Purchase Order (PO) entry module and documentation system.

ICECORP’s Visual DataFlex powered ICEPO Web Application. (Click image for larger view.)

The system - ICEPO – was released a year ago and enables customers do their own entry, updates, notes and reporting using web interface. The system is designed to automatically notify those people selected by the customer and ICECORP staff via e-mail whenever a new PO is entered or changed, if a note is created, etc. Reports are generated using Crystal Reports Server.

Mr. Philippi notes that this component is not tied directly into ICECORP’s business processes; it’s a stand-alone application that is usable by any company needing to generate reports, including Canada Customs invoices, Commercial Invoices and NAFTA Certificates of Origin, as well as enabling the addition of products and vendors.

Also, within the administrative area of the system is a facility to customize what messages each contact is to receive, including newsletters, notification of changes or delays, sailing schedules, bulletins about tariff changes, and more.

For further reading about ICECORP’s Visual DataFlex based Windows and Web applications, visit www.DataAccess.com/Success.

Mr. Philippi is involved in expanding the developer community that he and many other developers rely on for peer-to-peer support, and is the contact for the Toronto DataFlex Users Group. To join in, send e-mail to Hanna Philippi for more information about membership.

Visit ICECORP and be sure to see the ICETRAK web application in action using the Demo login.

ICECORP International Cargo Express Corporation is wholly Canadian owned and operated International freight forwarder providing total logistics services, including international freight, transborder, project forwarding, customs brokerage, distribution, and 3PL.

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