COMPUTERS & THE IMPORT/EXPORT BUSINESS

Although the computer revolution is well under way, there are many companies who are not taking advantage of the opportunities available because of lack of expertise and lack of confidence in their ability to acquire the appropriate systems at reasonable prices. There is a baffling array of systems available, with choices at every level of hardware, software, networks, electronic data dissemination, and expert systems. Yet, to remain outside the arena of computerization is to risk falling behind competitively. In addition, the importexport field is particularly wellsuited for computerization because the level of information generated, and received, is very high.

There are some problems, however, specific to importexport that also make it difficult to choose the right systems. Besides the high level of information generated, there is a diversity of data in importexport that exceeds that in other fields. For example, in thinking about generating shipment labels, or other kinds of customer documentation, it is often necessary to create documents in different languages. Forms, such as bills of lading, must address each countries legal requirements to proceed expeditiously through customs. As a consequence, it is not possible just to rely on a simple system; in order to be effective, an information system in importexport must be tailormade for the industry.

It is possible, of course, simply to

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luding such employees as middle managers and salespeople. Andy Kessler (1994), for example, suggested a plan for customer empowerment that completely eliminates salespeople, although maintaining a marketing department. In looking at the economics, he indicated that a good salesperson could cost up to $100,000 per year, including benefits, while a deluxe PCbased setup could easily serve four major accounts for less than that. In his example, the system would be designed to provide a PCbased video server plus telecommunications charges directly tiedin to each customer. He assumed that allowing the highest end products at about $25,000 per PC, and $1,000 per month in telecommunications charge for a 1.5 megabitpersecond T1 line into the server would amount to approximately $20,000 per year in costs, while allowing for 24hour per day coverage. Something similar to this should be adaptable to the importexport business and would be particularly effective for an industry in which 24hour operations would be advantageous. Since importexport focuses on dealing with companies and agencies in many different countries, and time zones, a system that is not tied to a particular country's 95 workday would be more efficient
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Thomas Stewart, BUSINESS Introduction, Cabletron Systems, Evan Schwartz, Lotus Notes, Shelley Patent, IBM Model, Andy Kessler, Expert Systems, Harmon King, artificial intelligence, importexport business, information systems, expert systems, information system, personal computers, forbes asap, lotus notes, intelligent decision, management issues, asap april 11, april 11 1994, forbes asap april, electronic data interchange, voice mail email,
Approximate Word count = 4240
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page)

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