Trade Tech Hosts JP24 Seminars with JIFFA To Prepare Shippers in Japan for the New 24-Hour Rule

BELLEVUE, Washington – August 15, 2013 -- Trade Tech, a global supplier of cloud-based solutions for the logistics industry, announced today that it is working with Japan International Freight Forwarders Association (JIFFA) to conduct a series of informational seminars on Japan’s new 24-Hour Rule, also known as the Ocean Advance Filing Rule or JP24, until it becomes mandatory.

Seminars were recently held in Tokyo and Osaka and are designed to help Japanese NVOs, forwarders and beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) comply with JP24. After March 1, 2014, all parties issuing a bill of lading on ocean cargo bound for Japan must electronically file relevant information on the shipment with Japanese Customs 24 hours prior to vessel loading.

“We are interested in insuring that the community is well educated on the upcoming requirements of the AFR,” says Trade Tech president Bryn Heimbeck. “If the cargo is not manifested, carriers will not load it on board a vessel. Our goal is to help NVOs, forwarders and BCOs avoid any and all penalties and to make it easy for them to meet their filing requirements. We want to inform the shipping public on what they need to do to be prepared."

Trade Tech also conducts regular monthly webinars on JP24 in the U.S., Europe, and China and the company has hosted live events in Shanghai, Ningbo, Jin Jiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other Asian cities. “This is part of an ongoing global effort to help inform the market about the AFR rule, to review the issues, and to discuss ways that forwarders and NVOs can most easily comply with the rules,” says Heimbeck.

According to attendees of the recent JP24 seminars hosted by Trade Tech and JIFFA in Tokyo and Osaka, "the presentation was easy to understand and they learned about the types of issues concerning AFR and the available solutions."

“We see the Japan 24-Hour Rule and the standardized information required for similar rules in the U.S., Asia and the European Union as a positive for everyone involved with international commerce as it will ultimately speed up the flow of goods,” Heimbeck adds.

Trade Tech “is honored to be aligned” with JIFFA’s community of Japanese forwarders on this initiative, Heimbeck says, “JIFFA provides a forum for members to learn about issues they will face in the Japan market and it is very influential in the adoption of new rules and technologies,” he says. Trade Tech is exploring other opportunities to support JIFFA’s educational focus relative to new cloud-based logistics and supply chain technologies the company is developing, Heimbeck notes

Trade Tech is the first U.S.-based provider to have its Automated Manifest System (AMS) electronic filing solution authorized by NACCS (Nippon Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System). This solution uses Web 2.0 technology and already meets 24-hour advance filing rules in North America and the EU.