FREIGHT forwarders gathered to celebrate a milestone moment for the Integrated Cargo System (ICS) this week with an event held at the Australian Border Force headquarters in Canberra.
Those who have been in the business long enough know all too well the initiation of ICS in October 2005.
More than two decades on, however, industry stalwarts said the concept would be central for the next decade of trade despite still containing flaws.
International Forwarders and Customs Brokers Association of Australia’s manager border and biosecurity Brad Leonard said what the ICS was required to handle today was vastly different from what it was designed for in 2005.
“And yet — it is still standing,” Mr Leonard said.
“That is due in no small part to the ongoing efforts of the ABF systems, digital and operational teams, who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to keep the ICS functional, stable and responsive, often under immense pressure.”
On October 12, 2005, the Australian Customs Service replaced legacy import processing systems overnight.
It would prove disruptive and the move delayed Christmas stock and forced the freight logistics industry to work around the clock to keep goods moving.
What followed immediately after was nothing short of “a recipe for disaster”, according to Paul Zalai, now the director of the Freight and Trade Alliance.
Despite its tough beginnings, Mr Zalai said the system had been “pretty solid” since its implementation.
“The system was never great, it’s had some fundamental design flaws from day one,” he said.
“But the beauty of the system is that is allows third-party software, the likes of Cargowise and other software products, to interface into it.”
Mr Zalai said user experience of the ICS would improve along with software market competition.
“As we get more and more competition in that space, the user experience should keep improving, and the cost will come down,” he said.
The ABF is expected to invest heavily in the existing systems to ensure stability.
“I think it will be the main platform for the next decade, and on the back of the investment the government is putting into it now,” Mr Zalai said.
“I think that’s a good thing, because we just need that core operating platform to be stable and then industry can interface in and use the innovation on their end to get the efficiencies.”
One of the system flaws was around cargo reporting.
“Three weeks out from arrival in Australia, you’ve got a container for a commodity coming from Europe, you might not necessarily know what transmission vessel it will be coming in, say through Singapore,” Mr Zalai said.
“You can’t report that cargo until you know the importvessel into Australia.
“Ideally you would have more flexibility to report early and perhaps make an amendment to the vessel details when it comes closer to that time.
“We’ve (the industry) been used to it for 20 years and industry’s just learning how to manage it.”
Mr Leonard, meanwhile, said the previous two decades of ICS had been “nothing short of extraordinary”.
“In particular, the large data transmitters, many of whom are here today, who engage through the ICS Technical Working Group, meeting monthly to review incidents, discuss system behaviour and prepare for upcoming changes,” he said.
“That partnership model, government and industry sitting at the same table, has been critical to keeping the system operating.”
Mr Zalai argues a gateway to allow for government to effectively report to government would be an important innovation.
“I don’t see any wholesale change in systems, and I don’t think we need to,” he said.
“The number one incredibly important imperative is that the system is stable and fully operational. If it was to go down for an extended period of time, it would bring our ports and airports to a grinding halt.”
The ABF was invited to contribute to this article.