3PL – Third-party logistics in logistics and supply chain management is an organization’s use of third-party businesses to outsource elements of its distribution, warehousing, and fulfillment services. At KlearNow we partner or help clear goods for 3PL customers. 

ACH – An automated clearing house is a computer-based electronic network for processing transactions, usually domestic low value payments, between participating financial institutions. It may support both credit transfers and direct debits for US customs. 

Aduanas – Spain customs patrol 

AEO – According to the World Customs Organization, an authorized economic operator is “a party involved in the international movement of goods in whatever function that has been approved by or on behalf of a national Customs administration as complying with WCO or equivalent supply chain security standards. At KlearNow we are aiming for our AEO and OEA certification but have yet to fulfill it. 

API Integration – The connection between two or more applications via their APIs (application programming interfaces) that allow systems to exchange data sources. API integrations power processes throughout many sectors and layers of an organization to keep data in sync, enhance productivity and drive revenue. It’s the cloud and modern way of sharing information and linking technology solutions between parties. KlearNow can accommodate API integration. 

Artificial intelligence – AI is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. 

AWB – An air waybill (AWB) is a non-negotiable document issued by a carrier when goods are transported by air.  

Belastingdienst – Dutch customs patrol 

BOL – Bill of Lading is a legal document between a shipper and a carrier detailing the type, quantity, and destination of goods being shipped. 

Cargo Release – A freight release is an endorsement on a bill of lading. It states that the freight charges for the cargo have been paid and the goods can be released on arrival. If not on the bill of lading, you’ll then receive the freight release as a separate document. 

CBP – United States Customs and Border Protection is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. 

CBSA – The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) facilitates the flow of legitimate travellers and trade. The agency also enforces more than 100 acts and regulations that keep our country and Canadians safe. 

CDS – The Customs Declaration Service supports making import and export declarations when moving goods into and out of the UK. You can make declarations as soon as you have signed up to use the Customs Declaration Service the new cloud based system rolled out. 

CHIEF – Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) is being replaced by the Customs Declaration Service (CDS), a resilient, reliable, cost effective system which is adaptable to the future needs of businesses. The last day to make import declarations on the CHIEF system is 30 September 2022 so now completely dead. 

Certificates of Origin – if any to determine where these goods where manufactured as this determines the trade agreement applicable. 

Commercial Invoice – When used in foreign trade, a commercial invoice is a customs document. It is used as a customs declaration provided by the person or corporation that is exporting an item across international borders. 

Commodity Code – Commodity codes are internationally recognised reference numbers 10 digits. A code describes a specific product when importing or exporting goods. You will use this code on any import declaration and can find them in the Trade Tariff tool. You’ll need to find the right commodity code for any goods you import or export, as it works out. 

Customs Brokers – are private individuals, partnerships, associations or corporations licensed, regulated and empowered by Customs and Border Protection across countries to assist importers and exporters in meeting federal requirements governing imports and exports, which is what KlearNow does either directly in Europe or indirectly through partners in North America. 

Customs Bond – A legal contract, usually issued through a licensed Customs broker, between an importer, a Surety company, and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that guarantees that the importer complies with Customs regulations. US specific 

Customs Guarantee – A customs guarantee is an agreement to pay for customs debt that has already occurred, referred to as actual debt, or that will occur as a result of certain customs special processes, referred to as potential debt. 

Data Ingestion – is the process of obtaining and importing data for immediate use or storage in a database. This is the heart of what we do, without this ingestion utilizing AI and ML techniques there is no KlearNow as this is where the secret sauce lies. Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multiple locations, each of which is a data center. KlearNow offers the product all on the cloud hosted locally on AWS (Amazon Web Services). 

Deferment Account – A duty deferment account lets the importer (or someone who represents them) make one payment a month through Direct Debit instead of paying for individual consignments. This is specific to the UK, we don’t hold one or offer so we encourage customers to use their own across all markets or pay on arrival as KlearNow is not a bank. 

Demurrage – A charge applied to containers that are left at the port or rail yard longer than their allotted free time, or past the “Last Free Day.” Shippers begin incurring this fee the day after the last free day and it is charged per container / per day until the container is picked up. Our platform helps avoid this giving customer the visibility. 

Drayage – The transport of goods over a short distance in the shipping and logistics industries. Drayage is often part of a longer overall move, such as from a ship to a warehouse. This matters to us because by having the import entry information by filing maritime cargo entries, we receive the information 2 weeks before anyone else. This means with the KlearNow marketplace customers can schedule their port to door deliveries way in advance without incurring demurrage fees or extra stress all visible on the platform. 

Duties – Type of tax that is placed on goods being imported. The purpose of customs duties is primarily to protect local economies; A tax is placed on all goods sold in the country, including those being imported. The primary purpose of taxes is revenue generation for the government. 

EDI Integration – Refers to the process of setting up a complete, automated EDI workflow between trading partners, with or without third-party support. Usually, business users (such as your sales, purchase, logistics, or helpdesk teams) would prefer data to be easily accessible and maintainable. How KlearNow would receive the Data from the customer. We can accommodate EDI integration. 

Entry summary accepted or rejected in the US via its ACE customs border system – Generally, the customs filer has (2) working days to resubmit an Entry Summary after the day of reject.  However, if the Entry Summary was initially submitted to CBP and rejected before the 10th day of the filing period, the filer has the remainder of the 10th working day period to resubmit the Entry Summary but not less than (2) working days to resubmit. With the exception of AD/CVD; the time period for rejecting AD/CVD entry summaries has extended from 90 days to 300 days with supervisory approval.  In this case it was approved so green light. 

EORI number – An Economic Operators Registration and Identification number is a European Union registration and identification number for businesses which undertake the import or export of goods into or out of the EU. 

ESO – Exporters statement document certifying the goods. 

Export Declaration – a statement made to us by the exporter, owner of the goods, or their agent. The statement provides us with information about the goods and the export transaction. You must complete all mandatory fields on the Export Declaration before the export of goods.  

Freight forwarder or forwarding agent – A person or company who, for a fee organizes shipments for individuals or corporations to get goods from the manufacturer or producer to a market, customer or final point of distribution. Examples of them are: DB schenker, JB Hunt, Crane Logistics, DHL forwarding etc. 

HMRC – English border patrol 

HS/HTS Code – product classification codes between 8-10 digits. The first six digits are an HS code, and the countries of import assign the subsequent digits to provide additional classification. 

Incoterms 2020 – The Incoterm determines who KlearNow’s ultimate customer is as depending on it, the company we would be speaking with is responsible for the customs declaration or not. 

IOR number – Importer number is a custom assigned unique identification number to an importer of record who wants to import goods to the USA. This number is used in many stages of processing the importing goods as identifiers to your entries of the goods into the States by CBP. 

ISF – An Importer Security Filing (ISF), also known as “10+2,” is a filing required by the CBP that documents importing information and details, as shipments pass from point to point. Importers who do not file the ISF properly prior to the shipment of their goods will be penalized (US$5,000 fine). 

LOA – Letter of Authority (or LOA) is a document used to reach an agreement between three or more parties. It’s essentially a special permission slip you give to a broker that lets them speak with other businesses on your behalf within agreed limits. This is the document signed by our customers so we can act on their behalf in front of customs authorities. 

Machine Learning – ML is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that ‘learn’, that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence. 

Mutual NDA – Same as NDA just covers both parties on the terms. 

NDA – A Non-Disclosure Agreement is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish to restrict access to. For KlearNow we use it when talking to partners touching proprietary info or with tech partners as best practice before the meeting. 

OEA Certification – A way for companies to demonstrate to Customs authorities that they are safe and reliable. This begins with an application process that demonstrates that the company meets the 11 requirements (noted below) outlined by the Authorized Economic Operator program. These requirements are focused on establishing safety and security across all aspects of operations, demonstrating to other countries that there is a low risk of a threat crossing the border with the certified company’s shipments. OEA certification must be renewed each year, and audits performed to continue operations and demonstrate that compliance with OEA’s security standards is maintained. 

PGAs – There may be licenses or additional certificates (PGAs- government authorities specific to different goods) required depending on the goods being sold. 

PGA Status – A PGA is a division of the U.S. government that regulates certain products and oversees their entry into the U.S. depends on the goods from the customer this may be subject to additional license or review as it can be restricted. 

POA/ Letter of direct representation – POA is Power of attorney that is required for each and every customer to have on file with KlearNow to be able legally represent them.  

POD – Place of Delivery. 

Port Clearance Badges – A customs agent requires a ‘badge’ (electronic login) for each inventory linked port that they intend to clear at. Otherwise, they cannot access the inventory and cannot present entries. At non inventory linked ports you simply submit entries to customs and inform the driver/port of the entry details this is specific to UK, but in most countries KlearNow requires a link to the customs ports to clear the goods on behalf of customers. 

Structured Data – When data is in a standardized format, has a well-defined structure, complies to a data model, follows a persistent order, and is easily accessed by humans and programs. This data type is generally stored in a database, Excel is a good example of this, CRM or other SQL tools. At KlearNow this has to do with the way we receive the documents from traders if via email or through EDI or API and the quality of the documents sent will determine how much we can make sense of them through our Tech. 

T1 or Transit Document – allows for goods which originated outside the European Union to move freely within the European Union. The accompanying document ensures that no customs duties or taxes are payable as the shipment moves from one country to the next within the European Union.Customs EDI software providerElectronic Data Interchange (EDI) ACE Secure Data Portal. • Electronic communications framework. Allows for faster decisions from CBP. 

Taxes or VAT – Duty is a type of tax charged on products being shipped across international borders and is controlled by each country’s customs authorities. The purpose of duty is to ensure the cost of imported goods is the same cost as those produced locally to keep competition fair. 

TMS Provider – A transportation management system is a subset of supply chain management concerning transportation operations and may be part of an enterprise resource planning system. A TMS usually “sits” between an ERP or legacy order processing and warehouse/distribution module. They usually house information of our customers here before they pass it on to us at KlearNow for clearance. 

Trade Tariff – A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and policy that taxes foreign products to encourage or safeguard domestic industry. 

Transport Document – Document CMR – if travelling by truck, BOL – if traveling by ocean container or AWB – if traveling by airplane. 

Unstructured Data – Information that either does not have a pre-defined data model or is not organized in a pre-defined manner. Unstructured information is typically text-heavy, but may contain data such as dates, numbers, and facts as well. Unstructured data can be hand written etc.