One giant leap

While relatively inexpensive, that software made Matchett uneasy. Leslie was, and is, the company’s main source of expertise on the Customs process. If Giant Tiger were to sever itself totally from its brokers and handle the process independently, it would be stranded whenever Leslie was unavailable.

Eliminating the middleman
Around this time, Giant Tiger crossed paths with Mantoria Inc, a Montreal, Quebec-based freight brokerage that had been developing a new program—called the Canada Import Program—to handle the clearance process.

The program allows shippers to key in and submit Customs information to Mantoria, which in turn automatically sends it to the CBSA. Through a web-based portal, importers can see exactly what is being cleared in real time.

President Bob Elvidge explains his rationale for developing the program. After meeting with many importers, he discovered that most were already doing extensive Customs work.

“They were putting together transmittal packages—and taking a fair amount of time to do that—and sending them in to the broker. The broker would simply take that information and provide a data entry function. The importer would sometimes have to wait to make sure it was done, and sometimes it wasn’t done correctly,” he says. “The reality is, importers know their SKUs and tariffs better than anybody.”

Like the software Giant Tiger considered, the program effectively eliminates the middleman. But the company was attracted to one key differentiator: backup support. Since Mantoria’s main business is brokerage, the company could call in some extra help if Leslie was out of the office or if there was a spike in import volumes.

The team decided to give the program a try. Leslie traveled to Montreal for some training, the two companies worked together to implement a secure web portal and the program went live in the spring of 2009.

So far, it’s been a success. Giant Tiger has trimmed 60 percent from its Customs broker fee payments. It has eliminated the time spent communicating back and forth with its brokers.

The program has also increased Leslie’s workload, since almost everything now goes through him. But it has also given him the ability to create a flexible schedule. He can now make quick decisions to expedite the clearance of priority shipments or delay those that can wait.

In Leslie
’s view, the real-time visibility has been a tremendous asset to the company. He can monitor the process more accurately, and react much more quickly when something is wrong. “If we do see something is off, we can amend it immediately,” he says.