The survey of exporters has identified that a major change will occur in the approaches
used by companies in managing documentation. Some two-and-a-half times as many
companies intend using computer systems in 1988 compared to 1986. Companies
currently using manual documentation systems intend to trade up to computer systems
but the largest change will be the third of those who currently hand type or write
documents moving to computerisation.
This trend will remedy a current situation where too many companies are currently
not taking financial and commercial advantage of manual or computer systems in
export administration.
While such companies can expect to benefit, the tendency for exporters who employ
systems to produce more of their own documentation means less work for the
forwarders and carriers who, particularly in the former case, have relied upon
documentation fees as a significant source of income.
The survey contains a number of pointers to those, such as SITPRO, who design
and market documentation systems. While the major change will clearly be towards
computerisation, manual and AOD systems will still be important.
Attitudes towards the production of documentation clearly vary between companies.
An obvious predictor of attitude towards the level of involvement in advanced systems
both now and in the future, consignment rate, is only a partial predictor of behaviour.
Smaller exporters have, it seems, quite often decided to systematise their documentation
and their expected level of involvement in producing the SAD is virtually that of larger
exporters. Many larger exporters are curiously uninvolved in documentation systems.
The direct and indirect financial penalties of adopting this strategy are high and all
exporters with substantial volumes should be looking to modern systems to assist their
export efforts.
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