Maersk announces upgrades for Customs platform

-  New investments in technology designed to keep customers competitive.

-  Current system, VFI Track, now rebranded as Maersk Customs Navigator and broadened into platform. All functionality in cloud-based system remains intact.

-  Maersk Supply Chain Management data will be added, creating greater ease of use and speed for US and Canada entries with less data handoffs.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Sept. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Maersk North America is announcing the next series of technological improvements for Maersk customers with plans to add data feeds from Maersk Supply Chain Management products and services into Vandegrift's popular VFI Track, a cloud-based information system – which will be rebranded as Maersk Customs Navigator.  

Maersk North America Managing Director Narin Phol said, "Our goal is to make it easier for customers to manage their supply chains with our integrated supply chain solutions and offer full end-to-end visibility while delivering a better experience. To achieve this, we acquired New Jersey-based Vandegrift Customs Brokers this past February for their extensive Customs Brokerage expertise, information systems and industry reputation helping customers run their business better. Vandegrift has already demonstrated their depth of customer solutions with an impressive business pipeline so now it is time to announce the next level of system features."  

Importers face managing multiple data sets when filing Customs entries by country resulting in extra time, variation risk and cost with such significant transactions. Most Customs Brokers also use different information systems for different countries. Vandegrift – a Maersk Company offers a platform that allows seamless information flow from origin to destination with filing capability in both the US and Canada using one broker. This creates a new best-in-class systems feature for importers.

Mark Zeitlin, President of Vandegrift – a Maersk Company said, "VFI Track has been the cornerstone of our information systems since 2012 and is our most powerful, successful, cloud-based platform tool for customers. Maersk is following their vision and promise to build up their Customs Brokerage products and services for customers and today's announcement demonstrates this by creating the next generation of information management capabilities. Maersk Supply Chain Management data feeds will be added into our system to offer customers' real-time reporting. Other exciting features will be announced shortly which are designed to create simplicity and transparency to give customers a better global view of their business for enhanced decision-making."

To better represent the expanded information platform features, the VFI Track system will be renamed "Maersk Customs Navigator."  All the original functionality and system info remains intact - customers will only see a name change.  The amount of the system investment was not made public due to competitive reasons.

Today, the platform offers customizable reporting, real-time tracking and exception reporting.

Maersk's global integrator of container logistics strategy is delivering results in North America with the growth of the Customs Brokerage business (by volume) and the launch of Maersk Customs Navigator is expected to attract more customers to this product.

SOURCE Maersk North America