Trade Tech opens Tokyo office

   The cloud-based logistics solutions provider Trade Tech said Tuesday it has opened a new office in Tokyo to support customers in Japan and the surrounding region.
   The office is specifically intended to provide assistance to non-vessel-operating common carriers, freight forwarders, and shippers that are implementing Trade Tech’s compliance solution for Japan’s 24-hour manifest rule.
   The rule, set to take effect in March 2014, will require NVOs and carriers to electronically submit detailed information on maritime container cargoes at least 24 hours before departure of the vessel from a port of loading. Trade Tech’s solution, known as Syrinx, was the first solution by a U.S. service provider to be approved by Nippon Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System (NACCS), the Japanese government entity responsible for import/export and Customs clearance.
   The Japan office will be headed by Sachiko Takeo, who has 20 years of industry experience including stints with Evergreen Line, CMA CGM, and Kuehne + Nagel, based in Japan and China. Takeo will oversee local implementation of Japan regulatory filings via Syrinx.
   “Many companies don’t understand that they must have a server in Japan to conduct the filings with NACCS,” said Bryn Heimbeck, Trade Tech’s chief executive officer. “We see the Japan 24-Hour Rule and the standardized information required for similar rules in the U.S., Asia and EU as a positive for everyone involved with international commerce as it will ultimately speed up the flow of goods.”