The official appointment took place during the closing ceremony of the XXXIX Alacat Congress held within the framework of SIL Barcelona, the sector’s dean trade fair, which celebrated its 25th anniversary this year, with a 20% increase in the number of attendees compared to previous years.
During the ceremony, Moisés Solís, president of ALACAT, highlighted the expert role in logistics of the members of its board of directors, as well as its commitment to digitalization with the creation of this Commission. “Cristina Martín knows technology, has a technology company and also incorporates disruptive ideas that will help us move forward faster, in order to enhance the relationship with partners and provide them with more content,” commented Solís.
UNITED FRONT AROUND DIGITAL LOGISTICS CORRIDORS
The value of Digital Logistics Corridors and their clear commitment to the efficiency and sustainability of the supply chain was discussed both during the Alacat Congress and in various SIL Barcelona events. The initiative, led by Usyncro with the Tax Agency as the facilitator and user of the platform, as well as other relevant organizations such as the Madcargo Lab forum, FETEIA, Alastria and the ALACATThe aim of the project is for authorities and other actors in the logistics field to coordinate and digitize customs management operations, making international trade between Spain, Latin America and the rest of Europe more competitive.
SPANISH CUSTOMS, A FACILITATOR WITH LATAM CUSTOMS
During the intervention of Pilar Jurado, Director of Customs and Excise (Spanish Tax Agency), at the ALACAT Congress, emphasis was placed on the relevance of digitalization and collaboration between agents and authorities, as a starting point to facilitate international trade. In this regard, Jurado visually showed the direct connection from the Spanish Customs central system to the Usyncro platform and commented: “it is the manifestation of a useful public-private partnership, it does not replace how the Tax Agency works but it comes to help in the daily activity and serves to align with the evolution of European regulations”.
The secure environment Usyncro has built thanks to the incorporation of technologies such as Blockchain, makes it easier for the competent authorities to validate the documentation received in digital format, thus eliminating the use of paper and making the logistics operation more agile and sustainable. In this line, Jurado insisted on the usefulness, for example, of anticipating in the pre-declarations of goods: “technological developments such as the use of Blockchain. This technology allows traceability of the operation and security with the necessary information at each stage. The Tax Agency, as well as other authorities intervening at the border can have, check and contrast through this electronic documentation.”he concluded.
Cristina Martín, from her position as ALACAT’s Technology Commissioner, will continue working on this initiative, which has already succeeded in including Lima Customs as a user. LATAM Cargo was the first airline to operate round-trip Lima-Madrid corridors for fresh cargo. The success of this operation has been reflected in a 35% improvement for all stakeholders, including the IATA One Record standard and the digitalization of the phytosanitary document at Spanish customs.
Usyncro, the Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence logistics platform, will continue to direct its efforts in the development of these Digital Logistics Corridors, which during the ALACAT Congress received the support of representatives of the Mexican Customs and have very advanced negotiations with countries such as Uruguay, Brazil or Colombia.