Freight software provider Agency Sector Management (UK) Ltd (ASM) is celebrating 35 years of developing customs clearance solutions for forwarders whilst also representing the interests of the industry at local and national government level.

Set up in 1986 to protect the technology-related interests of freight forwarders at a time of significant change in the UK Customs environment, ASM has represented the interests of the freight forwarding community through advocacy activities, ensuring its voice is heard during drafting of legislation, and tackling areas of industry concern.

ASM released its first customs clearance software in 1994 with the introduction of Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF).

Since then, ASM has continuously developed its software and in January will release a significant update to Sequoia, so that more than 450 customers – with many thousands of individual users – can prepare for the staged phasing out of CHIEF and the sole use of the Customs Declaration Service (CDS).

“There has been a lot of confusion and mixed messaging regarding Brexit and CDS for the freight community, which is why it is more important than ever that businesses adopt a customs clearance solution which ensures continued compliance and efficiency as we enter 2022,” said Peter MacSwiney, Chairman, ASM.

Sequoia connects to UK customs and all port community systems, providing users with all the tools to process import, export, and transit shipments with speed and accuracy.

ASM is a not-for-profit mutual trading company, owned by its customers, re-investing profits into the development of software and customer solutions.