
President- Customs City Global Solutions Inc.
Greater Toronto Area International Trade & Customs Compliance Professional

Personal Details
- PHONE: 1-888-724-8914
- EMAIL: [email protected]
- Nationality: Canadian/British
ABOUT ME
James is currently the President of Customs City Global Solutions Inc. which is a SaaS provider of Customs Connectivity solutions in North America for airlines, freight forwarders, customs brokers, highway carriers and warehouse operators. These solutions play a critical role in the movement of freight across borders. Customs City partners with companies who take customs compliance seriously. All solutions are backed up with 24/7 support.
James is also currently a consultant for IDB (Inter-American Development Bank). He holds the title of Product & External Services Consultant at IDB. He creates research papers for clients with a focus on the technological solutions available in the market to supplement or add value for government Single Window systems. Research is done both offsite or onsite with clients conducting in-depth interviews with various Ministries mapping out current processes and benchmarking against best practices globally. He is recently involved in APEC meetings taking place in Chile and is a keynote speaker for various groups including the CTI (Committee on Trade Investment) and the (SCCP) SubCommittee on Customs Procedures.
James is a consultant at SWAG (Single Window Advisory Group). This group consults on the implementation of trade and business solutions for both the public and private sectors. Areas of expertise include; e-Gov’t, Single Window, Port Community Systems, Customs Management, Trade Facilitation, Business Process Reengineering, Project Management and Change Management.
James was a member of the Trade Facilitation consulting team as part of a selffunded national project implementing an SW (Single Window) for the Ministry of Trade & Industry in Trinidad & Tobago.
James’ previous expertise in Trade Facilitation, Customs Compliance and eGovernment consulting was nurtured during his 15 years as a director with global eGovernment solution provider CrimsonLogic, who developed the world’s first Single Window (TradeNet) for Singapore Customs in 1988.
James is an expert in the Customs niche in North America and has consulted countless companies on customs compliance for all modes of transport. James consults for importers moving to self-filing and sold customs brokerage systems to customs brokers in Canada/USA.
James participates in various trade working groups together in consultation with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on new initiatives affecting the International Trade Community. Provides feedback on potential industry concerns that could affect the flow of trade across borders.
James has worked extensively with software developers in India to create and develop numerous trade facilitation software solutions that were marketed globally to importers, exporters, customs brokers, freight forwarders, ocean carriers and airlines.
James also set up and trained a customer call centre & BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) centre in the Philippines to support a global customer base of international trade customers
James has attained multiple professional certifications: Project Management Professional (PMP) administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI); Certified International Trade Professional (CITP) administered by the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT); and is a Certified Customs Specialist (CCS administered by the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers (CSCB).
- Canada
- USA
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Philippines
- Singapore
- China
- Mexico
- India
- South Korea
- Panama
- Australia
- St. Lucia
EXPERIENCE
President
President:-
- Customs City Global Solutions Inc. is a global eManifest solution provider that connects trade & logistics companies to Customs Agencies globally.
- Carriers, freight forwarders and other trade chain partners can seamlessly connect to Customs Agencies to comply with eManifest security requirements such as ACE Highway (Automated Commercial Environment) in the USA, ACI Highway (Advance Commercial Information in Canada.
- Responsible for company P&L, marketing, product management and business development.
Regional Director (North America) Inc
Responsible for the overall company marketing position in Canada / US and responsible for the company’s overall product roadmap, product pricing and business plan for Canada / US
- Consultation with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on new initiatives affecting the International Trade Community and provide feedback on potential industry concerns which could affect the flow of trade across borders
- Consult importers and Customs brokers on Canadian and US import rules/regulations and implemented software solutions to comply with these regulations
- Work with remote system development teams in Singapore and India to convey system requirements and design. Conduct QA before delivery and roll-out of the following systems to customers in Canada and USA: Page 6 of 9 o ACROSS/IID/CADEX- electronic cargo release system for importers and Customs brokers o ISF (Importer Security Filing) “10+2”- US electronic cargo security system for assessing risk on imported cargo o RNS (Release Notification System) / ACI eManifest Notices – Development of an electronic system for receipt of Custom broker cargo release acknowledgement to warehouses, carriers & freight forwarders automatically as soon as cargo is released
- Consult ocean/air/ highway carriers, ships agents, freight forwarders on US and Canada electronic cargo manifest requirements
- Consultation with CBP and CBSA on rules and regulations surrounding new import rules for transportation carriers. Planned and implemented software solutions for industry participants of the following systems to customers in Canada and USA: o IID (Integrated Import Document)/ DIF (Document Image Functionality)- New cargo release trade declaration for CBSA which is part of the larger SWI (Single Window Initiative) connecting traders to multiple OGD’s (other gov’t departments) o ACI (Advance Commercial Information) – Canadian electronic cargo and passenger security system for ocean, air, freight forwarders and highway carrier companies o AMS (Automated Manifest System)- US electronic cargo and passenger security system for the ocean and air carriers/ freight forwarders o ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) – US electronic cargo and passenger security system for highway carrier companies o AES (Automated Export System) – US electronic system to report export shipments o ABI (Automated Broker Interface) / DIS- (Document Imaging System) US electronic system for importers/customs brokers to clear cargo and report duty and tax owing. Page 7 of 9 o Japan AFR- Japan electronic manifest system for reporting of cargo details to comply with security filing rules o IATA eAWB- International Air Transport Association- With IATA’s push to automate and remove the paper from the supply-chain and developed an electronic system for freight forwarders to submit airway bills electronically to over 90+ airlines.
- Development of a trade document management system for UPS (BorderReady) with full integration of data into UPS Canadian and US brokerage systems to facilitate and speed Custom entry processing https://borderready.ups.com
- Set up an outsourced BPO / call centre in Manila, the Philippines for data entry and customer support in North America
- Represent the company publicly including engaging the press, speaking at tradeshows etc. www.ttbizlink.gov.tt Trade Facilitation Consultant from 2009 to 2010; Ministry of Trade & Industry (Republic Trinidad & Tobago)
- Member of the Trade Facilitation consulting team as part of a national project implementing a SEW (Single Electronic Window) for the Ministry of Trade & Industry and submission of Business Process Reengineering (BPR) report https://www.ttbizlink.gov.tt
- Met with government stakeholders to review the current process and recommend and advise ways to streamline and facilitate trade with Trinidad and Tobago. Meetings with the following government departments as follows: o Bureau of Standards (BIS)- Import / Export commodities controlled by BIS with approval needed on cargo release documents o Company Registry- Automating a paper process including company name search, incorporation documents and approval processes o Ports Authority – Automating the submission of electronic manifests into the port from shipping lines o Work Permits – Automating the process to allow companies to apply for work permits online Page 8 of 9
- Ministry of Agriculture – Linking up approval for food items to the cargo release process
- Permits and Licences – Applying for import/export licences online
- ATA Carnets – Proposed process for incorporating the use of Carnets in Trinidad and Tobago
- Certificate of Origin – Proposed use of eCO (Electronic Certificate of Origin)
- Customs Brokers Association- Proposal and discussion of automating the submission of cargo release details and collection of duty and taxes after cargo release to speed the flow of trade into the country
Trade Facilitation Consultant from 2009 to 2010
Member of the Trade Facilitation consulting team as part of a national project implementing a SEW (Single Electronic Window) for the Ministry of Trade & Industry and submission of Business Process Reengineering (BPR) report.
Met with government stakeholders to review the current process and recommend and advise ways to streamline and facilitate trade with Trinidad and Tobago.
Meetings with the following government departments as follows:
Bureau of Standards (BIS)– Import / Export commodities controlled by BIS with approval needed on cargo release documents
Company Registry– Automating a paper process including company name search, incorporation documents and approval processes
Ports Authority – Automating the submission of electronic manifests into the port from shipping lines
Work Permits – Automating the process to allow companies to apply for work permits online
Ministry of Agriculture – Linking up approval for food items to the cargo release process
Permits and Licences – Applying for import/export licences online
ATA Carnets – Proposed process for incorporating the use of Carnets in Trinidad and Tobago
Certificate of Origin – Proposed use of eCO (Electronic Certificate of Origin)
Customs Brokers Association– Proposal and discussion of automating the submission of cargo release details and collection of duty and taxes after cargo release to speed the flow of trade into the country
Product & External Services Consultant:
- Creation of research papers
- Offsite or onsite consulting with clients conducting in-depth interviews with various Ministries mapping out current processes and benchmarking against best practices globally
- Keynote speaker for various APEC groups including the CTI (Committee on Trade Investment) and the (SCCP) Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures
Consultant
Consults on the implementation of trade and business solutions for both the public and private sectors. Areas of expertise include;
- e-Gov’t
- Single Window
- Port Community Systems
- Customs Management
- Trade Facilitation
- Business Process Reengineering
- Project Management
- Change Management
EDUCATION
Carleton University
Bachelor of Arts- Environmental Studies
1993- 1996
Sheridan College
Post-Graduate Diploma International Business
2001- 2002
Project Management Institute (PMI)
Project Management Professional (PMP)
2008
Forum for International Trade Training (FITT)
Certified International Trade Professional (CITP)
2005
Canadian Society of Customs Brokers (CSCB)
Certified Customs Specialist (CCS)
2004
SKILLS & LANGUAGE
Languages
English:Native
Korean:Intermediate
Spanish:Basic
French:Basic
RECOMMENDATIONS
As coordinator and professor in two distinct study areas, I have known James May to be an intelligent, conscientious and truly diligent student through the two academic semesters. He was able to use his organizational skills and abilities to achieve the best results in the group and individual work. This program requires a high degree of enterprise and organizational skills in research and application to the tasks at hand. James has been able to do this with demonstrated leadership and being a strong team player.
Our program has a number of group business development projects that require students to cooperate in teams of 6 as well as work with client companies. Throughout these projects, his contribution has been invaluable and he has demonstrated strong leadership skills. James is also a very good team player!
In summary, he is intelligent, creative, a team player and a strong leader! James will make a significant contribution to your organization
I am very pleased to have an opportunity to write this letter for James May. Because of his creativity and devotion in teaching, he was a very popular with students. This rapport with students made the class productive. Mainly, his cooperative and amicable attitude made every colleague happy to work with him. Once again, it is my pleasure to recommend Mr. May for any position he applies for.
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