An international law firm needed information that was detailed enough to find specific shipments entering the United States, but also adaptable for finding companies that were attempting to mask their gray market practices. The only source of data that provides Bill of Lading shipment information is U.S. Customs' AMS data, and it is the only choice for effectively investigating these companies. With most of the firm's business relating to U.S. Customs seizure cases, identifying specific importers and shippers is paramount to its data-gathering efforts. In these situations, Customs provides little information on the offending parties and it is up to the brand holder (or the outside counsel) to research how its brand has been infringed upon.

With the firm's former provider, finding specific shipments by Bill of Lading number was simple, but doing intensive research on companies was muddled and time consuming. While researching available options, the firm found that most companies were more like rudimentary search engines than international trade database providers, spitting out incomplete or unfiltered results.

Solution

To effectively find the information it needed, a trade data provider that took a different approach to the AMS information was the only answer. Finding a provider that could simplify the seizure investigations with the ability to search for specific Bills of Lading would pay for itself quickly. An application that took ambiguous company information and found quality results was deemed essential to its business. This full functionality is incredibly important because it saves time by providing clear paths to the information its clients need instead of sorting through hundreds of unrelated results. With Zepol's TradeIQ™, the requirements were met and expectations exceeded.

The law firm was able to do everything that it could with other providers, but with TradeIQ™ it had the flexibility of a true international database that saved both time and its clients' money. Instead of searching for hours for specific companies, Zepol allowed it to find more accurate and intelligent results quickly and easily through advanced company searching capabilities within TradeIQ™. In addition, Zepol provided more data than any other provider with history from January 1st, 2003 to within three days of U.S. Customs clearance. Other providers also limited their usage to just one type of Bill of Lading or an arbitrary product category, while Zepol is the only provider that allows searches across Bill of Lading types, product categories, trade lanes, and over six years of history.

Results

After viewing Zepol's free trial, a partner at the firm exclaimed that the research he did in just a few hours would have taken several days using the former provider. Now, the firm has an efficient, ongoing business tool at its fingertips any time an international case comes along that is both cost effective and extraordinarily functional

For example, the firm was involved in one international seizure case in which U.S. Customs provided limited information. After subscribing to TradeIQ™, the firm used the service's intelligent company search functionality to find a manufacturer by matching its address. This provided the evidence for a large lawsuit against the offending company.

For another case, the firm took advantage of the wealth of historical information available through TradeIQ™. The firm was not charged extra fees for researching specific trade data from March 2003.

Within the innovative multidimensional structure of TradeIQ™, attorneys were able to do both aggregate and detailed research within the application, saving valuable hours of work.

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