JOHANNESBURG - JSE LISTED COMPU-CLEARING OUTSOURCING LTD, A LEADING BROAD-BASED
PLAYER IN THE IT OUTSOURCING SERVICES INDUSTRY TO THE CUSTOMS CLEARING, FREIGHT
FORWARDING AND AIR-CARGO INDUSTRY, ANNOUNCED TODAY A CAPITAL INJECTION FROM THE
DEPARTMENT OF TRADE & INDUSTRY (DTI) EARMARKED FOR ONE OF THEIR LARGER SOFTWARE
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, ESTIMATED AT R2,8 MILLION.
LATE LAST YEAR, COMPU-CLEARING APPLIED TO THE DTI FOR FINANCIAL CO-OPERATION
INTENDED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW MULTI-LANGUAGE, THIRD-PARTY WAREHOUSING
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TO ANSWER A WORLD-WIDE DEMAND FOR A SEAMLESS, ELECTRONIC
INDUSTRY SOLUTION.
THE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF SOUTH AFRICA (IDC), WHICH MANAGES THE
DTI'S SUPPORT PROGRAMME FOR INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION (SPII), SUPPORTS INNOVATIVE
PRODUCT OR PROCESS DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FORM OF A GRANT OF 50% OF THE ACTUAL
DIRECT COST INCURRED IN THE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY.
AFTER A STRICT ASSESSMENT OF COMPU-CLEARING'S MANAGERIAL AND TECHNICAL SKILLS,
THEIR FINANCIAL ADEPTNESS TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AND
THE COMMERCIALISATION THEREOF; AS WELL AS THEIR IN-HOUSE CAPABILITY TO DEVELOP
AND MARKET THE WAREHOUSE SYSTEM BOTH LOCALLY AND ABROAD, COMPU-CLEARING
QUALIFIED FOR A GRANT TOTALLING R1 369 541 OVER THE NEXT 18 MONTHS.
COMPU-CLEARING WILL BE CAPITALISING THEIR PORTION OF FUTURE EXPENSES, AS WELL
AS THOSE ALREADY INCURRED, WHICH SHOULD RESULT IN SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS.
THEIR INNOVATION REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCE, ROOTED IN THE
APPLICATION OF THREE COVERGING TECHNOLOGIES, VIZ. INTERNET IMAGING, DOCUMENT
SCANNING AND BAR CODING.
THE PROPOSED SYSTEM WILL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGE OVER THE
EXISTING MANUAL SYSTEM IN THAT INCOMING CARGOES WILL BE BAR CODED AND ENTERED
INTO THE WAREHOUSING SYSTEM AT THE CHECK-IN POINT. LATER ON, THE CUSTOMER CAN
FEED IN A CODE, TO VERIFY WHETHER HIS PARCEL HAS ARRIVED. ON RECEIPT OF HIS
GOODS, THE CUSTOMER SIGNS A PROOF OF IDENTITY, WHICH IS THEN IMAGED AND MADE
IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET TO OTHER USERS.
A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND SUBSEQUENT ROLL-OUT HAS TO TAKE
PLACE WITHIN SOUTH AFRICA IN QUALIFYING FOR THE MATCHING SCHEME'S GRANT.
COMPU-CLEARING MET THIS IN FULL, SINCE MORE THAN 95% OF THE GROUP'S SOFTWARE
REVENUE IS BASED CURRENTLY ON PRODUCTS THEY HAVE CREATED AND DEVELOPED IN-HOUSE
THE THIRD-PARTY WAREHOUSING SYSTEM IS DESIGNED FOR WORLD-WIDE CONSUMPTION AND A
ENGLISH AND SPANISH VERSION ARE BEING COMPLETED. THE GRANT WILL ALLOW
COMPU-CLEARING TO DEVOTE MORE RESOURCES TO THE ESCALATION AND DELIVERY OF THE
PRODUCT, FOR WHICH THERE ARE ALREADY SEVEN LARGE CLIENTS LINED-UP.
ENDS
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
MR ARNOLD GARBER
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & CHAIRMAN
COMPU-CLEARING OUTSOURCING LTD
TEL : (011) 882-7300
FAX : (011) 882-7009
CELL : 082 490 0949
EMAIL: GARBERA@COMPU-CLEARING.COM
MS SUZA ADAM
SOUTHGRO INVESTOR RELATIONS
TEL: 2711-880-0364
FAX: 2711-788-3697
PRODUCED BY: SHARIFA WALBURG 15-02-2000 10:43 SENS