Dear Tony,

Matchmaking – this is a great idea, but it would be important for CKI to verify the ability of service providers to be able to professionally provide those services to the highest standards. There would also need to be a disclaimer in place to protect CKI, given a listing could be mischievously misinterpreted as a recommendation.

Training – I might be missing something here, but what you are proposing sounds the same as currently offered by Customs Clear (CC). Why not put the same content on both sites giving contributors greater exposure and crowding out the marketplace? You could even price position differently, as VW do with Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda, by CC launching the content first at a higher price, then CKI launching the same content two months later at half the price. Alternatively, and again with a delay so as not to undermine CC, CKI could give free access to all members to the content.

Kind regards,

Dale

Dear Armin

Thank you for your positive comments.  We do not (and cannot) interfere in any way with contracts that have been agreed.  The 50% estimate reflects our intention to give the best possible return to content creators.  We have not however settled on contracts – that must await more feedback and discussion.

Regards

Tony

Dear Colleagues

As you may know, we are engaged in revitalising the CKI/CKC website at present.  The website is vital as the “shop window” for CKI.  There are two proposals on which we would like your comments before we commit to the design – “matchmaking” and training.

1. All of our members have personal interests, and many would wish to make contact with clients, customers etc. through the website. We propose to offer an option (available to any visitor to the site) to search among our personal and organisation members for services.  This would mean asking each of you, and all new members, to complete a questionnaire asking:

• Do you wish to have your contact details visible? And
• What services do you wish to offer to potential clients/contacts.

We intend to offer a searchable list of members and services.

2. On training material, it is proposed that we continue our relationship with CC Learning UAB, which has a very well-developed site for promoting and selling recorded material, articles etc. There is no point in attempting to duplicate that.  Instead, it is proposed that CKI’s training page will have two main offerings:

• Recorded material and partner material would be offered via links customsclear.net, IoE&IT and other partner websites, and customers would purchase recorded material (and the website’s own product) on those websites.
• We propose that CKI concentrate on offering live lectures, to be offered and paid for on CKI website. While this may be slow to build, it would allow CKI to develop over time into a fully competent training entity.  Detail below.

There is demonstrable demand for live online training, but it is hampered by the high cost and time commitment for customers, and the very high administrative cost of managing students, updating material etc.  We propose a different, more lightweight, approach.  We would invite all CKC members to offer live lectures.  These lectures can be on topics ranging from Customs Basics to the most technical topics.  For the lecturer, the time commitment is small and defined, on familiar topics. The lecturer would receive immediate payment (we think 50% of fees).

For the student/customer, they can pick one lecture at a time.  We would provide them with certificate of attendance on completion of a short multiple-choice quiz, and after a period we could provide a statement of lectures attended as evidence of continuous learning.  If a lecturer wished to record a lecture, it could be offered for sale on the customsclear.net website, but without certificate of attendance.

CC Learning will continue to provide administrative support, and we hope to appoint a Training Officer who would guide the lecture environment.

Please let us have your feedback on these proposals.  They are intended, as we said in our meeting in Brussels, to support our members in their work as Customs professionals.