Import license management method and system for vehicles

Abstract

This invention discloses a method for managing import licenses for vehicles, comprising: obtaining raw data of vehicles to be imported from an SAP system through a first interface and automatically integrating it to obtain vehicle master data, the vehicle master data including vehicle shipment information and basic vehicle data; providing the vehicle master data to one or more customs brokers through a second interface; obtaining import license requirements from each customs broker through the second interface, each import license requirement indicating the number of import licenses to be used by the corresponding customs broker at a corresponding port within a specific future time period; submitting import license applications to the customs single window based on all obtained import license requirements through a third interface; receiving import licenses returned from the customs single window through the third interface; reviewing the returned import licenses; and automatically distributing the reviewed and approved import licenses to the customs brokers through the second interface. An associated import license management system and a customs ecosystem management system are also disclosed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of customs declaration technology, and more specifically, to a method and system for managing import licenses for vehicles. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, many procedures in customs import license processing involve manual, offline processing, and there is no fully online processing function.

[0003] Taking vehicle import licenses as an example, the process often involves manual and offline steps, such as the issuance plan for vehicle import licenses, the reorganization of freight information, the correction of application information, online application to the China Customs Single Window or the Ministry of Commerce's Electromechanical Office, distribution to customs brokers, and analysis of actual issuance and usage. This results in low processing efficiency and risks to data accuracy.

[0004] In view of this, it is desirable to provide an improved method and system for managing import licenses for vehicles. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The following provides a brief overview of one or more aspects to offer a basic understanding of these aspects. This overview is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to define the scope of the claimed subject matter. The scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0006] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides an improved method and system for managing vehicle import licenses. The technical solution of this invention interfaces with various external systems such as SAP, customs brokers, and the customs single window to automatically acquire and integrate relevant information, achieving automated document preparation and declaration. This improves efficiency while reducing errors caused by manual operation. Simultaneously, OCR technology is used to automatically identify key fields of the import license and compare them with the original document data, achieving a verification effect and greatly improving verification efficiency. Furthermore, it can automatically monitor the use of import licenses issued to customs brokers based on their subsequent declarations, thus realizing full-process online management of import license data and document preparation and inspection before declaration, control during declaration and cross-verification after declaration, and automatic monitoring of license usage.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for managing import licenses for vehicles is provided, comprising: obtaining raw data of a vehicle to be imported from an SAP system via a first interface and automatically integrating it to obtain vehicle master data, the vehicle master data including vehicle shipment information and basic vehicle data; providing the vehicle master data to one or more customs brokers via a second interface; obtaining import license requirements from each of the one or more customs brokers via the second interface, each import license requirement indicating the number of import licenses to be used by the corresponding customs broker at a corresponding port within a specific future time period; submitting import license applications to a customs single window based on all obtained import license requirements via a third interface; receiving import licenses returned from the customs single window via the third interface; reviewing the returned import licenses; and automatically distributing the reviewed and approved import licenses to one or more customs brokers via the second interface.

[0008] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle shipment information includes the international bill of lading number, the estimated date of arrival at the port, the port of arrival, the vehicle type and quantity information, and the basic vehicle data includes the chassis number, vehicle type, price, and vehicle configuration information.

[0009] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the requirement for each import license is estimated by the corresponding customs broker based on vehicle shipment information and existing license inventory information.

[0010] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, submitting import license applications to the Customs Single Window through a third interface based on all obtained import license requirements further includes: reviewing each import license requirement; automatically summarizing the number of import licenses used by different customs brokers and different ports to obtain summary declaration information; determining the application batch of the approved import license requirements based on the summary declaration information; completing the document preparation through a rules engine to obtain document preparation data based on the number of documents and vehicle master data in the application batch, wherein the number of documents includes the number of import licenses to be declared in the corresponding application batch; and pushing the document preparation data to the Customs Single Window through the third interface to submit the import license application.

[0011] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the review of each import license request further includes: comparing the quantity of import licenses used in each import license request with a preset threshold; if the quantity of import licenses used does not exceed the preset threshold, the corresponding import license request is approved; if the quantity of import licenses used exceeds the preset threshold, the corresponding import license request is rejected, and wherein, in the case of a rejected import license request, the method further includes: sending the rejection result to the customs broker corresponding to the import license request; receiving an updated import license request from the customs broker, the updated import license request including a re-estimated quantity of import licenses used; and reviewing the updated import license request.

[0012] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: after submitting an import license application to the customs single window, receiving the import license processing status returned from the customs single window through a third interface, wherein the import license processing status indicates the current processing progress of the submitted import license.

[0013] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the review of the returned import license further includes: identifying all key fields in the returned import license using OCR technology; automatically comparing all key fields with the document data corresponding to the returned import license to obtain a comparison result; and passing the review if the comparison result indicates that all key fields match the document data.

[0014] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, automatically distributing the approved import licenses to one or more customs brokers further includes: sorting the one or more customs brokers according to the port information in the import license to determine the customs broker corresponding to the port information in each approved import license; and automatically distributing the approved import licenses to the corresponding customs brokers through a second interface.

[0015] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: monitoring the use of import licenses issued to customs brokers based on the subsequent import license declaration status of the customs brokers.

[0016] According to another aspect of the present invention, an import license management system for vehicles is provided, comprising: a vehicle master data transmission module configured to: obtain raw data of a vehicle to be imported from an SAP system via a first interface and automatically integrate it to obtain vehicle master data, the vehicle master data including vehicle shipment information and basic vehicle data of the vehicle to be imported; and provide the vehicle master data to one or more customs brokers via a second interface; a demand acquisition module configured to: obtain import license demands from each of the one or more customs brokers via the second interface, each import license demand indicating the number of import licenses to be used by the corresponding customs broker at a corresponding port within a specific time period in the future; and a license application module configured to: apply for import licenses to a customs single window based on all obtained import license demands via a third interface; receive import licenses returned from the customs single window via the third interface; review the returned import licenses; and automatically distribute the reviewed import licenses to one or more customs brokers via the second interface.

[0017] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle shipment information includes the international bill of lading number, the estimated date of arrival at the port, the port of arrival, the vehicle type and quantity information, and the basic vehicle data includes the chassis number, vehicle type, price, and vehicle configuration information.

[0018] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the license application module is further configured to submit import licenses to the Customs Single Window based on all obtained import license requirements through the following operations: reviewing each import license requirement; automatically summarizing the number of import licenses used by different customs brokers and different ports to obtain summary application information; determining the application batch of the approved import license requirements based on the summary application information; completing the document preparation through the rule engine to obtain document preparation data according to the number of documents and vehicle master data in the application batch, wherein the number of documents includes the number of import licenses to be applied for in the corresponding application batch; and pushing the document preparation data to the Customs Single Window through a third interface to apply for import licenses.

[0019] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the license application module is further configured to review the returned import license by: identifying all key fields in the returned import license using OCR technology; automatically comparing all key fields with the document data corresponding to the returned import license to obtain a comparison result; and passing the review if the comparison result indicates that all key fields match the document data.

[0020] According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the license application module is further configured to automatically distribute the approved import licenses to one or more customs brokers by: sorting one or more customs brokers according to the port information in the import license to determine the customs broker corresponding to the port information in each approved import license; and automatically distributing the approved import licenses to the corresponding customs brokers through a second interface.

[0021] According to another aspect of the present invention, a customs ecosystem management system is provided, comprising: a declaration module for performing declaration operations related to vehicle import and export business, the declaration module including the aforementioned import license management system for vehicles; a compliance module for checking the compliance of vehicle import and export business; and a data analysis module for collecting and analyzing data in vehicle import and export business, wherein the customs ecosystem management system can collaborate with external systems and with various modules within the customs ecosystem management system.

[0022] These and other features and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description and with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are illustrative only and do not limit the scope of the claims. Attached Figure Description

[0023] The features, essence, and advantages of the invention will become more apparent when understood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the detailed description set forth below. It should be noted that the described drawings are merely illustrative and not restrictive. In the drawings, some components are enlarged and are not drawn to scale for illustrative purposes.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart of a method for managing import licenses for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 This is an exemplary process according to an embodiment of the present invention of submitting an import license to the Customs Single Window based on all obtained import license requirements.

[0026] Figure 3 This is an exemplary process for reviewing an import license returned by a customs single window according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an import license management system for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a customs ecological management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and its features will become further apparent from the following detailed description. The terms "A or B" as used in this specification refer to "A and B" and "A or B," and do not imply that A and B are exclusive, unless otherwise stated.

[0030] It should be noted that although this application is largely described in connection with the management of import licenses for vehicles, the technical solution of this application is not limited to this. In practice, the technical solution of this application can be applied to the management of import licenses for other goods.

[0031] Figure 1 This is a schematic flowchart of a method 100 for managing import licenses for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, method 100 begins at step 102. In step 102, the raw data of the vehicles to be imported is obtained from the SAP system through a first interface and automatically integrated to obtain vehicle master data, which includes the vehicle shipment information and basic vehicle data of the vehicles to be imported.

[0033] Vehicle shipment information refers to information related to the transportation of vehicles, including but not limited to international bill of lading number, estimated arrival date, port of arrival, vehicle type, and quantity.

[0034] Vehicle basic data refers to basic information related to the vehicle itself, including but not limited to vehicle identification number (VIN), model, price, and vehicle configuration information.

[0035] The original data of the vehicles to be imported (model, price, quantity, vehicle configuration information, freight information, etc.) can be entered and stored in the SAP (System Applications and Products) system, and the data is distributed in different locations / modules in the SAP system.

[0036] In existing technologies, raw vehicle data is often manually obtained from the SAP system, and then manually integrated to obtain vehicle master data. This manual data acquisition and integration method is inefficient and prone to errors.

[0037] In this application, the system interfaces with the SAP system via a first interface. This allows for the automatic acquisition of raw vehicle data from the appropriate location / module within the SAP system, and the automatic integration of this raw data to obtain vehicle dispatch information and basic vehicle data. This approach significantly improves processing efficiency and reduces the likelihood of errors.

[0038] It should be noted that although this application describes the process of entering and storing the raw data of the vehicles to be imported into the SAP system, and subsequently retrieving the raw data from the SAP system, this is not restrictive. In practice, the raw data of the vehicles can also be entered and stored in other ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems. In such cases, interfaces can be used to connect with other ERP systems, thereby automatically retrieving and integrating the raw data from them.

[0039] In step 104, the vehicle master data is provided to one or more customs brokers through the second interface.

[0040] After obtaining the vehicle master data, it can be provided to the customs broker through the second interface.

[0041] According to one embodiment of the present invention, one or more customs brokers can be selected based on predetermined criteria and vehicle master data can be provided to the selected customs brokers.

[0042] For example, requirements for customs brokers, such as fees, ratings, and supporting services, can be pre-defined, and customs brokers that meet these requirements can be selected. For instance, customs brokers whose fees do not exceed a specific threshold, meet a specific rating, and provide specific services (e.g., ocean freight services) might be preferred. In practice, those skilled in the art can set appropriate criteria based on actual circumstances and select customs brokers based on these criteria.

[0043] After selecting a customs broker, the vehicle master data can be provided to the selected customs broker through the second interface.

[0044] In step 106, import license requirements are obtained from each of one or more customs brokers through a second interface. Each import license requirement indicates the number of import licenses that the corresponding customs broker will use at the corresponding port within a specific time period in the future.

[0045] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the demand for each import license is estimated by the corresponding customs broker based on vehicle shipment information and existing license inventory information. In the scenario of vehicle import licenses, the existing license inventory information of the customs broker may include relevant information on the vehicle import licenses currently held and available to the customs broker (e.g., the number of import licenses, validity period, etc.). It should be noted that the existing license inventory information is different for different customs brokers, and the existing license inventory information changes as licenses are used. Each customs broker should monitor its license usage in order to continuously update the existing license inventory information based on usage.

[0046] For example, a customs broker can estimate the number of import licenses to be used at the corresponding port in the following month based on information such as the port of arrival, expected arrival date, vehicle type and quantity, and the broker's existing license inventory.

[0047] According to one embodiment of the present invention, import license requests can be automatically received from customs brokers via a second interface. Compared to manual reception, automatically receiving import license requests via an interface improves reception efficiency and accuracy.

[0048] In step 108, import licenses are declared to the Customs Single Window through the third interface based on all the obtained import license requirements.

[0049] After obtaining all import license requirements, each requirement can be reviewed and summarized to determine the corresponding declaration batches and the number of import licenses to be declared in each batch. Based on this, a document preparation process is completed to obtain the document preparation data. Finally, the document preparation data is pushed to the Customs Single Window via a third-party interface to declare the import licenses. The specific process of declaring licenses to the Customs Single Window based on import license requirements will be discussed below. Figure 2 A detailed explanation will be provided.

[0050] In step 110, the import license returned from the Customs Single Window is received through the third interface.

[0051] After submitting the import license application to the Customs Single Window in step 108, you can receive the import license processing status returned from the Customs Single Window via a third interface. The import license processing status indicates the current progress of the submitted import license application, such as accepted, in progress, completed, etc. This allows you to monitor the processing progress of the import license in real time.

[0052] Once the import license is processed, the customs single window will return the processed import license.

[0053] In step 112, the returned import license is reviewed.

[0054] After receiving the import license returned by the Customs Single Window, key fields in the import license can be automatically identified using OCR technology. These identified key fields are then automatically compared with the original document data for verification, ensuring the accuracy of the document processing. The specific process for verifying the returned import license will be detailed below. Figure 3 A detailed explanation will be provided.

[0055] In step 114, the approved import license is automatically distributed to one or more customs brokers via the second interface.

[0056] In existing technology, after the import licenses are manually reviewed, customs brokers often need to manually sort the documents according to the port of entry on the import licenses, and then send the sorted documents to the customs brokers via email. This method is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and prone to errors.

[0057] In contrast, in this application, after reviewing the import license, one or more customs brokers can be automatically sorted based on the port information in the import license to determine the customs broker corresponding to the port information in each approved import license. The approved import licenses can then be automatically distributed to the corresponding customs brokers via a second interface. Through the automatic sorting and distribution of this application, import licenses can be quickly and accurately distributed to various customs brokers, greatly improving efficiency and accuracy, and saving time and manpower.

[0058] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the use of import licenses issued to the customs broker can also be monitored based on the subsequent import license declaration status of the customs broker.

[0059] Specifically, the system can automatically verify the validity period, usage frequency, and quantity of import licenses issued to a customs broker based on their subsequent declarations. For example, if several import licenses issued to a customs broker are about to expire but have not been used, an automatic validity period warning can be issued to the broker near the expiration date (e.g., at a specific time before expiration). In other examples, the system can automatically verify the usage frequency and quantity of import licenses issued to a customs broker whenever the broker uses one or more licenses. This allows for automatic monitoring of the import license usage of each customs broker.

[0060] As can be seen from Method 100, the technical solution of the present invention can be implemented automatically and online in all aspects of import license management (e.g., vehicle master data transmission, import license demand acquisition, import license batch confirmation, document preparation, declaration, review, sorting, distribution, and usage monitoring), greatly improving processing efficiency and data accuracy. In Method 100, a single interface (second interface) is used to connect with the customs broker to achieve data transmission and reception, and another single window (third interface) is used to connect with the customs single window to achieve data transmission and reception. However, it should be noted that the technical solution of the present invention is not limited to this. In actual implementation, those skilled in the art can also use other methods to achieve the connection with the customs broker and the customs single window. For example, one interface can be used to transmit data to the customs broker and another interface can be used to receive data from the customs broker. At the same time, one interface can be used to transmit data to the customs single window and another interface can be used to receive data from the customs single window.

[0061] Figure 2 This is an exemplary process 200 of submitting an import license to the Customs Single Window based on all obtained import license requirements according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0062] like Figure 2 As shown, after obtaining the import license requirement from the customs broker, the import license requirement can be reviewed (202).

[0063] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the review can be based on a comparison between the number of import licenses used in the import license requirement and a preset threshold.

[0064] Specifically, the number of import licenses used in the import license demand can be compared with a preset threshold (204), and then it can be determined whether the number of import licenses used exceeds the preset threshold (206).

[0065] If the number of import licenses used does not exceed the preset threshold (the output of decision box 206 is “N”), then the corresponding import license request is approved.

[0066] If the number of import licenses used exceeds the preset threshold (the output of decision box 206 is "Y"), the corresponding import license request will not pass the review.

[0067] In practice, the preset threshold can be set or adjusted according to the actual situation.

[0068] If the review fails, the review result can be sent to the customs broker (208) corresponding to the import license requirement. For example, the review result can be sent through a second interface.

[0069] After receiving the rejection result, the customs broker can re-estimate the number of import licenses required to obtain an updated import license demand. The updated import license demand can then be obtained from the customs broker (210). Process 200 can then proceed to 204 and review the updated import license demand.

[0070] If the review is approved, the number of import licenses used by different customs brokers and different ports can be automatically summarized to obtain summary declaration information (212).

[0071] For example, the summary declaration information may include the number of import licenses used by each customs broker at each port within a specific time period (e.g., next month) and the total number of import licenses used at all ports, the number of import licenses used by each customs broker at each port within a specific time period and the total number of import licenses used by all customs brokers, and other summary information, etc.

[0072] In some embodiments, all import licenses intended for use within a specific future timeframe (e.g., next month) can be declared in batches. To this end, the batches of approved import license requests can be determined based on aggregated declaration information (214). For example, the total number of batches can be determined based on the total number of import licenses used as indicated by the aggregated declaration information, and the batches for each customs broker's import license requests can be determined based on preset rules. In some examples, if a customs broker has a small number of currently available licenses, the batches for that broker's import license requests can be set as relatively earlier batches. If a customs broker has a large number of currently available licenses, the batches for that broker's import license requests can be set as relatively later batches. In other examples, the batches can be set according to the order in which the import license requests are received. Earlier received import license requests can be assigned earlier batches, and later received import license requests can be assigned later batches. In still other examples, batches can be determined based on other rules. After determining the batches, manual confirmation of the batches can also be performed.

[0073] After confirming the batch, the document creation data (216) can be obtained by using the rule engine based on the number of documents and vehicle master data in the batch.

[0074] A rules engine is a software system / module used for processing rules and making decisions. It can automatically perform specific tasks based on a set of rules. Specifically, a rules engine can include pre-set business rules, which the engine uses to determine the processing strategy that matches the current business.

[0075] For example, different order fields may require finding corresponding information from different locations / modules to fill in each field. In this case, the order creation task can be delegated to the rules engine for execution.

[0076] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle import permit application has more than 30 fields to be filled in. In this embodiment, the fields can be categorized (e.g., company & customs broker information, vehicle classification information, vehicle price information, etc.). The rule engine can find the correct information from the corresponding location / module based on the field category and fill it into the corresponding field to complete the automatic application.

[0077] Import license requirements for the same goods may change over time, potentially affecting document entry fields. For example, fields may be added, removed, or altered. Furthermore, import license requirements typically differ for different types of goods, resulting in different document entry fields. For instance, import license entry fields for vehicles include vehicle model information, while those for other goods (not vehicles) do not. In other words, the templates required for document entry may differ depending on the type of goods.

[0078] When the document template or fields change, only the business rules in the rules engine need to be modified. For example, when creating a document for a different type of goods, the rules engine can determine the document template required for that goods based on the business rules, and find the correct information to fill in the various document fields in the template, thus completing the automatic document creation. In this way, the document template and fields can be adaptively adjusted for different types of goods. Compared to the inefficiency of manual document creation, automatic document creation can significantly improve efficiency. At the same time, since all data for automatic document creation is automatically acquired (e.g., from the SAP system), 100% document creation accuracy can be achieved, avoiding errors that may be caused by manual document creation.

[0079] In practice, those skilled in the art can select or build a suitable rule engine as needed to achieve automated order generation.

[0080] The concept of rule engines is well-known in the field of software engineering, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0081] According to one embodiment of the present invention, associated supporting documents can also be generated during document creation, such as import license batch processing application forms, other required forms or documents, etc. In specific implementations, the business requirement to generate associated supporting documents can also be implemented by a rule engine through setting corresponding business rules.

[0082] Automated order creation using a rules engine ensures the accuracy of order data, improving both efficiency and accuracy compared to manual order creation.

[0083] After completing the document preparation, the document preparation data can be pushed to the Customs Single Window through the third interface to apply for an import license (218).

[0084] The existing application method requires manual entry into the Ministry of Commerce system, which is time-consuming, prone to errors, and requires manual review after entry.

[0085] In contrast, Process 200 automatically aggregates import license applications from different customs brokers and ports, automatically generates documents using a rules engine, and pushes the generated data to the customs single window for automatic declaration through integration with the customs single window (e.g., via a third-party interface). This improves efficiency while reducing errors caused by manual document generation. The customs single window is connected to the Ministry of Commerce, enabling cross-departmental collaboration and further improving document processing efficiency.

[0086] Figure 3 This is an exemplary process 300 for reviewing an import license returned by a customs single window according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0087] In existing technology, reviewing import licenses returned by the customs single window requires manually printing out the documents and verifying key fields on them. This manual verification method is inefficient, error-prone, and difficult to guarantee accuracy.

[0088] In contrast, the technical solution of this application can call OCR services to automatically identify the key fields of the returned import license and compare them with the original document data for verification. Since the OCR recognition accuracy is very high (e.g., 98% or higher), manual verification is only required for a very small number of inconsistent data, which greatly improves the efficiency and accuracy of verification.

[0089] Specifically, such as Figure 3 As shown, after completing the import license application, the import license returned from the Customs Single Window can be received via the third interface (302). After receiving the returned import license, it can be automatically imported (e.g., imported into a specific system / module / location, etc.).

[0090] The returned import license contains multiple fields, each containing corresponding information. According to one embodiment of the invention, key fields in the import license can be defined in advance. For example, fields containing key / important information (e.g., validity period, product name, port of entry, price, vehicle type, commodity code, etc.) can be defined as key fields.

[0091] After identifying the key fields, OCR technology can be used to automatically identify all key fields in the returned import license (304).

[0092] According to one embodiment of the present invention, in order to further improve the recognition accuracy, other recognition technologies (e.g., Attention-Net model) can be combined with OCR technology to perform key field recognition.

[0093] For example, historical statistics can reveal which fields are prone to recognition errors. Specifically, the recognition accuracy of each key field using OCR technology over a specific historical period can be obtained. If the recognition accuracy of a certain key field is low (e.g., below a preset threshold, lower than the accuracy of other key fields, etc.), then that key field is considered prone to recognition errors. For key fields prone to recognition errors, dual or multiple recognition techniques can be employed. For instance, the Attention-Net model can be combined with OCR technology to further improve recognition accuracy.

[0094] The Attention-Net model is well-known in the field of computer vision, so I will not go into details here.

[0095] Subsequently, all identified key fields can be automatically compared with the original document data corresponding to the returned import license to obtain the comparison results (306).

[0096] After obtaining the comparison results, it can be determined whether all key fields match the order data (308).

[0097] If the comparison results indicate that all key fields match the order data (the output of decision box 308 is "Y"), then the review is passed (310).

[0098] If the comparison result indicates that not all key fields match the document data (the output of decision box 308 is "N"), it means that there are key fields that do not match the original document data. In this case, a second verification is required for the mismatched key fields (312).

[0099] In one embodiment of the invention, secondary verification can be performed through manual checks. For example, mismatched key fields and corresponding original document data can be automatically displayed on a display device (e.g., a display screen) for manual verification.

[0100] When multiple mismatched key fields exist, all mismatched key fields and their corresponding original document data can be listed on the display screen for manual verification. In some embodiments, each key field can be assigned a priority based on its importance, with higher-important key fields having higher priority. When listing multiple mismatched key fields on the display screen, they can be displayed in descending order of priority, with the highest-priority key field and its corresponding document data placed at the top / most prominent position, and the lowest-priority key field and its corresponding document data placed at the bottom / least prominent position. Thus, during manual verification, the high-priority key fields will be checked first. In other embodiments, when listing multiple mismatched key fields on the display screen, they can be displayed based on the frequency / probability of past mismatches for each key field. For example, if a mismatched key field has occurred most frequently in a specific period of time, it can be placed at the top / most prominent position with its corresponding document data. Conversely, if a mismatched key field has occurred least frequently in a specific period of time, it can be placed at the bottom / least prominent position with its corresponding document data.

[0101] In some cases, the key fields in an import license may be accurate, but inaccurate OCR recognition may cause a mismatch between the identified key fields and the original document data. In such cases, a second verification of the key fields and the original document data will confirm that they actually match. If all the key fields in the import license that failed the automatic comparison match with the original document data match after the second verification, then the import license review is successful.

[0102] In some cases, the OCR recognition is accurate, but the key fields in the returned import license are indeed incorrect, causing a mismatch between the recognized key fields and the original document data. In this situation, a second verification of the key fields and the original document data will confirm the mismatch. Therefore, the import license review fails. For import licenses that fail the review, the corresponding follow-up processing procedures can be initiated. For example, if the information in the processed import license is indeed incorrect, the document can be revoked.

[0103] pass Figure 3 The 300-minute review process ensures that the import licenses ultimately distributed to the customs broker are accurate.

[0104] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an import license management system 400 for vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0105] like Figure 4As shown, the import license management system 400 may include a vehicle master data transmission module 402, a demand acquisition module 404, and a license application module 406. One or more of these modules may be directly or indirectly connected to or communicate with each other.

[0106] The vehicle master data transmission module 402 is configured to: obtain the original data of the vehicle to be imported from the SAP system through the first interface and automatically integrate it to obtain the vehicle master data, which includes the vehicle shipment information and basic vehicle data of the vehicle to be imported; and provide the vehicle master data to one or more customs brokers through the second interface.

[0107] The demand acquisition module 404 is configured to obtain import license requirements from each of one or more customs brokers through a second interface, each import license requirement indicating the number of import licenses to be used by the corresponding customs broker at the corresponding port within a specific time period in the future.

[0108] The license application module 406 is configured to: submit import license applications to the Customs Single Window through the third interface based on all obtained import license requirements; receive import licenses returned from the Customs Single Window through the third interface; review the returned import licenses; and automatically distribute the reviewed and approved import licenses to one or more customs brokers through the second interface.

[0109] In one implementation, the license application module 406 can be further configured to submit import licenses to the Customs Single Window based on all obtained import license requirements through the following operations: reviewing each import license requirement; automatically summarizing the number of import licenses used by different customs brokers and different ports to obtain summary application information; determining the application batch of the approved import license requirements based on the summary application information; completing the document preparation through the rules engine to obtain document preparation data based on the number of documents and vehicle master data in the application batch, the number of documents including the number of import licenses to be applied for in the corresponding application batch; and pushing the document preparation data to the Customs Single Window through a third interface to apply for import licenses.

[0110] In one implementation, the license application module 406 may be further configured to review the returned import license by: identifying all key fields in the returned import license using OCR technology; automatically comparing all key fields with the document data corresponding to the returned import license to obtain a comparison result; and passing the review if the comparison result indicates that all key fields match the document data.

[0111] In one implementation, the license application module 406 may be further configured to automatically distribute approved import licenses to one or more customs brokers by: sorting one or more customs brokers according to the port information in the import license to determine the customs broker corresponding to the port information in each approved import license; and automatically distributing the approved import licenses to the corresponding customs brokers through a second interface.

[0112] Although Figure 4 Specific modules of the import license management system 400 are shown, but it should be understood that these modules are exemplary and not restrictive. In specific implementations, one or more of these modules may be combined or split, or additional modules may be added. For example, in some implementations, the license application module 406 may be subdivided into an application submodule, a review submodule, and a distribution submodule. Figure 4 (Not shown in the image).

[0113] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a customs ecological management system 500 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0114] like Figure 5 As shown, the Customs Ecosystem Management System 500 may include a declaration module 502, a compliance module 504, and a data analysis module 506.

[0115] The declaration module 502 is used to perform declaration operations related to vehicle import and export business. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the declaration module 502 may include the aforementioned import license management system 400 for vehicles. The declaration module 502 is capable of realizing an end-to-end customs process from pre-declaration data and document preparation and inspection, in-declaration control, and post-declaration cross-verification.

[0116] Compliance Module 504 is used to check the compliance of vehicle import and export transactions. It continuously monitors the business process, automatically checking whether the relevant documents and forms for imported vehicles are complete, accurate, and comply with customs requirements. Furthermore, Compliance Module 504 verifies information such as the classification, valuation, and country of origin of imported vehicles to ensure that all declared information is true and valid. Upon discovering any non-compliance, Compliance Module 504 will immediately issue a warning and provide corresponding corrective measures to avoid potential legal risks and economic losses. In this way, Compliance Module 504 ensures the compliance of all customs operations.

[0117] The data analysis module 506 is used to collect and analyze data from vehicle import and export operations. Utilizing advanced data analysis technologies and tools, the data analysis module 506 conducts in-depth analysis of various data and indicators, thereby providing data support for business decision-making.

[0118] The Customs Ecosystem Management System (CES) enables collaboration with external systems and its internal modules. For example, it can collaborate with external systems like the Customs Single Window and customs brokerage systems to complete import license applications. Simultaneously, the compliance module 504 within the CES can collaborate with the declaration module 502 to ensure compliance during the declaration process. Through data exchange and business collaboration with internal and external systems such as the Customs Single Window, customs brokerage systems, Spark, Pandora, and various SAP modules, the CES achieves seamless information integration and process automation. This collaboration significantly improves the transparency and efficiency of customs operations.

[0119] The Customs Ecosystem Management System 500 encompasses all aspects of customs operations, managing a vast array of complex customs transactions and ensuring smooth and compliant operations. In contrast, the aforementioned Import License Management System 400 for vehicles primarily handles import licenses related to customs operations. Therefore, the Customs Ecosystem Management System 500 is a comprehensive platform covering all aspects of customs operations, while the Import License Management System 400 can be considered a subsystem of the Customs Ecosystem Management System 500. Through the Customs Ecosystem Management System 500, various offline manual customs processing procedures can be transformed into online automated processes, achieving intelligent customs processes. It possesses functions such as recording, tracking, inspection, analysis, and early warning, improving the efficiency and accuracy of customs operations and enabling more precise monitoring and management of vehicle import and export transactions, ensuring all activities are conducted within a legal and compliant framework.

[0120] Furthermore, the Customs Ecosystem Management System 500 supports customized dashboard settings. These dashboards can display business data and analysis results from multiple perspectives, including operations, taxation, and compliance, based on specific needs. This not only improves business transparency but also helps facilitate data-driven decision-making.

[0121] Customs Ecosystem Management System 500 is a comprehensive, efficient, and intelligent customs business management platform. By integrating multiple functional modules such as the declaration module 502, compliance module 504, and data analysis module 506, it achieves comprehensive management of vehicle import and export business. Customs Ecosystem Management System 500 improves the automation and intelligence level of customs operations, realizes efficient collaboration between internal and external systems and modules, and establishes a healthy customs business ecosystem.

[0122] It should be noted that, although Figure 5The diagram illustrates several modules of the Customs Ecosystem Management System 500, but the invention is not limited thereto. In practical implementations, one or more of these modules can be combined or separated, or additional modules can be added. For example, in some implementations, the declaration module 502 can be divided into sub-modules related to import declarations and sub-modules related to export declarations. In other implementations, the Customs Ecosystem Management System 500 may also include a supply chain management module, an emergency management module, and so on.

[0123] The detailed description above, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, describes examples but does not represent all examples that can be implemented or fall within the scope of the claims. The terms "example" and "exemplary" are used in this specification to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration" and do not imply "superiority or superiority over other examples."

[0124] Throughout this specification, the terms "an embodiment" or "an embodiment" mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Therefore, the use of these phrases may refer to more than one embodiment. Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0125] The preceding description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will readily be understood by those skilled in the art, and the universal principles defined herein can be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but are to be granted the full scope consistent with the language of the claims, wherein references to the singular form of an element, unless specifically stated otherwise, are not intended to mean “one and only one,” but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. All structural and functional equivalents of the various aspects of the invention described throughout are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims.

[0126] It should also be noted that these embodiments may be described as processes depicted as flowcharts, flow diagrams, structure diagrams, or block diagrams. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of these operations can be executed in parallel or concurrently. Furthermore, the order of these operations can be rearranged.

[0127] While various embodiments have been described and illustrated, it should be understood that the embodiments are not limited to the precise configurations and components described above. Various modifications, substitutions, and improvements that will be apparent to those skilled in the art can be made to the arrangement, operation, and details of the apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for managing import licenses for vehicles, comprising: The system obtains the raw data of the vehicles to be imported from the SAP system through the first interface and automatically integrates it to obtain the vehicle master data, which includes the vehicle shipment information and basic vehicle data of the vehicles to be imported. The vehicle master data is provided to one or more customs brokers through the second interface; Import license requirements are obtained from each of the one or more customs brokers through the second interface, each import license requirement indicating the number of import licenses to be used by the corresponding customs broker at the corresponding port within a specific time period in the future; Submit import license applications to the Customs Single Window through the third interface, based on all obtained import license requirements. The third interface is used to receive the import license returned from the customs single window; The returned import licenses will be reviewed; as well as The approved import licenses are automatically distributed to one or more customs brokers via the second interface.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vehicle shipment information includes the international bill of lading number, estimated arrival date, port of arrival, vehicle type and quantity information, and the basic vehicle data includes the vehicle identification number (VIN), vehicle type, price, and vehicle configuration information.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The demand for each import license is estimated by the relevant customs broker based on the vehicle shipment information and the existing license inventory information.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Submitting import license applications to the Customs Single Window through the third interface, based on all obtained import license requirements, further includes: Each import license requirement is reviewed; The system automatically aggregates the number of import licenses used by different customs brokers and at different ports to obtain aggregated declaration information. The batch of import license applications that have passed review will be determined based on the summarized application information. Based on the number of documents in the declared batch and the vehicle master data, a document creation process is completed using a rules engine to obtain document creation data. The number of documents includes the number of import licenses to be declared in the corresponding declared batch; and The document data is pushed to the customs single window through the third interface to apply for an import license.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The review of each import license requirement further includes: Compare the number of import licenses used in each import license demand with a preset threshold; If the number of import licenses used does not exceed the preset threshold, the corresponding import license request will be approved. If the number of import licenses used exceeds a preset threshold, the corresponding import license request will fail the review. Furthermore, in the event that the import license request review fails, the method further includes: The result of the failed review will be sent to the customs broker corresponding to the import license requirement; Receive updated import license requirements from the customs broker, the updated import license requirements including a re-estimated number of import licenses to be used; and The updated import license requirements will be reviewed.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, Further includes: After submitting an import license application to the customs single window, the third interface receives the import license processing status returned from the customs single window, which indicates the current processing progress of the submitted import license.

7. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, Further review of the returned import licenses includes: All key fields in the returned import license are identified using optical character recognition (OCR) technology; Automatically compare all key fields with the document data corresponding to the returned import license to obtain the comparison results; and If the comparison results indicate that all key fields match the document data, the review is approved.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The automatic distribution of approved import licenses to the one or more customs brokers further includes: The one or more customs brokers are sorted according to the port information in the import license to determine the customs broker corresponding to the port information in each approved import license; and The second interface automatically distributes the approved import licenses to the corresponding customs brokers.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Further includes: The use of import licenses issued to the customs brokers is monitored based on their subsequent import license declarations.

10. An import license management system for vehicles, comprising: The vehicle main data transmission module is configured to: The system obtains the raw data of the vehicles to be imported from the SAP system through the first interface and automatically integrates it to obtain the vehicle master data, which includes the vehicle shipment information and basic vehicle data of the vehicles to be imported. The vehicle master data is provided to one or more customs brokers through the second interface; The demand acquisition module is configured to: obtain import license requirements from each of the one or more customs brokers via the second interface, each import license requirement indicating the number of import licenses to be used by the corresponding customs broker at a corresponding port within a specific future time period; and The license application module is configured as follows: Submit import license applications to the Customs Single Window through the third interface, based on all obtained import license requirements. The third interface is used to receive the import license returned from the customs single window; The returned import licenses will be reviewed; The approved import licenses are automatically distributed to one or more customs brokers via the second interface.

11. The system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The vehicle shipment information includes the international bill of lading number, estimated arrival date, port of arrival, vehicle type and quantity information, and the basic vehicle data includes the vehicle identification number (VIN), vehicle type, price, and vehicle configuration information.

12. The system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The license application module is further configured to submit import license applications to the Customs Single Window based on all obtained import license requirements through the following operations: Each import license requirement is reviewed; The system automatically aggregates the number of import licenses used by different customs brokers and at different ports to obtain aggregated declaration information. The batch of import license applications that have passed review will be determined based on the summarized application information. Based on the number of documents in the declared batch and the vehicle master data, a document creation process is completed using a rules engine to obtain document creation data. The number of documents includes the number of import licenses to be declared in the corresponding declared batch; and The document data is pushed to the customs single window through the third interface to apply for an import license.

13. The system according to claim 12, characterized in that, The license application module is further configured to review the returned import licenses through the following operations: All key fields in the returned import license are identified using optical character recognition (OCR) technology; Automatically compare all key fields with the document data corresponding to the returned import license to obtain the comparison results; as well as If the comparison results indicate that all key fields match the document data, the review is approved.

14. The system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The license application module is further configured to automatically distribute approved import licenses to the one or more customs brokers through the following operations: The one or more customs brokers are sorted according to the port information in the import license to determine the customs broker corresponding to the port information in each approved import license; as well as The second interface automatically distributes the approved import licenses to the corresponding customs brokers.

15. A customs ecosystem management system, comprising: The declaration module is used to perform declaration operations related to vehicle import and export business, and the declaration module includes the vehicle import license management system as described in any one of claims 10-14; The compliance module is used to check the compliance of vehicle import and export business; The data analysis module is used to collect and analyze data from vehicle import and export operations. The customs ecosystem management system can collaborate with external systems and with its internal modules.

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