CBP Plans M1 Pilot for May, Full Deployment by Jan 2012
On April 14, 2011 at the annual U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Trade Symposium, CBP officials provided an update on the status of ACE, including the scheduled beginning of the M1 (e-Manifest: Ocean and Rail) pilot in May and its nationwide rollout.
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(The M1 delivery will incorporate the rail and ocean electronic manifest processing into the ACE Multi-Modal Manifest (MMM) database. M1 is a 5-year development effort that has been plagued with cost overruns and schedule delays. M1 was scheduled to be deployed in spring 2011 after multiple delays. Its delays and cost overruns have impacted the ability for CBP to spend funds on other critical aspects of the ACE program.)
CBP to Move Forward with IBM as M1 Contractor, Begin Pilot in May
CBP officials announced that a decision has been made to continue with IBM1 as the contractor for M1 (e-Manifest: Ocean and Rail). Since the decision has been made to move forward with IBM, the pilot and trade testing is scheduled to begin in mid-May. (CBP previously stated that the M1 pilot was put “on hold” due to concerns about IBM, while the agency evaluated whether another contractor should be used.)
16 Major Carriers to Transmit Data to CBP as Part of Pilot
16 major carriers will be transmitting data to CBP as part of the pilot. Testing for the pilot will continue through September. An official noted that while the application period for the pilot has closed, those interested in participating in the pilot should contact Susan.Maskell@dhs.gov.
CBP Expects to Begin Rolling M1 Out on Port- by-Port Basis in September
In September, CBP plans to begin rolling out M1 on a port by port basis. CBP expects this rollout to be complete in January 2012. After all ports in the U.S. are using the e-Manifest for ocean and rail, carriers will be notified that they have six months to transition out of the Automated Commercial System (ACS). Information on the transition will be provided in a future Federal Register notice.
1In November 2010, CBP announced plans to pilot M1 in February 2011 and deploy it in spring 2011. In its Federal Register notice requesting applicants to test the M1 pilot, CBP stated that the pilot would commence no earlier than December 22, 2010. However, the pilot was delayed due to contractor (IBM) issues.
CBP said that it was disappointed with IBM and that the company was not meeting its expectations. Although CBP had negotiated a firm “fixed price” contract with the contractor for finishing programming with M1, it also issued a Request for Information (RFI) to see if there were other companies that have the capacity and capability to finish M1 programming.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 10/20/10 news, 10102007, for BP summary of CBP’s general notice requesting applicants for the M1 pilot.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 02/14/11 news, 11021424, for BP summary of CBP officials announcing that the M1 pilot was put on hold.)