Why (and how) does Datamyne “unify” names of parties to the trade?

The U.S. Customs Automated Manifest System (AMS) allows free text entry of shipment information. Shipping lines and freight forwarders are not required to enter a single, standard version of a foreign shipper’s or a US importer’s name – and they typically don’t. As a result, many variations of company names with redundancies in addresses appear in the bill of lading data. 

To help with your company analysis, we apply highly standardized criteria to recognize and “unify” variations under one name and reduce address redundancies. This process makes the work of international trade analysis faster and more efficient.