Overview[]
The Commercial Information Management System (CIMS) was the International Trade Administration's third attempt to develop an automated, comprehensive trade information system.
It was designed to link the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service's (US&FCS) overseas posts and domestic offices to a central data base in the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration's headquarters. The central data base contains three major files: (1) the client file (a list of domestic and foreign traders), (2) a research file (a repository of market research reports), and (3) an events file (which contains upcoming trade promotion activities). CIMS was a major technical and cost undertaking and its design and implementation, to a large extent, have been driven by State Department system automation and security requirements for overseas installations.
Previous efforts to develop such a system include the Worldwide Information and Trade System (WITS) in 1978 and the Automated Information Transfer System (AITS) in 1981.