Paperless Trade in International Supply Chains: Enhancing Efficiency and Security

Mr. Christian Frühwald
Chair UN/CEFACT
Vice President
Supply Chain Management and Process & Data Management
Corporate Information & Operation
Siemens AG, Karlsrhe, Germany

Dr.-Ing. Christian Frühwald, born 1958, studied mechanical engineering at the University of Hanover. He completed his doctorate at the University's Institute for Production Engineering and Logistics under Prof in 1990. During the same year he joined Siemens AG. There he held various management positions in the area of Logistics and Supply Chain Management. Currently Dr. Frühwald is Partner for Supply Chain Consulting within the Corporate Department “Global Procurement and Logistics”.
Since March 2001 he is the elected Chairman of the United Nations Center for Facilitation of Trade and e-Business - UN/CEFACT - within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Dr. Frank Straube
Professor at the University of Berlin for Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Straube is the Director of the Logistics Department of the Institute of Technology and Management at the Berlin University of Technology (TUB) since October 2004. He is Vice-President of the German logistics association ‘Bundesvereinigung Logistik BVL e.V.’ and member of the Board of the European Logistics Association (ELA). In the European management community, he is active as member of the board of several renowned companies. Furthermore, he serves policy makers on European level by his participation in the Advisory Board Transport to the European Commission. He is involved in projects to establish De-Risking and Security Concepts in international supply chains conducted by German and US Officials.
Frank Straube was born in 1959. He holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Berlin University of Technology which he supplemented by a doctoral degree at the Logistics Department of Professor H. Baumgarten in 1987. Furthermore he got academic degrees at Grenoble University, France and MIT, United States.Until 1989, Frank Straube managed the department’s major industrial logistics projects. From 1990 to 2002, he was active in consultancy as the CEO of ‘Zentrum für Logistik Unternehmensplanung GmbH’ (Berlin - Sao Paulo - New York) and director of ‘Logistik Management Consulting (LMC) GmbH’. His teaching record starts in 1993 when he became an external lecturer at the Berlin University of Technology. From 1996 to 1999 he taught international management at the University Aix-en-Provence. Since 2000 he is Permanent Visiting Professor at the University Paris II (Sorbonne) and since 2004 at the University of St. Gallen. Before his call to TUB, Frank Straube was founding Director and Chairman of the Board of the Kuehne Institute for Logistics at the University of St. Gallen and Director of Studies of the Executive MBA in Logistics, which he implemented successfully. He published extensively on the subject of logistics and is a renowned presenter on national and international conferences.

Mr. Mike Doran
Acting Chairman of UN/CEFACT, Senior Administrator, CERN

Senior Administrator at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland, the home of the World Wide Web. Most of Mike’s career has been spent in logistics and he was Head of Logistics at CERN until 1997.
From 1998 to 2000 he was Chief Executive of SITPRO, the UK’s Trade Facilitation Agency, on detachment from CERN. He is currently on the staff of CERN’s Secretary-General, in the Directorate Services Unit.
Mike Doran is a Plenary Vice Chairman of UN/CEFACT. He was Chairman of the Business Process Analysis Working Group from 1998-2002, and was a Vice Chairman of the Trade & Business Processes Working Group, 2002-2004. He is a former member of the UK Delegation, and is now head of the CERN Delegation.

Supply Chains & Digital Information: Current State & Future Trends in International Trade This presentation will show firstly, the role of UN/CEFACT – The United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation & eBusiness, in the development of standards and recommendations for international trade. The complexities of the international trade transaction process will then be addressed and the demands of government for supply chain security & trader compliance. It will then trace the emergence of international documentary standards, such as the UN Layout Key, and will show how aligned export trade documents have evolved from paper documents, to their digital document equivalents. The UNeDocs Digital Documents Project for International Trade will also be discussed.  

Educational Background

• Docteur en droit (University of Grenoble) in European Customs Law, France

• Diplôme d’études approfondies (DEA), University of Grenoble, France

• Post graduate studies in European Law, University of Grenoble, France

• Law state exam for lawyers, Thessaloniki, Greece

• Law degree (Assessor) University of Thessaloniki, Greece

• Secondary school certificate American High School in Thessaloniki, Greece

Professional Activities Present position (since 2001)
Principal administrator in Directorate General for TAXATION AND CUSTOMS UNION, customs legislation unitand application of customs legislation
- managing the electronic customs sector
- coordinating work on Modernized Customs Code

Previous positions in the European Commission
2000 – 2001 Principal administrator in Directorate General ENTERPRISE, managing the aerospace industry sector
1993 – 1999 Administrator and subsequently principal administrator in Directorate General INDUSTRY, managing the maritime industries sector
1991 – 1993 Administrator in the Directorate General for INDUSTRY and subsequently in the Directorate General for INTERNAL MARKET (after the separation of the DG Industry in two parts)
1988 – 1991 Administrator in the Directorate General for TAXATION AND CUSTOMS, responsible for TARIC (Integrated Tariff)
1987 – 1988 Consultant to Directorate General for TAXATION AND CUSTOMS (tariff unit)
Other Professional Activities
-Assistant lecturer at the University of Grenoble, France (1984-1987)
-Lawyer in the bar of Thessaloniki, Greece (1982-1983)
Publications
Appeal against non-tariff barriers; in Cahiers du Centre universitaire de recherches européennes et internationales, n° 5, 1985
Customs sanctions and the principle of proportionality, study for the European Commission (DG III), 1986
European Community as Customs Union, in Hellenic Review of the European Communities n° 2, p. 15 – 57, 1988
Custom sanctions in the perspective of the Internal Market, Revue du Marché Commun, n°351, p. 727 – 733, 1991
Customs disputes: sources et ways of international and community settlement, Doctorate thesis in the University of Grenoble (France), 1992
Free circulation of services in the European, Community, Centre du droit de l'entreprise de l'Université de Lausanne, 1992
1993: Which regulatory environment for security professions? in DGM Conseil Strategic brochure, 1992
Free circulation of services: Evolution and perspectives, in Revue du marché unique européen, March 1994

Ms. Younkyong Kang
Deputy Director, e-Business Policy Division, MoCIE, Korea

Since ‘Blueprint for Action on Electronic Commerce 1998’, APEC is trying to reduce or eliminate the requirement for paper document needed for international trade. The main fora that paperless trade is discussed in APEC is ECSG(Electronic Commerce Steering Group) and the method to implement paperless trade is Individual Action Plan(IAP) on paperless trade and pathfinder project such as e-C/O(Certificate of Origin) and e-SPS(electronic Sanitary and Phytosanitary Certificate). Paperless trade will bring many benefits including reduced transaction cost and efficient supply chains. However, there exist many impediments such as lack of infrastructure, reluctance to change and standardization. APEC will continuously endeavor to realize paperless trade by ensuring existing pathfinder project, launching new pathfinders, intensifying capacity building activities and strengthening of public-private partnership.

Mr. Karl-Erik A. Svedjeholm
Director, Northern Customs Region, Swedish Customs

Born in Sweden 1948.
Appointed Regional Director for the Northern Region in Sweden 1995.
Appointed Director in the Swedish Head Office 2004.
Special mission: Russia, Barents Euro-Arcit Council (BEAC), Coucil of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and Northern Dimension (ND).
Participating in negotiations with the Russian Customs since 1993.
Member of Task Force II on Trade Barriers/ WGTB (Working Group on Trade Barriers) in the Barents Region since 1999, chairman 2001-2005.
Swedish representative in the Customs Working Group in the EuroRussia Commission.

My presentaion will be: The Green Corridor Project, background and new possibilities for business life.
Trilateral agreement between Russia, Finland and Sweden signed in Gothenburg, Sweden 3rd of December 2002.
Requirements for business life to join and be approved as a certified Green Corridor Company.
Information and a presentation of the Green Corridor concept.
A short introduction of the new Russian Codex and the new oppertunity of a fast and more simplified border-crossing procedure.

Mr. Andrey Korotkov
Senior Vice-President
Vneshtorgbank
Russian Federation

Professional background
Andrey Korotkov is a senior vice-president and CIO of “Vnestorgbank” since January 2004. Former First Deputy Minister of the Ministry for Telecommunications and Informatization of the Russian Federation as the Information Technology Leader, Head of Directorate of the Federal “e-Russia” Programm.
Prior to this post since 1996 he served for the Staff of the Office of Government of the Russian Federation and Administration of the President of Russia in various positions, including posts of Federal Spokesman, Head of Information Department and CIO of the Office of the Prime-Minister of Russia Federation.
He has been responsible for some major information technology projects in Russia, regularly participating in UN information and communication activities.
As a special correspondent of TASS News Agency for 10 years Andrey traveled a lot around CIS countries. His reports were published in different illustrated magazines. He is the author of numerous articles on ICT in scientific and general-interest magazines.
As an adviser on ICT of Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, Andrey Korotkov participated in several meetings of working-level group and in preliminary meetings of ICT Task Force, DOT Force, World Bank and Davos Forum ICT initiatives.
Professional Affiliations
DOT Force member 2001 - present
UN General-Secretary adviser on ICT issues 2000 - present
UN ICT Task Force member 2000 – 2004
UN ICT Task Force Bureau member – 2002 - present
Education
PhD, Moscow State University, Master of Science in Philology, Kazakh State University, Almaty; Master of Science in Linguistics, University of Foreign Languages, Almaty. Specialist in structural linguistics in addition to semiotics.
Professional interests
Theory of informational society and semiotics.
Academician of International Telecommunications Academy.
Professor of Academy of National Economy under the Government of Russia Federation.
Personal
Andrey Korotkov was born in Sevastopol, USSR. Currently resides in Moscow, Russia, with his wife and two sons. His interests include photography, history of design.

Mr. Augustin Ndione
Principal Customs Inspector
Diector of Customs IT Systems Customs Department
Republic of Sengal

Monsieur NDIONE fait partie de l’équipe qui a conçu et mis en ouvre le système informatique douanier sénégalais. Outre ses activités d’enseignement qu’il a exercées durant plus de dix (10) ans à l’Ecole Nationale d’Administration et de Magistrature, M.NDIONE est l’auteur de plusieurs ouvrages portant sur les procédures de dédouanement des marchandises et l’utilisation des fonctionnalités du système informatique ; il a effectué de nombreuses missions d’assistance technique auprès des administrations douanières de l’Afrique de l’Ouest pour le compte de la CEDEAO et du FMI.

Grâce à un partenariat très actif avec le secteur privé, l’Administration douanière sénégalaise dispose aujourd’hui d’un système de dédouanement automatisé, tourné vers la sécurisation et la facilitation de la chaîne logistique internationale et dont les composantes majeures préparent les différentes catégories d’acteurs à l’avènement de l’ère de la dématérialisation. Ces composantes sont :

• TRADE- X, qui est une application de dédouanement en temps réel ;

• ORBUS 2000, qui permet la collecte et le routage électroniques des documents de dédouanement ;

• SIAR qui est un système informatisé d’analyse du risque ;

• Data warehouse et LEUK qui constituent un espace virtuel d’informations documentaires et statistiques pour les usagers ;

• Paiement électronique grâce auquel les usagers peuvent payer à distance les droits et taxes exigibles.

Somnuk Keretho (sk@ku.ac.th) is a founding Director of Institute for Innovative Information Technology, Kasetsart University in Thailand, a research and development institute specialized in ICT-enabled innovation, strategic information architecture for e-government and e-business, and process-focused software engineering.
Dr. Keretho has leaded several strategic ICT-related projects at both organizational and national levels. Recently, he has assisted Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, National Economic and Social Development Board and Ministry of Commerce of Thailand in developing “Thailand Single-Window e-Logistics Strategy and Roadmap,” and assisting in a process of securing about US$ 31 million for the full implementation phase of this project.
For the past 5 years, he has actively engaged in several regional and international organizations to ensure ICT-related policies and standards alignment. In 2002-2003, he leaded the development of e-ASEAN ICT Measurement Framework, which is now one of the key partnerships with the global ICT Indicators for Development Initiative coordinated by UNCTAD. Actively engaging with APEC E-Commerce Steering Group and APEC TEL, he has provided several strategic and technical supports, especially on the APEC Paperless Trading Initiative. In 2004, he developed a report and recommendations for APEC Internet Paperless Trading.
During 2001 to the mid of 2004, he served as a director of Electronic Commerce Resource Center, under the supervision of the National Electronic and Computer Technology Center, Thailand. This center was mandated by the Cabinet to spearhead the development of a national e-commerce strategy and coordinate its implementation in areas of building public awareness and capacity, providing information resources, seeking international collaboration, assessing and driving strategic enabling projects, standards and recommendations.
Dr. Keretho obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Kasetsart University, Bangkok in 1981 and 1986, respectively. He also earned his master’s degree in Computer Applications from Asian Institute of Technology in 1985. Supported by the Fulbright Foundation, he received his Ph.D. degree in Computer Science from University of Louisiana at Lafayette, U.S.A. in 1992.
Dr. Keretho is an authorized SW-CMM instructor, CBA-IPI lead assessor and SCAMPI lead appraiser. He is giving lectures and overseeing several master and doctoral students who pursue their ICT innovation at the Department of Computer Engineering, Kasetsart University.
Married and with two children, he is now living in Bangkok.

Thailand Single-Window e-Logistics and Regional Integration.
This presentation discusses how the Royal Thai government takes an integrated trade and transport facilitation perspective in the context of national logistics competitiveness, since it is realized that the cost of logistics in the country is relatively high by benchmarking with many developing countries. A holistic master plan (2005-2009), with a vision towards a world-class logistics hub for Indochina, has been proposed composing with six strategic development agendas of improving logistics infrastructure, linking information and database systems, building capacity for better logistics management, strengthening logistics services providers, cooperating towards regional economic integration, and redesigning law, regulation and institutional framework.
One of the key development agendas, the single-window e-logistics strategy and its implementation roadmap have been established to create a data network and infrastructure to link all logistics players via a single window entry. The objectives are for cost efficiency, reliability and security, and responsiveness through paperless operations among exporters, importers, freight forwarders, logistics services providers, carriers, port operators, banks and insurance companies, customs and related government authorities. Pilot projects in implementing one-stop e-services and e-document system for exporting fruits and automobiles will be discussed. This presentation will also highlighted several challenges and implementation approaches, including work programs to support ASEAN Single Window and GMS Cross-border Single Inspection Initiatives.

Mr. Hamid R. Alavi
Regional Trade Facilitation Coordinator, Finance, Private Sector and Infrastructure Group, Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank

Senior Private Sector Development Specialist and Trade and Transport Facilitation Coordinator for the MENA Region. He has several years of policy advice to client governments, and has substantial hands-on operational experience in developing countries. Some recent work that he has managed include Tunisia export development projects 1 and 2, trade logistics assessments in Syria and Yemen, Trade facilitation work in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan, as well as ICT strategy for Tunisia. His recent publications include seminal articles on trade facilitation, ICT strategy and paperless trade.  

Paperless Trade: Design and Implementation Experience and Lessons Learned. This presentation discusses the application of information technology to facilitate trade transactions, smooth out supply chains and bring markets closer to firms. It also discusses the benefits that paperless trade brings to the governments in terms of increased competitiveness of the national economy (efficiency) and security. Based on the operational experience in North Africa and Cambodia, the session outlines some "lessons learned" and best practice recommendations. Among issues discussed are the role of cultural aspects, change management, the role of the government, realistic targets and implementation phases, the relation between the public and the private sector. The presentation draws on some of the successful cases of the application of ICT to trade transactions and successful approaches to mainstream e-government mechanisms to trade facilitation.  

Mr. Aleksander Popovich
Global Head of Cargo, International Air Transport Association (IATA)

ALEKS POPOVICH, graduated from Oxford University with a First Class Honours Degree in Mathematics, followed by further qualifications of MSc and DPhil in Mathematics (Relativity), also at Oxford. After leaving Oxford University, Aleks held a Post Doctoral position in Particle Physics before joining British Airways in late 1982. Aleks spent his first 12 years in British Airways working in the Information Technology and Operational Research (OR) fields, developing systems for the Engineering, Operations, Customer Services, Executive Information and Cargo needs of the business. Aleks’ progressed to become Head of IT for the British Airways World Cargo division. He then moved from the Information Management Department to work in the British Airways World Cargo (£500m revenue per annum) division to establish a new Network Management function responsible for growing, protecting and exploiting the World Cargo route network in order to maximise contribution to British Airways. During his business career, Aleks has also acquired DBA and MBA qualifications from Lancaster University, UK. In May 1997 he moved into the mainstream £8b revenue per annum commercial passenger business for British Airways to take on the post of General Manager Revenue Management, responsible for capturing maximum revenue margin from the BA route network by optimising price, inventory, and selling opportunities. In May 2002, Aleks formed and led a new Business Transformation function within British Airways, accountable for developing British Airways’ capability in delivering corporate business change and corporate business intelligence. In April 2005, Aleks joined IATA to become Global Head of Cargo. He is married, with 3 children, and based in Geneva.
Biographical Information, Aleks Popovich, British Airways Following an academic career, Aleks joined British Airways in late 1982, to work in the fields of IT and OR.
In 1995, Aleks moved into British Airways World Cargo to lead a new Network Management function responsible for growing, protecting and exploiting the World Cargo route network. In May ’97, he moved into the passenger business side to become General Manager Revenue Management.
Since May ’02 Aleks has been Head of Business Transformation, accountable for developing British Airways’ capability in delivering major corporate change, business process simplification and decision-making.

IATA has been given the mandate by its Board of Governors, consisting of top airline CEOs to drive paper dependency out of the air cargo supply chain. This programme of change is known as "IATA e-freight" and is currently in the initiation stage. Removing paper documents from cargo was confirmed as a key objective for the airline industry within IATA’s Simplifying the Business Programme at the IATA board meeting in December 2004, joining other well-publicised targets such as the driving of 100% passenger e-ticket by the end of 2007. Though cargo has until the end of 2010 to achieve its objective, the board is expecting to see early adopters make significant progress in freeing their processes from paper by the end of 2007. In his presentation, Mr. Popovich outlines business drivers, objectives, strategy, roadblocks, benefits, and current status of IATA e-freight in the drive to enable a simpler, electronic, paper-free air cargo industry.

Mr. Demor J. Leeper
Chairman
Freight Forward International (FFI)
Customs Committee

Graduate in Engineering and Economics from Oxford University, started his career as a management consultant in UK and Hong Kong. In 1973, he joined the LEP Group, the leading British multinational forwarder, starting in USA and subsequently working in Canada, Scotland, Benelux, Czech Republic and now in UK. In 1998, LEP was merged into a new USA based corporation and rebranded GeoLogistics, since when Dermot has been SVP Global Product and Carrier Management.  

Mr. Alan Long
Maritime Cargo Processing Plc., Port of Felixstowe, United Kingdom

Alan Long joined Maritime Cargo Processing Plc in December 1987. Prior to his appointment, he spent fifteen years with HM Customs & Excise, including twelve years at various UK ports and hydro carbon oil terminals, with the last five being at the Port of Felixstowe. There, as a member of the Felixstowe Cargo Processing System (FCPS) Project Team and later as Senior Officer of the Systems Management Unit, he played a major role in defining HM Customs' requirements for the system’s development. He was responsible for its implementation in Felixstowe and several other locations in the UK.
During the past seventeen years he has been involved in a number of consultancy projects, in Europe and the following countries: Australia, Peoples’ Republic of China, Colombia, Cyprus, India, Jamaica, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Morocco, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and eight countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
He has represented UK trade at European and international level within the UN/CEFACT process. He is also an advisor to the Trade Facilitation Committee of the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) and represents that Committee at the World Customs Organisation’s (WCO) Information Management Sub-Committee (IMSC).

The presentation offers a Case Study of a Port Community System, one example of the Single Window concept. It tracks the history of the system, known as FCPS, from its original inception through to the current day, highlighting the co-operation that existed (and still exists) between the various sectors of the port community and which contributed significantly to the success of the system. Results of the system’s introduction, including a reduction in paper flows and increases in efficiency are explained and examples of some of the features of the system are outlined. The overall objective of the presentation is to demonstrate that, given the right approach to their implementation, systems such as FCPS can provide considerable benefits to the trade and transport community

Mrs. Evelyn Eggers
Manager of Sales Department
DAKOSY AG., Germany

After having completed her degrees of national economy at the University of Hamburg Evelyn Eggers started to work as a an EDP-consultant. She is with DAKOSY for more than 15 years and started her career designing a software application for Liner Agents to organise the Container Hinterland Transport. After this first project Mrs. Eggers was responsible for various software projects all dealing with Container Transport, Customs and EDI. While the majority of the projects were conducted on the request of customers, Mrs. Eggers had the opportunity to gain and transact various EU-Projects on behalf of DAKOSY, mostly regarding Container Hinterland Transport, Customs and crossbordering EDI. Since 2001 Mrs. Eggers is responsible for the Sales Department of DAKOSY

DAKOSY was founded in 1981 as a Port-Communications-System by the main actors in the Port of Hamburg. Driven by the needs of the owners and customers, DAKOSY was forced to evolve itself from a mere EDI-Clearing-Center to a Systemhouse, which develops applications for the transport industry with a strong emphasis on EDI-functionality. With the public sector consigning DAKOSY with the development of IT-infrastructure (Dangerous Cargo, Customs Export Monitoring, Rail) DAKOSY entered the next evolutionary phase. Since 1989 DAKOSY offers its services along the whole transport chain from Exporter to Importer, cross border and internationally.

Mr. Peter Stokes
Chief Executive Officer, Digital Trade and Transportation Network Limited (DTTN), Hong Kong, SAR (China) 

With a First Class Honours degree in Applied Mathematics from Sydney University, Mr Stokes has more than twenty-five years experience in developing and implementing leading edge computer systems in the Asia-Pacific region. This experience includes ten years with Mobil Oil in Singapore and four years with Mobil in Japan.
After moving to Hong Kong he joined Tradelink in 1993 and led the technical and business development of Hong Kong’s community electronic commerce network for Hong Kong’s 70,000-strong import/export trading community and the Government. This included overall responsibility for all aspects of expanding the company’s portfolio of electronic commerce offerings including the evaluation, design and implementation of new services.
This is a subsidiary of the Hong Kong based Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited, and has been established to develop and implement on a commercial basis a Government-endorsed community-wide e-logistics infrastructure for trade, logistics and finance for southern China.

This presentation highlights the success of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region (HKSAR) Government’s Single Window for Government trade documents. It then shows the evolution towards the development of paperless trade with the concept of the Digital Trade & Transportation Network (DTTN), which provides a Single Window through which any organization may transact with any of its trading partners, including Government.
The presentation then outlines some aspects of the DTTN as a HKSAR Government and Logistics Development Council (LogsCouncil) initiative to help Hong Kong improve its competitiveness and to further develop itself as a logistics hub and a supply chain base to link the Mainland with the world. It summarizes the governance framework and the set of guiding principles under which the DTTN will be operated to ensure its neutrality, its openness and its community role.
It also explains the features of the DTTN document exchange platform in providing a complementary, trusted, low cost electronic infrastructure that all the trade, transportation, and finance communities can interconnect with either directly, or indirectly via application service providers in order to conduct paperless trade. It also suggests the need for worldwide interconnections amongst different e-logistics hubs in order to promote paperless trade.

Ms. Nurcan Özyazici
Gemlix Project, Head of the Customs IT Department, Turkey

Nurcan graduated from Department of Applied Mathematics, Middle East Technical University in 1985. She worked for EDP Department, Ministry of Finance and Customs as a software developer, system analyst and project director between 1986 and 1993. In 1993 she was assigned to the newly established Department of Data Processing and Communication, Undersecretariat of Customs as IT Director. In 1995, she was assigned as Deputy Head of Department of Data Processing and Communication, and as Head of Department in 1999.
In this period, Nurcan was also:
• Project Manager of Customs Modernization project financed by the World Bank and realized between 1996-2002;
• Project Manager of Customs Security Systems Project partly also financed by the World Bank and realized between 2002-2004;
• Coordinator of e-Document Project in foreign trade which was established by Prime Ministry under e-Transformation studies.  

Studies of e-Document Implementation Group in Foreign Trade Nurcan will give information about e-Document Project, studies of which have been completed by the Implementation Group. Applications of the project will be initiated in Gemlik Free Trade Zone in coming days.
“e-Document Implementation Group in Foreign Trade” is a project group comprised of organizations and institutions taking part in foreign trade and is coordinated by Undersecretariat of Customs.
Objectives of the Implementation Group:
1. to carry out foreign trade transactions, business processes electronically and to establish effective, efficient and secure e-business infrastructure,
2. to identify standards for data fields used in documents throughout Turkey and to define a common language for sharing data among institutions,
3. to review business processes concerning foreign trade transactions and to decrease the number of these processes,
4. to put forth proposals for substantial basis in order to realize legislative arrangements and changes required for electronic business processes,
5. to allow for electronic data interchange with international institutions by using e-Documents to be developed at the end of the project,
6. to make useful suggestions in order to realize legislative arrangements and changes required for information security and confidentiality.