A5 Business process re-engineering

A5.1 Have the stakeholders in your country conducted re-engineering and streamlining of business processes to support paperless trade or a national single window:

A5.1.1 At the agency level?

Background

Failure to review and reengineer a manual procedures/processes in the development of an electronic system will often lead to inefficiency of the system. Business process analysis and reengineering at the agency level is recommended as the first step to be taken before undertaking other trade facilitation measures related to the simplification, harmonization, and automation of trade procedures and documents.

It is important that a clear and detailed picture of the as-is business processes involved in importing or exporting be available, as it will provide a sound basis for the selection and prioritization of trade facilitation measures aimed at streamlining these processes, especially with electronic information exchange and automation.

Expected Answers
  • Yes - Each and every agency responsible for cross-border trade regulations/facilitation and/or trade transactions has conducted reengineering and streamlining of business processes at the agency level to support paperless trade or a national single window.

    Please list names of the agencies (description expected).

  • Partially Yes - Some agencies responsible for cross-border trade regulations or trade transactions have conducted reengineering and streamlining of business processes at the agency level to support paperless trade or a national single window. Some agencies related to cross-border trade regulations or trade transactions have not conducted reengineering of their business processes yet.

    Please list those agencies conducted business process reengineering, and those agencies not conducted business process reengineering yet (description expected)

  • No - No agency responsible for cross-border trade regulations and/or trade transactions has conducted reengineering and streamlining of business processes at the agency level yet.
Good Practices

Within each agency, a step-by-step approach should be conducted to understand the business processes related cross-border regulations and controls of that agency, Bottlenecks identification, analysis and the development of recommendations for future improvement should follow. Business process reengineering with digitized process streamlining and electronic information processing should be proposed prior to the implementation of these measures. Adoption of standards and standard tools for business process re-engineering is recommended, e.g. using UN/CEFACT Modelling Methodology (UMM).

References and Case Studies

A5.1.2 At the national level?

Background

If business processes along trade supply chain are not analyzed, reengineered and streamlined to ensure seamless flow of information, it will jeopardize integration and interfacing of paperless trade or the single window of the country. It is therefore recommended that the business process reengineering at the national level should be carried out for the implementation of these inter-agency electronic systems to be effective.

Expected Answers
  • Yes - Reengineering and streamlining of business processes to support paperless trade or a national single window have been conducted at the national level. This means all key stakeholders or their representatives of cross-border trade supply chain have participated in the analysis, reengineering and streamlining of those inter-agency processes. The improvement measures, proposed to-be business processes and automation from these collaborations have been incorporated in designing and implementation of paperless trade and the national single window.
  • Partially Yes - Reengineering and streamlining of business processes to support paperless trade or a national single window have been partially conducted. It has not covered all key business processes or not covered all key stakeholders of cross-border trade supply chain.
  • No - No reengineering nor streamlining of business processes to support paperless trade or a national single window have been conducted at the national level. Key stakeholders or their representatives of cross-border trade supply chain have not participated in the analysis of any inter-agency processes.
Good Practices

Cross-border trade transactions for each particular shipment involve several regulatory agencies and different business stakeholders. To be able to propose specific simplification and automation of these transactions, business processes along the cross-border commercial, regulatory, transport and financial chain must be analyzed. Bottlenecks identification, analysis and the development of recommendations for future improvement should follow. Business process reengineering with digitized process streamlining and electronic information processing should be proposed prior to the implementation of these measures.

It is important that a clear and detailed picture of the as-is business processes involved in importing, exporting or transiting of goods be available. It will provide a sound basis for the selection and prioritization of paperless trade/single window measures aimed at streamlining these processes, especially with electronic information exchange and automation among different stakeholders. Adoption of standards and standards tools, e.g. UN/CEFACT Modelling Methodology (UMM), and UNNExT Business Process Analysis Guide to Simplify Trade Procedures, is recommended for reengineering and streamlining of business processes to support paperless trade or a national single window.

References and Case Studies

 

A5.2 Has your country implemented any paperless trade transactions?

Background

The country should establish a future plan and targeted timeline to implement paperless trade transactions, if not done earlier. However, specific kinds of transactions and also types of documents to be exchanged electronically should be carefully considered.

Expected Answers
  • Yes - The country has implemented paperless trade transactions.
  • Partially Yes - The country has partially implemented some forms of electronic trade transactions, and paper or manual transactions still co-exist.
  • No - The country has not implemented any paperless trade transactions, or the existing electronic systems require both electronic information submission but also physical papers.
Good Practices

The feasibility and in-depth study are normally conducted to identify and propose value propositions/benefits, specific improvement for establishing paperless trade environment, risks and critical factors, and return-on investment.

The country’s future plan and targeted timeline can be developed and consulted among all key stakeholders for refinement in different perspectives, i.e. technical, financial, organizational, and legal.

References and Case Studies

 

Glossary
  1. Paperless trade refers to the digitization of these information flows, including making available and enabling the exchange of trade-related data and documents electronically. Less formally, one can think of this as cross-border trade transactions using electronic data in lieu of paper-based documents. More...
  2. “Single window” means a facility that allows parties involved in a trade transaction to electronically lodge data and documents with a single-entry point to fulfil all import, export and transit-related regulatory requirements. UNECE Recommendation and Guidelines on establishing a Single Window
  3. “Business Process Analysis (BPA)” is a methodology for the analysis of a business with a view to understanding the processes and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of its operations. It describes the processes involved, parties participating, information exchanged and documents produced. More...
  4. “Business Process Reengineering (BPR)” is a methodology and technique with which organizations radically change their business processes with the aim of becoming more efficient and more modern. The far-reaching measures that are taken after the decision to restructure a process not only concern about existing processes or just automation, but can also bring about radical changes in management style and corporate culture.

    Reference: Hammer, M. and Champy, J., (2006), “Reengineering the company, a manifesto for business revolutions.” Harper Business.