Collaborate more

Innovative Customs SolutionsHow Cloud Computing is enabling the next generation of customs solutions, expanding global trade, economic growth and opportunities

How customs applications are enabling trade to flourish, 03fostering economic growth and expanding opportunities

How Cloud Computing is enabling the next generation of 04customs solutions and scaling the benefits of technology to unlock global trading efficiencies Increasing Trade Efficiency and Transparency: BIM 05 Enabling Trade Automation: SOGET 06 Facilitating Trade Competitiveness and Compliance: Tradefacilitate 07 Promoting e-Trade Facilitation and Security: GAINDE 2000 08 Facilitating Trade Development: Crown Agents 09 Expertise for Cross-Border Risk Management and Control: 10GreenLine Systems

2

Contents

3

Facilitating international trade is an important component of fostering development and stimulating economic growth for both the developing and developed worlds. World Trade Organization figures show how severely affected global trade flows were by the global recession, with a drop in trade volumes of 12.2% during 2009. However, by 2010 there was renewed vigor in international trade with total exports rising more than the previous year’s contractions.

How customs applications are enabling trade to flourish, fostering economic growth and expanding opportunities

As global trade becomes more complex and trade contributes more and more to a country’s economic growth rates, getting the right technology in place to ensure the safe, expedient and secure crossing of borders is a greater challenge than ever.

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in helping all trading partners – from government agencies to international organizations to multinational corporations to small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) – adapt to evolving customs demands and a more competitive global market.

Enabling a faster relay of information across borders and distances, technological advances like Cloud Computing allow all customs stakeholders – from producers to exporters, banks, insurance companies and government authorities – to access large databases and co-ordinate more easily.

The single window application, for instance, provides all parties with a single entry point for standardized information and documents, which significantly improves efficiency by allowing transactions to become paperless and simultaneous.

Percentage change in global merchandise exports

2009 2010

-12.2%

-15.3%

-7.8%

13.5%

11.5%

16.5%

Source: World Trade Organization

World

Developed economies

Developing economies and CIS

www.microsoft.com

Cloud Power4

How Cloud Computing is enabling the next generation of customs solutions and scaling the benefits of technology to unlock global trading efficiencies

With our technology partners, Microsoft is committed to developing innovative solutions that facilitate trade and align to the public and private sector needs of a much changed global environment. With e-Customs advances like single window applications, which enable simpler transactions for trading partners, and the increased use of Cloud Computing, countries around the world are finding innovative ways to overcome some of their most pressing challenges in cross-border trade.

Cloud Computing in particular offers a unique opportunity to bring customs organizations and businesses a big step closer to achieving truly integrated and seamless digital customs and trade facilitation. Organizations can publish large amounts of related data quickly and inexpensively without having to invest in additional server infrastructure.

In customs applications, like single border posts, single window and other cross border data exchange, Cloud Computing helps solve issues of sharing “transactional data” between agencies or countries. Since organizations can scale up or down their IT infrastructure according to their business needs, they can increase how quickly they can respond to changes in their business environment and how effectively they can manage resources. In today’s post-economic

downturn, the added benefit of improving IT infrastructure while minimizing overhead is very compelling for many trade technology professionals and organizations.

Microsoft sees the Cloud as the future of customs IT hosting, with a significant impact on customs solutions. We have been working with partners in the public and private sectors, including international organizations and government agencies, to develop innovative cloud-based e-Customs solutions.

The huge economic, social and environmental impact of cloud technology, and its ability to revolutionize the way we think about IT, is now revolutionizing the way that customs technology is used by SMEs, large corporations and government agencies.

“ Through the implementation of innovative customs technology, organizations and countries alike are making significant gains in facilitating access to international trade markets, realizing economic growth and expanded opportunities. Through the power of technological advances like Cloud Computing, we’re now seeing the next stage in how technology can bring even more efficiencies and benefits to the entire trade process.” Frank McCosker, Managing Director, Microsoft Global Strategic Accounts

www.microsoft.com

Increasing Trade Efficiency and Transparency:

BIM

About BIM’s TechnologyIn 2005, BIM began research on the Guichet Unique Maritime (GUMAR) Single Window application, and in 2009 the development of the project began. Based on Microsoft technology, including Microsoft SharePoint Server and Microsoft BizTalk Server, the single window solution significantly improves efficiency by allowing transactions to become paperless and simultaneous.

Every participant in the trading process, from buyer to receiver to forwarder to maritime actor, is able to access the GUMAR Single Window application and work in parallel, speeding up the process enormously. The solution provides a single entry point for standardized information and documents, which all parties involved

in trade and transport can access and therefore fulfill all import, export, and transit related regulatory requirements.

Users can access the GUMAR Single Window application in a public single window office, on their own PC or on their company’s computer running the application securely through the interface system. For convenience, users are notified by SMS when their files have been sent and received.

With the success of the GUMAR Single Window application, BIM is working to expand the solution to other countries, helping bring the benefits of trade facilitation and single windows to more partners in the developing world.

Belgian-based, Microsoft partner, Bureau International Maritime (BIM) creates tailor-made solutions for the public and private sector using new technologies in the areas of training, certification, security, cargo tracking and single window.

With several training centers located in Belgium, France and Congo, and an international network of partners across Europe, Asia, America and Africa, BIM benefits from localized expertise.

BIM has been active in Africa for 16 years, working directly in over 10 countries including Congo, Gabon, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Togo and Benin.

BIM has been active in Africa for 16 years, working directly in over 10 countries.

10countries

Over

5www.bimv.com

5-7days

Average time required for one container to gain clearance in Congo with GUMAR, reduced from 15-17 days before.

Enabling Trade Automation:

SOGET

About SOGET’s TechnologyMaritime transport is the prominent mode of trade between European Union (EU) and non-EU member countries. As a result, EU ports and government administrations are under constant pressure to increase the efficiency and quality of their services.

The EU’s 27 member states represent a diverse and fragmented network of trade stakeholders, ranging from ship owners, shipping agents, and freight forwarders, to port authorities and terminal operators, further complicated by required adherence to both national and EU-level trade policies and regulations. Companies and government authorities have traditionally faced challenges in providing the technology needed to ensure interoperability, standardization and availability of information between trade stakeholders.

Based on Microsoft technology, SOGET launched the e-Maritime project in June 2010, as the next generation of Port single window solutions to address the needs of sea and airport communities and authorities, together with customs authorities. With this solution, Microsoft and SOGET’s strategic partnership is providing the building blocks of e-maritime transactions and processes. SOGET has chosen Microsoft technologies, Microsoft BizTalk, Microsoft SQL Server and Windows Server and its HyperV feature, to develop open, integrated and innovative solutions.

The e-Maritime Port Single Window (PSW) improves the efficiency of business processes, by standardizing exchanges and providing interoperability with European and international port and government single window systems. The e-Maritime Port Single Window project is currently under development.

Headquartered in Le Havre, France, SOGET is a public-private partnership between the port community of Le Havre, Le Havre Port Authority and the French Customs.

SOGET is the leading Port Community System (PCS) operator in France, and its PCS is in operation worldwide, serving over fifteen ports in France, French overseas territories and Africa.

SOGET also partners with BUREAU VERITAS, a world leader in conformity assessment and certification services, to offer a concession service to implement and operate Port Community Systems.

transactions are processed by the Port Community System per day.150,000

6 mins 19 secs

Using the Port Community System, it takes 6 minutes and 19 seconds on average to gain customs clearance of goods.

Photography Frédéric Malandain, SOGET.

6 www.sogetccs.com

Facilitating Trade Competitiveness and Compliance:

Tradefacilitate

About Tradefacilitate’s TechnologyBWG Foods, parent company of SPAR Ireland, has been using Tradefacilitate’s application since June 2010 to provide an efficient system for processing alcohol orders with their suppliers from around the world. As one of Ireland’s largest retail food store chains, SPAR Ireland imported 200 shipments of alcohol in 2010, 150 of them from within the EU. Using Tradefacilitate’s services has enabled SPAR Ireland to be compliant to EU legislation at the same time reducing clearance time and costs.

SPAR Ireland has benefitted from the online service due to its accessibility and ease of use. The company can communicate with their suppliers easily, exchanging orders and invoices in a standard format. Freight forwarders can then be notified through the system using the same information. SPAR Ireland can also use the solution to monitor the status of orders at all times, and to save their data electronically. An extra benefit is immediate price matching with the supplier ’s, eliminating potentially costly discrepancies.

Established in 2006, Irish-based Tradefacilitate provides an online service which helps importers and exporters in the EU and across the world to reduce costs associated with traditional, inefficient, paper-based trade transactions, and become compliant with new EU customs regulations. In order to support the growing number of importers and exporters, especially SMEs, who are required to exchange paper-free data in advance, Tradefacilitate has scaled its web-based solution by moving the application to a Cloud Computing-services model based on the Windows Azure Platform, hosted by Microsoft data centers.

Based on global UN CEFACT interoperability standards and WCO recommendations, Tradefacilitate provides an online collaborative workflow to a global industry to expedite trade data in advance, as part of the customs clearance process. Their solutions

seamlessly interface with each other and the relevant EU and national customs authorities in the processing of all requirements of trade within the EU and cross-border trade compliance.

Moving the Tradefacilitate core application to the Windows Azure platform has brought many benefits. Rather than purchasing and managing additional servers, scaling to meet new demands simply requires adding more web and worker roles. By using Microsoft Azure as their chosen platform, Tradefacilitate is able to guarantee that EU requirements on data protection and privacy are met while increasing their capacity.

By facilitating compliance with incoming EU customs requirements, Tradefacilitate’s services aim to promote the competitiveness of the EU’s cross-border traders.

From January 1, 2011, new EU legislation has come into effect requiring that EU traders provide quality trade data to EU customs authorities in advance of clearance, to ensure that approval to load is secured before goods are sent to or from EU member states.

7www.tradefacilitate.com

40% Of the 4,000,000 EU cross border traders are SMEs.Source: Eurostat

43%Of all USA exports are supplied by the SME sector. Source: Nathan Associates Inc; “Holistic Modernization of the International Trade Transaction Process”

Promoting e-Trade Facilitation and Security:

GAINDE 2000

About GAINDE 2000’s TechnologyGAINDE 2000 developed an electronic single window solution called ORBUS to facilitate the preclearance formalities along the customs clearance process. Originally based on Microsoft technology, this first version of ORBUS shortens the time spent on the processing of requests for permits and certificates during an import or export operation, and is currently a mandatory system for many Senegalese organizations.

Early in 2008, Senegal established a new legal framework to support a paperless customs system, after a broad consultation with the country’s trade stakeholders. The following year, GAINDE 2000 embarked on a landmark project aimed at eliminating paperwork entirely from the customs clearance chain.

This entailed interconnecting the Single Window with customs and payment systems, and setting up a portal

that would allow for the sharing of required Cargo Manifest information and e-documents. All the automated systems used in the process are interconnected to facilitate seamless procedures that stakeholders and users can perform from their offices or homes.

Thanks to ORBUS’ interoperability with partner platforms in Asia and Europe, Senegalese traders are able to exchange e-documents internationally – linking the country’s import and export community to important markets overseas.

In addition, GAINDE 2000 developed new applications and modules to accommodate electronically signed documents by embedding an electronic signing tool in the platform. The documents are then stored in archives through an e-archiving module designed to meet legal requirements.

Initially created in 2002 to provide assistance to Senegalese Customs, GAINDE 2000 has built a solid base of experience in technology solutions designed to improve trade and transport efficiency. Its solutions have now gone beyond Senegal’s borders, helping to tackle the complexity of clearance processes and the local needs of customs administrations.

As a pioneer in the integration of trade facilitation solutions, GAINDE 2000 is currently engaged in the transformation of Senegalese customs processes to a complete paperless trading system for import and export. Using expertise developed in a range of areas such as customs automation, local and cross border paperless trade, single windows and E-payment systems, GAINDE is also very active in international projects related to cross border paperless trade.

Thanks to GAINDE technology and expertise, Senegal and other African countries have significantly improved the trade environment by using a range of solutions specially adapted to developing countries with a high scalability of customization. GAINDE has also conducted expertise missions to Asia and Africa.

95%95% of foreign trade procedures covered by Single Window.

70%Reduction in procedures time.

8 www.gainde2000.sn

50%Time reduction of permit processing in first year of trips™ Single Window implementation.

50Over

Countries

Crown Agents supports customs and revenue administrations across, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and South America.

Facilitating Trade Development:

Crown Agents

About Crown Agents’ TechnologyCrown Agents’ trips™ Single Window solution, based on Microsoft technology, provides an integrated IT workspace that interconnects the systems of trade and transport organizations. The seamless electronic processing of data allows for an expedient, transparent, predictable, and secure service for all stakeholders involved in a trade transaction.

Crown Agents is now partnering with Microsoft to create a Foreign Trade Single Window (FTSW) in order to help a Central Asian country gain a competitive advantage in international and local trade and facilitate the integration of the country into the world economy.

The FTSW simplifies the preparation and delivery of documents and applications required through a single point for submission. Individual data elements need to be submitted only once, providing a paperless, cost-effective and more efficient process. The solution uses official digital signature algorithms to certify the authority of electronic documents, retrieve information and

integrate with the Customs Unified Information System, jointly developed by Crown Agents, to allow automated customs clearance at the border.

Crown Agents’ FTSW leverages a Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform to manage and centralize the data relating to trades and participants, manage the workflow of trade-related data between agencies and perform day-to-day operations using the web-based interface via either a VPN network or Claims based/Federated identity. Additionally, Microsoft SharePoint Server technology is the engine for the FTSW public website and for the creation and maintenance of the Internet-facing Portal and its content.

By introducing more transparency and greater predictability, the FTSW creates an information technology environment that will facilitate trade and enable the government to improve the delivery of services to the private sector in the country, further integrating the country in the global trading system.

Crown Agents’ customs and trade facilitation consultancy works in partnership with public administrations to deliver workable, practical solutions to improve effective regulatory intervention while encouraging legitimate trade to flourish.

Crown Agents works alongside customs administrations to redesign and automate their processes and procedures to open transparent channels of access to accurate information, enhance interfacing and integration of trade related parties and offer all the benefits of national and regional single windows.

Crown Agents is an international development company and a recognized leader in the provision of technical expertise, advice and training to support public sector modernization. Crown Agents’ technology promotes improved trade flows by supporting trade and customs authorities’ mandates to facilitate development and growth through increased inward investment and international trade.

9www.crownagents.com

Expertise for Cross-Border Risk Management and Control:

GreenLine Systems

About GreenLine Systems’ Technology GreenLine Systems has developed flexible, scalable, and unified solutions, based on Microsoft technology including BizTalk, SQL Server and .net/C#, for customers such as US Customs and Border Protection, Canada Border Services Agency, Barbados Customs and Excise, the Netherlands Ministry of Defense and United States Navy.

As an example, a solution was needed to support a new effort unifying multiple sources of business to business trade information into shipment lifecycles, and in developing and evaluating new methods to identify trusted or suspect goods and conveyances. Within 6 months, the customer had access to a range of tools compiling disparate sources of information to provide integrated analysis and risk management. GreenLine Systems’

Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) applications were used to integrate and process diverse data streams into a unified view of trust, risk, and operational details.

GreenLine System’s Data Pipeline™ linked disparate transactional documents and reference databases into complete and integrated shipment lifecycles, synchronizing data to provide a coherent and accurate description of each conveyance and its cargo. GreenLine System’s Analysis Workbench™ provided a flexible environment to apply various risk analytics in combination to rapidly develop and model new combinations of data, analysis and outcomes. Finally, GreenLine System’s Command Center™ provided the user with visualization, workflow, and collaboration tools. A customizable portal presented the operational context and risk analysis for each piece of cargo.

Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, GreenLine Systems is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner with offices in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Their solutions help government agencies to assess and manage risks to safety, security, economy and trade associated with the movement of goods and people.

To assist customs administrations balance their twin goals of facilitation and security, GreenLine Systems has developed a suite of applications which are specifically designed to address the unique needs of Customs and partner

agencies such as Agriculture, Immigration and Environmental Protection. These applications rapidly process large volumes of information while highlighting suspect shipments, individuals and activities for further inspection or analysis.

9,000 In 2009 on average, container ships made more than 9,000 port calls, and vehicle vessels just over 1,000 port calls per week.

The average ship made 2.1 port calls per week.2.1

a weekSource: World Shipping Council

10 www.greenlinesystems.com

“ With global trade rebounding, and the increasing complexity of policies and security, Microsoft and its partners are committed to applying the next generation of technology, especially Cloud Computing, to enable enhanced and efficient customs and trade transactions.” Frank McCosker, Managing Director, Microsoft Global Strategic Accounts

11

© 2011 Microsoft Corporation.

Microsoft and the Microsoft logo is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

For more information:

For more information:

www.bimv.com

www.sogetccs.com

www.tradefacilitate.com

www.gainde2000.sn

www.crownagents.com

www.greenlinesystems.com

www.microsoft.com