United Nations Public Service Awards Case Studies

Dubai is the fastest growing city of the United Arab Emirates with a population of about 1.4 million. It is a dynamic and rapidly expanding destination city located at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, with major ports and airports receiving more than 50 million visitors annually. With its fast growing population dominated by professionals from different nationalities, the city is experiencing an unprecedented development boom.

Dubai Customs is one of the Dubai Government Departments responsible for ensuring that the economy of Dubai is protected against fraudulent and dangerous goods (socially and commercially) by streamlining trade and goods clearance process. Dubai Customs is also responsible for collecting revenue, tracking and trending trade data to other Government Departments, Federal Agencies and Ministries on behalf of Dubai Government. Dubai Customs established for itself the vision of being the worlds leading Customs Administration. To achieve this vision, Customs implemented a number of initiatives that allowed it to replicate the philosophies, business practices and service delivery capabilities of those Customs administrations who were perceived to be the world leaders, and then, introduced other philosophies, business practices and service delivery capabilities that will make it unique amongst Customs Administrations.

In 2002 the World Customs Organization (WCO) identified a number of gaps in Dubai Customs’ organizational structure, business practices and human resource capability in a report titled “Dubai Customs Department, Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Report on Assessment and Gap Analysis Project”. The report summarized there was a lack of harmonized border process with those of internationally community and the technology was not able to cope with the expected growth in trade and does not have the flexibility or the tools to adapt to the future. It was also expected at that time the number of transaction will grow from 2.7 millions in 2005 to 10 millions in 2010 and it would become virtually impossible to streamline goods clearance process manually. In order to meet the future challenges and further improve service delivery revamp of the declaration processing was recommended, which resulted in the initiation of eDeclaration Project.

Before the initiative was launched the systems were not agile to address ongoing changes in the international Customs’ legislation and it was taking a long time to implement changes. It was not easy to exchange data and information with other governments and authorities to share intelligence information. The cycle time for a typical clearance was taking approximately 14 days resulting in dissatisfaction among customers and slowing down the revenue collection process.

Dubai Customs initiated the eCustoms Declaration Processing Project in 2006 with an aim to transform the way people do work, the way process are defined and technology is used to ensure compliance with international standards. This resulted in positively affecting not only the individuals and businesses but also the whole society with an introduction of a balance between trade and compliance.

What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Once the project was realized in 2007 it harmonized the processes and procedures with the international practices by reducing cost of business of complying with Customs requirements. From customer point of view it not only simplified the process but also reduced the cycle time for declarations. The customers can submit a declaration online without visiting the Customs office and depending on the nature of declaration the goods can be cleared instantly. This helped reducing cost per transaction for both customers and the Customs. It resulted in best service delivery to the customer without compromising border security and integrity. The initiative also helped in more intelligent use of information ensuring there are validation, processing and storage of data and identification of risk consignments. It recognizes all cargo and goods entering and leaving Dubai and reconciles those goods with shipping documentation and goods declarations made. Now, the information can also be shared with the other Government agencies and international organizations such WCO and WTO, which could result in better border protection and societies. The initiative also resulted in introducing new model which is based on Human Resources predicting the short and medium term need for the right type of staff and the proactive strategies to put the staff in place at the appropriate time. The implementation of the initiative also helped realizing the right revenue return through having an efficient declaration processing system and ensuring that refunds and deposit claims are appropriate. The system allows traders to declare goods in an electronic format, but also allows for the exceptional cases that do not have the facilities to make the declaration on their own behalf. With the help of pre-defined data structure and WCO guidelines trade data can be used for more advanced statistical analysis to planning and forecasting. In order to measure the impact of initiative the Balanced Scorecard approach was adopted, which is also aligned with the overall approach of Dubai Customs. The trade data, statistics and information related to online and over-the-counter transactions was collected and compared to determine adoption of the new initiative and determine cost savings for the customers.

Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
As pointed earlier, in 2002 the World Customs Organization (WCO) identified a number of gaps in Dubai Customs’ organizational structure, business practices and human resource capability in a report titled “Dubai Customs Department, Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Report on Assessment and Gap Analysis Project”. The recommendations from this report were the main driver behind reforming and modernizing the Declaration Process. The proposed solution had the sponsorship from the Director General of Dubai Customs and all the Executive Directors. At the time of initiation of the initiative public consultation process was started to seek public opinion about Dubai Customs. A customer survey was conducted as proposed in the WCO 2002 Gap Analysis Report. This survey helped Dubai Customs in determining the expectations of the traders, businesses and individuals from Dubai Customs and how Dubai Customs could delivery of services more effective and efficient for them. In order to realize the Reform & Modernization a new Customs Development Division was created under the stewardship of an Executive Director and program team was establish with subject matter experts from within Dubai Customs and outside. All the development and implementation was done in-house with help from various internationally known vendors. Throughout the life of the project partners from the other Government Departments and public sector organizations were involved. The Government of Dubai was the major stakeholder along with Dubai Customs. The Dubai Trade, Dubai World, Government Departments, traders, importers, exporters, freight companies, individuals and society at large were the stakeholders. The successful implementation of the project not only eased the lives of individuals and business interacting with Dubai Customs but also protected society from illegal goods and helped Government collecting revenue.

Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
a. What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The initiation, development, implementation and adoption of the eDeclaration Process was part a larger strategic initiative, which meant to reform and modernize the whole organization in line with the recommendations proposed by WCO in 2002 in the report titled “Dubai Customs Department, Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Report on Assessment and Gap Analysis Project”. Some of the major objects of the eDeclaration Process include the following:  To establish & implement a 24/7 paperless import declaration processing system;  To develop a Business Process and capability for processing exports, that will encourage traders to Dubai and will suit the stakeholder’s interests while maintaining compliance requirements;  To implement the capability and process to deliver Dubai Customs need for tariff services, recognizing Dubai Customs commitment to Federal Customs Authority (FCA) and GCC;  To ensure compliance with Dubai, GCC and WCO requirements through the correct application of valuation;  To put in place a refund scheme that is effective in processing claims and in ensuring compliance with Customs requirements;  Create and maintain a unified registration process for registering and managing client data within Customs;  To ensure the best possible level of compliance with Custom’s requirements by entities importing and exporting goods through the post;  To ensure the best possible level of compliance with Custom’s requirements by entities importing and exporting goods through express freight;  To put in place a comprehensive, integrated process for managing passengers, specifically their compliance with Custom’s requirements;  Establish the capability and process to ensure correct application of rules of origin within UAE (Dubai);  Determine the need of Dubai Customs for analysis services taking into account the interests of other authorities in this field. The above mentioned objectives of the eDeclaration Process were established on the basis of WCO report, feedback from the stakeholders and executives from the Dubai Government and Dubai Customs.

b. What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
The recommendations in the report from WCO titled “Dubai Customs Department, Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Report on Assessment and Gap Analysis Project” were the driving force behind the initiation of this project. The recommendations from WCO provided the input to capture requirements from the customers and stakeholders which led to the development of project vision, mission and scope statement. As mentioned earlier, a new Customs Development Division was formed to undertake the initiative. A phased approach was adopted to realize the entire capability of the initiative and the implementation took place in the form different modules. The modules included import processing, export processing, tariff project, valuation, claims & refunds, client data, postal entry processing, express freight entry processing, passenger processing & control, transit & transshipments, origin project and laboratories and analysis. Different models were phased according to priority and their strategic importance. Once different modules were identified As-Is analysis was conducted to identify the areas of improvement. For the analysis phase enterprise architecture approach was adopted and tools were implemented to capture As-Is and model To-Be for different processes. In order to reap the benefits of new technologies the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) approach was adopted to ensure that all the developments are coherent, streamlined and reusable. This resulted in realizing the cost saving and delivery of agile solution. The Build 1 was release in July 2007 and a plan to have a Release 2 in November 2007. The intelligence and case management modules were planned fro February 2008. The ePermit and ePay components were integrated in the third quarter of 2008. Once the system was delivered the users were given organized training through structured training sessions. The training sessions helped in increasing the uptake of the service and resulted in meeting Dubai Customs targets.

c. What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
As it happens with any reform and modernization initiative Dubai Customs faced a number of obstacles during all stages of the project life cycle. One of the major obstacles Dubai Customs faced was resistance form the on-site inspectors and agents. They were reluctant of moving to a new system because their authority was being challenged by an automated solution. The availability of qualified and quality resources was also an issue because this nature of initiative was undertaken first time in the region. Once the system was implemented the biggest challenge was to ensure that system is used efficiently and effectively by Dubai Customs staff and customers. For the customers it was also a major shift because they had to change the way they were interacting with the Customs. In order to overcome the obstacles Dubai Customs ensured that all the employees are aware of the initiative and they were taken in confidence by the senior management. At the time of implementation it was ensured that human resources were trained accordingly as per the requirements of initiative. For the customers customized training sessions were organized to ensure that all their concerns and questions are answered. This helped Dubai Customs in achieving a high rate of adoption.

d. What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
In terms of the project cost, approximately 20 million UAE Dirham ($5.5 Million) were spent on hardware and approximately 17 million UAE Dirham ($4.6 Million) were spent on implementation, services and human resource. In order to ensure that all the resources are mobilized according to the plan and the project is on track a Reform & Modernization Program (RMP) Steering Committee headed by the Director General of Dubai Customs was formed to meet on monthly basis to review program progress and address important issues. The committee had the role of overall accountability, program progress monitoring and direction setting. The RMP Program Review Board was established for communication & control and to deal with risk & issue management issues on bi-weekly basis.

Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
The overall purpose of the modernized system was to make it agile and transferable. The system was built on the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and can be replicated in any environment. Since the overall solution was built on modular basis Dubai Customs has already offered some of its services to the other Emirates in the United Arab Emirates and some other countries. The business rules and processes are compliant with WCO standards and contain regulatory sustainability as well.

What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
It is always a challenge to make a project of this magnitude a success. Dubai Customs team worked effortlessly to make this project a reality. The following are some of the reasons why this project was a success in terms of cost saving and adoption:  The initiation of the project was based on solid foundations, which were identified by WCO report;  The project had the sponsorship at the highest level in the organization;  Dubai Customs involved all the stakeholders from the beginning and seek their input and discovered their expectations;  The end customers were involved in the whole process through consultation sessions;  Phased approach was adopted to realize each component of the project;  In-house capabilities were developed to deliver the project successfully;  The Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) adopted to deliver the project successfully;  For each phase Proof of Concept were developed to gauge the effectiveness of the project component;  The whole implementation was dealt as a change management process and all the stakeholders were prepared for change;  The solution was rolled in phases from the most trusted clients to general customers;  Appropriate training programs were developed and delivered.


Institution Name:		Dubai Customs
Institution Type:		Government Department
Contact Person:		Fadi Hindi
Title:		Director, Strategy & Enterprise Architecture
Telephone/ Fax:
Institution's / Project's Website:
E-mail:		fadi.hindi@dubaicustoms.ae
Address:
Postal Code:
City:		Dubai
State/Province:
Country:		United Arab Emirates

The Problem

Solution and Key Benefits

Actors and Stakeholders

(a) Strategies

(b) Implementation

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

(d) Use of Resources

Sustainability and Transferability

Lessons Learned

Contact Information