| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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The complexity of the SaudiEDI project called for a structured approach in delivering systems and processes that met local needs, while adhering to international standards and practices. Besides industry players, the Ports Authority, Customs Department, Coastal Guards, Statistics Department, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, and banks were engaged to participate in discussions, with the objective of providing a Single Electronic Window for trade.
Drawing on its experience in implementing nationwide projects, CrimsonLogic embarked on building the trading platform. CrimsonLogic has identified import declaration and manifest submission as core services to be offered in the first phase, which was subsequently expanded to a full range of services required to modernize the trade process. The need for high availability and the ability to manage high transactional volume was met by building thin client Java-based applications delivered on an optimized UNIX environment.
To ensure adoption of services, seminars tailored to the various needs of shipping agents, customs brokers, port contractors were held in big cities like Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh. Also, small villages around borders like Alkhadra and Altwaal were involved in holding workshops and preparation sessions
When the 24 ports become operational, the solution has handled more than 95% of the total trade transaction volumes in the Kingdom.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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Key stakeholders or beneficiaries of the SaudiEDI project include Government sector
stakeholders like Saudi Customs Department (Strategic partner), Ports Authority,
Department of Zakat and Income Tax (DZIT), Costal Guards, Statistics Dept, to name a few.
Private sector stakeholders include Shipping Agents, Customs Brokers, Port
Contractors, Train Operators, Private Labs, Express Mail Companies, and Traders.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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The project is fully funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), under the ambit of the Ministry of Finance.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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1-Decreasing the time needed to process requests for Saudi Customs by automating all the processes electronically.
2- Cutting costs that related to paperwork between Traders and Saudi Customs.
3- Increasing the Kingdom’s international trade as result to the easiness of dealing with government agencies using SaudiEDI. Also, decrease the kingdom’s unemployment rate by hiring IT professionals.
4- Eliminating human-errors and increases public security as result to the automation of requests and validations.
5- Saving the environment by eliminating the use of natural and fossil resources, which were used for exchanging paperwork using transportations before deploying SaudiEDI.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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Project committee has deployed a long-run strategy and goals wrapped by standards and codes to ensure the achievement of the project objectives. The project committee hired both business and technical consulting firms to monitor and evaluate the process of implementing the project. The contracted consulting firms are working side by side with the implementation team to ensure the project principles are being complied as planned. Also, both consultants and project leaders are liable to submit reports about the project status on weekly and monthly basis to the committee.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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One of the big challenges was the initial skepticism among businesses over the government’s capability to implement and sustain an efficient IT infrastructure and processes. The lack of faith was primarily rooted in the population’s low IT appreciation and lack of large-scale G2B eGovernment initiatives from way back in 2001. To overcome these challenges, SaudiEDI team held conferences and workshops with cooperation from government IT officials to identify the capabilities of the government IT infrastructures for both investors and public community.
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