The Information Manager of Electronic Data Interchange of the Dutch Customs, Mr Lup van de Bunt said: "After overcoming a stage of fear on both our end and that of the companies involved, Logius' Digipoort was smoothly implemented. All parties now acknowledge that its use means lower costs and less administrative burdens for both government authorities and businesses."
When companies import and export products (including transit goods), they must provide data to many government authorities. "Digipoort ensures that they can do this easily," said Mr van de Bunt, who was involved in the implementation of Digipoort at the Dutch Customs.
"Companies need to submit only once via Digipoort the information aimed at multiple government authorities. This 'digital post office' ensures that the messages are delivered to the right location. Previously, each government authority had to have its own digital post office and use its own technical capabilities for the data to be delivered. With Digipoort, this is standardised. This saves costs for both businesses and authorities as they do not need to rely on expensive private ports anymore. Ms Teuniseen, the former Director-General of the Tax and Customs Administration had such advantages in mind. Thanks to her, the Tax and Customs Administration decided to support the implementation of Digipoort."
Logius and the Customs started to implement Digipoort in 2004. At the time 40 companies wished to participate in the pilot. Jacques de Wit, account manager at Logius said: "It took us one year to find these 40 early adopters. (...) Companies feared that this would disrupt their logistic processes. At the same they saw the financial advantage of working with Digipoort and that it would save them costs. The Customs then switched to Digipoort. "Now there are around 700 participating companies."
The Customs were not very confident initially, Mr van de Bunt said. "The import of goods is a complex logistical process where continuity is very important. If the digital port is not working, the entire logistics chain will be affected, and this will be reflected in cost escalation. An example is that a cargo of eight thousand containers that cannot be unloaded at a harbour while there are trucks waiting to transport the goods further. To avoid such situations, the technology used must work perfectly," he added. Fortunately, the migration to Digipoort went very smooth. "Logius saw to it that everything kept running during the implementation. It assured seamless continuity. In case something went wrong, we would switch immediately to the old system in order to avoid putting the logistics process in danger."
According to Mr van de Bunt, the successful migration to Digipoort resulted in large part from good cooperation. "Logius explained every step they took, why they took it, and communication was very good. And we sill have a very good relationship. Moreover, Logius' management worked perfectly. Logius supported many companies in order to ensure that they would work with Digipoort. This led to fast and reliable communications between companies and government authorities.
Background information
Digipoort is the government's 'electronic post office' for businesses. It provides the communication infrastructure for the exchange of digital information between companies and government authorities. It is particularly useful if a business has to provide data on a regular basis. Digipoort ensures that government organisations are able to receive information, which is then verified if required, and that any information that is sent by the same organisations is delivered to the correct business.
Further information:
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Quelle/Source: epractice, 18.04.2012
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