BP GUIDE FOR SIMPLIFYING TRADE PROCESS

The secretariat of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and thePacific (ESCAP) is the regional development arm of the United Nations andserves as the main economic and social development centre for the UnitedNations in Asia and the Pacific. Its mandate is to foster cooperation betweenits 53 members and 9 associate members. It provides the strategic linkbetween global and country-level programmes and issues. It supportsGovernments of countries in the region in consolidating regional positions andadvocates regional approaches to meeting the region’s unique socio-eco-nomic challenges in a globalizing world. The ESCAP secretariat is locatedin Bangkok, Thailand. Please visit the ESCAP website at www.unescap.orgfor further information.

The shaded areas of the map indicate ESCAP members and associate members.

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Business Process Analysis Guideto Simplify Trade Procedures

UNITED NATIONS NETWORK OF EXPERTS FOR PAPERLESS TRADEIN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE

ii

Business Process Analysis Guideto Simplify Trade Procedures

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply theexpression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning thelegal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of itsfrontiers or boundaries. This document has not been formally edited.

United Nations publicationSales No. E.09.II.F.21Copyright © United Nations 2009All rights reservedManufactured in ThailandISBN: 978-92-1-120588-6ST/ESCAP/2558

iii

FOREWORD

Today’s international supply chains face an increasingly competitive environment, with new productsafety regulations, and intense border security concerns. The need for traders to comply with allprocedural, regulatory, and documentary requirements rapidly, accurately and cheaply has becomeextremely important in order to remain competitive.

To improve the efficiency and effectiveness of processes and information flows throughout thesupply chain, it is crucial that the existing “as-is” conditions are well understood, prior toimplementing trade facilitation reforms. Adapted from the business process modeling techniquesthat have been originally applied in the automation of mechanistic business processes, thisBusiness Process Analysis Guide to Simplify Trade Procedures (BPA Guide) aims to provide asimple methodology to document the “as-is” business processes in international trade transactions.The BPA Guide also shares valuable country experiences and lessons learned in this area.Insights about existing processes and procedures in trade would provide senior governmentofficials with crucial information on where improvements are necessary.

It is our hope that this BPA Guide will serve government officials as an instrument that facilitatesthe identification of bottlenecks in trade processes and procedures, the prioritization of areas forimprovement, and the design of strategies to eliminate these bottlenecks. Ultimately, businessprocess analysis can bring about greater transparency, improved efficiency, and greater capacity toinnovate, which are in turn the keys to remaining competitive in today’s international markets.

Ravi RatnayakeDirectorTrade and Investment DivisionUN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This publication was prepared under the guidance of Ravi Ratnayake, Director, Trade andInvestment, and the coordination by Shamika Sirimanne, Chief, Trade Facilitation Section, by ateam consisting of Maria Misovicova, Peng Bin of ESCAP, Markus Pikart of UNECE and SomnukKeretho and Thayanan Phuaphanthong from the Institute for Information Technology Innovation,Kasetsart University. Substantive inputs were provided by Nikolaus Sahling (consultant). Valuablecontributions were received from Yann Duval, Sang Won Lim (ESCAP) and Tom Butterly(UNECE). The external editing was provided by Dorothy Van Schooneveld.

The Business Process Analysis Guide to Simplify Trade Procedures (BPA Guide) was developedas part of the joint technical assistance project by ESCAP and UNECE and under the auspices ofthe United Nations Network of Experts for Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (UN NExT).The project aims to raise the capacity and accelerate the adoption of the above-mentioned tradefacilitation measures, especially in countries where those measures are not yet commonlyimplemented.

v

PREFACE

Moving goods across borders requires meeting a vast number of commercial, transport andregulatory requirements. Inefficiencies in complying with these requirements often create unneces-sary delays and costs. At present, a source of tremendous inefficiencies is associated with thepreparation of transport and regulatory documents, unclear border procedures, and overzealouscargo inspection.

A Single Window (see Glossary) is one of the trade facilitation measures that has increasinglygained momentum, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, as it serves as the foundation forpaperless trading. Once it is fully operational, the complexity as well as unnecessary delays andcosts in administering cross-border movement of goods are expected to be significantly lessened.

To ensure that the Single Window facility responds to stakeholders’ needs in different stages ofthe international supply chain, it is important that its design reflects the business processes in use.Given that the existing business processes may entail redundant activities and complexities thatcreate procedural inefficiencies and bottlenecks, it is essential to harmonize and simplify theexisting business processes prior to adopting them as a basis for the design of the SingleWindow. The harmonization and simplification of business processes cannot be achieved withoutgood and in-depth understanding of existing practices.

The BPA Guide offers a simple methodology to elicit, document, and analyse the existing “as-is”business processes involved in international trade, as well as aid in developing recommendationsfor further improvement. It suggests a set of practical steps and activities, from setting the scopeof the business process analysis project; planning its implementation; collecting relevant data; andpresenting it in an easily understandable manner, to analysing the captured data in order toidentify bottlenecks and developing recommendations for improvement. This recommended set ofsteps and activities was generalized from the business process analysis exercise conducted inThailand in preparation for the development of Thailand’s Single Window e-Logistics, which is anational obligation under the ASEAN Single Window initiative. To make the BPA Guide practical,a case study on business process analysis of the export of jasmine rice in Thailand is provided inthe Annex.

The BPA Guide intends to serve practitioners and policymakers from government agencies or theprivate sector involved in:

• The harmonization and simplification of international trade procedures;• The harmonization of related data requirements with the international standard; and• The implementation of Single Window.

From the BPA Guide, practitioners will learn a step-by-step approach to business process analysisand development of recommendations for future improvement. Policymakers, on the other hand,will benefit from a better understanding of the linkage between business process analysis andtrade facilitation measures, including business process simplification, data harmonization, andSingle Window implementation. They will become acquainted with prerequisite steps that have tobe taken prior to the implementation of trade facilitation measures.

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vii

CONTENTS

Page

Foreword .................................................................................................................................... iii

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iv

Preface ....................................................................................................................................... v

Abbreviation ............................................................................................................................. xi

1. TRADE FACILITATION AND BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYSIS .................................. 1

1A Participants and their interests .............................................................................. 11B Business process analysis in the context of trade facilitation ............................ 2

2. INTRODUCTION TO THE BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYSIS ...................................... 5

2A Definition and scope............................................................................................... 52B Business process modeling methodology used in this Guide ............................ 52C UML graphical notations used in this Guide ........................................................ 62D Outputs of the business process analysis............................................................ 8

3. BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYSIS GUIDE TO SIMPLIFYTRADE PROCEDURES ..................................................................................................... 11

3A Introduction to phases, stakeholders and other related issues ........................... 113B Individual phases, steps and activities.................................................................. 15

Phase I: Scope setting ......................................................................................... 15Step 1: Define the project scope ............................................................. 15Step 2: Develop a work plan and secure resources ............................. 20

Phase II: Data collection and process documentation ...................................... 22Step 3: Acquire background information ................................................. 23Step 4: Conduct interviews and document captured data ..................... 23

Phase III: Process analysis and recommendations development ................... 30Step 5: Analyse the “as-is” processes and identify bottlenecks ............ 30Step 6: Develop and propose recommendations ................................... 34

4. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................... 37

5. GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................... 39

6. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................... 41

7. ANNEX: BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYSIS OF THE EXPORT OFJASMINE RICE IN THAILAND ......................................................................................... 43

viii

BOXES

Page

Box 1.1 The UN/CEFACT international supply chain model ........................................... 1

Box 3.1 Case study – define the project scope ............................................................... 16

Box 3.2 Case study – scope of analysis .......................................................................... 17

Box 3.3 Case study – visualize the project scope ........................................................... 18

Box 3.4 Case study – use cases of core business processesin frozen shrimp export ........................................................................................ 21

Box 3.5 Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) estimate ............................. 21

Box 3.6 Responsibilities and required skills of process analysts ................................... 22

Box 3.7 Examples of interview questions ......................................................................... 26

Box 3.8 Case study – activity diagram of “Have the product sampled andexamined” use case within the BPA of frozen shrimp export in Thailand ....... 28

Box 3.9 Integration of activity diagrams chart from the BPA of frozenshrimp export in Thailand .................................................................................... 29

Box 3.10 The time-procedure chart from the BPA of frozen shrimp export inThailand ................................................................................................................. 31

Box 3.11 UN/CEFACT Recommendation No.18: Facilitation Measures Relatedto International Trade Procedures ....................................................................... 32

ix

FIGURES

Page

Figure 1.1 Step-by-step approach to developing an electronic Single Windowand paperless trade environment ........................................................................ 3

Figure 2.1 The use of UML diagrams in the BPA Guide .................................................... 9

Figure 3.1 Key steps and stakeholders in business process analysis ............................... 11

Figure 3.2 Stakeholders involved in Step 1 .......................................................................... 15

Figure 3.3 Activities involved in Step 1 ................................................................................. 16











x

TABLES

Page

Table 2.1 Use Case Diagram notations .............................................................................. 7

Table 2.2 Activity Diagram notations.................................................................................... 7

Table 3.1 Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in BPA ............................................ 12

Table 3.2 Overview of BPA .................................................................................................. 13

xi

ABBREVIATION

ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations

ASYCUDA Automated System for Customs Data

ECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

ESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

ICT Information and Communication Technologies

PERT Project Evaluation and Review Technique

UML Unified Modeling Language

UN/CEFACT United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business

UN NExT United Nations Network of Experts for Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific

xii

1

1. TRADE FACILITATION AND BUSINESSPROCESS ANALYSIS

International trade transaction encompasses allactivities related to the establishment of com-mercial contracts (commercial procedures), thearrangement of inland and cross-border trans-portation of goods (transport procedures), theexport and import formalities to meet regula-tory requirements (regulatory procedures), andthe payment for purchased goods (financialprocedures). It requires cooperation betweenmany actors, including traders, governmentagencies and service providers from differentcountries.

1A PARTICIPANTS AND THEIRINTERESTS

According to their interests and needs, theactors of the international trade transaction canbe grouped into the following categories:

a) Government agenciesGovernment authorities such as ministries oftrade, finance/customs, transport, health, ag-riculture, information and communication

technology, veterinary, plant and quarantineagencies are responsible for devising tradefacilitation strategies, reform programmes,and laws and regulations to ensure thesmooth flow of goods and information in asecure environment. Customs authoritieshave a specialized role here, which tradition-ally was to control the entry and exit of goodsand to collect revenues. Later, this role wasextended to ensure border security and portadministration. Recently, the focus has beenshifted from enforcement to trade facilitationwith the use of pre-arrival clearances, theauthorized economic operator’s concept,green lanes and post-clearance audits, in-creasingly employing electronic trade datasubmission, processing and exchange aswell as information and communication tech-nologies (ICT)-enabled trade facilitation solu-tions, such as Single Window systems.These government agencies need enhancedtax collection, more precise foreign tradestatistics and better administration controls,which Single Window and paperless tradesystems can provide.

Box 1.1. The UN/CEFACT international supply chain model

UN/CEFACT Recommendation No. 18 illustrates a simplified view of the international supply chain in theBuy-Ship-Pay model (see the picture below). The model not only suggests “a series of fragmented activities”that are carried out throughout the international trade transaction, but also defines different types of actorsthat are associated with them. Key actors in the international supply chain are authorities, intermediaries,suppliers, and customers.

Authority

Intermediary

Supplier CustomerBUY SHIP PAY

Business Process Analysis Guide to Simplify Trade Procedures

2

b) IntermediariesIntermediaries are those who provide com-mercial, financial, and/or transport serviceswithin an international supply chain, such asfreight forwarders, customs brokers, third-party logistics service providers, carriers, ex-press integrators, port and terminal opera-tors, banks, insurance companies, and in-formation technology (IT) value-added ser-vice providers. They are normally from theprivate sector, which needs a swift ex-change of trade information and transparentregulatory environment in order to complywith the requirements of clients.

c) TradersGenerally, they are the source and the tar-get of the supply chain. They are principalsof the cargo and users of the servicesprovided by the intermediary. They not onlydepend on the services provided by servicesproviders, but also must meet the regulatoryrequirements of government agencies formoving goods across borders. At the sametime, they also participate in the implemen-tation of trade facilitation regulations andmeasures in collaboration with governmentagencies. Trading companies and businesscommunities need a transparent and pre-dictable trading environment, and solutionsthat cater to faster customs clearance, re-duced delays at the borders, lower tradetransaction costs, reduced corruption, andcheaper and more competitive exports.

1B BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYSISIN THE CONTEXT OF TRADEFACILITATION

To reduce the complexity of the internationaltrade transaction and thus costs related to it,UN/CEFACT recommends implementation ofthe following measures:1

• The simplification and harmonization oftrade procedures and, where possible,elimination of unnecessary ones;

• The simplification and coordination ofadministrative procedures at border cross-ings;

• The simplification of payment systems;

• The simplification, standardization andharmonization of documents required for atrade transaction;

• The facilitation of flow of information thatcontrols the movement of goods throughoutthe transaction (e.g. by applying informationand communication technology); and

• The enhancement of trust assessmentthrough a better exchange of information.

The successful implementation of tradefacilitation measures, however, requires notonly political and governmental support interms of policy directions as well as humanand financial resources, but also an in-depthunderstanding about existing businessprocesses.

According to UN/CEFACT’s step-by-step ap-proach toward a Single Window paperless en-vironment as shown in Figure 1.1, businessprocess analysis is recommended as the firststep to be taken before undertaking othertrade facilitation measures related to the sim-plification, harmonization, and automation oftrade procedures and documents.2

In order to improve the efficiency and effective-ness of processes and information flowsthroughout the international supply chain, it ishighly recommended that the “as-is” conditionsof relevant business processes are well under-stood prior to the selection of trade facilitationmeasures.

1 UNECE (2006b). Towards an Integrated Strategy forUN/CEFACT, Geneva.

2 UNECE (2006a). Background Paper for UN/CEFACTSymposium on Single Window Common Standardsand Interoperability, Geneva.

3

1. Trade Facilitation and Business Process Analysis

Figure 1.1. Step-by-step approach to developing an electronic SingleWindow and paperless trade environment

e-Single Window &paperless trading

Cross-border data harmonization& exchange

National data harmonization

Documents simplification and alignment

Process simplification and harmonization

Business Process Analysis


4

5

2A DEFINITION AND SCOPE

A business process is a sequence of stepsperformed for a given purpose. Based on thisgeneric definition, a business process consid-ered within the framework of trade facilitationcan be defined as:

A chain of logically connected activitiesto move goods and related information

across borders from buyer to sellerand to provide related services

Business processes are valuable organizationalassets. They enable the creation and deliveryof business values as defined by organiza-tional goals. Business processes are oftendriven by information. In the area of interna-tional supply chain, for example, the move-ment of cargo has to be escorted by corr-esponding cargo documents. It involves anaverage of 40 documents, 200 data elements(30 of which are repeated at least 30 times)and the re-keying of 60 to 70 per cent of dataat least once.3 Delay on document processingor lack of integrity in the information that flowsacross business processes has become afactor that holds back cargo movement. Onthe average, each additional day that a cargois delayed prior to being shipped reducestrade volume by at least 1 per cent and byapproximately 7 per cent if the products aretime-sensitive to time-insensitive agriculturalgoods.4

Because the underlying business process hasa significant impact on the performance of theoverall business, any process improvementachieved can enhance the competitivenessboth at the organizational and the nationallevel. Business process analysis is a study ofexisting business processes within one oracross several organizations, both in normaloperation and in exceptional situations. Its pri-mary goal is to understand attributes of busi-ness processes and relationships among them.The results of the business process analysismay serve as a baseline for implementingtrade facilitation measures such as:

• Simplification of trade procedures (includingcommercial, transport, regulatory and finan-cial procedures);

• Simplification of documentary requirementsand their alignment with international stan-dards; and

• Automation of international trade transac-tion and its associated electronic docu-ments for Single Window and paperlesstrade systems.

2B BUSINESS PROCESSMODELING METHODOLOGYUSED IN THIS GUIDE

Business process modeling is a technique fordocumenting business processes where eachelement of the business process is repre-sented by graphical notations. It can beachieved by a simple drawing with paper andpencil or a software tool. The resulting graphi-cal representation of a business process isknown as a business process model. Eachbusiness process model illustrates:

• Activities that come in a specific order anddecision points;

2. INTRODUCTION TO THE BUSINESSPROCESS ANALYSIS

3 APEC (1996). APEC means business: building pros-perity for our community. Report to the EconomicLeaders. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Secre-tariat, Singapore.

4 Djankov, S., Freund, C., and Pham, C. (2006). Trad-ing on Time, World Bank, Washington DC.


6

• Actors who perform those activities;

• Defined inputs and outputs of each activity;

• Criteria for entering and exiting the busi-ness process;

• How actors relate to one another;

• How information flows throughout the busi-ness process;

• Associated rules and regulations; and

• Quantitative indicators such as number ofsteps, as well as time and cost required tocomplete a particular business process.

The documentation of existing business pro-cesses in simple diagrams and brief descrip-tions helps create a common understanding onworking norms and operational proceduresamong relevant stakeholders. The stakeholdersof the business processes include practitionerswho deal with the documented business pro-cesses on a daily basis; experts who may bebrought in to assist with the initiation andimplementation of business process improve-ment programmes, and decision makers whomake informed decisions regarding the revisionof related regulations and procedures.

Business process models are increasinglyused in trade facilitation. For the purposes ofthis Guide, the business process model servesas a tool that facilitates:

• The analysis of activities, documents, andinformation flow in international trade pro-cedures;

• The identification and prioritization of prob-lematic areas that cause the delays inmoving goods from seller to buyer; and

• The design of improvement measures toaddress these problematic areas (e.g. sim-plifying processes and data, and eliminat-ing redundancies).

The Unified Modeling Language (UML)5 pro-vides a set of standard graphical notations forbusiness process modeling. UML is internation-ally accepted and widely used not only amongpractitioners in business communities but also

in information technology and software devel-opment. The consistency in modeling tech-niques produces results in a form that is easilyunderstood, analysed and validated. If the ulti-mate goal of the business process modelingand analysis is to automate the internationaltrade transaction and move to electronic tradedocuments exchangeable through the SingleWindow and paperless trade systems, the useof common standard graphical notations inbusiness process modeling is vital. This ismainly because the common standard graphi-cal notations allow business domain experts tocommunicate procedural and documentary re-quirements with technical experts who are des-ignated to put the systems in place.

2C UML GRAPHICAL NOTATIONSUSED IN THIS GUIDE

In business process analysis, the use casediagram serves as a project’s frame of refer-ence. Its purpose is to present a graphicaloverview of core business processes that aresubject to further examination at a greaterdepth. It indicates all stakeholders involved inthese business processes and demonstratesall actual associations between these businessprocesses and the stakeholders.

The activity diagram is an elaboration of eachbusiness process displayed in the use casediagram. It portrays a sequence of activitiesand information flows from one responsibleparty to another. It informs its audience notonly who is doing what in which order, butalso documentary inputs that serve as prereq-uisites to activities and documentary outputsthat can be obtained upon completion of activi-ties. A set of graphical notations for use caseand activity diagramming are provided with ex-planations of their meaning in Tables 2.1. and2.2. These notations are adopted from UML.

This BPA Guide focuses on modeling businessprocesses with two types of UML diagrams:the use case diagram and the activity diagram,shown in Figure 2.1. The use case diagramillustrates the high-level business processesand actors associated with each of them. Itserves as a frame of reference for furtherelaboration of business process modelingwork. The activity diagram, on the other hand,5 UML Resource Page, http://www.uml.org.

7

Table 2.1. Use Case Diagram notations

Notation Description and instruction for use

Subject Boundary:– Represents a process area– Includes the name of a subject boundary on top

Actor:– Represents a role which participates in a particular business process.– Can be an individual, an organization, a department, etc.– Is labelled with a role-name– Is placed outside the subject boundary

Use Case:– Represents a core business process– Is labelled with a descriptive verb-noun phrase

Relationship Association:– Links actors with the use cases (business processes) they participate in

Boundary

Actor/Role

Use case

2. Introduction to the Business Process Analysis

Table 2.2. Activity Diagram notations


Initial State– Represents the beginning of a set of activities– Can only be one initial state for each activity diagram

Final Flow State– Is used to stop the flow of activities– Indicates that further activities cannot be pursued within the

described context

Final Activity State– Is used to indicate the completion of the business process

Swimlane– Is used to break up individual actions to individuals/agencies that

are responsible for executing their actions– Is labelled with the name of the responsible individual, organization,

or department

Activity– Represents a non-decomposable piece of behaviour– Is labelled with a name that 1) begins with a verb and ends with a

noun; and 2) is short yet contains enough information for readers tocomprehend

ProcessParticipant 1

ProcessParticipant 2

ProcessParticipant n

(Continued)


8

Table 2.2. (continued)


Object– Represents a document or information that flows from one activity toanother activity– Is labelled with a name of a document

Decision– Represents the point where a decision, depending on the outcome

of a specific prior activity, has to be made– Has multiple transition lines coming out of a decision point and

connecting to different activities– Attached with labels addressing the condition on each transition line

that comes out of an activity and connects to a decision point orvice versa

Transition line– Indicates a sequential flow of activities and information flows in an

activity diagram

Fork (Splitting of Control)– Is used to visualize a set of parallel activities or concurrent flow

of activities

Join (Synchronization of Control)– Is used to indicate the termination of a set of parallel activities

or concurrent flow of activities

describes activities, inputs, and outputs associ-ated with each business process listed in theuse case diagram.

2D OUTPUTS OF THE BUSINESSPROCESS ANALYSIS

The main output of the business processanalysis exercise within the context of tradefacilitation is the business process analysisreport that contains the following components:

• Use case diagram showing the scope ofthe business process analysis project;

• Activity diagrams;

• Process descriptions, including a list oftrade forms and documents, as well as alist of trade-related laws, rules and regula-tions;

• Integrated activity diagram;

• Time-procedure chart;

• A list of identified bottlenecks; and

• Recommendations to improve the businessprocess and/or to-be business processmodels.

These output components are further ex-plained in the following parts of the BPAGuide.

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Figure 2.1. The use of UML diagrams in the BPA Guide

UML Use Case Diagram and Activity Diagramare used to visualize the captured knowledgeof the business processes.

UML Use Case Diagram UML Activity Diagram

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2. Introduction to the Business Process Analysis


10

11

3A INTRODUCTION TO PHASES,STAKEHOLDERS AND OTHERRELATED ISSUES

The business process analysis consists ofthree phases that have to be carried out insequence (see Figure 3.1):

Phase I: Scope setting, which includes thefollowing two steps:

Step 1 - Define a project scopeStep 2 - Develop a detailed work planand secure resources

Phase II: Data collection and process docu-mentation, which includes two steps:Step 3 - Acquire background informa-tionStep 4 - Conduct interviews and docu-ment captured data

3. BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYSIS GUIDE TOSIMPLIFY TRADE PROCEDURES

Figure 3.1. Key steps and stakeholders in business process analysis

Phase I

ProcessAnalyst

Process Participants/Business Domain Experts

Project Manager/Project Leader

ProjectSponsor

Phase II

Phase III

1) Define a projectscope

2) Develop a detailedplan and secure

resources

3) Acquirebackground information

4) Conductinterviews and document

captured data

5) Analyse the “as-is”process and identify

bottlenecks

6) Develop and proposerecommendations


12

Table 3.1. Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in BPA

Phase I Phase II Phase III

Role Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: Step 6:Define Develop a Acquire Conduct Analyse the Developproject detailed plan background interview and “as-is” andscope and secure information document processes propose

resources captured data and identify recom-bottlenecks mendations

Project Finalize and Approve any Provide management support and direction when neededSponsor approve the changes to

project scope project scope Participate in major project reviews and approve keydeliverables

Commit specific Ensure timely resolution of issues affecting projectresources success

Project Acquire relevant Develop a Oversee and control the execution of the planManager/ information to detailed planProject define theLeader scope of a Organize Participate in the review of milestone deliverables

process under resources including the final outputinvestigation

Process – Review plan Conduct desk Conduct the Analyse and DevelopAnalysts and propose research interviews identify recommen-

adjustment if bottlenecks dations forneeded Make Collect and and process

necessary consolidate improvement simplificationpreparation data opportunitiesfor interview of the “as-is”and Document processes Report theobservation the “as-is” final output

processes

Process Verify the – Provide relevant knowledge on process ParticipateParticipants/ proposed under investigation in theBusiness project scope review ofDomain Verify the accuracy of applicable the finalExperts deliverables output

Phase III: Process analysis and recommenda-tions development, which includes thefollowing two steps:Step 5 - Analyse the “as-is” processesand identify bottlenecksStep 6 - Develop and propose recom-mendations.

Four groups of stakeholders participate in abusiness process:

• Project Sponsor, who acts as authorizedperson from a lead agency commis-sioning the business process analysisstudy;

• Project Manager/ Project Leader, who is incharge of planning, directing, staffing, andmanaging the development of the businessprocess study;

• Project Analysts, who are in charge of col-lecting, documenting and analysing thebusiness processes;

• Process Participants/ Business Domain Ex-perts, who carry out business processesand thus have specific expertise andknowledge of a business process.

Their responsibilities in the different phases ofthe business process analysis are summarizedin Table 3.1.

13

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argo

to

the

dest

inat

ion

coun

try.

If th

e be

nefic

iary

is

a ca

rrier

, th

e em

phas

is i

s on

wha

t th

e ca

rrier

has

to

do i

nor

der

to l

eave

the

por

t of

dep

artu

re.

Bre

ak t

he p

roje

ct i

nto

sub-

proj

ects

if

the

scop

e is

rel

ativ

ely

larg

e. F

or e

xam

ple,

if

the

proj

ect

requ

ires

the

anal

ysis

of

busi

ness

pro

cess

es f

or e

xpor

ting

10 c

ount

ries’

stra

tegi

c pr

oduc

ts,

brea

k th

e pr

ojec

t in

to 1

0 su

b-pr

ojec

ts a

nd d

efin

e th

e pr

ojec

tsc

ope

for

each

of

them

.

Do

not

set

the

scop

e th

at i

sto

o br

oad

or v

ague

.

Step

2:

Dev

elop

ade

taile

d pl

an a

ndse

cure

res

ourc

es

Det

aile

d pr

ojec

t pl

an

incl

udin

g hu

man

reso

urce

s,

sche

dule

s,

and

softw

are

supp

orte

d to

ols

A l

ist

of p

oten

tial

inte

rvie

wee

s an

d th

eir

con-

tact

inf

orm

atio

n

Set

up

a te

am t

hat

cons

ists

of

proc

ess

anal

ysts

with

crit

ical

thi

nkin

g.D

o no

t un

dere

stim

ate

the

ef-

forts

an

d tim

e ne

eded

fo

rce

rtain

ta

sks,

es

peci

ally

thos

e re

late

d to

hu

man

inte

ract

ions

, e.

g.

data

colle

ctio

n an

d ve

rific

atio

n.

Step

3:

Acqu

ireba

ckgr

ound

info

rmat

ion

A

fold

er

of

back

grou

nd

info

rmat

ion

on

the

busi

ness

pr

oces

ses

whi

ch

may

be

acco

mpa

nied

by

a br

ief

expl

anat

ory

note

of

the

busi

ness

ste

p.

A l

ist

of g

uidi

ng q

uest

ions

for

the

int

ervi

ew

Do

colle

ct

as

muc

h ba

ckgr

ound

in

form

atio

n as

po

ssib

le

from

di

vers

eav

aila

ble

sour

ces.

Do

not

cond

uct

any

inte

r-vi

ew s

essi

on b

efor

e th

e in

-te

rvie

wer

ha

s su

ffici

ent

back

grou

nd

info

rmat

ion

and

beco

mes

fa

milia

r w

ithth

e or

gani

zatio

n an

d th

esp

ecifi

c bu

sine

ss

pro-

cess

es u

nder

int

ervi

ew.

Step

4:

Con

duct

inte

rvie

ws

and

docu

men

t ca

ptur

edda

ta

A s

et o

f ac

tivity

dia

gram

s ill

ustra

ting:

–St

artin

g an

d en

ding

poi

nts

–P

re-c

ondi

tions

an

d po

st-c

ondi

tions

of

each

bus

ines

s pr

oces

s–

A s

et o

f ac

tiviti

es–

Doc

umen

ts

asso

ciat

ed

with

ea

chbu

sine

ss t

rans

actio

n–

Out

put

and

crite

ria

to

exit

the

busi

ness

pro

cess

Info

rm

inte

rvie

wee

s ab

out

over

all

expe

ctat

ions

fro

m

the

inte

rvie

w

sess

ion

and

the

spec

ific

busi

ness

pro

cess

es o

f in

tere

st.

Def

ine

and

docu

men

t pr

oces

ses

in a

way

tha

t re

flect

s th

e cu

rrent

sta

te o

fpr

actic

es.

Whe

n de

scrib

ing

and

docu

men

ting

a pr

oces

s, s

tart

with

the

act

ivity

dia

gram

.D

raw

ing

help

s fo

rmul

ate

idea

s an

d a

logi

cal

sequ

ence

of

ac

tiviti

es.

Mos

tlik

ely,

dra

win

g th

e fir

st d

iagr

am i

s go

ing

to b

e a

stru

ggle

. If

two

conn

ectin

g

Do

not

atte

mpt

to

cr

eate

proc

esse

s th

at

look

“p

er-

fect

” fro

m

the

begi

nnin

g.P

erfe

ctio

n do

es

not

repr

e-se

nt w

hat

actu

ally

hap

pens

in

real

ity

and

thus

ca

nnot

serv

e as

a b

asel

ine

for

im-

prov

emen

t.


14

Tabl

e 3.

2. (

cont

inue

d)

Step

Del

iver

able

sD

o’s

Don

’ts

–Th

e av

erag

e tim

e re

quire

d to

com

plet

eth

at p

roce

ss s

tep

A

set

of

busi

ness

pr

oces

s de

scrip

tions

desc

ribin

g:–

The

nam

e of

a p

roce

ss a

rea

to w

hich

this

pa

rticu

lar

busi

ness

pr

oces

sbe

long

s–

The

nam

e of

the

bus

ines

s pr

oces

s–

Rel

ated

rul

es a

nd r

egul

atio

ns–

The

nam

e of

the

res

pons

ible

par

ties

–In

put

and

crite

ria

to

ente

r/beg

in

the

busi

ness

pro

cess

–A

ctiv

ities

and

ass

ocia

ted

docu

men

tary

requ

irem

ents

to

com

plet

e th

is s

tep

(incl

udin

g fo

rms,

an

d do

cum

ent

tem

-pl

ates

and

exa

mpl

es)

–O

utpu

t an

d cr

iteria

to

ex

it th

e bu

sine

ss p

roce

ss

Act

ivity

di

agra

m

illust

ratin

g in

tegr

ated

proc

esse

s in

the

bus

ines

s do

mai

n

Tim

e-P

roce

dure

C

hart,

a

char

t illu

stra

ting

rela

tions

hips

be

twee

n bu

sine

ss

proc

ess

and

time

requ

ired

to c

ompl

ete

each

bus

i-ne

ss

proc

ess

in

the

busi

ness

do

mai

n of

inte

rest

activ

ities

in

a lo

gica

l se

quen

ce d

o no

t m

ake

sens

e, i

t m

eans

som

e ac

tiviti

esm

ay b

e m

issi

ng i

n be

twee

n.

Writ

e do

wn

ques

tions

th

at

com

e up

w

hen

draw

ing

the

diag

ram

an

d us

eth

em

for

anot

her

inte

rvie

w

sess

ion.

St

ruct

ure

the

seco

nd

roun

d of

th

ein

terv

iew

bas

ed o

n th

ese

ques

tions

.

Hol

d an

ex

perie

nce-

shar

ing

sess

ion

amon

g th

e te

am

of

proc

ess

anal

ysts

from

tim

e to

tim

e. E

xper

ienc

e sh

arin

g al

low

s pr

oces

s an

alys

ts t

o ob

serv

ean

d de

pict

pa

ttern

s in

so

me

proc

esse

s ac

ross

th

e bu

sine

ss

dom

ain.

Fo

rex

ampl

e,

proc

ess

anal

ysts

re

spon

sibl

e fo

r de

finin

g pr

oces

ses

of

diffe

rent

prod

ucts

will

disc

over

am

ong

them

selv

es t

hat

no m

atte

r w

hat

prod

ucts

the

rear

e, t

rade

rs h

ave

to c

ompl

y w

ith c

usto

ms

regu

latio

ns i

n su

bmitt

ing

cust

oms

decl

arat

ions

fol

low

ing

sim

ilar

inst

ruct

ions

.

Alw

ays

reus

e pa

ttern

s (d

iagr

am o

f id

entic

al a

ctiv

ities

) w

here

app

licab

le,

as i

tsa

ves

time

and

ensu

res

the

cons

iste

ncy

of p

roce

sses

acr

oss

the

busi

ness

dom

ain.

Step

5:

Ana

lyse

the

“as

- is

”pr

oces

ses

and

iden

tify

bottl

enec

ks

A s

et o

f ob

serv

atio

ns o

f th

e “a

s-is

” pr

oc-

esse

s th

at

have

th

e po

tent

ial

to

be

im-

prov

ed

Dur

ing

the

inte

rvie

w, s

eek

inte

rvie

wee

s’ o

pini

ons

and

obse

rvat

ions

on

bottl

e-ne

cks

and

issu

es

rela

ted

to

the

proc

edur

al,

regu

lato

ry,

and

docu

men

tary

requ

irem

ents

tha

t sh

ould

be

impr

oved

and

how

to

impr

ove

them

.

Do

not

wai

t to

the

end

to

anal

yse

and

iden

tify

any

bottl

enec

ks

and

reco

m-

men

datio

ns

for

impr

ove-

men

t. R

athe

r, in

crem

enta

llyco

llect

th

em

alon

g va

rious

phas

es

of

the

proc

ess

anal

ysis

stu

dy.

Step

6:

Dev

elop

and

prop

ose

reco

mm

enda

tions

Fina

l re

port

with

re

com

men

datio

ns

for

proc

ess

sim

plifi

catio

n,

whi

ch

may

in

clud

edi

agra

ms

of “

to-b

e” b

usin

ess

proc

esse

s

Con

sult

rele

vant

st

akeh

olde

rs

to

find

out

the

limita

tion

of

wha

t ca

n an

dca

nnot

be

done

for

pro

cess

im

prov

emen

t re

com

men

datio

ns.

List

en t

o th

eir

reas

ons

why

a p

artic

ular

pro

cedu

ral,

regu

lato

ry,

or d

ocum

en-

tary

req

uire

men

t is

nec

essa

ry.

Do

not

assu

me

that

al

lpr

opos

ed r

ecom

men

datio

nsca

n be

im

plem

ente

d.

15

The steps within each phase require that aseries of activities be carried out. These activi-ties will be explained in Section 3B. It is highlyrecommended that validation and verificationactivities are embedded in each step to ensurethe accuracy and comprehensiveness of theoutputs. Such validation and verification canbe achieved through several rounds of a peerreview performed by relevant stakeholders ofthe business process analysis exercise. Re-finement shall be made until the quality ofoutputs is acceptable.

The six steps described in this guide, togetherwith deliverables of the business processanalysis report, are summarized in Table 3.2.The same table also provides guidance onwhat should be done (the “Do’s”) and whatshould be avoided (the “Don’ts”) in conductingthe business process analysis exercise.

3B INDIVIDUAL PHASES, STEPSAND ACTIVITIES

The rest of this Chapter will discuss the threephases of the business process analysis, de-tailed steps involved in each phase and activi-ties necessary to complete the steps.

Phase I: Scope setting

The objective of this phase is to establish abaseline for the implementation and manage-ment of a business process analysis project. Itconsists of two steps:

Step 1 - Define the project scopeStep 2 - Develop a detailed work plan andensure resources.

3. Business Process Analysis Guide to Simplify Trade Procedures

Step 1: Define the project scope

Step 1 aims at identifying a frame of referencefor further detailed business process modelingwork. Using the UML use case diagram, thisview illustrates the high-level business pro-cesses and actors associated with each ofthem.

This step includes seven necessary activities,as illustrated with the UML activity diagram inFigure 3.3. Its detailed description is providedbelow.

Activity 1.1

Project sponsor identifies “a business domain”of interest. A business domain is usually thename of the industry (such as frozen shrimpexport) or service (such as customs clearance)whose business processes are subject to thebusiness process analysis exercise. (See Box3.1 for an example)

To initiate a Business Process Analysis it iscrucial that the project sponsor clearly speci-fies:

• The stage of the international supply chainthat he/she is interested in analysing - i.e.“Buy”, “Ship”, or “Pay”; and

• The environment and conditions in whichthe industry of interest operates and whichshall be included in the BPA; i.e. mode oftransport, terms of delivery, terms of pay-ment, and country of destination (given thatregulatory requirements vary from onecountry to another).

Figure 3.2. Stakeholders involved in Step 1

1) Define projectdefinition



Project SponsorThis UML use case diagram indicates that Step 1 “Defineproject scope” requires the participation from:– Project Sponsor– Project Manager/Project Leader– Process Participants/Business Domain Experts


16

Box 3.1 Case study – define the project scope

Recognizing the need for a greater efficiency in documentary procedures related to international tradetransactions, Thailand has prioritized the establishment of the Single-Window e-Logistic Platform as the nationalflagship project. Progress towards the establishment of the Single-Window e-Logistic Platform was hindered byseveral factors, one of which was the absence of knowledge about the integrative nature of processesperformed by different parties and about information flow throughout the international supply chain.

In response to this shortfall, the Department of Export Promotion (under the Ministry of Commerce) commis-sioned an in-depth study on the export process with the following objectives:• To drive formalization of the export process;• To investigate interrelationships among processes, information, and stakeholders, as well as related laws and

regulations;• To provide a basis for simplification of procedural requirements and harmonization of data requirements; and• To facilitate automation of international trade transactions, and thus the establishment of the Single-Window

e-Logistic Platform.

Export processes vary by product. It is therefore not possible to carry out the study of the export process forall products at once. Given the resource constraints, it was decided to include only one product in the project.Products were prioritized and rated using the following criteria:• Strategic importance of the product on national economy;• Aggressiveness of competition; and• Degree of willingness of stakeholders to participate in data collection process.

Frozen shrimp was the product selected, based on the above criteria. It is one of the country’s strategic exportproducts. The export volume of shrimp has been growing for the past five years. The production of frozenshrimp, in addition, involves the whole chain of production from farmers to manufacturers, retailers, andsuppliers. About 80 percent of raw materials for production are sourced locally. Thai producers have beentargeted to differentiate their products to deal with direct competition with low-cost Chinese and Vietnameseshrimp. Rice and poultry are also considered as among Thailand’s strategic export products. However, relativelyclose connection with stakeholders from shrimp exporters, their logistics service providers, and relevantgovernment agencies gave relatively more confidence in achieving the goal of the project.

Source: ESCAP from The Analysis of Frozen Shrimp Export Process in Thailand, Institute for Innovative IT, Kasetsart University

Figure 3.3. Activities involved in Step 1



Project Sponsor

Conductdesk research

Extract key processparticipants and

business processes

Visualizecollected

information

Use CaseDiagram

Review andprovide feedback

Inaccurate Accurate Approve

Identify abusiness domain

of interest

17

Activity 1.2

Project manager/project leader conducts initialdesk research to identify core business pro-cesses that are related to the business domainof interest.

Activity 1.3

Project manager/project leader, based on re-search outcome, extracts key business pro-cesses associated with the industry or serviceof interest, as well as stakeholders who inter-act with those business processes.

Activity 1.4

Project manager/project leader documentscaptured core business processes and stake-holders of the business domain of interestusing UML Use Case notations (see table 2.1).

Project manager/project leaderuses the following notations:

- to depict core business pro-cesses;

- to depict each stakeholder, whois known as process participant/business domain expert; and

- to depict all actual associationsbetween business processes andprocess participants/business do-main experts.

When there are core sub-business processes,project manager/project leader may organizecore business processes into a process area.Boundaries may be used to group core

sub-business processes together.

An example of a UML use case diagram isgiven in Box 3.3.

Activity 1.5

Process participants/business domain expertsreview the use case diagram and providefeedback in terms of its accuracy as well assuggestions for further improvement.


Box 3.2. Case study – scope of analysis

The Ministry of Commerce, represented by Department of Export Promotion, as a project sponsor, specifiedthat the analysis of the frozen shrimp export process covers all activities in the international trade transaction,which range from “the establishment of commercial contracts”, through “the arrangement of inland and cross-border transportation and export formalities to meet regulatory requirements” to “the payment of the purchasedcargo”. Due to the fact that mode of transport, terms of delivery, and terms of payment can vary, the projectsponsor agreed to the following assumptions made for the study:

• Ship: Shrimp exporters choose ocean freight as a mode of transport, as it is one of the cheapest andmost convenient ways to ship goods overseas.

• CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight): Shrimp exporters in most cases arrange and absorb the cost ofshipping their cargo to the port of destination. Minimum insurance coverage is also procured against lossof or damage to the goods during the carriage.

• FCL (Full Container Load): For simplicity, the analysis of frozen shrimp export process traces the operationof a sole exporter. It is also assumed that the whole container is intended for a single consignee.

• CY (Container Yard) Container Service: For simplicity, it is assumed that CY/CY container service is used.Under such service, the carrier delivers an empty container to exporter’s premises for loading and bringsthe loaded container back to the container yard. At the container yard, the container waits to be loadedonto the vessel. No unpacking or modification is made.

• L/C (Letter of Credit): For simplicity, a letter of credit is assumed as method of payment.

Source: ESCAP from The Analysis of Frozen Shrimp Export Process in Thailand, Institute for Innovative IT, KasetsartUniversity

Use case

Boundary


18

Activity 1.6

Project manager/project leader revises and/orrefines the project scope where necessary,based on the feedback from process partici-pants/business domain experts.

Activity 1.7

Project sponsor approves the final version ofuse case diagram. The use case diagram actsas a baseline for planning, managing, andcarrying out the business analysis study.

Box 3.3. Case study – visualize the project scope

This UML use case diagram illustrates core business processes used when exporting frozen shrimp from Thailand.It provides the frame of reference for analysing the business processes in detail. The diagram lists all processparticipants/business domain experts, business processes, and the relationships among them.

The diagram shows that the scope of analysis will cover all activities in the international trade transaction,which include commercial procedures, transport procedures, regulatory procedures, and financial procedures.The core business processes are organized according to the UN/CEFACT “Buy-Ship-Pay” model. Given thatthe movement of cargo has to comply with regulatory requirements, transport procedures and regulatoryprocedures are closely related. Their main sub-processes are therefore grouped as “Ship”.

2) Ship

Authorized PrivateInspector Insurance

Company

InlandHaulage

Department ofFisheries

Carrier(Shipping Line)

PortAuthority

Department ofForeign Trade

Department ofConsular Affairs

The Central IslamicCommittee Office Thailand

Customs

Customs’Bank

2.1) Haveproduct sampled

and examined

2.2) Arrangetransport

2.3) Prepareexport permit

2.4) Apply forcargo insurance

2.5) Prepare andsubmit customs

declaration

2.6) Load containerand transfer to port

of departure

2.7) Clear goodsthrough customs

2.8) Handlecontainer and stow

it on vessel

2.9) Preparedocuments required

by importers

Exporter orRepresentative

1) BuyImporter

3) Pay

Importer’sBank

Exporter’sBank


19



2) Develop a detailedplan and secure

resources

Project Sponsor

Process Analysts


This process requires the participation from:– Project Manager/Project Leader– Project Sponsor– Process Analysts


Project Manager/Project Leader Process Analysts Project Sponsor

Use CaseDiagram

Identify tasks andsequence of tasks

Estimate efforts

Develop projectschedule

Assign processanalysts

Derive thedetailed plan

DetailedProject Plan



Acceptable

Acceptable

Approve

Unacceptable

Unacceptable


20

The use case diagram may be changed at alater stage if an inaccuracy is found. Therevised diagram should be approved by theproject sponsor before adopting it as a frameof reference.

Step 2: Develop a work plan and secureresources

The objective of this step is to develop adetailed work plan that guides and managesthe implementation of the business processanalysis. The work plan should be based onthe use case diagram developed in Step 1.

Based on the use case diagram, the workbreakdown structure, which is an output-ori-ented description of project tasks, can be de-veloped. This work breakdown structure thenprovides a starting point for estimating projectcosts, staffing and scheduling.

Figure 3.5 illustrates activities that a projectmanager/project leader has to carry out inthis step in cooperation with processanalysts and under the oversight of the projectsponsor. These activities are further explainedbelow.

Activity 2.1

Project manager/project leader identifies, insequential order, tasks required to derive eachoutput of the business process analysisproject. They include:

• Activity diagrams;• Process descriptions, including a list of

trade forms and documents as well as alist of trade-related laws, rules and regula-tions;

• Integrated activity diagram;• Time-procedure chart;• A list of identified bottlenecks; and• Recommendations to improve the business

process and/or to-be business processmodels.

To prepare the work breakdown structure of theproject, the project manager/project leaderneeds to anticipate project activities outlined inStep 3 onward. While Activity 3.1 – 3.3 andActivity 4.1 – 4.10 have to be carried out for all

6 Marchewka, J.T. (2006). Information TechnologyProject Management, 2nd ed. John Wiley & SonsInc., Hoboken, NJ.

core business processes represented by usecases in the use case diagram (see Box 3.4 foran example), the rest – including the develop-ment of integrated activity diagram, time-proce-dure chart, a list of identified bottlenecks, andrecommendations for future improvement –requires only a one-time implementation.

Activity 2.2

Project manager/project leader estimates theeffort (man-hours or man-days) needed tocomplete each identified task and to prepareall deliverables. There is no standard bench-mark time for each activity required to com-plete the business process analysis project.Likewise there is no one-size-fits-all solution todetermine the amount of required resources.However, the following approach may be help-ful for time and resource estimation:

• In conducting business process analysis,great time and effort is spent on collectingand compiling data into visual diagramsand written descriptions. There is a set ofsimilar project tasks for elaborating eachuse case into an activity diagram and pro-cess description. The more process partici-pants/business domain experts are involvedin a business process that is representedby a use case, the more complex andtime-consuming the business processanalysis will be.

• The first session of a face-to-face data-collection interview with each process par-ticipant/business domain expert who is apart of Phase II may take one to twohours. Given that the business processanalysis is an iterative task, the interviewwith relevant process participants/businessdomain experts may be conducted morethan once. However, the project teamsshould avoid conducting more than threeinterviews with the same process partici-pants/business domain experts.

• Project Evaluation and Review Technique(PERT) estimate6 might be used for thispurpose. (See Box 3.5)

21

1) Buy

3) Pay





2.1) Have productsampled and

examined


Importer

Importer’s Bank

Importer

Exporter’s Bank

AuthorizedPrivate Inspector


Inland Haulage





Exporter’s Bank


Inland Haulage

Customs

2.7) Cleargoods through

customs

2.6) Stuff containerand transfer to port

of departure

2.5) Prepare andsubmit customs

declaration

2.4) Applyfor cargoinsurance

2.3) PrepareExport permit


InsuranceCompany

Customs

Customs Bank

Inland Haulage

Customs

Port Authority




2.8) Handlecontainer and

stow it on vessel


by importers

Customs


Port Authority




The CentralIslamic

CommitteeOffice Thailand


Box 3.4. Case study – use cases of core business processes in frozen shrimp export


Box 3.5. Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) estimate

Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) allows probabilistic treatment of activity duration in theestimation. PERT estimate may be used to compute weighted average for each individual task. A three-pointestimate includes pessimistic, most likely and optimistic. The equation is as follows:

Task Estimate = Optimistic Time + (4 * Most Likely Time) + Pessimistic Time 6

• The Optimistic Time is the minimum time in which a task can be completed. It is the best-case scenarioset under the assumption that everything goes as planned and no internal or external obstacles will occur.

• The Most Likely Time is an estimate of the expected time that is required to complete the task.• The Pessimistic Time is the maximum time of the worst-case scenario in which the task should be

completed.


22

Activity 2.3

Project manager/project leader develops aproject schedule based on the following infor-mation:

• Set of tasks which are identified in a se-quential manner

• Project effort estimates

• Duration of the project stated in the con-tractual arrangement made with the projectsponsor.

Activity 2.4

Project manager/project leader assigns pro-cess analysts to the project. Once again thenumber of process analysts required dependson the project duration. The shorter the projectduration is, the larger the number of processanalysts is required. The responsibilities andrequired skills of process analysts are listed inBox 3.6.

Activity 2.5

Project manager/project leader compilesproject time and effort estimates, projectschedules, and project staff (process analysts)

into the detailed plan for project stakeholdersto review.

Activity 2.6

Project stakeholders review the detailed planand then provide feedback.

Activity 2.7

Project manager/project leader revises andrefines the detailed plan, based on the re-ceived feedback.

Activity 2.8

Project sponsor, in consultation with otherproject stakeholders, approves the detailedplan as the baseline for future project execu-tion, monitoring and evaluation.

Phase II: Data collection and processdocumentation

The knowledge about existing business pro-cesses is normally embedded in governmentor private sector employees who routinely con-duct the business processes. Such knowledgeis usually not documented, thus impossible toanalyse and improve further. The purpose of

Box 3.6. Responsibilities and required skills of process analysts

Process analysts are responsible for the following:

• Studying and analysing the current processes (“as-is” processes);• Creation of the business process model;• Developing recommendations how to improve the current processes; and• Designing the new processes (“to-be” processes) in collaboration with other stakeholders.

Process analysts should be selected based on the following skills.

• Technology skills: Although it is not necessary, basic knowledge of UML notations, especially in use casediagrams and activity diagrams is desirable. Related work experience is complementary.

• Business/organization skills: It is important that the selected process analysts know or have an access tothe individuals of the business domain subject to the business process analysis study. It is also very usefulif they have knowledge of a particular organization or industry associated with the targeted businessdomain.

• Interpersonal/communication skills: The ability of the selected process analysts to effectively communicateand interact with other project members is crucial to project success. They should have the ability tocreate and sustain reasonably good relationships with project stakeholders and especially ProcessParticipants/Business Domain Experts.

• Analytical skills: Ability to think analytically. They should be able to capture relevant information from verbalexpression and written documents. They should be able to summarize the information, as well as formulateand document the business processes.

23

Phase II is to make the knowledge of thesebusiness processes readily available throughdocumenting them. The documentation thencan serve as a baseline to improve the pro-cesses.

Phase II includes two steps:

Step 3 - Acquire background informationStep 4 - Conduct interviews and docu-ment captured data

Step 3: Acquire background information

It is important that process analysts acquire atthe outset as much background information onthe business processes under examination aspossible, prior to the face-to-face interviews.Background information could be obtained viadesk research through information publiclyavailable on the Internet, information portals,and at inquiry points of the agencies or busi-nesses involved in the business domain ofinterest.

The background information is useful for pro-cess analysts in the preparation of interviewquestions and makes them better prepared toconduct face-to-face interviews. Moreover, itallows them to effectively and efficiently capturethe information and data to be collected duringthe face-to-face interviews and put these into abroader context. Stakeholders participating inthis step are shown in Figure 3.6.

Activities associated with gathering the back-ground information are described in Figure 3.7,and further explained below.

Activity 3.1

For each use case (see Box 3.4 for example),process analysts conduct desk research, whichinvolves the gathering of the background infor-mation, related laws and regulations from pub-licly accessible sources such as websites orinquiry points of relevant governmental agen-cies and business.

Activity 3.2

For each use case, process analysts system-atically record and organize relevant informa-tion into a folder. The folder should contain thefollowing information:

• Names of government and other agenciesand businesses responsible for carrying outrespective activities in the business pro-cesses under examination (e.g. chambersof commerce, in case of issuance of anon-preferential certificate of origin);

• Contact names and details of potentialinterviewees in the identified agencies andbusinesses, i.e. officer-in-charge at the op-erational level for each activity;

• Sequence of actions/activities in a process;i.e. processes and procedures required tomove goods across the border;

• Forms and documents associated witheach action/activity (import/export permits,SPS certificates7, certificates of origin,commercial invoice, customs declaration,etc.).

Activity 3.3 The project manager/project lea-der reviews the outcome of desk research,including the interview questions, and deter-mines whether process analysts are ready toproceed with the next step.

Step 4: Conduct interviews and documentcaptured data

The purpose of Step 4 is to conduct the face-to-face interviews with process participants/business domain experts. Face-to-face inter-views are the most commonly used data col-lection method for the business process analy-sis exercise. This process aims to confirm theaccuracy of the previously collected back-ground information in order to gain an in-depthunderstanding of each use case or core busi-ness process in question. Such comprehensiveinformation is necessary for creating a visualrepresentation as well as descriptive explana-tion for each use case.

Once the face-to-face interview sessions withthe relevant business process participants havebeen conducted, process analysts consolidateall inputs from interviewees and documentthem. There are three main outputs thatshould be delivered under Step 4:


7 Sanitary and Phytosantary certificate


24


4) Conduct interviewsand documentcaptured data

Project Sponsor


Process Analysts


This step requires the participation from:– Process Analysts– Process Participants/ Business Domain Experts– Project Manager/ Project Leader– Project Sponsor


Process Analysts

3) Acquire backgroundinformation


This step requires the participation from:– Project Analysts– Project Manager/Project Leader


Process Analysts Project Manager/Project Leader

Conduct deskresearch

Record andorganize

information

Folder ofbackgroundinformation

Review and providefeedback

Insufficient

Sufficient

25


• Activity diagrams

• Process descriptions, including a list of rel-evant forms and documents as well aslaws, rules and regulations

• Time-procedure charts

The stakeholders and activities involved in thisstep are shown in Figures 3.8. and 3.9.

Activity 4.1

Process analysts contact potential intervieweesby phone or email to agree on the date, timeand venue of the face-to-face interview. Asnoted before, potential interviewees are se-lected based on their involvement in a busi-ness process area of interest and the type ofinformation that they can provide. Process par-


Project Manager/Project Leader Process Analysts Process Participants/Business Domain Experts

Project Sponsor

Oversee the conductof project tasks

Plan theinterview session

Invite potentialinterviewee

A list ofinterviewquestions

Conduct theinterview

Allocate time foran interview

Participate inthe interview

No

Yes

Consolidatecollected data

A set of activitydiagrams

Develop textualdescription

A set of processdescription

Integrateconsolidated data


Accurate Inaccurate


Accurate Inaccurate

Accurate Inaccurate


Integratedactivity diagram

Time-procedurechart

Prepare a submissionof all deliverables

A set of activitydiagrams

A set of processdescription

Integratedactivity diagram

Time-procedurechart

Acknowledge theproject progress


26

ticipants/business domain experts who are incharge at the operational levels have relativelymore potential as interviewees, as they usuallydeal with respective procedures and formalitiesassociated with the business process of inter-est on a daily basis.

It is important that process analysts havesound communication skills. Prior to invitingthe potential interviewees, process analystsneed to introduce themselves in a polite,friendly, and professional manner. Processanalysts also need to clearly explain the pur-pose of the interview, how this interview willcontribute to the overall business processanalysis exercise, what will be the results ofthis exercise and how these will be used.Doing so allows them to establish a good

rapport with the potential interviewees. Estab-lishing a good rapport not only increases thechance of having potential intervieweesparticipate effectively in the planned face-to-face interview, but also helps create apleasant atmosphere during the interview.Pleasant atmosphere is a vital preconditionfor a successful and result-oriented interviewsession.

Activity 4.2

Process participants/business domain expertsdecide if they wish to participate.

If process participants/business domain expertsagree to participate, they inform process ana-lysts when it is convenient to have a face-to-face interview. If not, process analysts look for

Box 3.7. Examples of interview questions

Business process analysis:

• How many people are involved in this business process?• What are necessary activities that an exporter/importer has to take in order to acquire a particular

document?• What are supplementary documents that an exporter/importer has to submit along with the application form

when a particular document is requested?• How can an exporter/importer who is to submit the application form collect the requested document

(manually or electronically)?• Are copies of documents accepted in lieu of original documents?• Is there any fee that an exporter/importer has to pay in order to acquire the document? If so, how much?• What are the laws or regulations associated with these procedural and documentary requirements?• Which business processes can be carried out in parallel?• Which business process has to be carried out next?

Information flow analysis:

• With which other actor in the business do you need to communicate?• What kind of data do you exchange?• What kind of information do you send to which actor?

Time analysis:

• How much time, including waiting time, in average hours or days does it take to complete this entirebusiness process from the beginning to the end? What is the maximum and minimum time?

• How many actual man-hours does it require to complete this particular activity in this business process?

Cost analysis:

• How much on the average does it cost to complete this particular activity in this business process or toprocess one document?

Suggestions for improvement:

• What are problems/bottlenecks you encounter in procedures and regulations to import or export?• What are improvements that you would like to see in the near future?

27

other potential interviewees who can substitutefor the person who rejected an interview.

Activity 4.3

Process analysts prepare a list of questionsbased on the background information acquiredearlier. The questions need to be easy tounderstand and structured in a logical se-quence to ensure the best possible result. Thequestions should allow the process analysts togain a better understanding of those pointsthey have previously found unclear. Examplesof such interview questions, which were gener-alized from the Frozen Shrimp Export ProcessAnalysis, are provided in Box 3.7.

Activity 4.4

Process analysts conduct the face-to-faceinterviews with the process participants/business domain experts. It is recommendedthat the following issues are taken intoaccount.

• Each face-to-face interview session is at-tended by one, or in specific cases, by atmaximum two process analysts. Having twoprocess analysts in the session is in factnecessary when the process analysts arerelatively new to the field, or have littleexperience in conducting business processanalysis.

• If the interview is tape recorded, it isnecessary to obtain permission from theinterviewee prior to the interview.

• Although the process analysts conduct theinterview session with prepared questionswhich are organized in a logical sequence,the interview is unlikely to be a questionand answer session. Therefore, it is recom-mended to keep the interview free-flowingand conversational, however within a basicstructured framework. The best way isto start with general questions to drawinformation about a particular businessprocess that is common to all operationalcases. The general questions are thenfollowed by more specific questions notonly to seek clarifications but also to iden-tify discrepancies and conditions wheresuch discrepancies occur. Process analystsshould adjust their questions according tohow the interviewee is responding. They

may also inject their opinions or ideas tostimulate the interviewee to express andelaborate his/her ideas related to the sub-ject matter.

• During the face-to-face interviews, the pro-cess analysts should also seekinterviewees’ opinions and observations onany bottlenecks and issues related to theprocess, documents, laws, and regulationsthat should be improved, why and how toimprove them.

• Process analysts should take notes care-fully. All points the interviewees makeshould be written down, even though theymay sound irrelevant at the moment.

• Process analysts should provide feedbackon statements made by the interviewees toconfirm their correctness and understandingof the obtained information.

• Process analysts should always respect thetime schedule. A summary of the majorpoints should be made before ending theinterview session.

Activity 4.5

Process analysts consolidate all the statementsmade by interviewees into an activity diagramfor each use case immediately upon their re-turn to the office. This work should be com-pleted within maximally two working days afterthe interview.

An activity diagram portrays a sequence ofactivities carried out to achieve a specificgoal. It illustrates detailed activities and flowsof information or documents from one respon-sible party to another in a given sequence.During this step, the process analysts mightdiscover common patterns in the activity dia-grams. Reusing these patterns helps avoidrepetition of work and save time. For example,the customs declaration process from the busi-ness process analysis of exporting frozenshrimp can be reused in a business processanalysis for exporting frozen poultry products.Table 2.2 presents the basic elements andnotations of an activity diagram that is appliedin this business process analysis study.Box 3.8 illustrates an example of an activitydiagram.



28

Activity 4.6

Process participants/business domain expertsreview the activity diagrams and then providefeedback.

Activity 4.7

Process analysts revise and/or refine individualactivity diagrams, as necessary.

Activity 4.8Process analysts provide textual description ofindividual activity diagrams.

Process description has to include the follow-ing elements:a) The name of a process area which this

particular business process belongs to;b) The name of a business process;

Box 3.8. Case Study – Activity diagram of “Have the product sampled and examined”use case within the BPA of frozen shrimp export in Thailand

Authorized Private Inspector Exporter (or Representative) Department of Fisheries

Swimlane shows a boundary of activity to becarried out by a responsible actor.

Sequence of activitiescarried out to achieve

specific goals

Diamond indicates thepoint where a decision

has to be made.

Final flow state indicatesthat further activitiescannot be pursued.

Examinesample

Record the resultof examination

Test Report

Final state shows where thesequence of activities reachesits end with its goals achieved.

CollectTest Report

CollectTest Report

Object represents a documentor information that flows from

one activity to another.

Deliversample

Request forSampling

Collectsample

Submit Requestfor Sampling

Schedule thesampling date

Have product readyfor sampling

Initial state shows wherethe sequence ofactivities begins.

Notify the date forsample collection

Collectsample

Record samplingresult

Examinesample

Record result ofexamination

Test Report

Soure: ESCAP from the Analysis of Frozen Shrimp Export Process in Thailand, Institute for Innovative IT, KasetsartUniversity.

29


c) Related rules and regulations;d) The name of responsible parties;e) Input and criteria to enter/begin the busi-

ness process;f) Procedures and associated documentary

requirements to complete the process;g) Output and criteria to exit the business

process; and

h) The average time required to completethe process and/or durations for each in-volved transaction.

Activity 4.9

Process participants/business domain expertsreview process description and then providefeedback.

Box 3.9. Integration of activity diagrams chart from the BPA of frozenshrimp export in Thailand

The above diagram illustrates the integration of some business processes (use cases) that have to be carried outin order to export frozen shrimp from Thailand. The use cases shown in this diagram include “prepare and submitcustoms declaration”, “load container and transfer to port of departure”, “clear goods through customs”, and“handle container at terminal and stow it on vessel”. In the horizontal swimlanes, all process participants involvedin exporting frozen shrimp from Thailand are listed. As can be seen from the top, they are Department of ConsularAffairs, the Central Islamic Committee Office Thailand, Department of Foreign Trade or Authorized Certificate ofOrigin Issuer, Importer’s Bank, Exporter’s Bank, Importer, Authorized Private Inspector, Exporter or Representa-tive, Department of Fisheries, Inland Haulage, Carrier (Shipping Line or Agent), Custom’s Bank, Port Authority.


Port AuthorityInland Haulage

Prepareinformation for

cargo movement

Goods TransitionControl List

SubmitTKT. 308.2and pay entry fee

TKT. 308.2

Correct

Incorrect

Goods TransitionControl List Accept

Goods Transition

Control List Reject

Print out GoodsTransition Control List

and Prepare R. 9

Export License (R. 9)

Recordcargo/container

information

Transfer cargoto port

Acknowledgepayment ofentry fee

Measure weightof cargo/container

Inspect container conditionat time of gate in

EquipmentInterchange

Receipt (EIR)

Take cargo toSub-Gate

Prepare Requestfor Port Entry(TKT. 308.2)

Receipt

Ask for permissionto enter port at

Main GateRecord date-time

of port entryTake cargo to

point of containerinspection

Specify a point in a terminalWhere container will be placed

Prepare EIR

Receive EIR

Allocate equipmentfor cargo handling

Goods Transition

Control List

Packing List

Customs Exporter (or Representative)

Monitorcontainer stuffing

Monitorcontainer sealing

Verify

information

Customs

Prepare Declaration

information


Exporter’s Bank Customs’ Bank

Commercial Invoice

R. 9 Reference Number

Export Declaration

Order dutypayment

Declaration Accept

Payment Order

Declaration Reject

Deduct notifiedamount

Bank Statement

Acknowledgededuction for

duty payment

Debit Advice

Acknowledgeduty payment

Remittance Advice

Credit Advice

Acknowledgepayment transfer

Receipt No.

Update statusof Declaration

No duty

Duty

Correct

Incorrect

Exporter (or Representative)

ReceiveReceipt No.

CustomsInland Haulage

Retrieve declarationinformation

Cross check declarationinformation with handed

in documents

Questionable ofmisconduct

Allow goodsto be exported

Goods TransitionControl List Audit

Transfer containerto point of inspection

Inspectcargo

Record a case

to be filedMisconduct

not found

Misconduct

found

Export Permit (R. 9)

EquipmentInterchange Receipt


Notifyquantity exported

R. 9 with information onactual quantity exported

Acknowledgeactual quantityto be exported

Exporter(or Representative)


Acknowledgeactual quantityto be exported

Unquestionableof misconduct


Record date-timeof when container

is stacked

ContainerLoading List

ContainerList Message

Coordinate a

transfer ofcontainer to berth

Coordinate atransfer of

container to berth

Record a numberof container

stowed on vessel

Outward Container List

Bill ofLading

Correct

PrepareManifest

Manifest

Port AuthorityInland HaulageCustomsExporteror Representative

Transfer containerto terminal

Coordinate containerhandling at terminal

Stack containerat terminal

Prepare ContainerLoading List

Allocaterequired

equipment

Transfercontainer to berth

Prepare OutwardContainer List

Stow containeron vessel

Determine servicecharge to be collected

Manage a stowing of

container on vessel

Receive

B/L

PrepareB/L

Acknowledgeand approve

Verify no. ofconsignments

exported withdeclarations

Incorrect

Acknowledge servicecharge to be paid

Exporter or

Representative

Importer

Exporter’s Bank

Importer’s Bank

Customs

Department of Foreign Trade(or Authorized CoOIssuer)

The Central Islamic

Committee OfficeThailand

PortAuthority


Insurance

Company

Carrier/Shipping Line

or Agent

Inland

Haulage

Department

of Fisheries

Authorized

Private Inspector

Customs’ Bank

ePrepare

Declaration

information


Commercial Invoice

R. 9 Reference No.

Export Declaration

Order duty

payment

Declaration

Accept

Payment

Order

Declaration Reject

Invoice Reject

and/or

Deduct

notified amount

Bank

Statement

Acknowledge

deduction forduty payment

Debit

Advice

Acknowledge

duty payment

Remittance

Advice

Credit

Advice

Acknowledgepayment transfer

Receipt No.Update status

of declaration

ReceiveReceipt No.

No duty

Duty

Correct

Incorrect

f f

g

f Prepare informationfor cargo movement

Monitor stuffing

of container

Monitor sealing

of containerGoods Transition

Control List

Submit Request forPort Entry and

pay entry fee

Verify

information

Goods TransitionControl List Reject

Prepare Request

for Port Entry

cTake empty container

to manufacturer

Request forPort Entry

(TKT. 308.2)

Goods Transition

Control List Accept

Print out Goods Transition

Control List and Prepare R. 9

Export License

(R. 9)

Record cargo/

containerinformation

Acknowledge

payment of

entry fee

Receipt

Transfer

cargo to port

Ask for permission

to enter portat Main Gate

h

Correct

Incorrect

Goods Transition

Control List

Exporter or

Representative

Importer

Exporter’s Bank

Importer’s Bank

Customs

Department of Foreign Trade

(or Authorized CoOIssuer)

The Central Islamic

Committee OfficeThailand

Port

Authority

Department of

Consular Affairs

InsuranceCompany

Carrier/Shipping Line

or Agent

Inland

Haulage


Authorized

Private Inspector

Customs’ Bank

2.5) Prepare and

submit customs

declaration

2.6) Stuff container

and transfer to port

of departure

2.7) Clear goods

through customs

2.8) Handle container

at terminal and stow

it on vessel


30

Activity 4.10

Process analysts revise and/or refine processdescription of each activity diagram, as neces-sary.

Activity 4.11

Process analysts work together to integrate allactivity diagrams of the business processesassociated with all use cases defined earlierinto a single integrated activity diagram. Theintegrated activity diagram represents aninterconnected view of business processesused in an industry or to provide a particularservice. It illustrates relationships between corebusiness processes, process participants, andinformation flow throughout the area underthe scope of the study. An example of anintegrated activity diagram is provided inBox 3.9.

Activity 4.12

Process analysts develop a time-procedurechart based on the average time required tocomplete one business process represented byone use case. The development of a time-procedure chart should be in line with theWorld Bank methodology used in the TradingAcross Borders study of the Doing Businessproject.8 An example of the time-procedurechart is provided in Box 3.10.

Activity 4.13

Process participants/business domain expertsreview the integrated activity diagram and time-procedure chart, and then provide a feedback.

Activity 4.14

Process analysts revise and/or refine the inte-grated activity diagram and time-procedurechart as necessary.

Activity 4.15

Project manager/project leader, in addition tooverseeing the project tasks carried out byprocess analysts, consolidate all deliverablesachieved in this step for a submission toproject sponsor.

Activity 4.16

Project sponsor acknowledges the completionof the documentation of existing business pro-cesses.

Phase III: Process analysis andrecommendationsdevelopment

A better understanding of the “as-is” processesis obtained once the processes are definedand documented. Activity diagrams, processdescriptions listing all documentary require-ments, the associated documents, laws, rules,and regulations as well as time-procedurecharts have been prepared to provide thestakeholders with an overall and integratedview of the current situation and the discov-ered problem areas. Based on these inputs,recommendations for improvement can be de-veloped. International recommendations ontrade and transport facilitation and best prac-tices such as UN/CEFACT Recommendation18 (see Box 3.11), can be considered andapplied. The logical steps in this phase in-clude:

Step 5 - Analyse the “as-is” processesand identify bottlenecksStep 6 - Develop and propose recom-mendations

Step 5: Analyse the “as-is” processes andidentify bottlenecks

The purpose of Step 5 is to identify the bottle-necks of the “as-is” processes described in theactivity diagrams, the process descriptions, andthe time-procedure chart. It aims at developinga set of observations related to the currentbusiness processes that have potential forimprovement, such as the identification ofduplicated and redundant procedural anddocumentary requirements which cause delays.Figure 3.10 shows stakeholders participatingin Step 5.

Illustration of necessary activities that have tobe conducted in order to analyse the “as-is”business processes and identify the bottle-necks is provided in Figure 3.11.

8 World Bank, The Doing Business project, http://www.doingbusiness.org

31

Activity 5.1

Process analysts identify the bottlenecks andrecord observations related to the current “as-is” business processes that have the potentialfor improvement.

To locate the bottlenecks, process analystsmay first review the time-procedure chart, as itvisualizes those particular business processesthat require an extensive time to complete.They can then examine the relevant activitydiagram together with the associated processdescription to learn what may cause the longdelays. The potential causes of such problems

may include duplicated and redundant proce-dural and documentary requirements, as wellas outdated laws or unnecessary regulationsthat create operational obstacles.

Activity 5.2

Project manager, process participants/businessdomain experts, and project sponsor review aset of observations listing bottlenecks in the“as-is” business processes and provide feed-back.

Activity 5.3

Process analysts revise/refine it as necessary.


This time-procedure chart is an illustration of the time required to complete each business process in thebusiness domain of interest. It assists the process analysts in spotting where possible bottlenecks are. Whileeach bar on the x axis represents an individual procedure within a business process, the y axis represents theaverage total time (number of days, in this case) required to complete that particular procedure.


Box 3.10. The time-procedure chart from the BPA offrozen shrimp export in Thailand

Days35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0 Process

2 days

14 days

3 days1 day

1 day1 day

1 day

3 days

4 days

11

10

9876

54

3

2

1

1. Buy – Conclude sales contract and trade terms2. Have product sampled and technically examined3. Arrange transport4. Prepare export permit5. Apply for cargo insurance6. Prepare and submit customs declaration7. Stuff container and transfer it to port of departure8. Clear goods through customs9. Handle container at terminal and stow it on vessel10. Prepare documents required by importer as listed in L/C11. Pay – Claim payment of goods

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11


32

Box 3.11. UN/CEFACT Recommendation No. 18: Facilitation MeasuresRelated to International Trade Procedures

UN/CEFACT Recommendation No. 18 provides a comprehensive set of recommendations regarding interna-tional best practices and standards for the facilitation and harmonization of trade transactions. In order tounderstand the complexity of international trade, including the key elements of a trade transaction, UN/CEFACTdeveloped a model of the international supply chain. Based on this model, specific measures were developedto cover the key elements of the trade transaction process. These are presented under four major categories,namely: commercial measures; international payment measures; official control measures; and transport-relatedmeasures.

Recommendation No. 18 is targeted both at companies involved in the business of trade, and at nationalgovernments and national and international organizations related to trade. The Recommendation should beespecially relevant to transition and developing countries which can still significantly improve their economicperformance by streamlining international trade procedures. There are some general principles appropriate forofficials and a dedicated section: “Group 3: Measures related to official controls”. Here are some examples:

Procedures and data requirements

• Procedures should be kept to a minimum. They should be commercially oriented and relate closely totrade and transport requirements. Procedures should be simplified, harmonized and should comply withinternational standards.

• Data requirements should be kept to a minimum, and should be simplified, harmonized and standardized,to ease the information flow.

• Laws, regulations and other information regarding procedures and data requirements should be readilyaccessible to all parties concerned.

Information technology

• Transition strategies to replace paper documents by electronic information exchange or electronic docu-ments are common practice. The use of information and communication technology and the resultingelectronic solutions should be encouraged.

Recommended measures related to official controls

• Predictability: The time required, the procedures used and the fees related to official regulations shouldbe predictable.

• Transparency: All relevant information of general application pertaining to official rules and regulations,including information about procedures and control requirements, should be made available to the businesscommunity as well as to government bodies.

• Cost-benefit analysis: Before introducing new requirements or prolonging existing rules for inspection,control and testing of goods in international trade, the authorities concerned should make cost and benefitassessments of proposals in consultation with the business community.

These recommendations provide further input for possible improvements at this stage of the BPA. Several “to-be” models might be set up to and compared to identify the optimal solution.

UN/CEFACT Recommendation No.18 can be downloaded in English, French and Russian version from: http://www.unece.org/cefact/recommendations/rec_index.htm

33



5) Analyze the “as-is”processes and identify

bottlenecks

Project Sponsor


Process Analysts


This step requires the participation from:– Process analysts– Process Participants/ Business

Domain Experts– Project Manager/ Project Leader– Project Sponsor


Process Analysts

Unacceptable



Project Sponsor

A set ofactivity

diagrams

A set ofprocess

description

Integratedactivitydiagram

Time-procedure

chart

Identifybottlenecks

A set of observations listingbottlenecks in the “as-is”

business processes


Incomplete Complete Review andprovide feedback

Acceptable

Approve

Inaccurate

Accurate Review andprovide feedback


34

Activity 5.4

Project sponsor, in consultation with processparticipants/business domain experts andproject manager/project leader, approves theobservations.

Step 6: Develop and proposerecommendations

The objective of this step is to develop andpropose recommendations that help eliminatebottlenecks and inefficiencies of proceduresand documentary requirements within the ex-amined business process. Such recommenda-tions can also focus on enhancing transpar-ency in trade procedures or introduce newsecurity measures that would not be contradic-tory to trade facilitation. The measurable ben-efits of implementing such recommendationsmay include the reduction in time and cost ininternational trade, as well as an increase intrade and foreign direct investment.

Figures 3.12 and 3.13 illustrate the stakehold-ers and activities involved in this step.

Activity 6.1

Process analysts develop and propose recom-mendations for business process improvement.Business process improvement can take vari-ous forms. It may include the following mea-sures:

• Elimination of redundant procedures

• Merging of some procedures that may alsolead to the elimination of duplicate or un-necessary documentary requirements

• Modification of relevant laws and regula-tions in a way that better facilitate businessoperations

• Automation of relevant procedures anddata exchange.

For example, the automation of paper-basedtransactional operations can be either imple-mented as a full-scale trade and transportinformation exchange among stakeholders(paperless trade) or automated customsclearance systems such as ASYCUDA.9UN/CEFACT Recommendation No. 18 on Fa-cilitation Measures Related to InternationalTrade Procedures may provide backgroundinformation on trade facilitation measures, in-cluding how to simplify and harmonize the tradetransaction procedures, documentary require-ments, rules, and regulations (see Box 3.11).

In line with the recommendations, processanalysts prepare a set of responding activitydiagrams that represents the “to-be” businessprocesses.

Activity 6.2

Process participants/business domain experts,project manager/project leader, and projectsponsor review and provide feedback on pro-posed recommendations for the business pro-cess improvement, which may include a set ofactivity diagrams representing the future “to-be”business processes. The proposed recommen-dations and the newly designed business pro-cesses may act as an intuitive tool to supporta discussion with the corresponding authori-ties.

Activity 6.3

Process analysts gather the feedback and re-vise and refine the recommendations and theactivity diagrams representing the “to-be” busi-ness processes as necessary.

Activity 6.4

Project sponsor, in consultation with processparticipants/business domain experts, approvesthe recommendations.

9 ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Data -http://www.asycuda.org) is a computerized customsmanagement system, developed and provided byUNCTAD. The system handles manifests and cus-toms declarations, accounting procedures, transit andsuspense procedures.

35



Process Analysts Project Manager/Project Leader


Project Sponsor

A set of observations listingbottlenecks in the “as-is”

business processes




Incomplete Complete

Inaccurate

Accurate

Unacceptable

Acceptable

Approve

Develop andpropose

recommendations

Recommendationsfor processesimprovement

A set of activitydiagrams for

“to-be” processes


6) Develop and proposerecommendations

Project Sponsor


Process Analysts


This step requires the participationfrom:– Process Analysts– Process Participants/ Business

Domain Experts– Project Manager/ Project Leader– Project Sponsor


36

37

Trade facilitation measures such as the simpli-fication, harmonization, and automation of pro-cedures and documents involve interagencycoordination and collaboration. Their successfulimplementation requires not only political andgovernmental support in terms of both policydirectives and human and financial resources,but also an in-depth understanding about exist-ing business processes, including their relatedinformation flows, laws, rules, and regulations.

Analysis of business processes involved inmoving goods across borders is, therefore, anecessary exercise that must be carried outprior to implementing any other trade facilita-tion measure. Trade facilitation measures, inother words, cannot be applied without locatingthe source of problem areas, bottlenecks andredundancies.

The following recommendations are outlined toassist the policymakers and trade facilitationpractitioners in setting up the BPA project.

• Get buy-in from the officials: Convey thenecessity of trade facilitation and businessprocess analysis through awareness-raisingprogrammes – starting at the top. Educateboth relevant government officials and thetrade and transport community on the ne-cessity of business process analysis andits potential return on investment for allstakeholders in the long run.

• Adequate resources: Secure adequatehuman resources and funding. Obtain amandate from top government officials forthe members of the business processanalysis team, which may be from anoutsourced third party.

• Roles and responsibilities of the projectstakeholders: Identify clearly the roles ofagencies, as a project sponsor, project

4. RECOMMENDATIONS FORIMPLEMENTATION

manager/project leader, process partici-pants/business domain experts.

• Choose a champion: Determine a leadagency that is capable of guiding the conductof BPA and facilitating the communicationamong business process analysis stakehold-ers. Choose the business process analysischampion wisely. Avoid the “ivory tower dicta-tor” approach. Instead, nominate the partywith efficient and effective team-player skills.

• Start small, and then evolve: Chose theright starting point and form an effectiveteam, which is critical to succeed. If the teammembers of the business process analysisproject are new to the BPA, start with arelatively smaller scope. See what works forthe project and learn from that. Drop stepsthat do not work. It is important to start smalland demonstrate success, then to build onthat success. As a general rule, the widerthe scope, the more difficult it is to choreo-graph the initial project, but the bigger is theopportunity to improve processes.

• Profit from experience: Keep in mind thatthe learning experience gained during theinitial phase helps accelerate the businessprocess analysis tasks at the later stage.Make use of the learning effect; start withsimple processes and engage complex is-sues later on. This avoids frustration andrepetition of efforts. Also try to benefit frominternational best practice and expertise.Studies and case studies can be obtainedfrom various standard development organi-zations and trade facilitation bodies.

• Invest in training: Train the staff that dis-seminates relevant knowledge about thebusiness process analysis and familiarizethe business process analysis team aboutthe common methodology that all membersmust follow.


38

10 Refer to the World Bank’s study on Trading acrossBorders as one of the performance benchmarkings,http://www.doingbusiness.org

• Performance measurement: Set realisticbenchmarks to be achieved after the “to-be” processes are in place. Performanceindicators of an optimum best practicecountry10 can be taken as a model.

39

5. GLOSSARY

Activity Diagram – a graphical representationthat describes the flow of activities carried outby stakeholders involved in a particular busi-ness process. The activity diagram is a type ofdiagram that uses a set of notations definedby the Unified Modeling Language (UML).

Automation – the application of informationand communication technologies to facilitatethe manual operation of business processes.

Business Process – a logical series of relatedtransactions that converts input to results oroutput. A business process considered withinthe frame of trade facilitation in this paper canbe defined as “a chain of logically connectedactivities to move goods and related informa-tion across borders from buyer to seller and toprovide related services”.

Business Process Model – a graphical repre-sentation of a business process. It illustrates(i) activities performed and decision points, (ii)actors who perform those activities, (iii) activi-ties’ input and output, (iv) alternate routes ofactivities subject to different business rulesand conditions, and (v) criteria for entering andexiting the business process. The processmodel also demonstrates how the various ac-tors relate to one another and how the infor-mation flows throughout the business process.The process model has become increasinglyimportant in the area of trade facilitation. Itserves as an organizational blueprint that facili-tates the identification of bottlenecks, theprioritization of areas for improvement and im-provement strategies, and the design of auto-mated systems to promote paperless trade. Italso enables the benchmarking of process im-provement after implementing the improvementinitiatives.

Business Process Modeling – a technique fordocumenting business processes where each

element of the business process is repre-sented by graphical notations. Unified Model-ing Language (UML) provides graphical nota-tions for business process modeling that areaccepted and widely used not only amongpractitioners in business community but alsothose in information technology and softwareindustry. Business process modeling can beachieved by a simple drawing with paper andpencil or a software tool.

Harmonization – the effort to align procedural,regulatory, and/or documentary requirementswith relevant standards.

Business Process Analysis – a systematic ex-amination of business processes in order togain better understanding and to develop im-provement strategies.

Simplification – the effort to reduce complexity,in our context, of the trade and transport facili-tation processes and documentary require-ments.

Single Window – a facility that allows partiesinvolved in trade and transport to lodge stan-dardized information and documents with aSingle Window entry point to fulfil all import,export and transit-related regulatory require-ments. If information is electronic, then indi-vidual data should only be submitted once.UN/CEFACT Recommendation No. 33 andCase Studies on Implementing a Single Win-dow can be found at:http://www.unece.org/cefact/single_window/welcome.htm/.

Time-Procedure Chart - a chart illustrating rela-tionships between each business process andtime (normally in days) required to completeeach business process in the business domainof interest. While each bar on the x axisrepresents a business process (procedure), the


40

height of the bar associated with the timescale on the y axis represents the averagetotal time required to complete that particularbusiness process.

Trade Facilitation – measures used to simplifyand harmonize procedural, regulatory, and/ordocumentary requirements associated with theinternational supply chain.

UN/CEFACT Recommendations – a series ofmore than 30 recommendations developed andmaintained by the United Nations Center forTrade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT). These recommendations are used

worldwide as an international best practice tosimplify and harmonize trade procedures andinformation flow.

Unified Modeling Language – a standardizedvisual specification language for business pro-cess and information modeling.

Use Case – a UML notation representing abusiness process.

Use Case Diagram – a graphical representa-tion that illustrates major elements of the busi-ness domain which includes relevant businessprocesses and their stakeholders.

41

6. REFERENCES

APEC Business Advisory Council (1996).APEC means business: building prosperity forour community, Report to the Economic Lead-ers. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Secre-tariat, Singapore.

Djankov, S., Freund, C., and Pham, C. (2006).Trading on Time, World Bank, Washington DC.

Marchewka, J.T. (2006). Information Technol-ogy Project Management, 2nd ed. John Wiley& Sons Inc., Hoboken, NJ.

UNECE (2001). Facilitation Measures Relatedto International Trade Procedures, Recommen-dation No. 18, ECE/TRADE/271, New Yorkand Geneva.

UNECE (2006a). Background Paper forUN/CEFACT Symposium on Single WindowCommon Standards and Interoperability,Geneva.

UNECE (2006b). Towards an Integrated Strat-egy for UN/CEFACT, Geneva.


42

43

7. ANNEX

BUSINESS PROCESS ANALYSISOF THE EXPORT OF JASMINERICE IN THAILAND

This set of diagrams represents business proc-esses involved in exporting a full container loadof jasmine rice from Thailand by maritime trans-port. The study limits the scope of analysis tothe delivery of the consignment under the C.I.F.term and the payment by using the letter ofcredit. In fulfilling procedural and documentaryrequirements involved in exporting Thai jasminerice, the exporter indirectly or directly deals with15 parties. The number of parties that theexporter has to deal with will go up to 17 if theimporter requests for the Certificate of Fruit,Food, Vegetable Quarantine and the legalizationof trade documents. These parties are 1) ex-porter or representative, 2) importer, 3) export-er’s bank, 4) importer’s bank, 5) insurancecompany, 6) authorized private inspector, 7)inland haulage, 8) carrier (shipping line), 9) Port

Authority, 10) Office of Commodity Standards,11) Department of Foreign Trade, 12) Depart-ment of Agriculture, 13) Board of Trade ofThailand, 14) Customs, 15) Thai Chamber ofCommerce, 16) Department of Disease Control,and 17) Department of Consular Affairs.

Business processes in the scope of this analy-sis are categorized into 3 groups according toUN/CEFACT International Supply Chain Model.The first group of business processes is called“Buy”. It is concerned with the conclusion oftrade terms and the establishment of salescontract. The second group of business proc-esses under investigation is called “Ship”. Thisgroup of business processes has broad cover-age. It ranges from the arrangement of inlandand cross-border transportation to the conductof other necessary actions to meet regulatoryrequirements of both export and import coun-tries. The last group of business processes inthis study is called “Pay” which is about theclaim for payment of goods.


44

Importer

Importer’sBank

Exporter’sBank


1) Buy

3) Pay

2) Ship

A

N

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

InsuranceCompany

AuthorizedPrivate Inspector

InlandHaulage

Board of Tradeof Thailand

Office ofCommodityStandards


Department ofAgriculture


PortAuthority

Department ofConsular

AffairsThai Chamberof CommerceDepartment of

Disease Control

Customs

2.1) ObtainExport Permit


2.3) Arrangethe inspection and

fumigation

2.4) Obtain cargoinsurance

2.5) Providecustoms

declaration

2.6) Collectempty container (s)

from yard

2.7) Stuffcontainer (s)

2.8) Transferto port ofdeparture

2.9) Cleargoods through

customs

2.10) Handlecargo and stow

on vessel


by importer

2.12) Verify theaccuracy/authenticity

of exported cargo

Annex Figure 1. Parties involved in exporting rice in Thailand

45

7. Annex

For the single consignment category, there are 928 data elements in total and 362 withoutduplicates. These numbers are inclusive of 42 optional data elements that customs would like tocollect but they are not mandatory for exporter to provide. For the multiple consignment category,there are 111 data elements in total and 83 without duplicates.

Following are the diagrams of the business process analysis of the export of jasmine rice inThailand.

Annex Table 1: List of Documents

22. House Sea Cargo Manifest (37)

23. Export Declaration (75,39)

24. Good Transition Control List (22,3)

25. Application for Permission to ExportRice (KP. 2)

26. Sales Report (KP 3) (21)

27. Application for the Collection of thePermit for the Export of Rice (A. 3)

28. Permit for the Export of Rice (A. 4) (32)

29. Application for Certificate of Standardsof Product (MS. 13/1) (44)

30. Certificate of Analysis (17)

31. Certificate of Product Standards (MS.24/1) (45)

32. Certificate of Fumigation (21)

33. Application for Phytosanitary Certificate(PQ. 7) (29)

34. Phytosanitary Certificate (34)

35. Application for Certificate of Origin

36. Certificate of Origin (38)

Conditional

1. Application for Certificate of Fruit, Food,Vegetable Quarantine

2. Certificate of Fruit, Food, VegetableQuarantine

3. Legalization

1. Proforma Invoice (35)

2. Purchase Order (39)

3. Commercial Invoice (50)

4. Application for Letter of Credit (24)

5. Letter of Credit (32)

6. Packing List (25)

7. Cargo Insurance Application Form (20)

8. Cover Note (23)

9. Insurance Policy (24)

10. Booking Request Form – BorderCrossing (24)

11. Booking Confirmation – Border Crossing(31)

12. Booking Request Form – InlandTransport (16)

13. Booking Confirmation – Inland Transport(18)

14. Bill of Lading (40)

15. Empty Container Movement Request(TKT 305) (19)

16. Request for Port Entry (TKT 308.2) (27)

17. Equipment Interchange Report (EIR)(24)

18. Container Loading List (18)

19. Container List Message (32)

20. Outward Container List (34)

21. Master Sea Cargo Manifest (17)


46


Importer

Not acceptable

Cancel

Acceptable

Quote price and termof trade

Proforma Invoice

Prepare the shipmentof goods

Purchase Order

Confirm the intent topurchase

Buy

47

Exporter or Representative Department of Foreign Trade

Incorrect

Correct

Prepare documentsfor the applicationof export permit

Draft Permit for theExport of Rice (A. 4)

Sales Report (KP 3)

Evidence of Sales(Purchase Order or

Sales Contract)

Application for Permissionto Export Rice (KP.2)

Application for the Collectionof the permit for the Export

of Rice (A. 3)

Collect A. 4


Sign andauthenticate A. 4

Permit for the Exportof Rice (A. 4)

Obtain export permit

7. Annex


48

Carrier (Shipping Line) Inland Haulage Exporter or Representative

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Acknowledgebooking

confirmation

BookingConfirmation

Acknowledgebooking

BookingRequest

Schedule thepick-up anddelivery ofcontainer

Draft Billof Lading

Acknowledgebooking

BookingRequest

Reserve cargospace and vessel

Arrange transport

49

Board of Tradeof Thailand

Authorized PrivateInspector

Exporter or Representative Office of CommodityStandards



Record thereceipt ofMS. 13/1

RegisteredMS. 13/1

Request the Inspectionand fumigation of

goods

Application forCertificate ofStandards of

Product(MS. 13/1)

Application forPhytosanitary

Certificate (PQ.7)

Permit for theExport of Rice

(A. 4)

Evidence ofSales (PurchaseOrder or Sales

Contract)


Record thereceipt of PQ. 7

RegisteredPQ.7

Schedule theinspection and

fumigation

RegisteredMS. 13/1

BookingRequest

RegisteredPQ.7

RegisteredPQ.7

Acknowledgeservice request

RegisteredMS. 13/1

ServiceConfirmation

Acknowledgeservice

confirmation

Acknowledgeinspectionschedule

Acknowledgefumigationschedule

Arrange the inspection and fumigation

7. Annex


50

Exporter or Representative Insurance Company

apply for cargoinsurance

Cargo InsuranceApplication Form Letter of Credit

CommercialInvoice Packing List Draft Bill

of Lading

Receive insurancecoverage

Submit Transportcontract

Bill of Lading

Collect InsurancePolicy

Arrange the payment ofinsurance premium

Receive the payment ofinsurance premium

Insurance Policy

Issue InsurancePolicy

Cover Note

Approve the insurancecoverage

Refuse

Accept

Obtain cargo insurance

51

Exporter or Representative Customs

Incorrect

Correct

Prepare Declarationinformation

Commercial Invoice

No. of Permit for the Exportof Rice (A. 4)

Export Declaration

Acknowledge the receiptof declaration no.

Declaration Reject


Declaration Accept

Provide customs declaration

7. Annex


52

Collect empty container(s) from yard

Carrier (Shipping Line) Port Authority Inland Haulage

Single payment Bulk payment

Request the permission tomove empty container(s) to

exporter’s premise

Empty ContainerMovement Request

(TKT. 305)

Make payment

Collect paymentof port charges

Receipt

Allocate requiredequipment

Lift containeron to haulage

Record forpayment to bemade in bulk

Take haulage tocontainer yard

53

Authorized Private Inspector Department of Agriculture Exporter of representatiive Office of CommodityStandards

Board of Trade ofThailand

Inland Haulage

Randomlyselected

Poor

Fine

Unnecessary

Necessary

Unsatisfactory

Satisfactory

MS. 24/1

IssueMS. 24/1

Receive a copyof MS. 24/1

CollectMS. 24/1

Request theissuanceMS. 24/1Certificate of

Analysis

CompletedMS. 13/1

Conductlaboratory

examination

Certificate ofFumigation

CompletedPO. 7 Seal

the cargo

Recordfumigation

method

Monitor thefumigation

Fumigatethe cargo

RegisteredPO. 7

Stuff a container

Stuff a container

Examinephysicalcondition

Collectsample

RegisteredMS. 13/1

Monitor theinspection

Packing List

Prepare goodsfor stuffing Transfer a

container to awarehouse

Randomlynot selected

7. Annex


54

Transfer to port of departure

Customs Exporter or Representative Inland Haulage Port Authority

Incorrect

Correct

Goods TransitionControl List Reject

Prepareinformationfor cargomovement

PrepareRequest forPort Entry

(TKT. 308.2)

Submit TKT. 308.2and pay entry fee

GoodsTransition

Control List

Goods Transition ControlList Accept

Verifyinformation

Request forPort Entry

(TKT. 308.2)

Print out GoodsTransition Control List


Ask for permissionto enter portat Main Gate

Transfer cargoto port

Take cargo topoint of container

inspection

Recordcargo/container

information

Acknowledgepayment of

entry fee

Receipt

Record date-timeof port entry

Measure weight ofcargo/container

Inspect container conditionat time of gate in

Specify a point in a terminalWhere container will be placed

Prepare EIR

Equipment InterchangeReceipt (EIR)

Allocate equipmentfor cargo handling

Take cargo toSub-Gate

Receive EIR

55

Clear goods through customs (container)

Inland Haulage Customs Exporter (or Representative)

EquipmentInterchange Receipt


Transfer container topoint of inspection

Retrieve declarationinformation

Cross check declarationinformation with handed

in documents

Inspectcargo

Record a caseto be filed

Record thequantity exported

Goods TransitionControl List Audit

Acknowledge actualquantity of goods

to be exported

Misconductnot foundMisconduct

found

Randomly selected

Randomly notselected

7. Annex


56


Customs Carrier (Shipping Line) Inland Haulage Port Authority

Handle container and stow on vessel

Transfer containerto terminal

Stack containerat terminal

Record date-timeof when container

is stacked


container to berth

Allocaterequired

equipment

Transfercontainer to berth

Stow containeron vessel

Record a numberof container

stowed on vessel

Prepare OutwardContainer List

Outward Container List

Determine servicecharge to be collected

Acknowledge servicecharge to be paid

Verify no. ofconsignmentsexported withdeclarations

Acknowledgeand approve

Correct

Incorrect

Bill ofLading

Manifest

ReceiveB/L

PrepareManifest

PrepareB/L

Manage a stowing ofcontainer on vessel


container to berth

ContainerList Message

ContainerLoading List

Prepare ContainerLoading List

Coordinate containerhandling at terminal

57

Exporter or Representative

Prepare documents required by importer

Department of ForeignTrade or ThaiChamber ofCommerce


Department ofDisease Control


Prepare documents forthe application of documents

required for importingjasmine rice

CommercialInvoice

Bill of LadingLetter of

CreditMS. 24/1

Applicationfor Certificate

of Origin

Certificate ofOrigin

Bill of Lading

CompletedApplication forPhytosanitary

Certificate(PQ. 7)

Certificate ofFumigation

Application forCertificate ofFruit, Food,

and VegetableQuarantine


Issue andauthenticate the

certificate

Certificate ofOrigin

PhytosanitaryCertificate


certificate




certificate

Certificate ofFruit, Food,

and VegetableQuarantine

Legalizesubmitteddocuments

Collect documentsrequired for importing

jasmine rice

Copy ofApplicant’s ID

Certificate ofFruit, Food,Vegetable

Quarantineand copy

Certificate ofOrigin and

copy

PhytosanitaryCertificateand copy

Collectlegalized

documents

Legalizationnot required

Legalizationrequired

Correct

Incorrect

Incorrect

Incorrect

Required

Not required

Correct

Correct

7. Annex


58

Verify the accuracy and authenticity of exported cargo

Office of CommodityStandards

Exporter or Representative Customs Department ofForeign Trade

Prepare documentsto declare the actual

amount exported

Prepare documentsfor submitting to

Customs at port of exit

Permit for the Exportof rice (A. 4) with

actual quantityexported

Certificate of Standardsof Products (MS. 24)with actual quantity

exported

Evidence of Sales(Purchase Order of

Sales Contract)

Acknowledgethe providedinformation



Record the actualquantity exportedand released date

Permit for the Exportof Rice (A. 4) with

actual quantityexported

Certificate of Standardsof Products (MS. 24)with actual quantity

exported

59

Exporter or Representative Exporter’s Bank Importer’s Bank Importer

Pay

Apply for L/C

Proforma Invoice

Application for L/C


Issue L/C

L/C(Letter of Credit)

Call for thecollection of L/C

Arrange thefee payment

Collect L/C

Prepare documentsrequired during importation

as listed in L/C

Notify the declinefor the payment

of goods

Decline the requestto make payment

of goods

CommercialInvoice

PackingList

InsurancePolicy

Bill ofLading

PhytosanitaryCertificate

Certificateof Origin

Other documentrequired by L/C

Request thepayment of goods

Verify submitteddocuments

Forward submitteddocuments



Make thepayment

Collect documentsrequired for import

Transfer thepayment

Collect thepayment

Transfer thepayment

Receive thepayment

Not Approved

Approved

Fail to meet conditions in L/C

Meet conditions in L/C

Meet conditionsset in L/C

Fail to meetconditionsset in L/C

NotApproved

Approved

7. Annex


60

The Time-Procedure Chartform the Business Process Analysis of Jasmine Rice Export from Thailand

20

1615

10

5

01 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1

2 3

4 5

6 7 8 9 1011

12

1314

2 days

2 days3 days

2 days1 day

1 day

3 days1 day

4 days

Process

Day

1. Buy – Conclude sales contract and trade terms2. Obtain export permit3. Arrange transport4. Arrange the inspection and fumigation5. Obtain cargo insurance6. Provide customs declaration7. Collect empty container(s) from yard

8. Stuff container(s)9. Transfer to port of departure10. Clear goods through customs11. Handle container at terminal and stow on vessel12. Prepare documents required by importer13. Verify the accuracy/authenticity of exported cargo14. Pay – Claim payment of goods

United NationsEconomic and Social Commission for Asia and the PacificTrade and Investment DivisionUnited Nations BuildingRajadamnern Nok AvenueBangkok 10200ThailandFax: +66 2 288 1026, 288 1027E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.unescap.org/unnext

United Nations publicationSales No. E.09.II.F.21Copyright © United Nations 2009ISBN: 978-92-1-120588-6ST/ESCAP/2558

United Nations publicationPrinted in BangkokDecember 2009 – 630

USD $36ISBN 978-92-1-120588-6