Singapore 1

Singapore
Background
What motivated the In the mid 1980’s, the Singapore government decided to streamline
establishment of your Single the processes involved in the regulatory framework of trade permit
Window (SW)? approvals to further strengthen the established trade hub status of
Singapore and to improve external trade. Special committees
comprising high powered government officials and business leaders
were set up to ensure sufficient backing for the use of IT to support
the re-engineering and improvement of the trade regulatory
framework and processes. In fact, then Minister for Trade and
Industry, Brigadier General Lee Hsien Loong (now the Prime
Minister of Singapore) chaired the review committees for approval
of the plans and implementations.

Starting with the trade process involving a few government agencies

in 1989, the Singapore TradeNet® System today provides the trading
community with an electronic means of submitting trade documents
to all relevant government authorities (Singapore Customs and the
controlling agencies) for their processing, through a single electronic
window. Within 10 minutes after submission of the permit
application, traders will receive an electronic response, be it
approval or rejection, with details on the approval conditions or
reasons for rejection.

TradeNet was established with the key objectives to:

1. Reduce the cost of trade documentation

2. Reduce delays in turnaround time for trade documentation
3. Increase authorities’ processing efficiencies with a
streamlined process flow
4. Attract foreign direct investment as a result of operational
efficiency and transparency
TradeNet, the world’s first nationwide electronic trade
documentation system, has been recognised as a great contribution
to Singapore’s pro-business environment, increasing efficiency and
lowering business costs for the Singapore trading community with
the innovative use of IT.

What year was it established? TradeNet was launched on 1 Jan 1989. It was recognised by the
Government that the introduction of the TradeNet would bring about
many benefits to the Singapore trading community and hence to the
economy as a whole. The high cost savings, greater efficiency and
shorter turnaround time derived from TradeNet made Singapore a
much more competitive trading hub.
2 Singapore

What is the current status of The TradeNet system has been in operation and serving the
the facility (study, pilot phase, Singapore trading community since 1989. 100% of the trade
running)? declarations are submitted and processing electronically via the
TradeNet system. The Government had also mandated the electronic
submission of trade declarations.
Through TradeNet, some 9 million trade permit applications are
processed per year, of which 90% are processed within 10 minutes
and some 70,000 certificates of origin are issued yearly via
TradeNet.

Establishment
How did the SW interface Before TradeNet, there was no one overall computer system to
with already established coordinate all processes and trade permit processing was done
systems (if any existed)? manually. The main design principle that TradeNet adopted was to
reduce the interfaces required by the shipping community with the
systems belonging to different government agencies.

Different methods of interfaces were used for the integration. For

those agencies which had yet to develop a system for processing
trade permits, a user interface was provided for approval of
exceptions which the business rules in TradeNet could not
automatically approve. For those with existing systems, TradeNet
built a few standard interfaces including MQ, flat file transfers, ftp
etc.

However, it is important to note that all the processing logic and

rules are centralised in TradeNet, thereby realising the optimisation
of resources and time spent by automating the business rules of the
agencies involved.

Did any other SW model In 1986, a core team and several working groups comprising
serve as inspiration or representatives from relevant government authorities and private
model? sector parties were formed. They were to conceptualize a nationwide
single electronic window for traders to submit trade declarations
electronically to the government authorities as there was no other
single window that could be modelled after.

Hence, existing procedures of various authorities concerning

information and processing requirements were analysed,
documented and simplified such that trade procedures were
streamlined. Automation was implemented based on a single form
concept that is able to meet the trade documentation requirements of
all government authorities. CrimsonLogic Pte Ltd (formerly known
as SNS Pte Ltd) was formed as a private entity to deliver and host
the TradeNet system.

What process was followed in A phased approach was adopted. First to be implemented was the
setting it up? Was there a electronic processing and approval of import and export permit
pilot project? applications for non-controlled and non-dutiable goods. The facility
 Singapore 3

was later extended, under the second phase, to cover controlled and
dutiable goods. Automated inter-bank deductions and application for
certificates of origin were introduced in subsequent phases.

The initial phase kicked off in January 1989 with a group of 50 pilot
users. The system was extended to the rest after the successful
implementation of the pilot phase. Electronic permit application
submission was not made mandatory on day 1 of TradeNet
operation. In fact, as an interim and parallel implementation
strategy, it was rolled out with an option to allow manual permit
application as a counter service.

What kind of training for the Among the other essential basic computer training, there were 3 key
staff was required in the training subjects prior to the implementation:
establishment and how was it
organized?
Business process management & re-engineering

Standards adoption

Trade documentation domain knowledge
User profiles were surveyed and their needs for training identified.
The different categories of users were then scheduled for the
relevant training.

How long did it take the TradeNet was conceptualised in 1986. The planning and
facility to become development of TradeNet was carried out from 1987 to 1988.
operational? TradeNet was rolled out on 1 Jan 1989.

Services
What services does the SW TradeNet allows the application, submission, receiving, processing
provide? What documents and returning of response to trade declarations submitted. It covers
/information/process are the import (dutiable/GST/non-dutiable/warehousing/free trade zone),
covered? export (GST/non-dutiable) and transhipment declarations.

For importers/exporters/freight forwarders, among others, the major

services include:

User and company registration

Receipt and intelligent routing of user submitted trade permit
and certificate of origin applications from the Trade Net®
Front-End software to Singapore Customs and the
controlling agencies for their processing

Syntax checks on the message structure

Code table validations of the received applications against
the code tables (e.g., product codes, Harmonised System
codes etc)

Automated permit processing based on the rules and criteria
of Singapore Customs and the controlling agencies
4 Singapore

Attaching supporting documents for permit declaration

Allowing the user to submit permit amendment, cancellation
or refund application based on permit

Self printing of certified true copy of permits and
downloading of permit information

Web enquiry facilities to:
− Check the status of their TradeNet permit applications
− Enquire & download code tables (e.g. port codes,
country codes, etc.)

Automated billing and direct bank account debit facility on
the statutory and processing fees incurred

24x7 Call Centre Support

For Singapore Customs and the controlling agencies, the major

services provided under TradeNet include:

Automated and online processing allowing manual

intervention to pend, approve, reject some selected types of
applications for permits and certificates of origin

Online enquiry and downloading of TradeNet permit and
certificate of origin applications

Online maintenance of the code tables (e.g. product codes,
trader, license, establishment codes, etc)

Interconnectivities with the controlling agencies’ in-house
systems for the file transfer and reporting functions for
transferring and uploading of their controlled permit
information and databases (e.g., trader, declarant and license
information)

Generation of ad hoc and periodic statistics reports
To other Users (such as the port terminal operators):

Extraction cum provision of interconnectivities with the user

in-house system for transfer of TradeNet permit information
to PSA;

Provision of interconnectivities for exchange of information
between port terminal operators & Singapore Customs such
as data for manifest reconciliation

How many transactions per The TradeNet system handles approximately 30,000 permit
day are handled? What applications per day, amounting to some 9 million transactions a
percentage of total year. 100% of the total trade permit applications are processed by
transactions? the TradeNet system. The Singapore Government has mandated the
electronic submission of trade permit application.
 Singapore 5

How many clients does the The TradeNet system is used by approximately 2800 companies
SW have at the present time? with more than 8,000 users.

Operational model
How does it work? What is The shipping and trade community can submit their trade declaration
the operational model for the using the Front-End (FE) TradeNet software offered by any software
SW (describe the business providers approved by Singapore Customs or the simple web-based
process model)? application provided by the Government. The FE software offers the
users a variety of data submission methods, i.e. via internet / web
application, client based input or host-to-host connection. After the
user submits the declaration, the FE system sends the data for
automated processing by the various authorities via TradeNet.

The permit processing sub-module of TradeNet provides an

intelligent routing agent that automatically determines the workflow
required for that particular permit application and routes it to the
relevant authorities for their processing. A set of rules embedded in
the rules engine will then execute the processing requirements for
each of the controlling agencies involved in the processing.

With the in-built intelligence that enables automated processing,

more than 90% of the declarations do not require manual
intervention and users are able to receive and print their approved
cargo clearance permit within 10 minutes. There are also options for
declarants to transmit data directly via their host systems in any
structure data format.

Web portal services are provided for traders to process their

permits, check on the transaction status and make billing enquiries.
It also allows download of permit listing, and code tables (e.g.
country, port, harmonized system codes etc). The portal also
enables the authorities to process the declarations and to make
enquiry.

Who are the main clients? There are 3 main client groups for TradeNet which is the following:

Trading community – traders, freight forwarders, declaring

agents, service bureau

Controlling agencies

Singapore Customs

Which public and private Please see above.

agencies are involved in the
facility?

Business model
What is the business model? Singapore Customs adopted a Public-Private Partnership (PPP)
How is it financed model for the development and implementation of TradeXchange®
6 Singapore

(government, private sector, and revamp of TradeNet in 2007. TradeXchange is a neutral and
Private-Public partnership)? secure and neutral IT platform that facilitates the exchange of
commercial and regulatory information for the trading and logistics
communities. It enables value-added service providers to offer end-
to-end application services to the trade and logistics community,
such as supply chain management, trade documentation preparation,
trade finance and insurance. TradeNet, a core application of
TradeXchange, was revamped to provide a more streamlined and
simplified trade declaration system and more value-added services
to users.

CrimsonLogic Pte Ltd, a private company, was selected through an

open competitive tender to develop, operate and maintain
TradeXchange and TradeNet. The PPP model enables Singapore
Customs to leverage on the capabilities and expertise of the IT
company to build and operate these systems, while CrimsonLogic is
able to recover its capital investments and operating expenses
through collecting processing fees from users.

What are the user fees (if any) We charge based on a per use basis as follows:
and annual revenue? Model

Monthly Account / User id fee: S$20 / S$201 per account /
of payment (fixed price per
user
year, price per transaction,
combination, other model)?
Usage Fee: Approx. S$2.882 per transaction (includes
statutory fees) / permit
The mode of payment is through direct debit from the declarants’
bank accounts.

How will the SW be sustained The revenue collected from processing fees is used to fund the
over the coming years? operation, maintenance, regulatory enhancements and technology
refresh of TradeNet.

Do the revenues generated The revenues collected are mainly for the purpose explained above,
cover operational costs or do merely for cost recovery and a margin for improvements in
they make a profit? processes and technology refresh.

Are the revenues (if any) Yes, the revenue collected from TradeNet is used to fund the
reinvested in the SW? operation, maintain and enhance the system including routine
technical upgrades and incorporation of new rules and regulations
from the government. It also caters for continuous technology
refresh to ensure that the system continues to be on the leading edge
of technology and meeting the increasing user needs.

Technology
What technology is used? The 1st generation TradeNet system, implemented on 1 Jan 1989,
was operating in COBOL/CICS on a Mainframe platform. As part of
our continuous effort in upgrading and refreshing our technology,

1
Approximately US$13.85
2
Approximately US$1.99
 Singapore 7

TradeNet was right-sized to an open platform using Object Oriented

Methodology, Java/J2EE technology and is now operating on the
Unix Platform. It utilises the following:
Java & J2EE

J2EE, EJB 2.0 (Enterprise Java Beans), Core Java, Java
Servlets, JSP, JMS (Messaging), RMI, Java Applets, JDBC,
Struts, Hybermate, Spring
XML Tools and Technologies

XML, XSL, XSLT, JAXP, Apaches’ Xerces Parser, SAX &
DOM APIs
Object Oriented Methodologies

UML object-oriented analysis and design methodology
Communications

Short message service (SMS)

Email (SMTP), Secure Email (S-MIME)

SecureFTP (S-MIME)

Fax
How are data submitted The data is submitted electronically in UN/EDIFACT standards
(electronically – what type of format or Extensible Markup Language (XML). Alternatively, the
format/language, paper – users could submit in other formats and the approved software
what forms, combination – providers then translates the information into that required by
what kind of combination)? TradeNet.

Where are data sent and Data are sent by private entities (i.e. trading community) to the
lodged (government or government authorities for processing.
private entity)?

Who can submit data Importers, exporters, freight forwarders and declaring agents, who
(importer, exporter, agent, are registered with Singapore Customs, can submit the data. Traders
customs broker)? can also file their declaration using the services rendered by
documentation service providers. The service providers will enter
and submit the trade declaration to the TradeNet system on behalf of
the Traders.

Promotion and communication

How did you promote the During the initial implementation, the promotion was done via large
facility? scale nation-wide campaign. Currently, CrimsonLogic has a team of
staff dedicated to manage the key users accounts including the
controlling agencies. Online web enquiry facilities are provided in
the Singapore Customs and the controlling agencies’ websites as
well as Crimsonlogic’s website. Mass marketing and communication
programmes are done as and when required to roll out major
changes and implementation.

How were all stakeholders Regular meetings are held with the key stakeholders to review the
8 Singapore

kept informed about the facility’s progress.

facility’s progress?

What kind of training was New subscribers to TradeNet can opt to attend courses conducted by
provided for users? Singapore Customs on TradeNet procedures. CrimsonLogic and the
various software vendors also provide training to the users on the
use of the system.

Do you provide any helpdesk Yes. CrimsonLogic provides a 24/7 call centre service for our
or customer service? customers.

Judicial aspects
Is use of the facility The electronic submission of the permit application is made
obligatory or voluntary? mandatory by the Singapore Government. Users who are not
registered and do not have the front-end software may approach the
documentation service providers to submit the applications.

Do participants need to sign Yes. The participant is required to sign a contract with the service
a contract with provider, as well as a set of terms and conditions of use with the
provider/agency in order to Government.
participate?

Was specific legislation (or The electronic submission via TradeNet is mandated by the
change of old legislation) Singapore Government, with the statutory fees legislated.
necessary? Contractual agreement is signed for the use of the system.

How is the privacy of The documents and information submitted to TradeNet are restricted
information protected? for use only by the respective authorised users. Authorised users of
the Singapore Customs and controlling agencies can also view and
download these declarations for approval, reporting and record
keeping purposes.

During the messaging stage where the trade declarations are sent
from the traders’ local computers to the TradeNet system via the
messaging engine, the data are sent via secured channels and
encrypted throughout the transport layer. In this way, the trade
declarations are safe and secured from any form of intrusions.

Standards
What is the role of TradeNet Ver 4.0 message specification is developed in compliance
international standards with the UN/EDIFACT version D.05B message specifications and
(UN/EDIFACT, UNLK, UN its recommendation e.g., UN/LOCODE etc. The message type
LOCODE, UN/CEFACT adopted includes CUSDEC, CUSRES, APERAK (and many others).
Single Window TradeNet Ver 4.0 Extensible Markup Language (XML) Message
Recommendation, etc) in your Specification is developed adopting the OASIS Universal Business
SW? Language Technical Committee (UBL TC) recommendation and in
compliance with the UN/CEFACT ebXML Core Component
Technical Specifications (CCTS). The adoption of established and
widely practised industry messaging standards provides the ease of
 Singapore 9

integration with systems on different platforms.

Benefits
What are the benefits to The benefits are summarized in the table below.
clients and to participating
agencies?

How did it benefit trading TradeNet has revolutionised the trade documentation process in
community and the Singapore and has been a subject of two Harvard Business School
Government? case atudies3. It has been identified as one of the strategic national
information systems that enhanced the competitiveness of Singapore
as a global city of international trade. Surveys and studies have
revealed that TradeNet has brought about the following benefits to
the trading community.

The following accolades and awards were won by TradeNet:

“It is estimated that TradeNet saves Singapore traders around US$1

billion per year.” Robert M Howe, IBM
“…Fill in one online form and receive the import or export license
15 seconds later …” McKinsey Quarterly 2001 No.2
“…received Top eAsia award under Trade Facilitation Category”
2003 September
“CrimsonLogic was entrusted to own and operate the TradeNet
system, with the Singapore Trade Development Bureau, the port and
civil aviation authorities, and the international airport as
stakeholders….” Customs Modernization Handbook by the World
Bank, 2004
Table 1 (below) illustrates some of the tangible benefits to the
trading community brought about by TradeNet, excluding economic
gain such as the FDI figures.

Characteristics Previous Manual With TradeNet

Process
Submission of By dispatch clerks From comfort of
documents office
Submission of Within office hours Available 24 hours
documents only daily
Trips to the At least 2 required None required
Controlling
Authorities per
document
Copies of documents Multiple copies (up to Single copy (to be
35 forms) printed at user’s
premise)
Processing time for From 4 hours to 2 Within 10 minutes
approval days
10 Singapore

Dutiable goods Separate documents Same electronic

handling for Customs document routed to
processing Customs for
processing
Controlled goods Separate documents Same electronic
handling to different document routed to
Controlling Agencies Controlling Agencies
for processing for processing
Fees Charged S$10 – S$20 S$2.88
Customs duties By cheque Automated bank
collection deductions

What was the impact on TradeNet enhances transparency via online submission and
Customs revenues? automated processes. Duties, fees and taxes are collected accurately
and promptly from the traders. The payment system is directly
interfaced with the banks to facilitate the respective direct debiting
and crediting of traders and governments bank accounts. There is no
loss of revenue collection with automated system validation and
assessment of duties, fees and taxes.

What problems did it solve? In general, TradeNet has greatly improved and streamlined the trade
process which was vital to the Singapore’s economy. Besides the
benefits listed above, additional achievements were accomplished
with the Internet-based TradeNet system:

Faster response to facilitate dynamic enforcement and

implementation of rules and regulations: Urgent implementation
of regulatory and policy changes can be done quickly with the
system. For example, this includes imposing restrictions to import
specific type of goods to/from certain countries due to, say, outbreak
of diseases. It eliminates the tedious dissemination process for any
such changes to be implemented under the manual process flow.
Timely and accurate enforcement are made possible.

Enable accurate and prompt collection of trade statistics: Trade

statistics are collected on a timely manner for analysis of trading
patterns and forecasting of potential trading trends.

Improved Customer Service with TradeNet Accessible Anytime,

Anywhere: With TradeNet on the internet, users can gain access to
the system from any location as it is a web-based application. With
the 24 x 7 service standard provided for TradeNet, the permit
application and processing service is available for use round-the-
clock. As TradeNet serves a huge base of 8,000 users, the internet
service brings about more efficiency and savings.
Ease of Use and Increased Efficiency and Productivity:
Productivity level increases as a result of the shortened turnaround
time for the processing of trade declarations. With efficient and user-
friendly Web portals provided, TradeNet users carry out their daily
Singapore 11

trading businesses with a breeze. Only one permit application is

necessary for submission to various agencies using a common web
interface for all goods and purposes.
Maintenance and Easy Deployment: Processing and validation
rules are tied to political, social and environmental changes.
Changes to processing and validation rules are made easy with J2EE
technology deployed, specifically the Rules Engine where the permit
processing rules path and action profile can be easily updated in
readable XML format or parameterised in code tables. Any change
of rules will require only an update to the XML file or code tables
and can be effected once reloaded to the system.
This is crucial as it reflects and affects the efficiency of the
government authorities in exercising controls whenever required. As
this is a server-based application, all changes and maintenance of the
application and data were carried out at the server. In this way,
deployment for any future upgrades can be easily and
instantaneously effected. No tedious application deployment for the
more than 8,000 workstations of TradeNet users is required, thus
saving time, effort and resources.
Cost effectiveness: both for users and ser vice providers.
Users: Employing scalable, portable and reusable software gives rise
to savings. Having the system available on the web, users can access
using their existing workstations and internet connections. There is
no one-time or annual software maintenance or setup cost attached.
Business operating costs (i.e. warehouse storage charges) will no
longer be increased due to delays in documentation. In fact, the
manpower cost has been reduced with the simplified processes and
high system availability.
Service Providers: The TradeNet system is designed to allow
deployment on multiple servers where the load can be balanced. The
current hardware setup has been optimised to meet the required
performance expectation given the transaction load. With the new
architectural design that allows optimisation of the hardware setup
and flexibility to scale with future growth, the operating and
maintenance cost can be more effectively controlled and managed.
Ease of Integration and Connectivity. With the use of leading-
edge technology (J2EE, XML and MQ Series) and systems running
on diversified platform, integration with trading partners and
authorities can be easily and concisely implemented.

Ease of Future development to cater for local trade growth and

international trade information exchange.
Hardware Scalability: Investments on hardware can be scaled up or
down depending on the processing performance expectation and
transaction volume.
Software Portability and reusability: One of the advantages of J2EE
technology is that it enables portability (write once, run anywhere)
12 Singapore

and reusability. Modules created in J2EE for one project can be

easily applied and reused in others, especially when they have
common functionality and features.
Promotes data sharing and reduces data redundancy or
repeated data entries. TradeNet permit preparation module has
currently established itself to be an accessible, affordable and user-
friendly Internet-based application for trade permit preparation.
CrimsonLogic has gone a step further to cater to the growing needs
of traders by providing other useful trade-related solutions such as
logistics, trade insurance and finance, purchasing and warehouse
solutions to the trading community as a bundle together with a web-
based front end TradeNet permit preparation module.
As the solutions come together as a bundle on the same platform,
information sharing between the different applications can be
enabled, providing a seamless flow of information between the
different applications within each company’s business process flow.
It minimises the need for repeated data entry on the same piece of
cargo information and provides a single sign-on interface to all the
modules in the trade cycle.

Lessons Learnt
What were the crucial success The main success factor of TradeNet lies in the Government’s
factors? foresight in identifying the problems, finding a solution and
championing the implementation. The cohesiveness of all the
stakeholders, the systematic planning with phased implementation
strategy as well as the adoption and use of appropriate technology
were also pivotal to the success.

What were the greatest The greatest obstacles during the initial phases of implementation
obstacles? were the need to change the mindsets of the users to switch from
their existing manual process to an electronic means of trade
declaration.

What are the main lessons Refer to answer to “What were the crucial success factors?”
learned?

Future plans
What are the plans for further In the future, TradeNet will enhance its connectivity to commercial
development of the SW? IT systems via TradeXchange so as to achieve more seamless flow
and re-use of data along the supply chain..

What are the biggest The biggest obstacle is to align the interests of IT service provides,
obstacles to further including community platform operators, so that they see the value
development of the SW? in integrating with TradeXchange .
 Singapore 13

Do you intend to make CrimsonLogic is already providing single electronic window

agreements concerning SW consultancy to overseas governments as well as Asian Development
cooperation on the regional Bank, WorldBank and Commonwealth Secretariat funded projects.
level? Further, TradeNet-like systems have been implemented in other
countries such as Ghana, Mauritius, Panama, Madagascar, Ivory
Coast and Saudi Arabia. Cross border linkages are also available to
enable data sharing with some of the Asian and Americas
economies. More are being added.

Are you planning to have CrimsonLogic is one of the founding members of the Pan Asian e-
agreements for exchange of Commerce Alliance. This is a grouping of regional trade declaration
data with SW running in operators. The Alliance meets regularly to discuss the exchange of
other countries? cross border trade data amongst its trading communities.
CrimsonLogic has also tested the operational model for the cross
border exchange of trade declaration data with some of the alliance
countries.

Source for further information

Website: https://www.tradexchange.gov.sg
Contact details: Name: SINGAPORE CUSTOMS
Procedures & Processing Branch
Address: 55 Newton Road
#07-01 Revenue House
Singapore(307987)
Phone: (65) 63552000
Fax: (65) 62509605
Email: [email protected]