Enhancing business and government interactions in global trade

Abstract

Government agencies and businesses cooperate and invest heavily to achieve reliable and secure global supply networks. A so-called data pipeline, which integrates data from various parties in the supply chain and incorporates data from new tracking and monitoring technologies, would enable real-time data management for businesses. This IT infrastructure has a global scale, since it has to function both within and across countries and continents. Governments can use this data pipeline to improve the coordination of border management and reduce the administrative burden for businesses. Furthermore, businesses and government can collaborate to capitalize on modern IT and use the innovation for improving risk and data management. This paper explains a conceptual model of the data pipeline and its governance implications. As this global infrastructure cannot be built by government alone but needs to be largely realized by businesses, a public-private governance model is needed. Governments, and even supra-national institutions, would need to create the right technical, organizational, and legal environment (e.g. standards, harmonization of procedures, mutual recognition), and have to provide alternative incentives to stimulate the development of those parts of the pipeline that are without commercially viable business models.