Developing an Information Infrastructure for International Trade

Regulators in international trade are facing a difficult challenge of increasing control and security while lowering the administrative burden for traders. The European Commission has introduced the concept of “trusted traders”: certified traders that are in control of their business. Trusted traders are entitled to trade facilitations, faster border crossing, and fewer physical inspections. To enable the use of trusted traders, changes are required to the information infrastructure (II) of international trade. Following the principles of IS design research, this paper presents a design proposition for the II of international trade. Using theories of II development and change as kernel theory, our proposition contains a redesign of IT, organisational, human, and change and collaboration elements. The design proposition was evaluated and verified with proof of concept installations and a stakeholder value assessment. The paper contributes to the domain of II and how they may be changed to meet new requirements.