Authorized Economic Operator Program in Turkey: Evaluation of Benefits and Challenges from the Supply Chain Perspective

Öz

Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) is a program that is introduced by World Customs Organization (WCO) with its foundations built on customs-business cooperation. The main aim of the program is identifying and certifying the low-risk, trustworthy firms that meet the necessary criteria set by the customs administrations. From the supply chain perspective, acquiring this certification will provide benefits such as improved quality, security and reduced time and costs throughout the international trade process. Since its adaption by Turkey in 2013, 267 firms have acquired this certification and the participating firms reached a point that they can evaluate the challenges they had faced in the early stages of the program and the benefits they have now started to experience. Therefore this study aims to evaluate the effects of AEO program in Turkey by carrying out a qualitative research with supply chain perspective by focusing on the benefits and challenges AEO holders have experienced. Findings reveal that the expectations regarding cost savings, time reduction, and increased firm reputation, supply chain performance and security are met; whereas the challenges faced during the application process are still present.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• authorized economic operator,customs,supply chain stakeholders,international trade

Türkiye’de Yetkilendirilmiş Yükümlü Statüsü Programı: Tedarik Zinciri Perspektifiyle Faydaların ve Zorlukların Değerlendirilmesi

Öz

Yetkilendirilmiş Yükümlü Statüsü (YYS), temelleri gümrük-işletme işbirliğine dayanacak şekilde Dünya Gümrük Örgütü (DGÖ) tarafından hazırlanmış bir programdır. Programın temel amacı, gümrük idareleri tarafından belirlenen gerekli kriteri yerine getirebilen güvenilir ve düşük riskli firmaların tespiti ve sertifikasyonudur. Tedarik zinciri açısından, bu belgeye sahip olmak; uluslar arası ticaret sürecinde kalite ve güvenlik artışı ile zaman ve maliyet tasarrufu gibi faydalar sağlamaktadır. Programın 2013’te Türkiye’de uygulamaya girmesinden itibaren 267 firma bu belgeyi almış ve katılımcı firmalar programın başlarında karşılaştıkları güçlükler ile gelinen noktada tecrübe etmeye başladıkları faydalarını değerlendirebilecek konuma ulaşmışlardır. Buna bağlı olarak bu çalışma Türkiye’deki YYS programının etkilerini nitel araştırma yöntemi ile tedarik zinciri perspektifinden YYS sahibi firmaların tecrübe ettiği güçlükleri ve faydaları göz önünde bulundurarak değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bulgular göstermektedir ki firmaların maliyet ve zaman tasarrufu, firma prestiji ve tedarik zinciri performansı ile ilgili beklentileri karşılanmıştır. Buna rağmen firmaların başvuru sürecinde yaşadıkları güçlükler halen mevcuttur. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• yetkilendirilmiş yükümlü statüsü,gümrük,tedarik zinciri paydaşları,uluslar arası ticaret

Kaynakça

1. Cedilnik, M. & Ramsak, R. (2013). A Local Perspective to the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Concept. Lex Localis, 11(3), 673-685.
2. Den Butter, F. A., Liu, J., & Tan, Y. H. (2012). Using IT to Engender Trust in Government-to-Business Relationships: The Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) as an Example. Government Information Quarterly, 29(2), 261-274.
3. Erceg, A. (2014). Influence of Authorized Economic Operators on Supply Chain Security. Business Logistics in Modern Management 14th International Scientific Conference. 93-101
4. Eşrefoğlu, D. (2011). Yetkilendirilmiş Yükümlü (AEO) Statüsü ve Dünyadaki Uygulama Örnekleri. Gümrükte Uzman Görüş, 31, 23-32
5. Fletcher, T. (2007). Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programs: IBM’s Perspective. World Customs Journal, 1(2), 61-66.
6. Foddy, W. (1994). Constructing Questions for Interviews and Questionnaires: Theory and Practice in Social Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7. Fontana, A., & Frey, J. H. (2000). The Interview: From Structured Questions to Negotiated Text. Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2(6), 645-672.
8. Grainger, A. (2011). Trade Facilitation: A Conceptual Review. Journal of World Trade, 45(1), 39-62.

9. Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How Many Interviews are Enough? An Experiment with Data Saturation and Variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59-82.
10. Haughton, M.A. & Desmeules, R. (2001). Recent Reforms in Customs Administrations, The International Journal of Logistics Management, 12(1), 65-82
11. Healy, M., & Perry, C. (2000). Comprehensive Criteria to Judge Validity and Reliability of Qualitative Research within the Realism Paradigm. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 3(3), 118-126.
12. Heaver, T.D. (1992). The Role of Customs Administration in the Structure and Efficiency of International Logistics: An international Comparison, The International Journal of Logistics Management, 3 (1), 63-72
13. Henningson, S. & Henriksen, H.Z. (2011). Inscription of Behaviour and Flexible Interpretation in Infrastructures: The Case of Eropean E-Customs, 20 (2011), 355-372
14. Hintsa, J. & Hameri, A-P. (2009). Security Programs as Part of Efficient Supply Chain Management, Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal, 10(2), 26-37
15. Homenuik, M. (2015). Authorized Economic Operator: Reasons for Dissatisfaction with Status in Ukraine and Ways of Terms Improvement. Customs Scientific Journal CUSTOMS, 5(2), 75-81.
16. Huang, H. H. (2016). Authorized Economic Operator in Taiwan-An Example of International Freight Forwarders. In Management of Innovation and Technology (ICMIT), 2016 IEEE International Conference on, 172-176
17. Kolbe, R. H., & Burnett, M. S. (1991). Content-Analysis Research: An Examination of Applications with Directives for Improving Research Reliability and Objectivity. Journal of Consumer Research, 18(2), 243-250.
18. Maxwell, J. A. (1996). Qualitative Research Design (Vol. 41). California: Thousand Oaks
19. Miled, M. S., & Fiore, C. (2014). The “Authorized Economic Operator” Certification and Firm Performance. In Advanced Logistics and Transport (ICALT), 2014 International Conference, 167-172
20. Park, H. G., & Park, Y. (2018). Examining the Perceived Impact of Financial Investment in AEO Certification on Performance Through Trade Facilitation and Public and Private Partnership. International Journal of Logistics Management, 29(1)46-63
21. Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods, California: SAGE Publications, 169-186.
22. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Customs and Trade (2017). Yetkilendirilmiş Yükümlülerin İzlenmesi Tebliği (14.03.2017)
23. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Customs and Trade (2018a). Authorized Economic Operator Program of Turkey. https://english.gtb.gov.tr/trade/customs/facilitation/authorized-economic-operator-program-of-turkey (Access Date: 01.05.2018)
24. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Customs and Trade (2018b). Yetkilendirilmiş Yükümlü Sayıları (Date of Report: 12.03.2018)
25. Shirsavar, H.A. & Shirinpour, M. (2016). The Effect of Electronic Customs Administration on Facilitating the Export Activities of Export Companies based in Gilan, Iran, Intellectual Economics, 10(2016),114-121
26. Schramm, S. (2015). Who Benefits Most from AEO Certification? An Austrian Perspective. World Customs Journal, 9(1), 59-67.
27. Widdowson, D. (2007). The Changing Role of Customs: Evolution or Revolution. World Customs Journal, 1(1), 31-37.
28. World Customs Organization (2016). Compendium of Authorized Economic Operator Programmes. WCO Research Paper Series 2016 Edition
29. Urciuoli, L., & Ekwall, D. (2009). Supply Chain Security Programs—Comparing Authority and Business Certifications. In Proceedings of the 21st Annual Nofoma Conference , 1-20
30. Üyümez, M.E. & Gültekin, R. (2016). Gümrük Denetimi: Türkiye Uygulamalarının Analizi, Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 8(14), 343-365
31. Zhang, S., & Preece, R. (2011). Designing and Implementing Customs-Business Partnerships: A Possible Framework for Collaborative Governance. World Customs Journal, 5(1), 43-62.