Tosoh Europe, a supplier of chemical products to industry, has implemented AEB software to automate export controls and screening of export shipments, seamlessly integrated in SAP®. The solution ensures full compliance for the subsidiary of Japanese parent company Tosoh Corporation.
Tosoh Europe supplies chemicals to diagnostic systems and materials for the semiconductor industry, and most of the products that Tosoh Europe sells come from plants outside the European Union. The chemicals are either shipped directly to customers or temporarily put into hazardous goods storage (bonded or non-bonded) in Tosoh’s European Distribution Centre (EDC) in the Netherlands or other regional warehouses in Europe, the Middle East or Africa (EME) before being packed and shipped as needed to fulfil customer requirements. “We sell a lot in the EU, of course. But we also have customers in other European countries such as Russia, as well as in Africa and the Middle East,” says Lars Droog, manager of supply chain and general affairs at Tosoh Europe.
Export controls and European, American and Japanese sanction lists
Tosoh Europe has foreign trade compliance obligations that go well beyond screening against EU and US sanctions lists of entities and individuals, which is why it chose AEB’s solution ATC :: Compliance Screening and Export Controls. When shipping outside the EU, Tosoh also has to check the US and EU’s product and embargo lists. Chemicals that were previously imported from the US are also subject to US re-export law. Moreover, because Tosoh Europe is a subsidiary of a Japanese company, Tosoh Europe also screens against Japanese lists. “Our goal is full compliance,” Droog says.
Fully updated sanction lists
Tosoh Europe was equally thorough in choosing an IT solution for export controls and sanctions list screening. Following a selection process involving multiple solutions, the company decided on ATC :: Compliance Screening and Export Controls from AEB. The implementation took two months, during which the solutions were thoroughly tested and all staff trained.
The goal was to automate the extensive export control checks and integrate them efficiently into the overall process. That’s why Droog and his team wanted more than just software with a powerful screening algorithm. Tosoh wanted a centralised solution that also includes the content – the current versions of the various sanctions lists - and would always be compliant with export control regulations.
The compliance software also needed to integrate easily into the SAP® system that Tosoh Europe had introduced in 2013.ATC :: Compliance Screening and Export Controls satisfied all the technical specifications, and AEB was also able to provide the necessary content in the form of a data service that keeps the lists up todate at all times.
Another advantage of ATC :: Compliance Screening and Export Controls: The solution integrates directly into SAP® via a standard plug-in, meaning that the screening runs in the background – and employees can work in their familiar SAP® environment without switching back and forth between two systems.
Uncompromised efficiency
In addition to checking the customer master data against the screening list on a regular basis, every order and every shipment is routinely screened. The same applies to direct shipments to customers from the overseas plants that Tosoh Europe manages, and to shipments from the warehouses or the European production sites.
The product classifications, such as the export control classification number (ECCN), which are needed for automatic screening, are stored directly in the SAP® system’s material master data. Saving or modifying an order in SAP® triggers the control process. The screening runs in the background, so users don’t normally notice it at all. “It was very important to us that nothing compromises the efficiency of our processes. Our experience so far has been positive,” says Droog.
The workflow is interrupted only where required by law: if a transaction requires a special procedure or verification under export control law. If such a “match” occurs, staff who are responsible for export controls are notified by e-mail. The transaction remains locked until the matter is clarified, and the transaction can be approved by the appropriate Compliance officers.
Full visibility
For Droog, the end result has been positive: “We are very pleased with the solution, but also with the support that AEB provided during and after the project phase. We have complete visibility of all business transactions subject to screening and export controls and can document this in the system.”