Deficiencies within customs management - An exploratory case study about how a MedTech company can improve their customs management.

Sammanfattning: World trade values have increased extensively during the last decades. Customs is a fundamental part of global trade, and this puts pressure on companies to be aware of procedures and related regulations. However, it has been found that knowledge about central customs procedures often is lacking at companies and that these matters often are deprioritised. This is troublesome due to companies’ extensive responsibility over customs declarations. The aim of this study has been to get a deeper understanding of where customs management commonly is deficient at companies in general, and at the case company in particular, and how the deficiencies could be addressed. The study was conducted at a medium sized MedTech company located in Sweden. Qualitative data was collected through interviews with respondents, both at the case company and other actors involved in customs matters. Deficiencies within the customs management at the case company were found, such as insufficiently updated information, too few resources allocated for customs and a lack of routines for monitoring purposes. The identified improvement potentials revolved around coordinating and monitoring processes, to ensure that accurate information will be used. The findings from interviewees outside of the case company indicated that there was an alignment between the deficiencies at the case company and common deficiencies at companies overall. This implies that the findings could be generalised to a broader context.