[An Investigation into the Impact of Management Information System on Reducing the Risks of Customs Clearance Delays at Moses Brokerage Service Company]

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Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

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Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTIII

DECLARATIONIV

TABLE OF CONTENTSV

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTIONVI

1.1INTRODUCTIONvi

1.2RESEARCH CONTEXTvii

1.3RESEARCH PROBLEMviii

1.4AIM OF THE STUDYviii

1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVESviii

1.6RESEARCH QUESTIONix

1.7SIGINIFICANCE OF THE STUDYix

1.8FORMAT OF THE STUDYx

1.9.CONCLUSIONxi

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEWXIII

2. THE MODERATING ROLE OF GOVERNMENTxiv

2.1 MECHANISMS TO COPE WITH CUSTOMS-CLEARANCE UNCERTAINTYxv

2.2 CUSTOMS CLEARANCE NETWORK AND PROCESS-DELAY MODELxx

2.3 RFID APPLICATION IN CUSTOMS CLEARANCE PROCESSxxiii

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGYXXXIV

3.0 SAMPLExxxv

3.1 STUDY FINDINGSxxxvi

3.2 THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENTxxxvii

3.3 THE CURRENT CUSTOMS BROKERS SERVICE PORTFOLIOxxxix

CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSISXLV

4.0 CUSTOMS BROKERS' POTENTIAL SERVICES PORTFOLIOxlv

4.1 FOUR GROUPS OF SERVICES WERE IDENTIFIED FROM THIS ANALYSIS:xlvii

4.2 OPPORTUNITY AREASl

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONLII

REFERENCESLIV

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Integrating Information systems (IS) in business processes of brokerage service companies can reduce major delays in imports clearance. Delays in imports clearance cause damage to perishable imports, thrifty, high holding cost and has a negative impact on the performance of the business. This could result in failure by brokerage to meet institution's unique business goals and satisfy customer's needs. Brokerage can leverage IS in areas like obtaining external information on customs duties, warehouse holding charges, tracking vessels and accessing shipping schedules, tracking customers orders progress, quality control of documentation completeness, and can streamline business processes and eliminate major causes of inefficiency.

This study investigated the impact of Management Information System (MIS) on the internal and external business processes of Moses Brokerage Service Company in order to reduce risks and costs associated with customs clearance delays so that efficiency and customer satisfaction is attained. Moses Brokerage Service Company is a small private registered service company offering custom clearance services in Angola. The brokerage was chosen because of its availability and ease of access for research data and above all because it has been identified to have management challenges with clearance delays. The main business processes at Moses Brokerage are: receiving and process import documentation from customers; tracking vessels, paying import duties to the national customs authority; claiming imports from customs warehouse and deliver imports to respective customers. The following section explores the research context.

RESEARCH CONTEXT

The study focused on the application of MIS on enhancing brokerage's business processes. It aimed at establishing the impact of MIS on the internal and external business processes of Moses Brokerage Service Company in order to reduce risks and costs associated with customs clearance delays so that efficiency and customer satisfaction could be attained. This was achieved through collection and analysis of data on the effectiveness of the present business process with respect to IS usage.

The management problem at had was chosen based ...