Research Border Held consignments to understand the categories and root causes of delays

Project Member(s): Karimi, F., Khalilpour, K., Chaudhry, M.

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute Partnership)
Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute Partnership)
DHL Express (Australia) Pty Ltd
DHL Express (Australia) Pty Ltd

Start year: 2022

Summary: As part of its international air express service offering, DHL Express Australia (DHL) imports ‘x’ consignments into Australia every week. These consignments must be border cleared by the two primary regulatory agencies, the Australian Border Force (Customs) and the Department of Agriculture Water & the Environment (Quarantine). A small percentage of these consignments are ‘Border Held’ upon arrival, which leads to increased congestion, delays and costs. DHL requires a resource that can analyse the data relating to these Border Held consignments to understand the categories and root causes of each delay, and establish the most efficacious solutions to pro-actively resolve. Similar to passengers, all goods arriving into Australia from around the world require border clearance through the two primary regulatory agencies – the Australian Border Force (Customs) and the Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment (Quarantine). DHL Express uses data received from origin countries to report the goods prior to arrival, which results in the vast majority of shipments being risk assessed and border cleared without delay. Approximately 96% of shipments are ‘Cleared on Arrival’ (COA). The 4% balance, however, creates significant cost for our business in terms of administrative processes, physical examinations, customer enquiries, and congestion in our facilities. The project is looking at ways to proactively manage these held shipments more efficiently. Key to this is being able to analyse the data of why shipments are not cleared (preferably pre-arrival), and develop ways to communicate the necessary requirements to customers to resolve quickly and avoid delays and enquiries. Data analysis may include: sorting held shipments into categories, calculating when shipments are deemed to be held and for how long, identifying trends such as commodities, countries and suppliers, and establishing ways to alert affected parties sooner.

FOR Codes: Environmentally sustainable information and communication services, Transportation, logistics and supply chains, Information systems for sustainable development and the public good

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.