- DHL bares plans to hire 40% more export compliance officers by end of 2021
- Center ensures legal and regulatory compliance is aligned with global standards
- Export compliance officers are globally certified by the International Compliance Association
- The center leverages AI to compare data nd alert employees of any anomalies
DHL Express announced it will increase by 40% its Asia Pacific Export Compliance Center (APECC) workforce in Malaysia by the end of the year.
The global logistics company, which moves over 480 million shipments a year worldwide, has strict measures in place to ensure that shipments through its network comply with legal and regulatory frameworks in line with United Nations, European, US, global, and local regulations on sanctions or denied parties.
“We continue to invest in the APECC because it plays a pivotal role in ensuring that good corporate governance and stringent compliance to export regulations are fully integrated into our daily business and operations,” said Ken Lee, CEO of DHL Express Asia Pacific.
With more than a million shipments passing through the DHL global network daily, it is important that the company stays on top of regulatory changes across the 40 markets in the region, he added.
Situated in Kuala Lumpur, the APECC was established in 2015 to ensure shipments through the network are compliant with evolving international shipping regulations. This includes understanding current rules and new sanctions from both origin and destination of the shipment, and helping customers understand the import and export process.
Export compliance officers at the center are globally certified by the International Compliance Association, the leading professional body for global regulatory and financial crime compliance. The teams also undergo regular training, especially when new sanctions emerge.
“Shipping across borders is a complex process involving regulations and requirements that are applied by different countries and agencies. This is made more complex where some countries have laws which apply extra-territorially,” said Raymond Yee, vice president of customs at DHL Express Asia Pacific.
Being on top of this is key to ensuring that DHL’s global network is secure and compliant, he said.
Overseeing the thousands of outbound shipments from Asia Pacific, the APECC is tasked to ensure non-compliant shipments are not missed. With the surge in shipment volumes driven in part by the growth of e-commerce, the center leverages artificial intelligence (AI) by comparing recent data and transactions of previous shipments and alerting employees when there are anomalies.
The APECC is one of the three centers globally, with one located in Europe and another in Central America.
