7 days down to 24 hours: DGA enhances customs services with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service

Optimizing customs services

In order to facilitate foreign trade and promote economic growth, the General Directorate of Customs of the Dominican Republic (DGA) had to challenge traditional practices. With a key role in the Ministry of Finance as the agency in charge of the country’s imports and exports, the DGA was looking for ways to reduce processing times. This customs clearance process comprises a series of steps, ranging from the submission of documents to the inspection of goods, including the review of applicable taxes and fees. At the end, an authorization is granted for the clearance of goods. This process ensures compliance with customs and tax regulations inside and outside the country.

The DGA faced three major challenges in its financial and administrative procedures: streamlining the submission of invoices from suppliers, closing the books each month, and performing bank reconciliation. A huge task.

197 training sessions in 14 months

The agency’s decision to adopt Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service was based on the need to integrate both solutions with their existing productivity platform, Microsoft 365, as well as with its cloud infrastructure, Microsoft Azure. With the help of SITCORP, a Microsoft partner, the solution was effectively implemented across multiple areas, including Financial Management, Process Management, Purchasing and Procurement Department, Technology and Human Resources, among others.

"In addition to supporting the financial area, we needed to integrate all the other departments that, prior to the adoption of Dynamics 365 Finance, were operating in silos, using manual processes," saysJuan Carlos Jimenez, General Accountant at the General Directorate of Customs.

Over 14 months, 197 training sessions were held for 95 employees. These changes have enabled 216 users to start benefiting from the use of ERP and CRM. The process is starting to bear fruit.

Meeting taxpayers’ requirements within 24 hours

But there were more improvements to come. “To ensure that the DGA was not perceived as a mere auditing and collection agency, but as an organization that helps taxpayers receive their goods on time, a CRM service was implemented for Large Taxpayers, a segment in which the agency was hoping to have a greater impact,” explains Orlando Batista, Director of Operations at SITCORP.

The same service has also been provided for mid-size taxpayers, and the DGA has plans to extend it to small taxpayers. So, managers can use CRM to transition their manual workflow (with Microsoft Excel) to a fully automated process (with a dashboard view and task assignment).

In January 2023, the DGA successfully implemented Dynamics 365 Finance to automate processes and improve financial and administrative management. Previously, these processes used to take several days or weeks; now, both operational efficiency and accuracy have reached a whole new level. In which way? By reducing in 66.67% the time for suppliers to submit their invoices, from 15 to only 5 minutes; in 76.19% to prepare monthly financial statements, from 21 to only 5 days; and in 71.43% for bank reconciliation, down from 7 hours to only 2 hours. The numbers speak for themselves.

Flexibility, agility, scalability, and control

Throughout a year of consolidation, the DGA not only improved the customer experience and services, but also fostered a culture of innovation and empowered its employees. In addition, the agency optimized decision-making and financial management, as well as operations in general.

"Dynamics 365 Finance gives us budgetary control by providing financial comprehensiveness for efficient data analysis. The tool is so flexible and dynamic that it enables us to continuously improve by modifying processes, creating reports, and viewing approval flows," says Juan Carlos Jimenez, Accountant General at the General Directorate of Customs. "The multi-factor authentication (MFA) is built into Dynamics 365 Finance, which provides security whenever and wherever we access information," he adds.

The DGA plans to expand automation to other areas and processes, such as tracking cases in the Legal Department and creating automated approval flows. "We want to be able to follow up on cases in our Legal Department and create automated flows for related approvals. For instance, when legal decisions are made or sentences are ordered," Jimenez concludes.

Keeping an eye on future, the DGA is well on track for a successful journey: it is becoming a benchmark in the region for efficient and reliable customs management. A true success story.