Case study: DigiChambers

In 2006, Belgian Chambers made a first step towards dematerialisation of Certificates of Origin. Customers could apply online for a Certificate of Origin, but the certificate itself still needed to be physically transferred to the company. After a two year study and test period, Belgium is (beginning of 2009) the 3rd European country to have launched a 100% online application for issuing Certificates of Origin, enabling companies to print in their own premises the certificate bearing the official stamp and signature of the Chamber that validated the request. This application called DigiChambers (www.digichambers.be), has proven itself to be cost and time efficient. By reducing considerably the number of trips to the Chambers and its electronic archiving possibilities, DigiChambers also contributes to the environment. A company can save 50% of the normal cost by using the electronic application, and even more if it fully links DigiChambers to its own ERP system.

The security issue was tackled with the utmost care: a SSL certificate for securing data communication via the Internet and class 3 digital certificates for securing access to the platform.

DigiChambers has received the approval from the Belgian Ministry of Economic Affairs,
the government administration responsible for Certificates of Origin in Belgium.

A simple three-step process:

1. The company sends its CO application via the DigiChambers website.
2. The Chamber validates the application and issues the Certificate of Origin online.
3. The company receives the certificate via the DigiChambers website and can print it in its own premises.

View the DigiChambers video.

The DigiChambers platform

The DigiChambers solution is based on the BlueRidge platform of D Soft.

In order to export goods to a foreign country, the exporter must obtain a Certificate of Origin issued by the Chamber of Commerce. Companies can now request Certificates of Origin electronically via DigiChambers. As such, the DigiChambers platform is an essential step in simplifying the issuance of export documents. Using this platform, entrepreneurs will have to complete a form with information about the sender, receiver, country of origin, the goods … on the website. Attachments to the Certificate of Origin can be uploaded to the system.

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