• Starting date

    22 April

  • Duration

    9 days

  • Fee

    € 12,000 (excl. 21% VAT)

  • Language

    English

  • Format

    In person

The customs profession is changing and facing new challenges. Networks for international trade have grown in complexity. But, transparency and security of the flow of goods in the supply chain have not kept pace with this change. This leads to risks which in turn would demand stricter regulation and tighter controls. However, that increases the administrative burden for businesses and the regulatory costs for the government, which is already under pressure of budget cuts. So, you need innovative solutions to increase compliance and reduce the costs at the same time.  

Learning goals

After this programme, you can add these strengths to your knowledge and skillset. 

  • A deeper understanding of core areas within customs and international trade.  
  • A multi-disciplinary view on issues in global supply chains.  
  • The skills to progress one of your organisation’s improvement projects.  
  • Specialist coaching by a faculty member.  

Curriculum

Find out more about the content of the programme

The nine-day Diploma Programme in Customs and Supply Chain Compliance is designed to provide you with a comprehensive platform from which to build an outstanding career. It covers four fundamental disciplines: customs, auditing, logistics and information technology. Each topic is taught by an expert in the field. You will conclude the programme by writing your own business improvement plan.

Learn the principles of EU customs law, the build-up of current customs legislation Community Customs Code (CCC), and upcoming legislation Union Customs Code (UCC) and its international background (WTO/WCO). You will also explore the basic principles of EU law and how this relates to national law systems.

TOPICS

  • Principles and structure of EU customs system
  • Customs and trade – legislative framework, CCC and UCC
  • EU law and its relation to national law
  • International Customs Law (WTO/WCO) and European law
  • Legislation of the EU and case law of the CJEU, reading, understanding and applying it

Managing compliance in international trade is an organisational activity that is not different from any other organisational activity. We will explore insights from organisational theory to develop a view on how organisations can design, develop and monitor their compliance and trade management vision, operations and execution.

TOPICS

  • Organisational theory
  • Compliance vision
  • Trade management
  • Monitoring compliance performance

Explore the basics of logistics and supply chain management. You will understand chains and networks in transport and logistics, global

transportation and international business. You will also gain insight in global container transport and the various parties that play a role in the international movement of goods.

TOPICS

  • Introduction to global logistics
  • Inventory management
  • Transportation networks
  • Container terminal operations

Information technology & auditing is essential for companies and customs to make sure that customs regulations are followed. Focus on the basics of information technology from the perspective of a company that wants to remain compliant. You will address the basic IT technologies, how useful information can be stored in and retrieved from databases, how it is used in the various types of information systems, and how IT can be audited to be compliant with regulations and secured from hacking.

TOPICS

  • Management information systems, web services and service-oriented architectures
  • Audit principles, process and IT audit
  • Information security
  • Risk assessment

For whom

Explore if this course is for you

Your roles

  • Professional in customs and international trade
  • Compliance officer or text specialist
  • AEO advisor
  • Specialist such as IT auditor, trade lawyer, logistics expert

Your responsibilities

  • Implement innovative solutions in your organisation
  • Understand regulatory requirements
  • Develop effective compliance processes
  • Collaborate and coordinate with various stakeholders

Your challenges

  • Balancing compliance and operational efficiency
  • Improving co-operation in international trade
  • Identifying alignment and potential trade-offs

Read what previous participants say about this programme

Rob van Ittersum

Department co-ordinator of security, health, economy and environment at Dutch Customs Administration

The programme provides an academic curriculum in customs and supplier chain compliance. Participants from business and customs help you explore and understand both worlds. The diploma programme is well-organised and provides a high level of education. Understanding business and in-depth education is crucial for the customs administration.

Edward Witlox

Managing director at Bonded Services International

I gained a thorough insight in the field of safety, security and trade facilitation. Daily operating on the edge of customs, trade, logistics and IT, this programme offered me a strong fundament and driver for further improvement and extending my business in cross-border trade. By collaborating with participants from all kind of disciplines, sectors and from different countries, I broadened my perspective on how to approach practical cases. And, by writing the report we structured and modelled our procedures in how we service our clients.

Peter Holm

European supply chain manager at Knowles

I wanted to expand my general knowledge on customs and supply chain compliance to complement the very company- and trade-specific knowledge I already had. Ruud Tusveld provided this brilliantly, offering the basic framework of customs as a concept and how the detailed law and procedures take part in that.

Elvar Örn Arason

AEO co-ordinator at Iceland Customs

RSM’s diploma programme in customs and supply chain compliance gave me a multi-disciplinary understanding of the issues in managing global supply chains. I gained an up-to-date insight into a constantly changing environment and an understanding of the challenges facing customs administration in securing safety and security of international trade. It was also valuable to get new ideas and learn from a diverse group of participants from both trade and customs.

Your expert faculty

A team of RSM’s expert faculty teach the Diploma Programme in Customs and Supply Chain Compliance; they are listed below and you will usually take classes with at least two of them. Occasionally we may substitute other faculty members according to the content of the programme and their availability.

Prof. Albert Veenstra

Albert Veenstra is the scientific director of the Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics (Dinalog) and professor in international trade facilitation and logistics at Eindhoven University of Technology. At Dinalog, he develops and executes the innovation agenda for the Dutch logistics industry. He was senior business consultant at TNO from 2011 to 2014. Before that, he was an assistant professor at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Albert has broad experience in international freight transport and logistics, regulatory compliance in supply chains, and multimodal freight transport and synchromodality. He was also part of the scientific co-ordination team of large European integrated projects.

Prof. Rob Zuidwijk

Rob Zuidwijk is professor of global supply chains and ports at RSM. He teaches about freight transport systems, intermodal transportation, international logistics and supply chain management, and interorganisational systems in logistics. His work has been published in journals such as California Management Review, Transportation Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management and Production and Operations Management. He has participated and co-ordinated funded research projects in international logistics and container transport. Rob is the academic director of RSM’s Executive Master in Customs and Supply Chain Compliance programme. He also acts as Captain of Science in the Topsector Logistiek.

Prof. Harwin de Vries

Harwin de Vries is Assistant Professor at the Technology and Operations Management department at RSM. His research focuses on health & humanitarian logistics, Harwin has collaborated closely with more than twenty humanitarian/ health organizations, studying how key decisions in health/ humanitarian supply chains affect patients or beneficiaries and how they could be improved. He particularly explores the potential role of data and prescriptive analytics and new business and operating models in the sectors . Harwin's current teaching portfolio includes courses on Health & Humanitarian Logistics (MSc & MBA), Business Analytics (EMBA), and Spreadsheet Modelling (BSc & Pre-MSc). 

Prof. Walter de Wit

Walter de Wit is professor of international and European customs law at Erasmus School of Law, where he is programme director and tutor for the Post-master in EU Customs Law programme in the European Fiscal Studies Foundation, and is a core faculty member in RSM’s Master in Customs and Supply Chain Compliance programme. He is also a partner at professional services firm Ernst & Young, where he advises clients on indirect taxes, customs and international trade. Walter specialises in international trade and how taxation and customs law impact cross border supply chains, and has served as Advocate General in the Tax Chamber of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

Dr Joris Hulstijn

Joris Hulstijn is an assistant professor of information systems at Tilburg School of Economics and Management. He has a background in information systems and IT auditing. His research concentrates on computational forms of auditing, such as model-based auditing process mining, continuous control monitoring and their applications, for example in regulatory compliance and e-government. For this, he often collaborates with government organisations such as the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration. Joris teaches courses on enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, cyber security and project management.

Dr Ziv Baida

Dr Ziv Baida is an Executive consultant in government and international trade related IT and data analytics developments. He has worked for large organisations such as IBM and Altares Dun & Bradstreet. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Luxembourg in the field of Digital Transformation, and owner of the advisory company Insights Unboxed.

Dr Ruud Tusveld

Dr Ruud Tusveld was a partner in charge of the Dutch Customs & International Trade practice of PwC, leader of the PwC EMEA Customs & International Trade group and global co-ordinator for the customs network worldwide as a member of the global indirect tax leaderships team of PwC. He specialises in customs regime aspects related to the distribution and production of goods. In all cases, this is combined with advisory on the related main international VAT aspects. Ruud also teaches in RSM’s Master in Customs and Supply Chain Compliance programme.

Frank Heijman

Frank Heijman is Head of Trade Relations at the Netherlands Customs and the director of the National Committee on Trade Facilitation in the Netherlands. He is the co-author of the book Customs, Inside Anywhere Insights Everywhere, which discusses the advanced vision of Customs that was developed in the last decade through extensive research within European innovation projects such as Cassandra and CORE. Frank is a lecturer and thesis supervisor in the MSc on Customs and Supply Chain Compliance.

More information

Start dates

22 April - 28 June 2024

Programme fee

€ 12,000 (excl. 21% VAT) including course materials, lunches, and snacks. This fee does not include hotel accommodation.

25% discount for alumni from Erasmus University Rotterdam and RSM.

A programme for your entire team

All of our short courses can also be delivered as personalised in-company training to groups of employees from the same organisation. This enables us to develop a comprehensive programme that focuses on your organisation’s own unique situation and issues. 

Frequently asked questions

The 2024 modules are:

  • 22-23 April 2024: Essentials of customs by key teacher prof. Walter de Wit
  • 24-25 April 2024: Essentials of trade and compliance management by Albert Veenstra and Frank Heijmann
  • 21-22 May 2024: Essentials of logistics by Albert Veenstra and Harwin de Vries
  • 23-24 May 2024: Essentials of information technology and auditing by Ziv Baida and Joris Hulstijn
  • 28 June 2024: return day & graduation 

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) offers a dynamic learning environment for professionals looking for new skills and knowledge in business and management education. 

  • RSM is consistently ranked among Europe’s top business schools.
  • World-class professors and a globally oriented faculty deliver business leaders with an innovative mindset.
  • A prestigious Triple Crown accreditation puts RSM among the top 1% of business schools worldwide.
  • With our no-nonsense approach, RSM's goal is to give you the tools to put your new skills and knowledge directly into practice, for real impact.
  • It’s about you: during your programme you can discuss your specific business challenges and receive personal coaching.
  • You will meet a new network of peers in an RSM programme: extend your network, share experiences and become inspired by your fellow participants.

This programme takes place in Bayle building on the Woudestein Campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam, just 15 minutes by public transport from Rotterdam city centre. Our modern and lively campus has innovative study facilities, sustainable design, and calming green spaces.

Class sizes are usually between 12 to 24 people, but it does depend on the programme. We aim for a balance between allowing capacity to guarantee individual attention, and achieving a good group dynamic and networking opportunities.

Yes. Alumni from RSM and Erasmus University Rotterdam receive a 25 per cent discount. RSM alumni are those who have completed either a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, PhD or at least one executive education programme of more than 40 hours duration. Participants of open programmes of less than 40 hours do not receive a discount. Companies sponsoring several participants may also be offered a special price.

These programmes are excluded from this alumni discount:

  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Excellence Programme
  • Leadership Challenges with Data Analytics
  • Urban Digital Innovation Executive Leadership for a Green Deal
  • Executive Master in Customs and Supply Chain Compliance
  • Business Valuation
  • Port Executive Leadership Circle
  • Corporate Communication programmes
  • Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship programmes
  • RSM Customised Programmes
  • Programmes offered outside RSM Executive Education

Programme fees include tuition, programme materials, plus lunch and refreshments throughout the programme. Hotel accommodation is not included, unless mentioned otherwise in the programme information.

If you require hotel accommodation, we recommend the Novotel Rotterdam Brainpark Hotel and the Bilderberg Park Hotel. Both hotels are located in Rotterdam, accessible to the university, and participants can benefit from special rates.

Please note that due to high demand, we advise you to book your hotel stay for any program as early as possible with a flexible rate.

Our general terms and conditions apply when you register for an open programme. Please review them to learn more about our policies for cancellation, deferral and substitution.

If you have more general questions, we recommend you explore our more in-depth FAQs page. If you are looking for personal advice, then please contact one of our advisors using the contact form below.