Importers, exporters and other stakeholders in Mexico have recently been affected by the technological adjustments that the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM) has made to its customs systems.
This Wednesday, ANAM’s Director of Information Security, Hugo Limas Álvarez, attended the 2nd Edition of the Customs Symposium of the Latin American Confederation of Customs Agents (CLAA) , where he highlighted that despite the complications, the customs authority has come out ahead.
“We had our ups and downs, but in the end the problems were resolved and operational continuity was guaranteed ,” explained Limas Álvarez.
The head of technological security at ANAM was referring to the contingency on the Mexican Foreign Trade Single Window (VUCEM) platform , which was out of service for a week this month.
Nowadays, agility and reliability are crucial to ensure the fluidity of supply chains. For this reason, ANAM has explained that it is strengthening its technological systems to guarantee operational continuity in Mexican customs , efficiency in collection and the modernization of customs processes.
Limas Álvarez highlighted the importance of digital transformation in customs operations, working hand in hand with the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency .
“We have been making progress for some time now. We started working with them and we are making very, very fast progress on this issue ,” he said.
To avoid future disruptions to customs and its systems, ANAM is reinforcing its infrastructure with redundancy, backup and security measures, according to the official.
“Operational continuity does not depend only on more infrastructure or more technological components, but on efficient processes and an appropriate management model ,” said Limas.
On the other hand, he stressed that ANAM is a frequent target of cyberattacks , so an information security management system has been implemented to guarantee the protection of data and infrastructure.
“By adhering to the standard and strengthening security management, we can minimize risks and ensure the safe operation of the customs system ,” he said.
In addition, a risk analysis is being carried out to identify critical processes within the organization , so Limas Álvarez assured that work is being done every day to improve supervision processes, incident identification and risk control .
According to ANAM data, for the period from January to December 2024, 11 million 272 thousand 787 requests were processed, of which 25.4% (two million 863 thousand 102) were for exports and 74.6% (eight million 409 thousand 685) for imports, representing a growth of 3.3% compared to the same period in 2023.
Likewise, 21 million 945 thousand 068 foreign trade operations were carried out , which represents an increase of 2.2% compared to the same period in 2023. Nine million 608 thousand 211 export operations and 12 million 336 thousand 857 import operations were registered, with variations of 0.0% and 4.0% respectively.
Modernization of systems and processes
ANAM is also promoting the modernization of its technological platforms.
An example of this is the implementation of new applications such as a system that will optimize the management of files and procedures for customs agencies.
“This new system seeks to improve efficiency in regularization processes and ensure more agile operations ,” he said.
In addition, improvements are being evaluated in systems such as VUCEM , which have operated for more than two decades , to find out which processes should be updated and which should be optimized so that customs operations are more efficient and secure .
Hugo Limas Álvarez also emphasized the importance of improving communication with the different actors in foreign trade , authorities, customs agents and end users.
“We know that there was a lack of communication with some sectors, but we are committed to maintaining closer contact with the chambers and business groups ,” he said.
To this end, ANAM plans to hold regular information sessions on information technology updates.
Finally, the director of technological security highlighted that in the new work cycle, substantial investments are planned to strengthen ANAM’s digital infrastructure, in line with the presidential vision of efficiency and transparency in foreign trade.
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