This paper will focus on the policies, implementation and implications of the establishment and the application of trade facilitation tools (UN/EDIFACT standards), and the impact of electronic commerce as a business process in developing countries. The South-East Asian economies are investing heavily in EDI networks in order to gain an additional competitive edge in international trade. In this paper, I will discuss how a developing countries, namely Malaysia, is implementing trade facilitation technologies and the experience so far. In Malaysia, the Port Klang Community System has become a global information gateway to the various parties that are concerned with the movement of goods.

In the past, ports acted as disseminators of information, a function that the ports lost in the 20th century. However, with the application of information technology and EDI techniques, the Port Systems may once again regain their position as information gateways to governments, businesses, and the public in the 21st century.