To inefficiency in trade .ASEAN can benefit by adopting a common inspection policy across borders thus reducing the time required for inspection as well as protecting the interests of the country.
In the case of the different classification of goods exercised by different countries,ASEAN can adopt a standardized or common customs rules. These rules should also be made transparently known to all parties involved in logistics.Moreover,the customs officers should be educated on the proper classification procedures.This will also make the inbound clearance process more efficient.
With regard to land transportation,ASEAN can benefit if there exists a common ASEAN certification of trucks that are free to cross borders . This will help to alleviate unnecessary bottlenecks and reduce waiting time at the checkpoints. On foreign investment ,the experience from Singapore shows that allowing majority foreign ownership can only benefit individual countries by attracting foreign investment and improving their infrastructure. But this will also require all firms (domestic or foreign) to be treated fairly , without discrimination.
Customs procedures and inspections are the most significant barriers to logistics services in ASEAN.The inefficiency arises mainly due to the lack of automated practices and redundant procedures requiring albeit unnecessary documentation.