Time-to-time we receive the question: “How was CBRA born?”. The purpose of this blog entry is to shed light on the early days of our research institute, going back to key events during years 2001-2005.

May 2001: It became evident for me that the “dot.com” company I was working for – a US-based, steel industry focused internet company, myself their only employee on-ground in Europe – didn’t have much time left, as funds were running out, and no relevant revenues were coming in….. August 2001: I started close discussions with one of the big express carriers in Brussels, Belgium, to join their global trade and customs clearance automation project, as an external analyst…. October 2001: My work at the express company had started, and I had also enrolled at HEC University of Lausanne, Switzerland, as a PhD-student… February 2002: I paid first visit to the World Customs Organization, WCO, in Brussels, to explore opportunities for a joint research project in WCO Customs Data Model; project received some funding couple of months later…. January 2003: I was granted a doctoral assistant position at HEC University of Lausanne… Spring 2005: I fixed supply chain security as the main theme for my doctoral thesis, doing research projects e.g. with the World BASC Organization in Latin America, and with consumer goods multinationals in Europe… December 2005: I registered Cross-border Research Association, CBRA, as an independent, non-profit research institute in Lausanne, Switzerland, having managed to sign a couple of multinational manufacturers and retailers as founding members – and now CBRA was “officially born”!