AES stands for \"Automated Export System\", ECS for \"Export Control System\". Both are abbreviations for an international IT project which has been initiated for the export field by the European Commission in cooperation with member states. The AES integrates the acceptance of electronic export declarations and the electronic data interchange between the customs office of export and the customs office of exit from the EU. In Germany the name of the corresponding IT process is ATLAS. With effect from 01 July 2009 the ATLAS electronic export process replaced the previous paper-based export procedure. This means that from 01 July 2009 the electronic exchange of data with the customs authorities became binding for companies which operate in international trade. The electronic transmission of export data between the various national processing systems is implemented via ECS.