As an exporter, you are required to comply with the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). You are not required to implement an EMS. An EMS can help you comply with the EAR, however, and we urge exporters to have one, or some other system to ensure compliance.
We have developed EMS Guidelines to assist exporters with complying with the EAR by offering different management tools and internal controls that can be implemented at key steps in the order processing flow. The EMS addresses the greater emphasis on end-use and end-user concerns that have been in the EAR since the adoption of the Enhanced Proliferation Control Initiative in the early 1990s. Our controls have moved beyond just focusing on whether your product is controlled to a certain country. Now, you must be concerned about whether your product could end up in the hands of a proliferator or proliferation activity (see part 744 of the EAR). An EMS helps you lay out many of the EAR requirements to ensure that you stay in compliance with the EAR.
We emphasize that EMS procedures should be in writing, but we consider uploading your procedures to an Intranet to be a great way to communicate faster to larger numbers of employees. You do need to be sure that you instruct employees to use the procedures and that someone keeps the procedures up-to-date.