Structural Fiscalistics in Global Supply Chains: Mapping Institutional Interface Pressure in Rule-Dense Trade Systems

This paper examines global supply chains as rule-dense institutional systems rather than purely logistical networks. While conventional supply-chain analysis focuses on transportation efficiency, inventory management, and operational resilience, cross-border trade simultaneously activates multiple regulatory regimes—including customs classification, export controls, sanctions screening, tax documentation, and ESG compliance. These overlapping rule systems create institutional interface pressure when transactions move across jurisdictions and regulatory modules. To analyze this phenomenon, the paper applies Structural Fiscalistics together with the Cabinet–Drawer Model (CDM) as a pre-analytical framework for mapping how trade transactions travel through institutional structures. In this model, institutional systems function as cabinets, regulatory regimes operate as drawers, and individual trade transactions act as files moving between them. Frictions arise when a transaction becomes non-admissible in one drawer, even if it satisfies the requirements of others, reflecting the non-compensatory logic typical of rule-dense governance environments. The study reframes supply-chain disruptions as outcomes of institutional non-admissibility events rather than purely physical bottlenecks. Using the operational structure of the GreatSell global warehousing platform as an illustrative case, the paper demonstrates how distributed warehouse networks can function as institutional routing layers that translate regulatory complexity into standardized operational procedures. By mapping these institutional interfaces and identifying high-friction regulatory nodes, the paper contributes a structural approach to understanding governance pressures in global trade systems. The framework also provides a basis for future research on AI-mediated trade governance, regulatory coordination across jurisdictions, and institutional tension mapping in cross-border economic infrastructures.