AI-Assisted Customs Audits: Borderly’s Approach to Streamlining Compliance

Background

Entropical, an innovative AI solutions company, partnered with Borderly, a customs compliance consultancy firm, to revolutionize the process of managing and auditing international shipments for large-scale e-commerce and logistics companies. These companies handle hundreds of thousands of international shipments daily, each requiring customs declarations. To ensure compliance, customs authorities mandate that these companies manually check 1% of their shipments for errors each month, amounting to tens of thousands of packages requiring individual inspection.

Challenge

The primary challenge was to develop a solution that could significantly reduce the manual workload associated with customs compliance checks while maintaining or improving accuracy. The existing process was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also prone to human error due to the sheer volume of shipments. Borderly needed an innovative approach that could automate a substantial portion of these checks, ensuring compliance with customs regulations while improving efficiency for their clients.

Solution

To address this challenge, Entropical designed and developed a custom AI tool for Borderly. This innovative solution offers several key features:

  1. Automated compliance checks: The AI tool performs textual and statistical analysis to automatically verify various aspects of shipments, including:
    • Correctness of categorization
    • Realistic valuation of packages
    • Proper application of import duties
    • Identification of regulated products with specific restrictions
  2. High-volume processing: The system can handle the enormous daily volume of international shipments, from thousands to hundreds of thousands.
  3. Regulatory approval: The Dutch Customs Authority has approved this approach, recognizing its effectiveness in maintaining compliance standards.
  4. Reduced manual inspection requirements: Companies using this system have seen their mandatory manual check quota reduced from 1% to 0.001% of shipments.

The implementation of this AI tool resulted in:

  • Significant reduction in manual labor for compliance checks
  • Improved accuracy and consistency in customs declarations
  • Faster processing times for international shipments
  • Enhanced ability to identify and address potential compliance issues proactively

Conclusion

Entropical’s custom AI solution for Borderly has transformed the process of managing customs compliance for large-scale international shipping operations. By automating a significant portion of the compliance checks, the tool has dramatically reduced the manual workload while improving accuracy and consistency.

The success of this AI-driven approach is evidenced by its approval from the Dutch Customs Authority and the subsequent reduction in mandatory manual checks for companies utilizing the system. This not only demonstrates the tool’s effectiveness but also its potential to set new standards in customs compliance management.

For Borderly’s clients, this solution translates to substantial time and cost savings, reduced risk of compliance errors, and improved operational efficiency. It allows these companies to handle their large volumes of international shipments more effectively, ensuring smooth customs processes while focusing human resources on more complex tasks and strategic initiatives.

The implementation of this AI tool showcases how innovative technology can address real-world challenges in international trade and logistics. By leveraging AI for routine compliance checks and data analysis, Borderly has positioned itself as a leader in customs compliance consultancy, offering cutting-edge solutions that meet the evolving needs of global e-commerce and logistics companies.