Why Digitizing Import Operations is More Important Than Ever

Editor’s note: This guide was contributed by Matthew Fotouhi, Chief Technology Officer, Customs Compliance at Magaya. Matthew founded ACELYNK in 2011 and built the industry-leading platform for Customs compliance. Acquired by Magaya in 2020, ACELYNK adds powerful ACE/ABI capabilities to the Magaya Ecosystem.

Whether you’re an importer, a customs broker, a freight forwarder, or otherwise involved in the import of goods, the bar is getting higher for you to stay compliant, keep up with competitors, and meet customer expectations. And, while staying informed about evolving trends, regulations, and best practices is definitely important, it’s no longer enough. As demand for imports grows exponentially in an increasingly crowded and complex market, it’s more important than ever to put modern logistics software on your side.

 Key Takeaways

• The Customs Modernization Act of 2021, also known as “Mod Act,” proposes to expand CBP authority to require documentation and data from e-commerce platforms that sell imported products. The bill also proposes changes to entry requirements and places added documentation and recordkeeping responsibilities on importers as well as any party involved in facilitating the importation process.
• Digitization can be particularly effective in expediting entry submissions with automation to convert shipping documents to entry data, using AI, OCR, natural language processing, and machine learning to complete the required entries accurately, with minimal human intervention.
• Keeping up with the complexity of import operations is going to require making better use of technology: even the most hardworking team simply won’t be able to keep up with evolving compliance requirements, competition, and customer expectations.

Compliance

Introduced by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the Customs Modernization Act of 2021, also known as “Mod Act,” proposes to expand CBP authority to require documentation and data from e-commerce platforms that sell imported products, among several other updates. The bill also proposes changes to entry requirements and places added documentation and recordkeeping responsibilities on importers as well as any party involved in facilitating the importation process.

These changes, if they become law, will require utmost accuracy and speed of entry data and availability of backup documentation at a moment’s notice. Penalties can be severe, costing your business time and money. Under the Act, the entry process will likely need to begin earlier, as soon as shipments are being scheduled and booked, to allow brokers sufficient time to file and clear entries. Staff qualification and supporting technology will both need to be evaluated and, most likely, upgraded in order to keep up.

Digitization can be particularly effective in expediting entry submissions with automation to convert shipping documents to entry data, using AI, OCR, natural language processing, and machine learning to complete the required entries accurately, with minimal human intervention. This is an important area where customs compliance software has the potential to help businesses avoid costly errors and keep cargo moving.

Customer Expectations

The way we shop online, placing orders with ease from anywhere and tracking them in real-time, is rapidly reshaping the expectations our customers have in business-to-business interactions. Logistics services like freight forwarding and customs brokering have long relied on human interaction to operate: phone calls, emails, spreadsheets, even fax and paper. And while the people side of logistics isn’t going anywhere soon, evolving customer expectations are making it increasingly important to digitize processes for the sake of faster, more efficient, and more transparent data sharing.

By moving operations online to a digital freight portal and putting data inputs and outputs directly in the hands of customers, everyone wins. Everything can happen at an accelerated pace, and customers get the control and visibility they have come to expect.

Competition

Digital forwarder startups are popping up all the time, disrupting a space that has long been slow to innovate. Technology companies first, these hot new players are accelerating the modernization of the customer experience and workflows related to shipping and freight forwarding.

Capitalizing on the growing demand for hands-on, digital solutions that allow customers to manage their shipments without sending endless emails or picking up a phone, digital freight forwarders deliver a slick, user-friendly, self-serve experience with added visibility and interactivity.

Fortunately, new software makes it possible for even the most traditional forwarders to digitize and modernize their operations. This has significant benefits for businesses and their customers alike, saving time for all parties and avoiding errors when manual intervention is at play.

Keeping up with the complexity of import operations is going to require making better use of technology: even the most hardworking team simply won’t be able to keep up with evolving compliance requirements, competition, and customer expectations. Consider evaluating the areas in your business where you can put digitization, automation, and artificial intelligence to good use in 2022. You might be surprised at how quickly those investments can yield returns.