Start-up Northbound streamlines customs declarations with AI agents

Customs declarations are complex, labour-intensive and prone to errors. That is precisely why the German start-up Northbound sees enormous opportunities for AI in this area. Their agents take a lot of the work off customs specialists’ hands and speed up processing times. The latter in particular can save companies a lot of money, according to co-founder Andreas Canel.

When Andreas Canel (pictured, left) founded Northbound in 2023 alongside his business partner Rahul Yadav (right), his initial aim was to develop a solution for demurrage and detention. ‘‘We recognised the enormous costs that importing or exporting companies face when containers remain in port for too long or are not returned to a shipping line on time,’’ explains Canel. ‘‘We thought it would be a good idea to build a tool that monitors container flows, calculates the associated costs and alerts users when these are at risk of spiralling out of control. This allows companies to take timely action.’’

This story was originally published by Supply Chain Movement. Read the full story at Supply Chain Movement →