A look at the way AI could help moving companies handle customs clearance documentation more efficiently.

In December last year The Mover was contacted by an organisation called ABBYY.  The company provides an AI-powered system to help companies of all kinds to handle shipping and customs documentation easily, quickly and accurately. 

Following Brexit, the documentation requirements for exporting and importing to and from the UK became much more complicated (rather like they were in the old days). As a result, many companies, who had previously provided moving services between the UK and mainland Europe, stopped doing so. Perhaps the power of AI might help those companies return to the market, and make life easier for those specialist companies that continued to provide a service.

In a request for further information, the organisation said that post-Brexit, UK and EU businesses alike have been struggling to get goods over the border.  Trucks can be stalled for hours if there are any errors or discrepancies in their customs paperwork. This is where AI comes in, allowing the customs declaration to be automated.

“IDP Intelligent Document Processing) applies AI and machine learning techniques to process structured, semi-structured, and unstructured documents that enable technology to read and process content in documents like a human,” said Neil Murphy, Chief Sales Officer at ABBYY. “At its core, IDP leverages AI solving the complexities associated with document processing in the context of exporting. This AI is tailored for specific document challenges, narrowing the scope of its purpose and allowing it to excel at what it's built for. By doing so, these IDP solutions enhance efficiency by achieving a high straight-through processing rate (STPR), automating document processing without requiring constant manual intervention. AI tools can relieve human employees of arduous paperwork while rapidly accelerating the process from end to end."

Relating this specifically to the moving industry, Neil added: "One of the most costly, ineffective, and prone to error aspects of the business is processing the documentation, which is still frequently needed for shipping and moving on paper. Moving companies that use ABBYY can reduce costs, expedite data entry into third-party systems like TMS or national customs systems, significantly reduce error, and only use humans for exception handling by utilising IDP. This reduces costs, delays, and fines while providing better, faster, and more dependable results for their clients."

Although this is particularly relevant for UK/European traffic, the same system can be used for processing export documentation to and from any destination.  Click here to find out more information.  To find out more about ABBYY click here.