Artificial Intelligence (AI) Meets Customs: The Transformation by Customs Support Group
The European Group is a pioneer and champion of digitalization in customs services, while never losing sight of Real Intelligence (RI).
AI Meets Customs: The Transformation by Customs Support Group
Logistics is one of the most tech-forward industries, constantly ready to embrace innovation and evolve. When international trade enters the equation, staying ahead of the curve becomes even more critical. Paradoxically, despite being a cornerstone of global trade, customs remains one of the slowest links in the supply chain to digitize. Bureaucratic hurdles and paper-based workflows still dominate the field, forcing declarants into manual, time-consuming, and repetitive tasks that offer little added value.
Customs Support Group (CSG), a leading European customs services provider, stepped in to disrupt this trend. By investing in digital solutions, CSG aims to tackle industry-specific bottlenecks such as delays, human error, supply chain disruptions, and compliance penalties. The Group has integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its customs clearance and declaration software, offering cutting-edge features tailored to these exact challenges.
The data required for customs entries – such as invoices, arrival notices, packing lists, and bills of lading – is often unstructured, handwritten, or poorly scanned in various languages. Our advanced Optical Character Recognition (OCR) functionality overcomes these barriers by effectively interpreting the most common formats and languages found in customs documentation. This significantly reduces manual data entry, allowing operators to focus on core operational tasks.
However, human oversight remains central to the CSG ecosystem. AI-generated declarations are never sent directly to authorities or partners; instead, they are reviewed by a CSG customs expert. To minimize errors and ensure seamless trade, the system presents processed data to declarants for verification and adjustment. The real game-changer is the Machine Learning (ML) component: the system archives every correction, applying that knowledge to similar future cases to ensure the same mistake isn’t repeated.
Gianluca Schiavina, IT Director for the Southern European Cluster at Customs Support Group, noted:
“Our AI enhancements were designed specifically for customs agents. We wanted to strip away the burden of repetitive manual entry without stripping away the control and decision-making power of our people – what we call Real Intelligence (RI). The time saved through AI is redirected toward high-value activities that a computer simply cannot perform. Real Intelligence is, and remains, irreplaceable. Just like our people.”
The IT department of Customs Support Italy, based in La Spezia, consists of 12 specialists (7 in Italy, 5 off-site) across three key areas: Technical, focusing on infrastructure; Development, dedicated to updating internal software and creating custom S2S interfaces for clients; and Automation, tasked with leveraging AI to phase out manual entry. These teams combine IT expertise with deep operational know-how, enabling them to train customs experts across the Southern Cluster (Italy, Spain, and France). By understanding the nuances of the filing process, the IT team has implemented practical, high-impact strategies for daily operations, while also standardizing procedures across 16 Italian offices and 15 European countries.
Following the rollout and training phase, the Group measured the real-world impact of these systems. Diego Tocchella, Managing Director of Customs Support Italy, explained:
“Change is never easy, especially when it alters long-standing workflows. Since this tech shift was meant to empower our staff, we wanted to track its concrete impact. We set 2025 targets for declarations per capita issued via the new system. I am proud to say that Italy led the way; our offices embraced the new methods so efficiently that we hit our December 2025 targets as early as October.”
In an era of exponential technological growth, staying current is vital. However, a gradual implementation is equally important to avoid disrupting internal workflows and stalling the very modernization intended. Behind every piece of software are the professionals who need time to adapt and master it. Customs Support Group remains committed to this forward-thinking yet balanced approach, ensuring that technology serves the experts- keeping Real Intelligence at the forefront.
