Customs Compliance Quick Scan

A customs compliance scan is a specialist type of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis, providing both an overview of your operation and a priority list.

By performing a customs health check, you will know which areas need urgent improvement, which ones can benefit from digitalisation, and which will save you the most money.

The most important benefits of a customs compliance check are:

Risk mitigation 

You do not want to risk non-compliance, as it can come with heavy financial, reputational, and commercial penalties. Our customs compliance scans and subsequent customs compliance program will help you to minimise risk in the short and long term.

Cost optimisation 

There are hidden costs related to ineffective customs processes and potential fines resulting from non-compliance. Our advisory on trade regulations and use of permits could potentially lead to tax savings.

Uncovers digitalisation potential 

Our focus on digital-first solutions helps you to minimise labour costs, enhance your compliance, and streamline your processes by reducing manual entry and the need for corrective action later.

One of our specialists will work with your team to understand and evaluate your operation, using our position as a third party to get a first impression of your processes – exactly the same as an auditing official would.

From there, we help you to prioritise and plan for improvement so that you can be more efficient, minimise your risk, and save money where possible.

The process will have the following structure: 

• Kickoff-call: introduction, elaborate on our approach & first steps  
• Request for insight into your documents, such as copies of permits, manuals, process and procedures, work instructions, and internal/external audit reports for a preview 
• Our expert performs a pre-scan to get a general impression and determine possible risk areas 
• The expert plans interviews with contacts involved (customs, logistics, purchasing, compliance, financial, sales, etc.) and shares the schedule for the company visit 
• Interviews are conducted and, if applicable, a tour during the company visit 
• A written report is created, including: general summary of scope, risk areas and shortcomings, and suggestions for improvements. The report may identify a role for Customs Support (outsourcing declarations, interim management, project management, trainings) 
• The expert makes the final evaluation, elaborates on the outcomes and discusses possible next steps.

You will receive a comprehensive report on the performance of your operation, containing the potential risks, opportunities for improvement, and further suggestions for optimisation.

As experts in customs & trade compliance, we can help you with implementing the outcomes of the report. For example, we can provide an in-depth customs compliance program (import/export), help with AEO certification, or explore bonded warehousing options.

Alongside compliance improvements, we will also make recommendations for where you can alleviate the manual labour burden on your operation with digitalisation and automation.

CSG’s customs compliance scans have helped businesses throughout Europe avoid risk, improve efficiency, and save money.

Get in touch to book yours now.

On average, one of our customs compliance scans takes around five working days to be completed. However, this is reliant on receiving the information we need in a timely manner, and can also take longer if you have a complex operation or we need to ask further questions to gain clarity on an aspect of it.

We will never rush one of our health checks in order to meet the five-day average. Our role is to provide you with clear, useable insights which can make a difference to your business and protect you from the consequences of noncompliance. If it takes another day or so, then we will take that time to ensure that you get as much value out of the results as possible.

Businesses throughout Europe have benefitted from our customs compliance scans, allowing them to gain clarity on their operation, understand where their investment will have the greatest impact, and take quick action on areas which present the most risk.

Contact us to book yours today.

Ideally, you should be performing some kind of assessment every year to ensure you are still running optimally.

Whether or not you need more frequent customs health checks depends on your operation. Here are some examples of attributes that could mean more frequent compliance scans are recommended:

• Do you incorporate special procedures into your operation?
• Have you made major changes to your operation, such as site closures or openings?
• Have you had major staff changes recently?
• Do you trade goods which are susceptible to upcoming and changing legislation, such as CBAM- or EUDR-applicable goods?

By understanding how exposed your operation is to complicated remedial action, changing requirements, or skills gaps, you can make an informed decision on how often you need to perform a customs compliance scan.

Contact us for more advice.