We’re celebrating this month as our work with boohoo has been shortlisted in the Retail Tech Innovation Hub (RTIH) Innovation Awards for the Best Retailer/Technology Supplier Relationship category.

The award recognises the value of our tariff classification solution, TariffTel, alongside our experienced customs team, in supporting boohoo in their ambition to grow US sales in 2023. With the development of their new US distribution centre, boohoo were faced with the challenge of ensuring their fashion products reached the new centre quickly and compliantly, whilst adhering to complex US customs controls. They overcame this challenge using TariffTel’s centralised platform that assigns US tariff codes to goods, enabling them to move away from their previous legacy system that was based on paper-based processes and decentralised data. As a result, they were able to considerably speed up delivery times of shipments which previously took eight to ten days to arrive in the US from the UK.

Quicker delivery, but also quicker classification

What was particularly impressive in this project is the speed in which thousands of apparel goods were classified. In less than four months, the TariffTel team had classified thousands of SKUs from hundreds of boohoo suppliers. This was achieved because of three key things: knowledge of complex US customs controls, a deep understanding of the classification process and the involvement of boohoo’s suppliers.

Classifying products for international trade is a complex process. The Harmonised Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS) sets out the tariff rates and statistical categories for all merchandise imported into the United States. The HTS is based on the international Harmonised System, which is the global system of nomenclature applied to most world trade in goods. The US tariff has added complexities and goes into greater detail in categories, than the UK tariff. For example, for knitwear, in chapter 6110 there are 20 tariff codes in the UK, however, the US has 123 codes.

Another factor in the success of this project was leveraging the data that suppliers held on boohoo’s products. TariffTel is unlike other solutions in that the platform engages with suppliers to obtain very specific information on products including variations by size, weight, fabric composition, product images and supporting documentation (certificate of origin/compliance, etc). In addition, TariffTel captures unit costs (including at product set item level), country of origin, country of manufacture and origin of materials. All of this data is essential to classify tariff codes correctly.

Adopting these principles ensured accurate classification and compliance every time for boohoo, and makes this project deservedly award-winning (we think!).

If you want to find out more about how TariffTel works to provide accurate and compliant trade operations in a business, or learn more about our work on this particular project. Please contact us for details.

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Our success in digitising our customer’s supply chains with our innovative supply chain management, together with our overseas growth, has awarded us the UK’s most prestigious business accolade, The Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International trade. The awards celebrate the success of businesses which are leading the way with pioneering products or services.

In what has been an exceptionally challenging past year for the global economy, we’re over the moon to have been singled out as an exemplary model in international exporting and commercial success, first and foremost supporting our customers in optimising their digital supply chains and classifying their products.

Commenting on the award win our CEO and co-founder, said, “It is a huge honour to receive a Queen’s Award and made all the more special after the challenges of this past year in particular. I’m incredibly proud of our team and the way we have come together to support our customers in working smarter and more efficiently with our innovative software solutions.

Resolve, opportunity, and hard work are the ingredients to our success, and I gladly share this accolade with my remarkable colleagues, who have supported me over these past 25 years. Achieving this award is recognition of an impressive team effort driven by common values and an ethos of collaboration.

We have grown significantly in recent years which has positioned us as leaders in online customs classification, and our reputation for exceptional delivery to our clients is matched only by the passion and the commitment of the our team. This is an incredible boost for us and an exciting time for us. [Watch this space!]”

Working smarter with a resilient supply chain

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do and has been crucial this past year more than ever as we supported our customers in navigating the unforeseen supply chain challenges that came to light as a result of the pandemic. Like many of you, we put our customers first, helping them work smarter and more efficiently with our innovative software solutions.

Having key supply chain data to hand allows an organisation to adapt, predict and react effectively. Digital transformation overcomes problems associated with manual processes and departmental data silos, helping to reduce human error and unnecessary costs. Issues with purchase-order reconciliation, poor visibility and customs compliance can be resolved. Ultimately, processes are automated and decision-making is transformed.

What this past year has demonstrated to us without any doubt is that businesses need to advance to become a synchronised organisation with a single view of data that delivers greater visibility and efficiency.

What’s next?

Our vision is to support more retailers and businesses in their aspirations to become a synchronised organisation with data at their heart.

When we started over 25 years ago, we were a small passionate team developing purchase order line visibility systems to global importers. We have grown significantly in recent years and are now considered a leading supplier in the digitalisation of global supply chains, bringing innovative solutions to customers & prospects who are prioritising transparency and accountability in their supply chain processes. Our customers have embraced our platforms which have enabled them to gain crucial competitive advantage and save significant costs.

This award will help support our further growth overseas and demonstrates to our customers that innovation and commercial success remains at the heart of our business.

To find out more about our solutions, get in touch

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