One compliance layer for every importer-facing product
Classification research, landed-cost estimates, and screening were being rebuilt inside each product that needed them. They now come from one developer platform, with usage limits, an audit trail, and a clear line between an estimate and a decision.
Client
Trade-compliance product team
Industry
Trade Compliance
Timeline
Classification and estimates first
Key takeaway
Every product can offer the same compliance estimate, and none of them have to rebuild it.
The team was shipping importer-facing tools that all needed the same uncomfortable answers: what a product classifies as, what it might cost to import, and which warning a human should look at before anyone treats the number as final. Each product was growing its own version. We consolidated that work into one platform other applications call: classification research, import-cost estimates, screening signals, and the context to know how fresh the answer is.
The challenge
A tariff change or a fee rule had to be chased through every product that had copied the logic. Two applications could estimate the same import differently, and neither one could show a user whether the figure was an estimate, when the reference data had moved, or what still needed a broker. New products paid that cost again before they could offer the feature at all.
The same research, rebuilt
Classification, tariff, and screening questions were answered with separate tools, so each new application started over.
Estimates that quietly went stale
Trade data moves. Distributed calculations made it hard to see which result was current and which was leftover.
A number that looked final
Teams needed decision support that could not be mistaken for a filing determination.
What we built
Product teams call one platform for classification search, import-cost estimates, and screening signals, then show that result inside their own application. Access, usage, and history are handled once. Every result can say what it is — an estimate or a warning — and how current the underlying reference data is.
- Shared search for tariff and product classification research
- Import-cost estimates covering duties and the fees teams expect to see
- Screening signals for trade remedies and possible agency requirements
- Checklist guidance for common customs preparation, kept separate from a filing
- A developer portal for access, accounts, and usage
- Result context that marks estimates, warnings, and how fresh the data is
Before & after
Before
- Each product rebuilt its own classification and estimate tools
- Two experiences could price the same import differently
- Users could not tell an estimate from a result that still needed review
After
- Products share one set of trade-compliance capabilities
- Classification research and import-cost estimates follow the same approach
- Outputs can carry warnings, freshness, and explicit estimate-only guidance
Built with
Our approach
01
Audit
We identified the research and estimate questions that showed up in more than one product.
02
Build
We turned those questions into one developer platform instead of another one-off tool.
03
Pilot
Early access shipped with usage limits and estimate labeling in place.
04
Support
Data freshness, audit history, status, and documentation stay part of the platform as more products adopt it.
Frequently asked questions
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