“Those who act globally must also think globally.”
Customs management:Customs duties not only affect import costs, but also have a profound impact on global value chains. To ensure long-term resilience and competitiveness, customs management should be seen as a strategic success factor—including modern AI solutions.
When US President Donald Trump announced his “Liberation Day Tariffs” on April 2, 2025, it triggered violent reactions on stock markets worldwide, the likes of which had not been seen in years. Nevertheless, it must be said in all honesty that his predecessors in the White House also repeatedly used the issue of tariffs to make political capital. In addition, there are still far-reaching bilateral free trade agreements, such as the ongoing Mercosur process between the EU and the South American states.
“The situation is extremely dynamic,” says Christoph Tobler, Managing Director of Supply Chain & Operations at Accenture. The expert in strategic customs management observes that many companies still view customs and duty issues in isolation—a short-sighted approach. “Customs optimization is often handled locally, but those who operate globally must also think globally,” emphasizes Tobler. He therefore advises companies to align their customs management with strategic considerations and to understand
Many companies flying blind when it comes to customs
This requires four key pieces of information: First, transparency must be established regarding global goods flows. Another essential data point is the value of the goods, i.e., the customs value. Furthermore, the origin of a good (which often does not correspond to the place from which it was shipped) is crucial. Finally, precise specifications are required: What is the good in question and what customs tariff number is assigned to it? This transparency is the basis for dealing with different scenarios and exploring potential for optimization.
However, the reality is sobering: at a recent supply chain conference in Zurich, only three of the 130 executives in attendance knew their company’s global annual duty spend. “These were international companies for whom this topic is absolutely relevant,” explains Tobler.
Annual Duty Spend: the total annual expenditure of a company on customs duties worldwide. Transparent recording is the basis for the optimization and strategic management of the international supply chain.
About the person
Christoph Tobler works as Managing Director in the Supply Chain & Operations division at Accenture. He is an expert in strategic customs management, customs transparency, and digital solutions for global trade processes.
Customs transparency is not an operational obligation, but a strategic advantage. Often, the origin of a product determines its economic success even more than the purchase price of the raw materials.Christoph Tobler
Managing Director, Accenture
Consider customs duties early on in product design
In view of growing geopolitical uncertainties, Tobler recommends giving greater consideration to customs aspects when making future decisions on location, supplier selection, and product design. “A product can be designed in such a way that it benefits from lower customs duties or even falls under a free trade agreement. This reduces costs in the long term.”
This way of thinking is already widespread, especially in low-margin industries such as the automotive industry. In other sectors, such as life sciences or the chemical industry, however, a rethink is only just beginning. There, complex rules of origin, regional processing steps, or supply chain shifts lead to additional complexity. However, new tracking and analysis options—from pure compliance platforms to AI-supported optimization systems—are opening up new possibilities.
It is worth exploring these possibilities, as the financial leverage is considerable. Companies could save up to 20% on purchasing by taking customs considerations into account. In areas such as production or development, such cost savings are much more difficult to achieve. Expert Tobler proposes a modern customs IT architecture consisting of three interdependent layers:
1. Transactional processing
Traditional platforms such as those from SAP or Oracle check transactions for compliance issues and handle operational customs processes. This has long been standard practice in most companies.
One basic function of these systems is, for example: “Is product A allowed to be sent to recipient B, or is the recipient a sanctioned party?”
2. AI-supported data integration
Large companies often store their data in different locations and formats. Modern AI solutions can consolidate the data for evaluation and incorporate external developments.
Tobler explains: “Information from a wide variety of sources is extracted, validated, and made available in a structured form for analysis purposes.”
3. Scenario modeling
The transformation to strategic customs management requires new skills. A modern trade function must be proactive and already integrated into the supply chain design. Originally, the trade function was very reactive. The experts in the company were only consulted when something was still unclear.
According to Accenture manager Tobler, the following applies today:
“The purchase price of a raw material may no longer be the sole deciding factor in a purchasing decision. The next most expensive raw material may even be chosen if the origin is selected in such a way that a free trade agreement can be taken advantage of.”
Conclusion
Strategically integrated customs management not only strengthens supply chains, but also creates sustainable resilience in a world where trading conditions can change from quarter to quarter – sometimes even overnight. This transparency offensive should be tackled in combination with the current wave of AI use cases. In many cases, it can even be implemented on existing IT environments. Targeted skills development is required, for example through specialized training. The current period of uncertainty should be used to build the necessary transparency.
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