In UK fashion business magazine Just Style, Altana's Vice President of Trade Compliance Amy Morgan writes that fashion brands need artificial intelligence to navigate the likely narrowing of the de minimis exemption from import duties on low-value shipments.
"Fashion brands and apparel companies rely on de minimis shipments to enable direct-to-consumer sales, optimise e-commerce fulfilment, and avoid costly tariffs," she writes. "Their supply chains are complex and the regulations governing them are subject to frequent change, so the companies need to adapt quickly to new policies and maintain compliance.
"Here’s where artificial intelligence can help: It can process and organise vast amounts of shipping information, the billions of transactions that collectively record global commerce. With that unified, integrated, common picture of global commerce, companies can map, analyze and plan their product value chains, from Tier 1 manufacturers all the way to the soil."