Quarter two kicked off in a way the team couldn’t imagine, with Azarc’s automated customs clearance solution, Rune, winning Best Customs Software System/Technology Solutions Provider of the Year at the ICC C4DTI Awards. 

What did the judges say about Azarc?

The judges said: “For their efforts on a working system that aligns with the ICC DSI Standards Framework and for their collaboration with both HMRC and Cabinet Office to move the UK Government thinking on digital trade, the award goes to Azarc.”

A number of our Azarcian team, joined by our friends at BT, headed to The Great Hall in The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn to represent Azarc at the annual awards ceremony. 

As a finalist in the Best Customs Software System/Technology Solutions Provider of the Year category, Azarc was shortlisted for the team’s collaborative work with BT, HM Revenue & Customs, the Cabinet Office, and UK Government to fully automate customs clearance in the UK through the creation of Rune, our automated customs clearance solution. 

A huge thank you to the entire team, this win is testament to a continued effort and unrelenting drive to automate and simplify customs clearance for those in the supply chain working across the globe. Our CEO, Dave Robbins added: “Azarc continues to blaze the trail for automating custom clearance processes, with our team winning their first award! I’m so proud of the whole team and how far we have come in such a short period of time; this is an incredible achievement. Thank you for all your efforts and dedication Azarcians.”

The awards and the announcement of our win – in a room full of our peers and alongside so many other deserving winners in our industry – was a fitting end to an insightful day spent at the ICC C4DTI Digital Trade Conference. 

What was the ICC C4DTI Digital Trade Conference about this year?

Focussing on the practical benefits of digitalizing the trade ecosystem, discussing the ‘how’ alongside the question of ‘what result’, the conference brought us panel after panel of expert insight, from those leading the digitalization of world trade. From reducing costs and risks to simplifying the way the world trades, the discussions were not only relevant but proactively challenging how we collectively create an environment where platforms to support the digitalization of trade can flourish. 

The digitalization of the trade ecosystem offers businesses a real opportunity to radically improve efficiency, profitability, and productivity while unlocking innovation and growth to integrate trade data previously buried on paper with sustainability data to improve ESG reporting too. 

With 4 billion pieces of paper flowing through the trade ecosystem at any given time, and up to 40 documents in a single trade transaction, it’s clear that the current trading system has become antiquated, costly, and inefficient.

Despite all the investment into customs digitalization, a paperless trading system has still not been taken up across the breadth of the supply chain – with only 1-2% of trade documents handled in digital form worldwide. However, trade digitalization is happening and the recent Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 has been a huge game changer, removing the requirement to handle documents of title in paper form for every company using English law worldwide.

Why take the global trade ecosystem digital?

The prize is vast; $9 trillion in trade growth across the G7 and $2 trillion across The Commonwealth, plus $750 billion in additional trade finance and an 80% cut in trade transaction costs. Interoperability of platforms, processes, and systems is the solution to reaching scale and realizing these economic benefits.

Currently, the UK is leading the world in this space – Azarc’s win at the ICC C4DTI Awards is a testament to that – as a global champion of trade digitalization at G7, G20, WTO, and through the UK border strategy, single trade window, FTAs/DEAs.

There’s no avoiding it, trade digitalization will help us make trade cheaper, faster, simpler, and more sustainable, especially for SMEs and supply chains who feel the burden of paper and bureaucracy the most. The future of our industry is going to be very different and fully digital – the sooner we collectively get on board, the better.