As in other sectors, the logistics sector has benefited from digitisation in recent years, allowing a smoother flow of goods across the globe. These advancements have promised, and to some extent also delivered, efficiency and convenience. However, a more ‘inconvenient truth’ today is that a considerable volume of critical information still circulates in the form of non-standardised documents sent via email. Today, new developments in Artificial Intelligence are proving promising in enabling the data extraction of these unstructured documents and scans to finally fully break the paper chain.
Breaking the paper chain in logistics with human-assisted AI
The logistics sector has benefited enormously from digitisation over recent decades. From EDI and document standards to API-driven platforms, data flows faster than ever before. And yet, an inconvenient truth remains: a significant share of critical logistics and customs information still circulates in non-standardised documents sent by email—often as PDFs that turn out to be little more than scans of paper.
This lingering “paper chain” is more than an inconvenience. It slows down supply chains, increases costs and introduces errors at precisely the point where accuracy matters most: customs declarations.
When digital goes backwards
In customs operations, information is frequently printed, scanned and then manually retyped into declaration software. Even when documents are technically digital—such as Word files, Excel sheets or PDFs—the lack of structure means declarants still spend considerable time searching for, copying and validating data.
This way of working is inefficient, error-prone and increasingly unsustainable. Qualified declarants are scarce, workloads continue to rise and mistakes can lead to delays, penalties or even security risks. Both companies and customs authorities feel the pressure.
Why AI changes the game
Artificial Intelligence offers a way out. By automatically extracting information from unstructured documents, AI can significantly reduce manual effort while improving accuracy.
Traditional Optical Character Recognition (OCR) can convert scans into text, but it does not understand meaning. It typically relies on rigid templates that break as soon as document layouts change. More advanced approaches—grouped under Intelligent Document Processing (IDP)—go further. By using Natural Language Processing and Large Language Models, these systems understand context and can generalise across document types without endless template configuration.
This makes AI-driven document processing far more scalable for the messy reality of logistics paperwork.
The catch: AI alone is not enough
Despite its promise, AI is not infallible. It can miss information, make mistakes or produce outputs that still require further processing before they can become a valid customs declaration. In addition, AI often feels like a “black box”, which can lead to scepticism or resistance among declarants.
If these challenges are not addressed, there is a real risk that users revert to printing documents—bringing the paper chain straight back.
Human-assisted AI: the missing link
The most effective approach combines AI with human expertise. Human-assisted AI puts declarants back in control, using AI to handle repetitive tasks while keeping humans in the loop for validation and decision-making.
In practice, this means:
- A digital workspace that reflects the declarant’s familiar way of working
- Guided workflows that transform extracted data into high-quality declaration proposals
- Seamless integration with existing declaration, transport and warehouse management systems
- Strong change management to support trust and adoption
Real impact, measurable results
In real-world use, this approach delivers compelling results. Across multiple customs flows, processing times were reduced by 50–75 per cent. Tasks that previously took 40 minutes were completed in as little as 10.
The benefits extend well beyond speed. Declaration quality improved markedly, with fewer errors and greater consistency. Crucially, declarants were able to spend more time applying their customs expertise, rather than retyping data.
The bottom line
Breaking the paper chain in logistics is not just a technological challenge—it is a human one. Human-assisted AI shows that it is possible to finally move beyond paper, while empowering declarants to focus on the work where they add the greatest value.
This blog article is an extract of an article that was originally posted on the WCO magazine website. You can read the article here.
No Comments Yet
Let us know what you think