TradeComply: Automating Cross-Border Trade Compliance

TRADECOMPLY

The "Stripe" for Trade Compliance • Automating HS Codes & FTAs Across EU-ASEAN

Version 1.0 | January 2025 | Seeking Seed Round

The Invisible Tax on Global Trade

€18.8 Bn

Flows between Vietnam & Germany annually, managed by manual processes.

< 5%

Of 45M SMEs actually utilize available FTA tariff benefits.

€50,000

Average penalty cost per compliance incident for misclassified origins.

The Broken Status Quo

European traders are trapped between three flawed options, none of which solve the speed vs. accuracy trade-off.

1. The Consultant Trap (High Cost)

Traditional firms charge €200-300 per hour with 5-day turnaround times. Unscalable for modern, high-velocity commerce.

2. Legacy Software (High Friction)

Built for Fortune 500s. Enterprise ERPs require 6-month integrations, dedicated staff, and cost €50k+ annually.

3. Manual Process (High Risk)

Spreadsheets & Google. Error-prone and static. The primary driver of the €12.5B annual loss in missed FTA benefits.

Traditional Consultants (Slow)

€200+/hour fees with days of latency per query. Cannot scale with volume.

Legacy ERP Software (Rigid)

Months to implement, requires expert staff, and offers poor user experience.

Manual Spreadsheets (Risky)

Error-prone and static. The primary driver of €12.5B in lost FTA benefits.

The Platform

Image Visual Analyzer

Instantly extracts product details from invoices, photos, and specs using proprietary OCR & Vision models.

Product Classification

Categorizes items into standardized trade hierarchies with 99.5% consistency across SKUs.

HS Code Classification

Maps products to global Harmonized System codes, reducing misclassification risk.

Automated compliance from input to execution

Visual AI Analyzer

Computer vision identifies products from images instantly.

Product Classification

Auto-tags goods with industry standard categories.

Smart HS Code Engine

Global nomenclature mapping with 99% accuracy.

Tariff & Duty Checks

Real-time calculation of all applicable border taxes.

FTA Identification

Flags Free Trade Agreement opportunities automatically.

Rules of Origin (ROO)

Verifies origin criteria to ensure FTA eligibility.

VNTR Data Integration

Connects with Verification of Origin databases.

Document Prep

Generates audit-ready customs filings in one click.

Capture & Define

COMPUTER VISION

TAXONOMY

Verify & Classify

VNTR Data Integration

Cross-references Verification of Origin/Value databases for real-time validation.

Rules of Origin (ROO)

Determines country of origin status to unlock potential duty savings efficiently.

Optimize & Execute

FTA Identification

Automatically flags applicable Free Trade Agreements (e.g., EVFTA, UK-EU).

Tariff Checks

Calculates precise duty rates and taxes based on the latest global tariff schedules.

Document Preparation

Generates error-free customs declarations, certificates, and invoices ready for export.

Scan

Visual AI Analyzer

Extracts data from images

VNTR Integration

Official database checks

Process

Product Classification

Standardized taxonomy

HS Code Engine

Auto-mapping engine

Rules of Origin

Validation logic

Export

FTA Identification

Finds savings automatically

Tariff Checks

Duty rate calculation

Docs Prep

Generates filings

Why Now? The Perfect Storm

Regulatory tailwinds and AI maturity create a unique window of opportunity.

EVFTA Inefficiency

SMEs leave €12.5B on the table annually because compliance is too complex manually. EVFTA is live but under-utilized.

EU Data Act 2025

Digital mandates force trade platforms to support APIs. Legacy systems can't adapt; we are cloud-native and API-first.

Supply Chain Shift

Post-COVID, enterprises pay premiums for regulatory certainty. 'China+1' strategies drive EU-ASEAN trade growth.

AI Maturity

Generative AI costs dropped 10x. We can build specialized models (94% accuracy) that were impossible 5 years ago.

Market Opportunity: A Multi-Billion Euro Gap

EU-ASEAN Trade & Compliance Opportunity

Traction & Validation

94.5%

Accuracy vs. Human Agents

< 5 Sec

Response Time (vs. 2 Days)

34k+

Verified HS Codes Modeled

80+

Paid Pilot SMEs & NPS 7.8

Partners: German Chambers of Commerce (DIHK), DB Schenker (Discussions), Vietnam Textile Assoc.

Go-To-Market: The Wedge Strategy

1. Beachhead: Germany

Beachhead in Germany. 450k SME target. €18.8B corridor. High pain point due to strict customs.

2. Tiered Sales

Tier 1: Self-Serve SMEs (€50/mo). Tier 2: Enterprise Direct Sales (€3k/mo). Growth to 5,000 customers in Y2.

3. Channel Partners

Bulk Acquisition via Chambers (DIHK, VCCI) & White-label into Logistics Platforms (DHL).

Financial Projections: Path to €20M ARR

Unit Economics (SME)

LTV/CAC Ratio: 12-16x

Payback Period: < 2 Months

Gross Margin: 75-80% (SaaS)

Competitive Landscape

TradeComply

✓ Specialized AI (99% Accuracy) ✓ Automated & Instant ✓ Explainable Reasoning

Human Consultants

✕ Slow (Days/Weeks) ✕ Expensive (€200/hr) ✕ Unscalable

Generic AI (ChatGPT)

✕ Hallucinations (Risk) ✕ No Real-time Customs Data ✕ Not Audit-Ready

Team & Execution

Founder & CEO

15+ Years Trade Compliance. Ex-Chief Product Officer (Fintech). Led compliance for 200+ global brands.

CTO & AI Lead

Ex-Google/DeepMind. Expert in Large Language Models (LLMs) & RAG. Built systems for 10M+ users.

Advisory Board: Former German Customs Official • AI Governance Expert • Enterprise Sales Leaders

Capital Ask: €2-3M Seed

18-Month Runway to Cash Flow Positive (Month 24)

Strategic Roadmap

Q1 2025: MVP & Pilots

Beta launch (50 SMEs), Core API complete, Chamber partnerships established.

Q3 2025: EU Expansion

Launch Germany-France corridor. 3k active users. First Enterprise integration.

2026-2027: Scale

ASEAN expansion (Singapore, Thailand). Series A. 10k Customers. €8M ARR.

The Operating System for Trade Compliance

We have the Domain Expertise, the Technology, and the Market Timing.

Let's build the category together.

Contact: ceo@tradecomply.io | +49 123 456 789