Descartes Systems Group is putting artificial intelligence to work on one of logistics’ most stubborn chores: reading trade paperwork. The software vendor has added AI-driven capabilities to its Image Document Management (IDM) solution, built to cut the manual keying that slows customs declarations. The tools sit directly inside its customs and transport software and target customs brokers, freight forwarders and 3PLs.
What the AI actually does
IDM no longer just scans and stores documents. The new features read across invoices and the various transport documents tied to a single shipment, then reconcile the information they contain. Once extracted and verified, that data feeds straight into customs declarations and shipment management. Fewer manual entries, fewer corrections. The system links instantly to the wider ecosystem through the Descartes Global Logistics Network (GLN), the company’s collaborative platform.
According to Scott Sangster, who leads the 3PL market at Descartes, the point is not digitisation for its own sake. He said the tools analyse and cross-check shipment data so that it becomes usable without the usual round of manual fixes, which he framed as a direct productivity gain for operators.
Why it matters for customs teams
Customs work runs on documents, and errors there carry real cost: delayed clearances, penalties, reworked declarations. Automating the extraction and reconciliation step shifts brokers and forwarders away from data entry and toward exception handling. Whether that translates into measurable throughput gains will depend on how cleanly the AI handles the messy, inconsistent paperwork that trade generates every day.
