Customs Connect

What Customs Connect does

Customs Connect is a privately-held UK-headquartered customs and international trade consultancy founded in August 2009 by Neil Sheppard. The firm advises importers, exporters, and manufacturers on customs duty optimization, tariff classification, autonomous and temporary duty suspensions, export controls, VAT, and trade compliance. Its go-to-market is sales-led and field-based, targeting enterprise and mid-market companies that import goods from outside the EU, with a contingent fee pricing model under which fees are only charged when measurable cost savings are delivered to the client. The firm operates from a UK headquarters in Salford/Manchester, a regional office in Surrey, and a European headquarters in Amsterdam to serve EU clients post-Brexit.

The firm's service portfolio spans Customs Advisory, Customs Planning, Classification and Duty Reclaims, Customs Compliance (including AEO status support), Export Controls, Training, and Tailor-made VAT Solutions. To support and partially productize this work, the company introduced C360 in 2019 — a proprietary analytical customs software housed within a dedicated subsidiary, Customs Connect Digital Solutions Limited. C360 digitizes trade documentation and tariff classification through a metadata comparison module and exception-analysis workflows, sitting on a Microsoft Azure / Microsoft 365 / ANS Group (Cisco ASA firewall-protected) infrastructure with Stripe-collected subscription billing. The firm also publishes a series of export-controls whitepapers and case studies and holds ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2013/2015 certifications, signaling enterprise procurement readiness.

On outcomes, Customs Connect claims €324 million in cumulative client savings, 1,279 duty reclaims averaging £199,970 each, 237 EU clients with average £1,079,169 in duty-suspension savings, and more than €285 million saved through classification work, with named wins including a 50%+ customs obligation reduction for Jaguar Land Rover (CIPS Supply Management Awards 2014). The business is founder-controlled with no external institutional investors identified beyond a 2016 NVM Private Equity round, organized under Customs Connect Group Limited with wholly-owned subsidiaries for European operations (Amsterdam) and digital solutions.

Name

Customs Connect

Legal name

Customs Connect Group Limited

Website

https://customsconnect.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Customs Connect is a UK-founded customs and international trade consultancy that advises mid-market and enterprise importers and exporters on duty optimization, classification, reclaims, compliance, and export controls, delivered via a contingent fee model with proprietary C360 software for trade documentation digitization.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Customs and Trade Compliance Consulting

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510), Freight Transportation Arrangement (48851)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Customs Consulting & Brokerage Outsourcing (Managed Brokerage, Brokerage Operations) (TLACAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customs Brokerage & Trade Compliance (EDAOANAH), Customs Brokerage & Trade Compliance Management (TLAIANAD)

Keywords

• Customs compliance consulting
• Trade compliance services
• Duty reclaim advisory
• Customs classification consulting
• Export control services

Headquarters

HQ city

Salford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Contingent/Success-Based Customs Consulting: Fees are charged on a contingent basis when work enables real cost savings for clients. This means the initial investment cost is minimal and fees are only due when the company delivers measurable savings through duty reclaims, classifications, and duty suspensions.
2. Digital Solutions (C360 Software): Software-as-a-service offering for customs documentation management and trade compliance, providing ongoing subscription revenue for digital access to the C360 platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Customs Connect is a customs and international trade consultancy that delivers professional advisory services covering duty reclaims, classification optimization, autonomous/temporary duty suspensions, customs planning, compliance, export controls, and VAT management, supported by its proprietary C360 analytical customs software for digitising global trade documentation and identifying cost-saving opportunities. Services are delivered on a contingent-fee basis where clients only pay when measurable cost savings are realised.

Product overview

Customs Connect is a customs and international trade consultancy that offers a combination of professional advisory services and proprietary technology. The core offering consists of Customs Advisory Services, which includes Temporary/Autonomous Duty Suspensions, Classification & Duty Reclaims, Customs Planning, Customs Compliance, Export Controls, and Tailor-made VAT Solutions. The company also offers a proprietary digital product called C360 (Customs Connect Digital Solutions), which is an analytical customs software that digitises the administrative management of global trade processes and customs documentation. Services are delivered largely on a contingent fee basis, with a focus on identifying hidden cost-saving opportunities for clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• C360: Analytical customs software devoted to digitalising the administrative management of global trade processes and customs documentation, to minimalise human intervention, errors, costs, and lessen the burden of responsibility on compliance.

Products and services

• C360 (Customs Connect Digital Solutions) C360 is Customs Connect's proprietary analytical customs software for digitalising the administrative management of global trade processes and customs documentation, designed to minimise human intervention, errors, costs, and the compliance burden on clients. It is sold as a SaaS subscription to businesses that need to manage and analyse customs data.
• Temporary/Autonomous Duty Suspensions (ADS) Service that identifies and implements suspension code opportunities to reduce or eliminate import duties on goods, for businesses importing into the UK and EU.
• Classification & Duty Reclaims Service that identifies the correct classification codes for goods and reclaims overpaid customs duties (up to three years retrospectively) on behalf of clients.
• Customs Planning & Warehousing Comprehensive customs planning service covering classification, origin, valuation, duty relief, customs warehousing, and import VAT cashflow savings for importing businesses.
• Customs Advisory Services Advisory services covering customs planning, Brexit management, Advance Tariff Ruling (ATaR), origin, customs warehousing, and delivery terms for businesses engaged in international trade.
• Customs Compliance Services to ensure correct customs compliance, including process assessment, audits, AEO status implementation, and penalty avoidance.
• Export Controls Services to manage export control compliance, including training, gap analysis, audits, M&A due diligence, procedure development, and government audit preparation.
• Tailor-made VAT Solutions VAT management services including registration, returns, fiscal representation, EC sales lists, and Intrastat reporting, with focus on cash flow improvements.
• Training Technical, practical training, guidance and tips on customs, export controls, and international trade, available in off-the-shelf and tailored formats.

Quantifiable outcome

• €324 million saved for clients
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ANS Group (formerly UKFast)coreTechnology or IntegrationUK-based award-winning hosting provider supplying cloud server infrastructure. Their data center provides VPC cloud server environment with Cisco ASA firewalls, security monitoring (PROsecure, DDoSX, WAF), and maintains certifications including ISO 27001, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, Cyber Essentials+, and SOC2 Type 2.
• Microsoft (Azure, Microsoft 365)coreTechnology or IntegrationProvides cloud infrastructure (Azure) for backup services with Recovery Services vault, and productivity suite (Microsoft 365) for business operations. Azure Backup captures incremental snapshots of virtual machine disks for data retention.
• Descartes Visual CompliancecoreTechnology or IntegrationScreening software used to identify, assess and monitor potential risk areas for AML compliance and slavery/human trafficking due diligence within the business.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• KGH Customs Services: European customs broker and trade advisory firm offering classification, duty optimization and AEO services across the UK and EU — directly overlapping Customs Connect's core consultancy proposition and serving similar importer clients.
• Crowe UK - Customs and International Trade: Mid-tier professional services firm with a dedicated customs and trade compliance practice serving UK/EU importers on classification, duty reclaims and customs planning — directly competitive in target segment.
• RSM International - Customs & Trade: Global advisory with a customs and international trade desk competing for the same mid-market importer mandate that Customs Connect targets, including classification reviews and duty-saving engagements.
• Customs Support Group: Pan-European customs services platform offering outsourced declaration and consulting; comparable operating model and mid-market importer base as Customs Connect's specialist consulting practice.
• BDO UK - Customs & International Trade: Mid-tier professional services with customs advisory covering classification, duty reclaims and export controls, directly serving the same UK importer segment Customs Connect addresses.

Broad incumbents

• PwC UK - Customs & International Trade: One of the Big 4 with a sizeable trade and customs practice; chairman John Barnsley's former employer, it competes with Customs Connect on enterprise mandates but at broader portfolio level.
• KPMG UK - Customs & International Trade: Big 4 with established customs advisory across the UK and EU offering classification, planning and compliance work that overlaps Customs Connect's service lines at larger enterprise scale.
• EY UK - Indirect Tax (Customs): Big 4 indirect tax practice with customs duty optimization, classification and planning offerings — overlapping with Customs Connect on duty reclaims and duty suspension work for multinational clients.

Emerging players

• AEB (International) GmbH: German provider of customs and foreign trade software with managed compliance services; competes with Customs Connect's C360 product and adjacent consultancy across DACH and broader EU.
• Excelsior Global Compliance: Boutique UK/EU trade compliance consultancy with a similar specialist proposition around duty optimization, classification and export controls, operating from comparable geographies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/customsconnect
• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/customs-connect-limited

Compliance13 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Customs Connect