AWB

Customs and Trade Compliance Advisory Servicesawb-international.de

AWB is a German professional services firm offering integrated tax, legal, and consulting advisory in customs law, export control, and international trade regulation through three entities, serving German and international companies engaged in cross-border trade from offices in Münster, Munich, and Hamburg.

Company typePrivate
Founded2005
HeadquartersMunster, Germany
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What AWB does

AWB is a German professional services firm founded in 2005 that delivers integrated tax, legal, and consulting services to companies engaged in international trade, with deep specialization in customs law, export control, sanctions law, VAT, and international trade regulation. The firm operates through three coordinated German limited liability companies: AWB Tax GmbH (tax advisory covering customs, origin and preferences, sales tax, and excise duties), AWB Law GmbH (legal advisory covering export control, prohibitions and restrictions, Incoterms, the Lieferkettengesetz, and CBAM), and AWB Consulting GmbH (process consulting, IT consulting, coaching, and proprietary IT tools for digitalizing customs and foreign trade processes). AWB complements its German and EU coverage through formal cooperations with a US law firm and a Chinese law firm, enabling cross-jurisdiction export control advisory for clients operating in or transacting with the US and China.

The firm delivers services from three German offices — Münster (headquarters), München, and Hamburg — and serves German and international enterprise clients primarily through direct consulting engagement. Revenue is generated via professional services fees (tax, legal, consulting) under a quote-based pricing model with no publicly disclosed rates. AWB markets through professional reputation, industry recognition in legal directories such as the JUVE Handbook of Commercial Law Firms 2023/2024, F.A.Z. top tax advisory rankings, and client referrals, with no evidence of paid demand-generation channels.

AWB's competitive positioning rests on a roster of frequently recommended experts including Robert Witte (export control), Matthias Merz (German, European, and US export control), Prof. Dr. Hans-Michael Wolffgang and Prof. Dr. Peter Witte (customs law), and Manuel Sieben (customs law). The IT tools offered through AWB Consulting extend the firm's value proposition beyond pure advisory by enabling clients to automate their foreign trade transactions, though there is no disclosed AI/ML component to these tools. The firm reports 11-50 employees, no external parent or holding structure, and no disclosed revenue.

AWB firmographics

Firmographics

Name: AWB
Legal name: AWB Tax, AWB Law und AWB Consulting GmbH
Website: https://awb-international.de
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2005
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: AWB is a German professional services firm offering integrated tax, legal, and consulting advisory in customs law, export control, and international trade regulation through three entities, serving German and international companies engaged in cross-border trade from offices in Münster, Munich, and Hamburg.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

AWB industry classification

Industry

Product category: Customs and Trade Compliance Advisory Services
NAICS: Offices of Lawyers (541110), Offices of Lawyers (54111), All Other Legal Services (541199)
SIC: Services-Legal Services (8111)
akta.pro primary industry: Trade, Export Controls & Customs Compliance (BPAHAFAN)
akta.pro secondary industries: Customs Valuation & Transfer Pricing (Customs) Advisory (TLACAGAD), Excise, VAT/Sales Tax & Indirect Tax Administration (BPAIADAH)

Keywords

Customs law advisory
Export control consulting
International trade law
Tax advisory services
Trade compliance consulting

Where AWB is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Munster
HQ country: Germany
HQ region: Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

AWB business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Professional Services (Tax, Legal, Consulting): AWB generates revenue through three legal entities: AWB Tax GmbH (tax advisory), AWB Law GmbH (legal advisory), and AWB Consulting GmbH (process and IT consulting). Services include customs law, export control, VAT, customs duties, international trade law, and process optimization consulting.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

AWB product offering

Product offering

Core offering

AWB provides integrated tax, legal, and consulting advisory services for companies engaged in international trade, operating through three legal entities: AWB Tax GmbH (customs, origin/preferences, VAT, excise duties), AWB Law GmbH (export control, prohibitions/restrictions, international commercial law including Incoterms, Lieferkettengesetz, CBAM), and AWB Consulting GmbH (process and IT consulting plus proprietary IT tools for automating foreign trade processes).

Product overview

AWB operates as a unified advisory firm comprising three distinct legal entities: AWB Tax GmbH (tax advisory), AWB Law GmbH (legal advisory), and AWB Consulting GmbH (consulting services). Together they provide integrated legal and tax expertise from a single source. AWB Tax handles customs, origin of goods, sales tax, and excise duties. AWB Law covers export control, prohibitions and restrictions, and international commercial law. AWB Consulting provides process consulting, IT consulting, coaching, and proprietary IT tools for digitalizing and automating customs and foreign trade processes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

Tax Advisory (AWB Tax GmbH)

Companies that use AWB

Customer profile

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

AWB technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

AWB partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

US Law Firm (for US Export Control Law)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAWB has established a cooperation with a US-based law firm to provide comprehensive coverage of US-specific export control regulations alongside German and European export control law.
Chinese Law Firm (for China Export Control Law)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAWB has established a cooperation with a Chinese law firm to provide comprehensive coverage of China-specific export control regulations alongside German and European export control law.
AWB ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAWB Consulting (AWB Consulting GmbH) extends AWB's portfolio with topics of digitalization and process management in customs and foreign trade law, complementing the legal and tax advisory services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

AWB competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

BDO Germany: BDO's customs, trade and indirect-tax advisory in Germany targets mid-market exporters with an integrated tax/legal/consulting model — closely mirroring AWB's three-entity positioning and mid-sized client base.
Deloitte Germany: Deloitte's Global Trade Advisory and indirect tax services in Germany cover customs valuation, export controls, sanctions, Lieferkettengesetz and CBAM — a direct competitor for the same German exporting-client base as AWB.
EY Germany: EY's Indirect Tax and Global Trade practice in Germany delivers customs, export-control and supply-chain advisory comparable to AWB, bundled with broader audit and consulting mandates.
PwC Germany: PwC Germany's Customs & International Trade practice advises German corporates on customs classification, export controls, sanctions, VAT and supply-chain compliance — directly overlapping AWB's tax and customs advisory offering at a larger scale.
KPMG Germany: KPMG's Global Trade Advisory and indirect-tax practices in Germany provide customs, export control, VAT and CBAM advisory — competing head-to-head with AWB on both regulatory depth and integrated tax/legal delivery.
WTS Germany: WTS is a German tax-and-legal advisory group with significant customs, VAT and international trade practices serving mid-sized exporters — a closely comparable boutique-to-mid-market competitor to AWB's tax-led, cross-discipline model.

Broad incumbents

Hengeler Mueller: Hengeler Mueller's German practice includes experienced advisors on trade, customs and sanctions matters, competing with AWB for corporates needing top-tier German legal counsel on complex export-control issues.
Linklaters Germany: Linklaters' German offices advise on customs, export controls, sanctions and international trade law, offering a comparable regulatory specialty within a global magic-circle platform that competes with AWB for high-end mandates.
Baker McKenzie: Baker McKenzie's Global Trade & Customs and sanctions practices serve German and multinational clients on EU, US and Chinese export controls — overlapping AWB's cross-jurisdictional export-control offering as part of a much broader full-service firm.

Emerging players

Crowell & Moring: Crowell & Moring's International Trade and Sanctions practices actively compete in German/EU, US and adjacent markets; they are a focused specialist comparable to AWB's boutique positioning rather than a generalist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

AWB financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

AWB leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

AWB funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

AWB M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about AWB

What does AWB do?

Is AWB a public or private company?

AWB is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was AWB founded?

AWB was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is AWB based?

AWB is headquartered in Munster, Germany, in the Europe region.

How does AWB make money?

One revenue line is on record: professional Services (Tax, Legal, Consulting).

Who are AWB's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are BDO Germany, Deloitte Germany, EY Germany, PwC Germany, KPMG Germany and WTS Germany. Broad incumbents are Hengeler Mueller, Linklaters Germany and Baker McKenzie. Crowell & Moring is listed as an emerging player.

Does AWB have an API?

No public API is recorded for AWB.

What industry is AWB in?

AWB's product category is Customs and Trade Compliance Advisory Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAFAN, Trade, Export Controls & Customs Compliance, with a secondary code of TLACAGAD, Customs Valuation & Transfer Pricing (Customs) Advisory. Its NAICS code is 541110 and its SIC code is 8111.