BDG International, Inc.

What BDG International, Inc. does

BDG International, Inc. is a privately-held U.S. freight forwarder and customs broker founded in 1983 and headquartered in Elgin, Illinois (Chicago metro). The company arranges international air, ocean, and rail shipments for importers and exporters, with stated specialization in the India trade lane and oversize freight. In addition to core freight forwarding, BDG provides U.S. customs brokerage, international trade compliance consulting, and bonded services including carnet, bonded carrier, bonded warehousing, and Foreign Trade Zone operations. The firm operates a wholly-owned India subsidiary, BDG International (India) Pvt. Ltd., based in New Delhi, supporting South Asian trade flows.

The company's primary customer-facing technology is BDG SureTrack®, a proprietary web-based platform providing 24x7 real-time shipment, cargo, and order tracking. The platform supports document upload/download as images and allows customers (and their trading partners) to customize data views via configurable columns, functioning as a multi-tenant visibility tool embedded in client logistics workflows. BDG holds C-TPAT certification and has been recognized with the President's 'E' Award for U.S. Exporters, and is a member of IATA, WCA, WCA Projects, and IGLN freight networks.

BDG's revenue model is transaction-fee-based across freight forwarding, customs brokerage, and bonded/FTZ services, with a professional services component for international trade consulting. Go-to-market is sales-led, driven by direct outreach, website quote requests, and a content-marketing program (trade compliance blog, seminars/webinars, and social channels including LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Facebook, and YouTube). The firm is led by President Lisa Victoria Waller, a Certified Customs Broker, and operates as an independent, founder/management-owned entity with no disclosed external PE or VC backing.

Name

BDG International, Inc.

Legal name

B.D.G. International, Inc.

Website

https://bdginternational.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BDG International is a U.S. freight forwarder and customs broker (founded 1983, Elgin, IL) arranging air, ocean, and rail shipments plus customs brokerage, trade compliance consulting, and bonded/FTZ services for importers and exporters, with a specialization in the India trade corridor.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Freight Forwarding & Customs Brokerage

NAICS

Freight Transportation Arrangement (488510)

SIC

Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Export Customs Clearance (Export Declarations & AES/EEI) (TLACAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Export/Import Documentation Preparation (Commercial Invoice, Packing List, Shipper’s Letter of Instruction) (TLACAHAD), Trade Compliance & Ocean Regulatory Services (Sanctions/Export Controls) (TLACABAL)

Keywords

• International freight forwarding
• Customs brokerage services
• Trade compliance consulting
• Bonded warehousing services
• Foreign trade zone operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Elgin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Freight Forwarding Services: Revenue generated from air freight, ocean freight, and rail transportation services. The company arranges international shipping and provides complete logistics management.
2. Customs Brokerage: Customs clearance services ensuring imports to the US clear customs smoothly and quickly. Backed by over 30 years of experience.
3. International Trade Consulting: Compliance consulting services helping clients comply with changing government regulations and utilize supply chain best practices.
4. Bonded & FTZ Services: Services including carnet services, bonded carrier services, bonded warehousing, and Foreign Trade Zone services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

BDG International provides international freight forwarding and customs brokerage services, arranging air, ocean, and rail transportation for importers and exporters. The company clears goods into the United States through licensed customs brokerage, and offers trade compliance consulting, bonded services, Foreign Trade Zone operations, and duty drawback support. Its proprietary BDG SureTrack® web-based platform provides 24x7 real-time shipment, order, and document tracking.

Product overview

BDG International, Inc. offers a suite of international freight forwarding and logistics services built around its proprietary BDG SureTrack® web-based tracking platform. The company provides air, ocean, and rail transportation services complemented by customs brokerage, compliance consulting, and bonded/FTZ services. The core offering consists of freight forwarding operations with SureTrack® as the primary customer-facing technology for shipment visibility and document management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BDG SureTrack®: Integrated real-time internet-based order, freight, cargo and shipment tracking software application

Products and services

• Air Freight Services

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Uber Freight: Tech-enabled freight marketplace backed by Uber with expanding digital forwarding and customs capabilities. Represents the platform-based competition that could pressure traditional brokers like BDG.
• Flexport: Tech-enabled digital freight forwarder offering air, ocean, and customs services with proprietary software. Competes for the same mid-market shipper segment but differentiates through technology rather than relationship-led sales.

Broad incumbents

• C.H. Robinson: Large North American freight broker and 3PL with global forwarding and customs capabilities. Overlaps with BDG on freight arrangement and customs brokerage for US importers/exporters.
• DHL Global Forwarding: Global freight forwarding division of Deutsche Post DHL offering air, ocean, road freight and customs services. A broad incumbent competitor across all BDG's service lines.
• Expeditors International: Large publicly-traded global freight forwarder with air, ocean, and customs brokerage services. Operates at vastly greater scale but offers overlapping capabilities for US importers/exporters.
• Kuehne+Nagel: One of the world's largest freight forwarders with comprehensive air, ocean, road, and customs services. Competes for the same enterprise shipper base BDG serves, though at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Pacific Customs Brokers: Specialized Canadian/US customs brokerage and trade compliance firm. Highly comparable niche specialist focused on customs clearance and regulatory consulting rather than asset-heavy forwarding.
• Crane Worldwide Logistics: Mid-sized global freight forwarder offering air, ocean, customs brokerage, and specialized services. Comparable in scale and breadth to BDG with similar multimodal forwarding plus customs capabilities.
• EMO Trans: Privately-held mid-market global freight forwarder and customs broker with multimodal services. Closely comparable in ownership profile (private, founder/management-led) and service breadth.
• Livingston International: North American customs broker and freight forwarder with similar service mix including customs clearance, trade compliance, and freight forwarding. Most directly comparable as a mid-sized specialist broker serving the US import/export market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bdgint
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@bdginternationalinc.
• Facebookfacebook.com/BDGInternational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2316125

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 BDG International, Inc.