Rachel Cyranski

Special Guest Blog Post written by Dr. Johannes Hangl with e2open   AI is no longer an experiment in global trade compliance. It’s already being applied in product classification, document-to-declaration workflows, risk targeting, and sanctions screening. At the same time, regulators and customs authorities are adopting AI themselves. This is raising expectations for data quality, transparency, and governance across the entire trade ecosystem. With the EU AI Act set to apply from August 2026, companies that have not yet implemented human-in-the-loop controls, drift monitoring, and defensible audit trails are running out of time to close the gap.   Where AI is already adding real value today: HS and ECN classification   Product classification has become one of the most practical AI use cases. Modern tools can now suggest harmonized system (HS/ HTS) and export control (ECCN) codes, explain the rationale, and attach confidence scores and audit metadata to each decision. This direction mirrors what customs authorities are doing. Administrations such as German Customs have discussed using machine learning to improve targeting and risk detection. It appears both sides of the border are moving toward data-driven decision support. AI does not remove accountability. It changes how accountability is exercised.   Practical…

It’s time for Supply Chain Now! Make sure you’re up to date on all the latest episodes, interviews, conversations, and livestreams right here!   On Monday, Tracie Ohonme & Angela Carlson with Samaritan’s Feet International joined us to talk about how their outreach has shifted due to COVID-19, leading with a servant-leader mentality, & more!     On Tuesday, Scott and Greg welcomed, VP of Client Solutions with Alloy, Logan Ensign, a business leader from an industry dynamo that is empowering companies to successfully bridge the gap between plans and reality.     On Wednesday, Mike Griswold, VP Analyst at Gartner, joined us to discuss the latest in retail supply chains from an analyst’s perspective.   On Thursday, Scott and Greg welcomed Jon Gold with NRF to share the key NRF takeaways and trade issues to keep an eye on.   On Friday, we replayed a recent livestream that kicked off our new partnership with The Assoication for Manufacturing Excellence (AME). Scott & Greg heard from Lee Alves with Simpler Consulting (an IBM Company), Jan Freyburgher with OpusWorks, Tony Spielberg with Cambridge Air Solutions, and Errette Dunn with Rever about the prevailing trends may drive manufacturing in 2021. Which was…