01
Company Profile: Rüdinger Spedition
History
Rüdinger Spedition is a logistics company rich in tradition with a 96-year history. Originally starting as a classic groupage freight forwarder, the company has continuously evolved.
Innovation & Growth
In the late 80s and early 90s, Rüdinger developed its own specialized vehicles (for oversized and over-height cargo with fixed tarpaulin covers). Since 1989, the company has grown from 35 to 700 employees today.
Globalization
In 2013, the "Global Department" was founded to meet the worldwide demands of customers regarding air and sea freight. Engaging in global transport necessitated the development of profound customs expertise.
02
Initial Situation & Motivation for Digitalization
Driver of Digitalization
Rüdinger views itself as a driver of digitalization and has been awarded a digitalization prize for its efforts. The core reasons for implementing AI (Digicust) in customs processing were manifold.
Eliminating Redundancy
The repeated manual typing of identical data ("touching things five times") needed to be eliminated.
Focus on Core Business
By eliminating unpopular tasks and "time sinks", capacity is freed up for the "people business" (high-quality customer support) and the processing of new orders.
Attractive Workplaces
Creating a modern working environment where employees enjoy performing highly qualified tasks rather than acting merely as data entry clerks.
03
The New Customs Process and Measurable Success
Automation Workflow
Today, customers use a web portal provided by Rüdinger ("web capture") to create shipments themselves and upload their customs documents. These arrive in a designated inbox, are automatically forwarded to Digicust for processing, and the structured data flows directly into the customs software (DAKOSY).
Turnaround Time
From document upload to employee review, the entire process now takes only about 5 minutes.
Success Rate
In live operations, the automated data transfer already functions flawlessly at a very high percentage.
Workload Reduction
Employees in the Global Department no longer have to manually create Export Accompanying Documents (EAD). An employee now merely verifies the pre-filled data fields.
04
Data Processing and Quality
Multimedia Data Sources
At Rüdinger, Digicust processes a wide variety of formats, including PDFs (delivery notes, packing lists, commercial invoices), emails (e.g., MRN numbers from the sea freight forwarder), and occasionally Excel files for consolidated weight declarations.
Trust in AI
Document recognition (e.g., distinguishing a delivery note from a packing list) and data extraction work highly reliably. According to Ms. Kainz, the errors the AI currently makes are comparable to the error rate of a new employee or trainee.
Export vs. Import
While trust in the export process is already very high, import clearance (tax declaration) is monitored even more closely, as absolute legal certainty is critical here.
05
Challenges & Change Management
Team Acceptance (The First Three Years)
The rollout was not a sure-fire success. During the first three years, there was frequent frustration within the team. It required persistence from management to explain that the machine, much like a new employee, first needed to be trained. Today, however, no one wants to work without the tool.
Customs tariff classification
Automated HS code suggestions are helpful, but the legal obligation for tariff classification lies primarily with the manufacturer.
06
Outlook and Strategic Competitive Advantage
Competitive Advantage Today
The use of Digicust provides Rüdinger with a clear competitive advantage: Customers perceive Rüdinger as an innovative pioneer. Furthermore, the high processing speed ensures strict adherence to presentation deadlines (frequently requiring next-day customs clearance).
EU Customs Data Hub
With the Union Customs Code (UCC) and the upcoming EU Customs Data Hub, the pressure to provide granular real-time data will increase massively. Tools that perfectly process and prepare data (like Digicust seamlessly integrated with DAKOSY) will become indispensable.
Transformation of the Job Profile ("The Data Professional")
Similar to the automotive industry - where the assembly line worker evolved into a machine supervisor - the customs declarant will undergo a transformation. The specialist of tomorrow will be a data professional who monitors where data originates, how it flows, and at which specific points specialized legal knowledge is required. Manual data entry ("copy-paste") will disappear completely.
“Today, no one wants to give it up. We get the data in the fields where we need it.”
Martina Kainz
Head of Customs, Sea Freight & Air Freight, Rüdinger Spedition
07
The Interview in Detail: Voices from the Field
The following interview was conducted between Martina Kainz (Head of Global Department, Rüdinger Spedition) and Digicust representatives Bernhard Klug and Matthias Pfeiler (Co-Founders). It offers authentic insights into the operational implementation of AI customs automation.
Ms. Kainz, what was the fundamental trigger for you to become innovative and deploy tools like Digicust in your processes in the first place?
We are generally drivers of digitalization at Rüdinger. But quite honestly: I simply don't like it when things have to be handled five times when there's an easier way. Nobody enjoys typing the same numbers five times over. I am always looking for ways to reduce unpopular tasks and time sinks.
On the one hand, to offer our people a great workplace they enjoy. On the other hand, it creates a win-win situation for the company: We can use the time saved qualitatively for new orders and offer our customers better support - this people business only works if I actually have the time for it.
Martina Kainz, Rüdinger Spedition
How specifically did you restructure your processes as a result?
The colleagues in the Global Department have been significantly relieved. In the past, the employees created the Export Accompanying Documents (EAD) completely by themselves. We don't do that anymore. We broadened our setup and introduced a web portal (web capture): Our customers log in, enter the shipment details, and upload their customs documents.
These end up in an inbox and are automatically forwarded to Digicust from there. We then only get a notification: There is something new. An employee then just reviews it. This saves us an enormous amount of manual forwarding effort internally. From uploading the documents to processing them in the system, as a rule of thumb, it now takes only about 5 minutes.
Martina Kainz, Rüdinger Spedition
How confident do you feel with the process now? Is the trust there that the system works well?
The trust is there. We know the fields where we still need to double-check. I also have a certain error rate with new employees or trainees - or when you yourself aren't a hundred percent focused. I would say: Whatever AI errors are still present now, it's no more and no less than a real person sitting there.
In exports, the trust is already well-established. In imports, where we are submitting an actual tax declaration, we obviously look a bit more closely, because we need absolute legal certainty there.
Martina Kainz, Rüdinger Spedition
How was the initial acceptance within the team? Was the change immediately embraced?
(laughs) In the first three years, we often reached a point where there was absolutely no motivation left! Employees frequently said: I can process this manually much faster than searching endlessly for the sources of the AI's errors. As a manager, you needed a lot of patience and broad shoulders. You constantly had to point out the future benefits and explain that a machine, just like a new employee, has to be trained.
Martina Kainz, Rüdinger Spedition
And how are things today?
Today, no one wants to give it up! They realize now: Ah, now I know which fields I have to look at. We get the data in the fields where we need it. Even if there are occasional outliers - tempers used to flare to 180, but now everyone is genuinely happy to be able to work with it.
Martina Kainz, Rüdinger Spedition
You have been in this industry for a very long time. How do you see the next 10 years in customs processing?
Very clearly: The Union Customs Code mandates that we must deliver real-time data to a central EU Customs Data Hub. That will be a massive challenge. By then, our data must be prepared so well that it can flow smoothly through all these interfaces into this new monster instrument.
It will be the case that certain positions in logistics simply won't exist anymore. Let's compare it to the automotive industry: In the past, people assembled on a line, with ten people standing at the conveyor belt. Eventually, there was only one person left who monitored that the machine was functioning properly. I see it exactly the same way in logistics.
We will evolve more into these data professionals. Where does the data come from? How does it flow onward? And at which point do I need specialized legal knowledge? We will always need our specialists - but in the future, we will deploy them meaningfully where true expertise is required, and not for unpopular typing tasks.
Martina Kainz, Rüdinger Spedition