Digital Employees · Import Coordinator
Every shipment’s paperwork, checked before your broker sees it.
It reads your emails and attachments, files every document to its shipment, flags what doesn’t match, chases what’s missing and tells you where every container is. An AI our team sets up and supervises. Your customs broker still files.
Works from your inboxYour broker still filesA person supervisesNothing to install
Open positionCovered by the digital employee
Import Coordinator
$52,260 a year, medianFlat monthly fee
- “Collect and organize shipping documents from suppliers and forwarders”Every document filed to its shipment, with the email it came in
- “Review documents for accuracy before submission to the customs broker”Invoice, packing list and B/L checked against each other and your PO
- “Track shipments and communicate delays”ETA, container and what’s missing, updated as emails come in
- “Coordinate ISF (10+2) data with the customs broker”Chased from your supplier in time. Your broker files.
The salary is the federal median for cargo and freight agents, the closest occupation to this job, before benefits (BLS, May 2025).
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Why
Why should I care, and why right now?
Your broker files. The paperwork still starts with you.
Before a container lands, someone on your team has to get an invoice, a packing list, a bill of lading and often a certificate of origin from people in other time zones, and make sure they agree. The law puts reasonable care on the importer of record, not only on the broker.
before your cargo is loaded at the foreign port, your ISF data is due. Much of it has to come from your supplier.
in liquidated damages CBP can claim for each violation of the ISF rules.
Where it breaks today
- Documents arrive scattered.Each one in a different email, attachment or chat thread.
- Mismatches show up late.A gap between the invoice and the packing list surfaces at customs, when it costs more to fix.
- Tracking lives in one inbox.If that person is out, nobody knows where each container is.
Sources: 19 CFR 149.2(b) (ISF timing for cargo arriving by vessel); 19 CFR 113.62(j) (liquidated damages of $5,000 per ISF violation); 19 U.S.C. 1484(a) (the importer of record makes entry using reasonable care).
02 / 04
What
So what does it do, exactly?
One Import Coordinator. Five jobs. Each one feeds the next.
It starts from what you’d hand a new hire on day one: the emails of one shipment.
- 1
Collect
Files every invoice, packing list, B/L and certificate to its shipment.
→ CHECK · every document in one place, so it can be compared.
- 2
Check
Compares quantities, values, weights and HTS codes as declared, against each other and your PO.
→ TRACK · anything that doesn’t match becomes a follow-up, with who owes it.
- 3
Track
Follows each container’s ETA, chases what’s missing and watches the ISF deadline.
→ COST · once the shipment clears, the entry summary is the last document it waits for.
- 4
Cost
Builds landed cost per shipment and SKU from your broker’s and forwarder’s numbers.
→ REPORT · costs and delays go into Monday’s report.
- 5
Report
Every Monday: what’s moving, what’s late, what’s missing and who owes it.
→ COLLECT · your answers become its rules for next week.
Most tools do one of these. Your forwarder’s portal shows the container; your broker files the entry; a spreadsheet holds the landed cost. The digital employee connects all five, so nothing sits in someone’s inbox.
A week of import work
Your forwarder moves the box. It keeps the paperwork moving.
It reads every email, files every document, flags what doesn’t match and tells you what changed.
- PO 4471: the invoice says 1,200 bamboo boards, the packing list says 1,000. Asked the supplier which is right.To fix
- Filed the bill of lading for PO 4471 from Bluewater Freight’s email.Done
- PO 4502 loads Nov 3 in Yantian. The manufacturer’s address for the ISF is still missing.Flagged
- Sent your broker the complete, checked set for PO 4488.Done
- PO 4471 rolled to the next vessel. New ETA at Long Beach: Nov 9.Updated
- Closed landed cost for PO 4410 from your broker’s entry summary: $40,855.Done
- The freight invoice for PO 4410 is $250 over the quote. Left for you to review.To review
- Asked the supplier again for the certificate of origin for PO 4471.Sent
Import Coordinator is tracking 7 shipments
Asking you
Ningbo Seastar says it shipped 1,000 boards, not 1,200. Ask for a corrected invoice, or a credit? There’s no rule for this yet.
Monday report
7 in transit, 2 running late. 6 items waiting on someone, 1 of them on you.
Illustration of a week’s work, with made-up companies.
03 / 04
How
How does each job work, and is it safe?
Every document in its shipment, without opening an attachment.
- Reads what you already get: commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, certificates of origin, quotes and payment receipts, as PDFs or phone photos.
- Files each one to its PO, with a link to the email it came in.
- Knows what’s missing. If a shipment has no certificate of origin yet, it says so, and who owes it.
Illustrative example, with made-up businesses.
What doesn’t match, before it reaches your broker.
- Compares quantities, unit values, weights, packages and HTS codes as declared, across every document and your PO.
- Shows both documents. Every difference comes with the two papers it found it in, so the fix goes to whoever owes it.
- Doesn’t classify. It checks that the codes agree. Which code is right is your broker’s call.
Illustrative example, with made-up businesses.
Where each container is, and who has the ball.
- Keeps every shipment current: ETA, vessel and container from your forwarder’s emails, and delays flagged the day they show up.
- Watches the ISF. Most of the data is due 24 hours before your cargo is loaded at the foreign port (19 CFR 149.2). It asks your supplier early and tells you if it isn’t in.
- Follows up in your name, from your email, once you approve the message. It never files the ISF or the entry: your broker does.
Sample email thread from your own inbox, sent after your approval. Made-up businesses.
What each SKU really cost you, landed.
- Waits for the real numbers. The entry summary is due within 10 working days of entry, with estimated duties (19 CFR 142.12). It takes the duties and fees from there.
- Adds freight from your forwarder’s invoice, and flags anything over the quote.
- Doesn’t calculate duties. The figures are your broker’s. It puts them on your shipments and SKUs.
Illustrative example, with made-up figures.
A report every Monday. Nobody types it.
- In your inbox: what’s in transit, what’s late, what’s missing and who owes it.
- Sorted by who has the ball: supplier, forwarder, broker or you, with how long each item has been open.
- Anyone can pick it up. If your coordinator is out, every shipment’s file is up to date.
Illustrative example, with made-up businesses.
Anything new, it asks once
Anything outside your rules reaches you as a question you answer with one tap. Your answer can become a rule, and next time it handles it on its own.
The digital employee is asking you
Try it: tap an answer.
- Every document goes to its PO, with the email it came in.
- Messages to suppliers, forwarders and your broker go out after you approve them.
- Questions about HTS codes or duties go to your broker.
Rules learned today: 0
Illustrative example, with made-up businesses.
You stay in charge
Your shipments, your rules. You stay in charge.
- Your broker stays your brokerThey get complete, cross-checked documents.
- Never files with CBPNo ISF, no entry, no entry summary. Your broker files.
- Doesn’t classifyHTS codes and duties are your broker’s call. It shows them as declared.
- Your money never touches usYou pay suppliers, freight, your broker and duties, exactly like today.
- You approve messagesEvery request to a supplier, forwarder or broker, until you make it a rule.
- Shows its sourceEvery figure sits next to the document it came from. Anything unclear is marked to confirm.
- Fix it with a tapIf something was misread, you correct it. The original reading stays on record.
- A person supervisesA specialist on our team sets it up and reviews its work.
Hiring an import coordinator? The digital employee covers the paperwork while you hire.
Book a demoQuestions
Before you hand over your next shipment.
My forwarder already gives me tracking. Why this?
The portal shows where the container is. It doesn’t check the invoice against the packing list and your PO, chase the certificate of origin, build your landed cost or tell you on Monday what’s waiting on whom.
Wouldn’t it be better to hire someone?
The closest federal occupation, cargo and freight agents, has a median wage of $52,260 a year before benefits (BLS, May 2025). If whoever runs your imports also handles purchasing or the books, the digital employee takes the paperwork off their plate so they can negotiate and decide. And if they’re out, anyone can pick up a shipment.
Does it replace my customs broker?
No. Your broker stays your broker, files with CBP and is the one licensed to do it. The digital employee covers the document work on your side, so your broker gets a complete, checked set.
Does it classify goods or calculate duties?
No, on purpose. HTS classification and duties are decided by your broker. The digital employee checks that the codes on your documents agree and takes the duty figures from your broker’s entry summary.
What if it misreads something?
Anything unclear arrives marked to confirm. If something was misread, you fix it with a tap: the change is marked and the original reading isn’t lost.
Do I have to change how we work?
No. You keep your email and your forwarder. To start, you forward the emails of one shipment. Nothing to install. Connecting it to your shared drive or spreadsheet is set up with you.
Is it a person?
It’s AI. A specialist on our team sets it up, reviews its work and answers your questions. Messages go out from your email, in your company’s name, after you approve them. It never pretends to be a person.
Does the money go through you?
No. You keep paying suppliers, freight, your broker and duties the way you do today. It never releases a payment: when one is due, it tells you.
Where does my data go?
It’s used only for your account and seen only by your company and our team. The digital employee reads and writes with third-party AI models. Your data is exportable anytime and deleted when you ask.
How much does it cost?
A flat monthly fee, quoted on the call. It depends on how many shipments you run.
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Now
OK. So what do I do?
How much time it gives back
Do the math with your numbers.
We don’t promise a figure. It depends on how many shipments you run and how long they take today, and we’d rather measure it on yours.
About 3 working days a month.
Example math with the values you pick. Not a measured result or a guarantee. The defaults are placeholders, not a measurement: put in your own.
The one thing to do
Book a demo. See it work.
A short video call. We show you the digital employee working on a sample importer, and you decide if it fits your company.
Book a time
Pick a slot that works for you. It’s a video call, in English or Spanish.
See it work
Documents, checks, tracking, landed cost and the Monday report, on a sample importer. Ask what you’d ask a new hire.
Decide
If it makes sense, forward the emails of one shipment, in progress or closed. You get it back organized, with what’s missing and what doesn’t match. If not, everything is deleted.
Every shipment, on paper and on time.
Your broker files. Your team negotiates. The digital employee keeps the paperwork straight.