"Customs Doesn’t Slow You Down. Poor Preparation Does." An Interview with Our Customs Specialist Yvonne Bono
When an international shipment grinds to a halt, suspicion often falls quickly on the authorities: customs held up the goods, processes are bogged down in bureaucracy, or regulations are simply opaque. But anyone involved in global trade on a daily basis knows the other side of the coin: most delays start long before the cargo ever reaches the border.
On our LinkedIn channel, our customs specialist Yvonne Bono has spent the past few months sharing regular glimpses into her everyday work. Whether it’s new EU regulations, typical Incoterm pitfalls, or the infamous questions you’d rather hear from us than from a customs officer—the feedback from our network has been clear: this topic is front and centre for many businesses.
Reason enough to dig deeper in an in-depth conversation. In this interview, Yvonne explains why customs should never sit at the very end of a supply chain, which latest developments are challenging the industry, and why LGX prefers to double- and triple-check before a shipment ever leaves the warehouse.
Yvonne, anyone who follows us on LinkedIn will know your saying: "Customs doesn't slow you down. Poor preparation does." Why is customs still so frequently made the scapegoat in practice?
Because customs is simply the point where mistakes become visible. If something went wrong during preparation—an imprecise goods description, the wrong Incoterm, or incomplete shipping documents—you usually don’t notice it while the cargo is in transit on a vessel or an aircraft. The shipment only gets stuck once it hits clearance. That’s when people quickly claim: "Customs is blocking us." In reality, the customs office is usually just uncovering the weak spots in the internal processes that came before.
Many companies treat customs clearance as a necessary evil to be sorted out right before the flight takes off or the ship sets sail. Where is the flaw in that thinking?
Right there: viewing customs as a bureaucratic afterthought tacked onto the very end. Customs belongs at the beginning of the chain, not the end. If you only start thinking about how goods are declared when they’re already on the truck heading to the airport, you’ve already taken on the risk. Clean tariff classification, reliable origin data, and the right Incoterm need to be settled before an order even moves into execution. When those master data points are solid, actual clearance often happens in a flash.
Is there a topic right now that catches customers by surprise particularly often?
Yes, anti-dumping duties, without a doubt. Many goods were ordered months ago without anyone checking the customs tariff in the meantime. Often, our customers only learn from us that anti-dumping duties apply—specifically once the shipment arrives in Germany and we have the commercial documents, exact product descriptions, and tariff classifications in front of us. The surprise is huge when up to 70% in additional anti-dumping duties are slapped on top of regular customs tariffs. At that moment, customers face existential questions: Does the import still make financial sense? Can the sales price still be adjusted? Is the product description truly precise enough—and is the HS code actually correct? This is exactly where the value of early consultation becomes obvious.
Data quality requirements are rising steadily anyway. What developments do importing and exporting businesses currently need to navigate?
EU customs reforms and increasing digitisation mean that systems are interlocking in a far more transparent and automated way. Advance data must be transmitted electronically much earlier and with greater precision—often before the cargo is even loaded. Responsibilities are defined more strictly, and data errors are flagged immediately through automated checks. I always say: customs isn’t necessarily becoming more complicated, but it is becoming far more uncompromising. Anyone maintaining sloppy master data feels it right away—in the form of delays, demurrage and storage costs, and heavy back payments.
One topic that brought plenty of smiles on LinkedIn was your "3 questions you’d rather hear from us than from customs." What questions are those?
The first question is simply: "Are all your documents genuinely complete?" It sounds basic, but missing invoices or unclear packing lists are the number one cause of follow-up inquiries. The second question centres on Incoterms: "Which rule applies to this shipment?" That doesn't just dictate who pays for freight and insurance, but also how the customs value is calculated—mistakes here get expensive very fast. And the third question goes into the details: "Could you describe the goods more precisely for us, please?" Labels like "machine parts" or "electronic accessories" simply no longer cut it for the authorities. If the description is too vague, customs initially rejects the declaration—meaning it has to be revised with more detail. If doubts remain after that, customs often demands the commercial documents for inspection. If what was declared still doesn't plausibly match the documents, a physical customs inspection is ordered.
On top of that, certain types of goods classified as "critical" are inspected anyway, regardless of documentation. Either way, that quickly adds several days of delay—and storage fees become almost unavoidable. That’s why we ask detailed questions right from the start. Our motto is quite simple: Better safe than sorry.
What does this shift mean for LGX's role? Do you still see yourselves as a freight forwarder in the traditional sense?
Simply moving freight from A to B is no longer enough today. Pure transport is interchangeable; the real added value lies in consultation and in the responsibility you take on. When we prepare a shipment, we don’t just look at flight schedules or sailing plans—we examine the data as closely as possible. There’s certainly room to grow—especially in customs, where we want to ask questions even faster and more directly whenever something stands out. But that’s exactly what we’re continuously working on, because in the end, it saves our customers days of waiting and real money.
If you had to give a mid-sized company three straightforward pieces of advice to permanently eliminate customs headaches: What would they be?
First: firmly integrate customs into your procurement and sales processes rather than treating it in isolation. Second: keep your master data and HS tariff codes up to date, and don’t rely on outdated spreadsheets pulled from a drawer. And third: seek an open dialogue with your logistics partner early on. When everyone involved—from purchasing to the freight forwarder through to the consignee—pulls in the same direction, there are no nasty surprises at the border.
And for anyone who is still unsure about what applies to their next shipment?
Very simple: pick up the phone or send us a message. We’ll look at the situation together and find a solution that stands on solid ground—both commercially and legally.
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