Starting with the audit notice

• When did you receive the customs audit notice and which importing period does it cover?
• Describe the notice's stated concerns and any sample entry lines it calls out
• How many distinct entries or invoices does the notice reference? Options: 1-10, 11-50, 51-250, 251-1,000, More than 1,000
• Who on your team is the primary owner of the audit response and who must be informed as the issue evolves?
• Which external advisers or legal counsel, if any, have you already engaged for this audit? Options: In-house legal only, External trade counsel, External customs broker adviser, Regulatory counsel and broker, None yet
• What single timeline constraint in the notice would force you to pause or accelerate remediation decisions?

Where classification risk lives in your catalog

• If a systematic misclassification were confirmed across your top 10 SKUs, how large would the estimated back-duty exposure be and what would you do first? Options: Under $50k, $50k–$250k, $250k–$1M, $1M–$5M, Over $5M
• List the product categories or commodity groups where multi-component assemblies create the most classification ambiguity, and give one SKU example
• How many active HTS headings does your item master map to today? Options: Under 100, 100–1,000, 1,001–10,000, 10,001–50,000, Over 50,000
• Walk me through the last time your team reclassified a product, who made the decision, and what evidence was captured
• Which ERP or part attributes do you find most unreliable for tariffing, for example part composition, BOM ownership, or country of origin Options: Part description, BOM/assembly structure, Material composition, Supplier-supplied HTS, Country of origin, Other

How customs clearance velocity matters to operations

• If a classification change slowed customs clearance by one full day per container, what direct operational costs or impacts would you expect? Options: Container demurrage, Production downtime, Expedited freight costs, Customer service impacts, Inventory shortages, Other
• Describe a recent incident where a clearance delay affected production, inventory, or customer commitments
• How often in the past 12 months have classification holds or missing documentation delayed imports? Options: Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Rarely, Never
• Who in your logistics chain typically becomes aware first when a shipment is held for customs, and how is that communicated?
• What single clearance-related outcome would make you stop a deployment immediately?

Evidence and sample data we need

• Imagine we validated corrected classifications on a 100-entry sample and still found a 5 percent error rate, would you authorize a broader reclassification or require further controls first? Options: Authorize broader reclassification, Require further controls and evidence, Run a larger sample before deciding, Decline to proceed
• Provide the specific formats and export points for product and customs entry data you can make available, for example CSV from ERP, customs entry XML, or freight bill extracts Options: CSV from ERP, SAP IDoc or equivalent, Customs entry XML, Freight forwarder entry extract, EDI 300/501, Other
• Which count of SKUs would capture your top 80 percent of duty exposure, for example 100, 500, or 1,000 Options: 100, 250, 500, 1,000, Other
• Walk me through who on your side can approve data extracts, and what the typical lead time is to get them
• List any previously collected test entries, audit workpapers, or customs responses we could reuse and note where they reside

Stakeholders, decision gates, and governance

• Name the executive roles that must sign off before remediation work or commercial terms are finalized, and the red line that would make them say no
• Select the functional owners we should include in review and working sessions Options: Trade compliance, Legal, Operations, IT, Procurement, Finance, Logistics, Security/Export Controls, Other
• When are the next scheduled reviews for those stakeholder groups and how often do they meet Options: This week, Within 2 weeks, Within 1 month, Monthly, Quarterly, Not scheduled
• Estimate the number of users who will need platform access immediately after go live Options: 1-5, 6-25, 26-100, 101-500, Over 500
• Identify the one internal policy, approval, or resource gap that would stop this project from moving forward

Where deployments usually go off the rails

• Tell me about a past implementation failure that still shapes your skepticism about new compliance vendors and why
• Name the top three operational or regulatory risks you worry about during an audit remediation project
• How long would you tolerate discovery of a material misclassification before it triggers executive escalation Options: Immediately, 48 hours, 1 week, 2 weeks, Longer than 2 weeks
• Do you carry insurance or a reserve budget to cover potential back duties, penalties, or remediation costs Options: Yes, insurance covers duties/penalties, Yes, reserve budget exists, Partial coverage only, No formal coverage
• Identify the mitigation that would most reduce your likelihood of cancelling the project if an issue surfaced during remediation Options: Escrow of data and findings, Phased remediation approach, Guaranteed accuracy SLAs, Shared cost for remediation, Other

Competitive landscape and alternatives you are weighing

• Assuming you stayed with your current provider, what measurable results would need to appear by year end to justify keeping them
• Select the alternatives you are actively evaluating today Options: Incumbent customs broker, Large transaction-focused broker, Internal team expansion, Other compliance software vendor, Freight forwarder platform, No alternatives currently
• Name the top conditions that would make you keep the incumbent rather than switch, for example pricing, classification accuracy, or scope
• Has anyone inside the company proposed solving this fully in-house, and who made that proposal Options: Yes, operations proposed it, Yes, IT proposed it, Yes, trade compliance proposed it, No one has proposed in-house
• Point to the one factor that would make you switch providers immediately

Operational readiness and technical constraints

• Assuming your ERP cannot provide the tariff related fields we need, are there workarounds you consider unacceptable Options: Manual entry only, Partial automation with manual review, Temporary file extracts, Other
• Pick from the systems list the items we must integrate with and indicate if an API or file feed is available Options: ERP, WMS, TMS, Freight forwarder portal, Customs filing system, EDI provider, Other
• Provide the team or role that owns API or integration work and the number of full time equivalents they can dedicate
• Tell us the common data quality issues you face, such as missing commodity descriptions, incomplete BOMs, or inconsistent units
• Are there regulatory approvals, legal reviews, or contract clauses that could block data access or delay deployment Options: Export control review required, Legal data sharing agreement required, Vendor approval needed, No significant legal gates
• Should integrations not be completed within 8 weeks, would you withdraw from the project or accept a limited pilot Options: Withdraw, Accept limited pilot, Extend timeline, Undecided

Acceptance criteria and success signals

• Outline the exact contract action or signoff that will follow if the pilot demonstrates 95 percent classification accuracy and duty savings that meet your threshold, and name the signer
• Pick the KPIs you will use to accept the project Options: Classification accuracy, Duty savings amount, Screening false positive rate, Customs clearance lead time, Filings accuracy, User adoption
• How soon after go live do you expect to measure these KPIs and who will be responsible for reporting Options: 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, Other
• Point to the KPI whose absence would prevent acceptance and note whether a mitigation would be acceptable

Decisive next steps, timing, and owners

• Pinpoint the single decision in the next 7 days that would most accelerate or stall this deal
• Share the non negotiable dates in your timeline, such as audit response deadlines or production ramp dates
• Supply the people or roles who will be the day to day owners for this project and confirm their availability
• How quickly can your team supply the sample entry dataset once requested, within 1 week, 2 weeks, or 4 weeks Options: Within 1 week, Within 2 weeks, Within 4 weeks, Longer than 4 weeks
• Would you prefer a staged pilot limited to high risk SKUs, a full scope sample, or a hybrid approach Options: High risk staged pilot, Full scope sample, Hybrid phased approach, Undecided

• Solution Experience — Classification, Exposure, and Clearance

• Confirm the current state and its cost to your team
• You confirm the demonstrated workflow identifies the same classification failure modes you described in Discovery.
• Provide a prioritized sample of SKUs for live testing, including commercial invoices, packing lists, product photos, and any recent entry IDs referenced in the audit.
• You accept the quantified duty exposure method as a reliable basis for commercial decision-making.
• Quantify the consequence on duty, penalties, and operations
• Provide access details for the systems needed for parallel-run validation, including your existing ERP export of trade fields and a sample freight manifest extract.
• Run live classification checks on your sample SKUs
• Run a scoped classification audit on the provided sample SKUs and deliver a quantified duty exposure report with proposed reclassifications and remediation options within 7 business days of receiving the sample dataset.
• You agree that the demonstrated clearance-preservation steps are sufficient to protect import velocity during remediation.
• Show duty exposure calculation and remediation options
• You agree on the sample scope and acceptance criteria required to move to a scoped audit and commercial proposal.
• Document the clearance-preservation sequence and escalation contacts for any shipments that require immediate broker intervention during the pilot period.
• Demonstrate clearance-protection workflows
• Validate that this maps to your needs
• Agree next evidence and decision criteria

• Solution Experience — Classification, Exposure, and Clearance
• Solution Experience Deck
• Solution Brief

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Map Product Data to Classification Engine
• Apply Harmonized Tariff Codes to Product Catalog
• Configure Automated Denied/Restricted Party Screening
• Configure Export Control Classification Workflows
• Enable Free Trade Agreement Qualification and Claiming
• Implement Duty Mitigation and Retroactive Adjustment Filings
• Execute Customs Entry Filing and Broker Representation
• Manage Foreign-Trade Zone Admissions and Tracking
• Integrate Platform with ERP and Trade Systems
• Integrate with Customs Filing and Freight Endpoints
• Migrate Historical Customs Entry Data
• Deploy Audit Trail and Compliance Documentation Exports
• Operate Parallel Filing During Cutover Period
• Train Trade Compliance and Operations Users

Map Product Data to Classification Engine

• Which source files will you provide for mapping (SKU catalog CSV, bill of materials, commercial invoices, packing lists)? Options: SKU catalog CSV, Bill of materials (BOM), Commercial invoices, Packing lists, Other
• Provide the ERP product identifiers we should map (SKU, UPC, manufacturer part number) and indicate a sample file for each identifier type.
• Identify product families that require component-level HTS treatment (kits, assemblies, multi-material products) and list up to 10 representative SKU examples.
• How many unique SKUs are in scope for initial classification mapping? Options: Less than 1,000, 1,000-10,000, 10,001-50,000, More than 50,000
• List the ERP fields currently populated for material composition, net weight, declared value, and country of origin that we should map to the classification engine.
• Do you have sample commercial invoices and packing lists we can use to validate mapping and test classification rules? Options: Yes, No

Apply Harmonized Tariff Codes to Product Catalog

• Which tariff schedule edition and country rules of origin apply to the majority of your imports (e.g., US HTS 2024, EU Combined Nomenclature 2024)?
• Provide a sample set of 50 SKUs for live classification accuracy testing; which SKUs would you include to represent high-risk categories?
• Specify any internal classification rules or precedent rulings you currently rely on (internal code lists, prior CBP ruling numbers, engineering change notes).
• Which product attributes must be used to drive HTS selection in your catalog (material composition, end use, technical function, dimensions)? Options: Material composition, End use / function, Dimensions/weight, Manufacturer model/part number, Other
• Indicate the maximum acceptable misclassification rate on a 500-SKU sample for go-live acceptance (classification accuracy acceptance criteria). Options: >= 99%, >= 98%, >= 95%, Custom threshold
• Are there existing CBP Post-Entry Amendments, protests, or classification rulings that should be referenced during mapping? Options: Yes, No

Configure Automated Denied/Restricted Party Screening

• Which restricted party lists do you require screening against (e.g., sanctions lists, internally maintained denied party lists, government watchlists)? Options: Sanctions lists, Internal denied party list, Government watchlists, Customers' blocked parties, Other
• Provide the actor types to screen (consignee, shipper, ultimate consignee, manufacturer, intermediate consignee) and sample records for each type.
• Select the desired screening frequency and latency tolerance for new transactions (real-time at booking, hourly batch, daily batch). Options: Real-time at booking, Hourly batch, Daily batch
• Describe your false-positive handling workflow (escalation to trade compliance, hold shipment, manual adjudication) and required response SLAs.
• Which data fields from your order or ERP (name, address, tax ID, ultimate consignee code) should be used for identity resolution during screening?
• Do you require an audit log of screening hits exported to your GRC system or as CSV reports? Options: Yes, No

Configure Export Control Classification Workflows

• Which export control regimes apply to your products (EAR - Export Administration Regulations, ITAR - International Traffic in Arms Regulations, national control lists)? Options: EAR, ITAR, National control lists, Not applicable
• Provide sample technical data sheets or specifications for representative controlled items we must classify against ECCN or ITAR categories.
• Identify the parties in your transaction chain that may trigger license requirements (end user, end use, destination) and provide sample destinations of concern.
• How should export license conditions be surfaced in the workflow (block shipment, require user attestation, auto-create license request ticket)? Options: Block shipment, Require attestation, Auto-create license request, Notify compliance team
• Which documentation must be attached to export-controlled shipments (technical specs, end-use statements, license numbers) and who provides them?
• Will you require periodic reclassification reviews for items flagged as potentially controlled, and at what cadence? Options: Quarterly, Biannually, Annually, On engineering change

Enable Free Trade Agreement Qualification and Claiming

• Which preferential trade agreements do your imports commonly rely on (e.g., USMCA, EU trade agreements, ASEAN FTAs)?
• Provide the certificate of origin formats you need (commercial invoice statement, formal COO, supplier declarations) and sample templates. Options: Invoice statement, Formal certificate of origin, Supplier declaration, Other
• List the supplier sources where origin data must be collected (tier 1 manufacturers, subcontractors) and whether you can obtain supplier declarations.
• How should the system handle origin failing automatic qualification (route to manual review, provisional qualification, or reject claim)? Options: Route to manual review, Provisional qualification with note, Reject claim
• Which percentage of shipments do you expect to claim preferential origin during year one (used to size validation effort)? Options: Less than 10%, 10-30%, 31-60%, More than 60%
• Are there retrospective audits or record retention periods required for origin documentation for your FTAs (years) that we should configure for exports and imports? Options: 3 years, 5 years, 7 years, Other

Implement Duty Mitigation and Retroactive Adjustment Filings

• Which duty mitigation strategies are you interested in pursuing (reclassification, first-sale valuation, drawback, origin claims, classification protests)? Options: Reclassification, First-sale valuation, Drawback, Origin claims, Classification protests
• Provide a list of past fiscal years and estimated duty exposure you want us to analyze for retroactive filings.
• Outline the degree of involvement you want for retroactive filings (we prepare and file, we provide report and you retain counsel, joint filing with your broker). Options: We prepare and file, We provide report only, Joint filing with your broker
• Describe the document set you can supply for retroactive adjustments (commercial invoices, entry summaries, proof of preferential origin, prior customs rulings).
• Are protests or Post Summary Corrections (PSC) already open that should be included in the remediation scope? Options: Yes, No
• Which timelines do you require for retroactive filing delivery milestones (initial assessment, filing draft, submission)? Options: 2 weeks / 4 weeks / 8 weeks, Custom schedule

Execute Customs Entry Filing and Broker Representation

• Which filing regimes do your imports use (formal entries, informal entries, section 321 de minimis, bonded entries)? Options: Formal entry, Informal entry, Section 321 de minimis, Bonded entry
• Provide the broker power of attorney (POA) model you will execute or indicate if a new POA is required. Options: Existing POA, New POA required
• Which party is currently the importer of record and will that change during remediation (your company, third-party logistic provider, designated importer)?
• How do you prefer entry-level liability handling to be recorded (we record estimated duties, you accept holdback, other)? Options: Record estimated duties, Client accepts holdback, Other
• Indicate any country-specific broker authorizations or local customs brokerage requirements we must satisfy for representation.
• Describe escalation rules needed to protect clearance timelines when filing exceptions or awaiting manual rulings.

Manage Foreign-Trade Zone Admissions and Tracking

• Do you currently operate Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ) or use bonded warehouses for imports? Options: FTZ in operation, Use bonded warehouses, No FTZ/ bonded usage
• Provide the FTZ admission and removal documentation templates you use (admits, elect-in forms, TIDs).
• Which inventory tracking fields must link FTZ admissions to ERP inventory (lot number, batch, serial, warehouse location)? Options: Lot number, Batch, Serial, Warehouse location
• How often should FTZ inventory reconciliation run and what tolerance thresholds trigger investigation? Options: Daily, Weekly, Monthly
• Who is the site owner for FTZ recordkeeping and who will approve FTZ admission/release transactions?
• Are there pending FTZ compliance issues or prior audits that must be remediated as part of scope? Options: Yes, No

Integrate Platform with ERP and Trade Systems

• Which ERP systems and versions store your trade master data and transactional data (e.g., SKU master, purchase orders, shipment manifests)?
• Provide the list of ERP fields available for integration (SKU ID, description, declared value, incoterm, consignee) and a sample export.
• Indicate whether your ERP supports outbound APIs, SFTP exports, or database views for trade data extraction. Options: Outbound APIs, SFTP exports, Database views, Flat file exports
• Identify the technical owner and test environment access point for your ERP integration (contact role and environment URL or SFTP details).
• Specify the go-live acceptance test for the ERP connector (number of test transactions, reconciliation tolerance) and confirm acceptance thresholds (integration acceptance criteria).
• Are there custom product lifecycle events in your ERP (engineering change notices, obsolescence flags) that should trigger reclassification? Options: Yes, No

Integrate with Customs Filing and Freight Endpoints

• Which customs filing endpoints and carriers do you currently use for e-filing and tracking (ACE/ABI endpoints, carrier API categories, freight forwarder endpoints)?
• Provide sample EDI or API credentials and a preferred connection method for each filing endpoint (certificate-based API, SOAP, REST, EDI X12).
• List the documents that must be pushed to carriers and ports at filing time (bill of lading, commercial invoice, packing list, entry summary). Options: Bill of lading, Commercial invoice, Packing list, Entry summary
• What are the SLA expectations for outbound filing acknowledgements from carriers and customs (seconds/minutes/hours)? Options: Real-time (seconds), Within minutes, Within hours
• Who will own credential rotation and endpoint testing for filing and freight integrations?
• Are there any customs filing volume spikes (seasonal peaks) that require throughput testing before cutover? Options: Yes, No

• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Subscription Order Form
• Data Processing Agreement (DPA)
• Data Access & Integration Authorization
• Licensed Customs Brokerage Power of Attorney
• Audit Remediation Governance Addendum
• Service Level Agreement (SLA) — Classification & Filings
• Industry-Specific Compliance Addendum (conditional)

• Go-live Health Check (weeks 1-4)
• First Measurement Review (weeks 4-10)
• Acceptance Gate — Outcome Validation (around day 90)
• Quarterly Operational Review (ongoing quarterly)
• Annual Outcomes Review

• Publish the quarter metrics pack with trend charts and sample error analyses.
• Establish remediation items with clear completion dates for any failed acceptance criteria.
• Confirm incumbent decommissioning status and data archive or migration completion to prevent dual-operation drift.
• Publish the remediation plan for any failed criteria with task-level milestones and verification steps.
• Confirm and log the incumbent system decommissioning steps and archive location for retained data.
• Review quarterly metrics and trends
• Validate that classification accuracy rate and average customs clearance time remain within acceptable variance of targets recorded in Solution Scope.
• Agree the prioritized enhancement list and the schedule for the next quarter.
• Ensure operational tickets are being resolved according to agreed SLAs and update the shared issue channel status.
• Re-confirm acceptance criteria and owners
• Update the enhancement backlog with agreed priorities and planned delivery quarters.
• Close or re-scope any long-lived tickets that are blocking metric improvement and record next actions.
• Present annual outcomes vs targets
• Confirm annual duty-savings realized and classification accuracy rate relative to Solution Scope targets and document variance reasons if targets were not met.
• Verify audit-readiness by confirming completeness of classification justifications and filing archives.
• Confirm operational runbooks, owners, and the shared issue channel process are in place and effective.
• Publish the annual outcomes summary with drilldowns on sample transactions and realized savings.
• Update and distribute operational runbooks and escalation contact matrix.
• Close any remaining critical audit or classification issues or document the remediation timeline and verification steps.
• Confirm the deployment components required for go-live are functioning and documented.
• Produce a ranked list of critical open issues with remediation tasks and target completion dates.
• Agree the verification method and timing for confirming fixes in the next review.
• Publish a deployment validation report that lists pass/fail checks and sample entry comparisons.
• Create the short-term remediation plan with specific resolution steps and target dates.
• Provision access to the shared issue channel and post the initial defect list for tracking.
• Present measurement data against targets
• Validate whether classification accuracy rate and cumulative duty-savings realized to date are tracking toward Solution Scope targets.
• Identify root cause for the top 3 metric gaps and document concrete corrective actions with dates.
• Confirm readiness checklist and timeline for the Acceptance Gate meeting.
• Distribute the measurement workbook showing raw samples, calculations, and variance to targets.
• Create and publish a corrective-action tracker with task descriptions and completion dates.
• Schedule a pre-acceptance readiness sync if any critical corrective actions remain open 7 days before the gate.
• Circulate the signed acceptance record or the documented conditional-acceptance decision within 24 hours.
• Restate acceptance criteria and numeric targets
• Produce a documented acceptance decision that records pass/fail status for each acceptance criterion in Solution Scope.
• Surface persistent issues and ticket burn-down
• Audit-readiness and documentation completeness
• Present outcome data against each criterion
• Diagnose gaps and root causes
• Deployment and data validation
• Document pass/fail per criterion and acceptance decision
• Early adoption signals and usage patterns
• Agree corrective actions and timelines
• Operational handoff verification
• Enhancement requests and prioritization
• Confirm next-quarter action plan
• Close outstanding critical issues and agree next-year cadence
• Remediation plan for any failed criteria
• Integration and data quality blockers
• Open issues and blockers
• Confirm readiness timeline to acceptance gate
• Immediate remediation plan
• Incumbent system decommissioning and data archive