The 'as a service' model is everywhere—starting with Software as a Service and extending to Healthcare as a Service—but what about Duty Drawback as a Service? With Pax AI, that's exactly what customs brokers and freight forwarders can now offer their customers.
The Challenge: Shrinking Margins in Entry Writing and Freight Services
Customs brokers and freight forwarders are facing increasing pressure as margins in entry writing and freight services continue to decline. To stay competitive, many are looking to expand their service offerings and provide more value-added solutions to their customers. One such opportunity is duty drawback—a program that allows businesses to recover duties, taxes, and fees paid on imported goods that are later exported or destroyed.
At Pax AI, we help brokers and forwarders set up drawback as a service, generating recurring cash flow for both our clients and their customers. Here are our top three reasons you should consider adding drawback to your service portfolio:
1. Gain Deeper Insights into Your Customer's Supply Chain
Duty drawback requires a thorough understanding of your customer's import and export activities. By offering drawback services, you gain increased visibility into their supply chain, allowing you to provide more tailored logistics and compliance solutions. This deeper relationship strengthens client trust and opens the door for additional service opportunities.
2. Help Your Customers Recover Significant Cash—Potentially Covering Your Fees
The refunds generated through duty drawback can be substantial—sometimes enough to offset all the fees a customer pays for your services. Imagine telling your client that not only can they unlock additional cash flow, but the recovered duties could effectively make your brokerage or freight services free. That's a compelling value proposition that enhances customer loyalty and retention.
3. Establish a Competitive Edge with a High-Barrier Service
Duty drawback is complex. The extensive paperwork, regulatory nuances, and intricate import-export linkages make it a difficult service to offer without the right expertise and technology. Brokers and forwarders who integrate drawback into their services create a strong competitive advantage, making it harder for clients to switch providers—and that's exactly what Pax can do for you.
The Drawback Challenge: Expertise, Compliance, and Processing Costs
Of course, nothing this powerful comes without some number of potential challenges. One of the biggest hurdles to offering duty drawback is the intense learning curve and operational burden. Handling drawback claims manually is labor-intensive, requiring:
- Exhaustive knowledge of complex regulations
- Extensive data reconciliation capabilities to match imports with exports
- Expensive drawback software or time-consuming Excel-based processes
How Pax AI Makes Drawback Easy for Brokers and Forwarders
By partnering with Pax AI, you eliminate the heavy lifting associated with drawback claims. We act as your back-office drawback team, managing everything from compliance to claim processing. Our drawback experts leverage cutting-edge AI-powered tools to automate the process, reducing costs and ensuring maximum refund recovery for your customers.
The result? You can offer competitive rates while generating recurring revenue—without investing in costly software or in-house expertise.
Ready to Get Started?
Adding duty drawback as a service is a strategic move that strengthens customer relationships, differentiates your business, and generates a steady cash flow. Let Pax AI handle the complexity while you focus on serving your customers.
Contact us today to learn how you can seamlessly integrate drawback into your service offerings and start maximizing value for both you and your clients.