Workflow — ISF (10+2) Preparation

ISF filings 24+ hours before lading, every time.

Purchase order, supplier invoice, vessel schedule data → 10 importer data elements + 2 carrier data elements extracted, validated, ACE-filed 24+ hours before lading. Importer notification, deviation tracking, and post-departure update workflow. Replaces customs broker and forwarder ISF prep at a fraction of the per-ISF cost — and de-risks CBP's $5,000-per-violation penalty regime.

Take the AI Assessment Get a Per-ISF ROI Model

$25–$50

Per ISF at customs brokers and forwarders

24+ hrs

Pre-lading filing window

60–85%

Routine ISF prep off the broker desk after AI cutover

What This Replaces

The Broker / Forwarder ISF Desk Filing Inside the 24-Hour Window

The work the broker or forwarder does on every ISF — and the cost of leaving it there.

The labor

ISF (10+2) preparation today moves through customs brokers and forwarders at $45–$85 per hour fully loaded plus offshore prep support at customs-broker-owned offshore ops (Livingston, Expeditors, Flexport). Per-ISF cost runs $25–$50 fully loaded counting prep, broker review, and ACE filing. Volume drives the unit economics — large ocean-import programs run thousands of ISFs per month, with the 24-hour pre-lading window creating constant time pressure.

The cycle time

ISF must be filed 24+ hours before lading at the foreign port. CBP penalty exposure runs $5,000 per violation per shipment for late ISF filings, with willful patterns triggering escalating enforcement. Standard ISF cycle runs hours from PO confirmation to ACE filing, with the cycle compressed when the supplier confirms the booking close to the lading window. Late ISFs are an audit-finding pattern that drives broker-shipper liability disputes.

The Workflow

Input · Analysis · Output

What goes into ISF prep, what we do to it, and what shows up in CBP ACE.

Input

PO + supplier invoice + vessel data

Purchase order (PO)
Supplier commercial invoice
Vessel schedule and lading port
Importer of record CBP Form 5106
Container stuffing location
Consolidator and ship-to-party data
Manufacturer / supplier data

Analysis

Extract, validate, deadline-check

10 importer data elements (importer of record, consignee, manufacturer, seller, ship-to, country of origin, HTSUS at 6-digit, container stuffing location, consolidator, buyer)
2 carrier data elements (vessel stow plan, container status messages)
24-hour pre-lading window check
Per-element completeness validation
AMS / vessel manifest cross-reference
Deviation flagging for late or modified ISF
Confidence score per element; exceptions to broker queue

Output

ISF filing into ACE

CBP ACE ISF filing draft
Pre-filing window status alert
Importer notification with filing confirmation
Post-departure update workflow trigger
Deviation tracking log
Per-ISF audit trail with element-level basis
CBP Form 5106 importer-of-record link

Side by Side

ISF Preparation Today vs. With Last Rev

The numbers that matter: cycle time, per-ISF cost, accuracy, and CBP-penalty posture.

Dimension	Broker / Forwarder ISF Desk	Last Rev ISF Preparation
Cycle time, PO confirmed to ACE-filed	Hours, compressed by booking timing	Minutes per ISF
Per-ISF unit cost	$25–$50 fully loaded	Per-ISF, benchmarked at 25–45% of broker / forwarder unit cost
Pre-lading window compliance	Variable — bookings close to window cause late filings	Per-PO window tracking with proactive late-filing alerts
10+2 element accuracy	Variable — analyst judgment, drift on uncommon scenarios	Per-element validation with the source-data citation
AMS / vessel manifest cross-reference	Manual cross-reference, post-event detection	AMS data cross-checked at filing time
CBP ACE integration	Manual filing through ACE Portal	Direct via ABI / ACE feed for broker review and submission
Audit log per filing	Broker / analyst notes, no element-level lineage	Source PO + supplier invoice + vessel data + element citation per ISF

How It Works

From PO to ACE-Filed ISF

Five steps. Every one logged. Every one reversible if your confidence threshold isn't met.

Submission Lands

PO and supplier invoice from the importer / forwarder, vessel schedule data from the carrier or NVOCC, importer-of-record data, and container-stuffing location confirmation.

Extraction & Classification

10 importer data elements (importer of record, consignee, manufacturer, seller, ship-to, country of origin, HTSUS at 6-digit, container stuffing location, consolidator, buyer) and 2 carrier data elements (vessel stow plan, container status messages) extracted and validated.

Validation Against ISF Bar

Per-element completeness validation. 24-hour pre-lading window check with proactive alert if booking is close to window. AMS / vessel manifest cross-reference. Anything below your confidence threshold per element is routed to the broker review queue — final filing remains with the licensed broker.

Push to CBP ACE

CBP ACE ISF filing draft for broker review and submission. Importer notification with filing confirmation. Post-departure update workflow trigger if subsequent changes affect 10+2 data. Deviation tracking log.

Audit Log Persisted

Every element extraction, window check, and AMS cross-reference logged with the source PO, supplier invoice, vessel data, model version, and confidence score. CBP-Focused-Assessment-ready and yours.

Compliance & Defensibility

Built to Meet the Quality Bar ISF Operations Already Run On

19 CFR 149 ISF rule conformance

19 CFR 149 Importer Security Filing rule (the "10+2" rule) requirements tracked. Per-element data field requirements respected. Updates to the ISF rule (e.g., progressive enforcement enhancements) flow into the validation engine within days of effective dates.

CBP penalty regime defensibility

CBP $5,000-per-violation per-shipment penalty regime tracked. Late, missing, or inaccurate ISFs trigger the penalty schedule; the audit log produces the timing and accuracy basis per filing — supporting penalty-mitigation requests when issues arise.

Licensed broker role respected

Final ISF filing decisions remain with the licensed customs broker under 19 CFR 149.4. We prep, validate, and assemble; the broker reviews and files. Confidence-flagged exceptions route to broker review automatically.

Importer and supplier confidentiality

ISF data contains importer pricing, supplier identity, and shipment-level information. Deployable in your VPC or our SOC 2 environment. Encryption in transit and at rest; retention policies tied to CBP recordkeeping rules.

Common Questions

What Brokers, Forwarders & Importers Ask About ISF Preparation

Those are the customs and GTM platforms where ISF data and trade-compliance records live. The competitor on this page is the broker / forwarder labor that does the actual ISF prep — typically licensed brokers at $45–$85 per hour or offshore prep teams translated to $25–$50 per ISF. We undercut that labor cost, integrate directly into your existing GTM platform / ACE feed, and deliver ISF filing drafts for broker review.

We don't replace the licensed broker. Final ISF filing decisions remain with the broker under 19 CFR 149.4. We prep, validate, and assemble; your broker reviews and files. The broker is in the review-and-approve loop on every ISF.

Our pilot success threshold is per-element extraction accuracy at parity with or above your incumbent ISF prep, measured on the same shadow-data sample of historical filings. Anything below your defined confidence threshold per element is routed to the broker review queue — your call which queue, ours or yours.

Per-PO window tracking runs continuously against vessel schedules. When a booking gets close to the 24-hour window, proactive alerts surface for broker action. The audit log records the timing of every filing relative to the lading window, supporting penalty-mitigation requests when CBP raises window issues.

Post-departure updates (cargo deviation, vessel change, container status updates) trigger the ISF update workflow. The audit log records every update with the basis cited, supporting CBP review of ISF-amendment patterns.

Yes — through the documented integration surface each platform supports. CBP ACE via the ABI / ACE feed; SAP GTS via SAP integration patterns; Oracle GTM via APIs; Descartes via REST APIs. Your IT and trade-compliance teams review and approve service accounts. We do not require platform-side custom development.

ISF pilots typically run 4–6 weeks: 1 week of integration and per-importer ISF-template mapping with the broker / forwarder team, 2–3 weeks of shadow-mode running on real ISFs with no ACE-side filings, 1–2 weeks of supervised cutover on a constrained scope (one importer, one trade lane). Production rollout is staged after the pilot meets your accuracy and broker sign-off.

We benchmark against your current per-ISF cost — typically $25–$50 fully loaded. Our target is 25–45% of that per-ISF cost at higher accuracy and faster cycle time. Pricing structures around volume tiers and outcome SLAs (24-hour-window compliance), not hourly billable rates.

Two Ways to Start

Take the AI assessment for a structured read on ISF-preparation feasibility. Or talk to us if you already know the 24-hour ISF window is the constraint on your customs operations.

Self-serve · 8 minutes

Take the AI Assessment

A short structured assessment that maps your monthly ISF volume, customs platform, and broker / forwarder arrangement to AI feasibility and ROI.

Talk to a specialist

Get a Per-ISF ROI Model

Send us your monthly ISF volume, your customs platform, and your current broker / forwarder arrangement. We'll come back with a per-ISF unit-cost comparison and a 6–8 week pilot plan in 5 business days.

Other Workflows

More Logistics & Trade Workflows We Replace

The same approach, applied to the other document-heavy labor lines on your trade-compliance budget.

Customs Entry Preparation

Entry Summary 7501 — HTS classified, valuation determined → ABI/ACE filing for licensed broker review.

HTS Classification

Product specs → HTSUS classification with GRI application, prior CBP ruling search.

BOL Processing

BOL extraction → MercuryGate, Oracle TMS, Blue Yonder, Manhattan Active, McLeod LoadMaster.

USMCA Certificate of Origin

BOM + supplier origin → tariff-shift, RVC, de-minimis analysis. USMCA certificate in hours.