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© 2025 Beige Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.

Let's talk

Excited to speak to you.

© 2025 Beige Consulting Inc.

All rights reserved.

Let's talk

Excited to speak to you.

© 2025 Beige Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.

Let's talk

Excited to speak to you.

© 2025 Beige Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.

Let's talk

Excited to speak to you.

© 2025 Beige Consulting Inc.

All rights reserved.

MORE CASE STUDIES

A quick

glance at

the numbers...

A quick

glance at

the numbers...

A quick

glance at

the numbers...

A quick

glance at

the numbers...

Clearance time down to 4.75 hours from 24 hours

Clearance time down to 4.75 hours from 24 hours

Clearance time down to 4.75 hours from 24 hours

Clearance time down to 4.75 hours from 24 hours

Error rates reduced to 0.7% from 5%

Error rates reduced to 0.7% from 5%

Annual savings of $1.9M

Annual savings of $1.9M

Error rates reduced to 0.7% from 5%

Error rates reduced to 0.7% from 5%

Error rates reduced to 0.7% from 5%

Annual savings of $1.9M

Annual savings of $1.9M

Annual savings of $1.9M

Industry

Industry

Logistics

Logistics

Service Areas

Service Areas

Process Analysis

Process Improvement

Automation

Strategy

Implementation

Process Analysis

Process Improvement

Automation

Strategy

Implementation

Making Customs Human

In 2023, we set out to make customs clearance feel less like paperwork and more like progress. SwiftClear was drowning in their success – more shipments meant more delays, more stress, and less happy customers.


When we dug deeper into their operations, we found three core issues (illustrated below). What also became apparent was that their way of working seemed to be siloed so no one could see the whole picture. It felt as it everyone worked in the dark, which negatively impacted their bottom line, directly or indirectly.

Undertrained teams struggling with complex shipments

Undertrained teams struggling with complex shipments

Undertrained teams struggling with complex shipments

Undertrained teams struggling with complex shipments

Old technology forcing staff to work manually

Old technology forcing staff to work manually

Old technology forcing staff to work manually

Old technology forcing staff to work manually

Scattered processes creating chaos

Scattered processes creating chaos

Scattered processes creating chaos

Scattered processes creating chaos

What prompted us to reimagine customs?
What prompted us to reimagine customs?
What prompted us to reimagine customs?

Over-processing

From 2020 to 2023, SwiftClear grew rapidly. Each quarter brought more shipments, more complexity, and more manual work. Teams were spending hours on paperwork instead of helping customers. Some shipments sat waiting for days. If this continued another year, it would cost millions more in lost business and damaged relationships.

How can we make a difference?
How can we make a difference?
How can we make a difference?

To make this experience better, we needed to understand the human side of customs clearance. We began spending time with the people who lived this reality every day:

The field/warehouse team watching goods pile up

The field/warehouse team watching goods pile up

The field/warehouse team watching goods pile up

The client facing teams dreading client calls

The client facing teams dreading client calls

The client facing teams dreading client calls

The manager working overtime to track shipments

The manager working overtime to track shipments

The manager working overtime to track shipments

This provided more insight than we anticipated, and uncovered much more inefficiencies that were at play.

What did we build, you might ask?
What did we build, you might ask?
What did we build, you might ask?

We built a 3-part solution that spanned a year

Automations & Digital upgrades (Months 1-4)

Routine task automation and holistic view of the entire business

Automations & Digital upgrades (Months 1-4)

Routine task automation and holistic view of the entire business

Automations & Digital upgrades (Months 1-4)

Routine task automation and holistic view of the entire business

Automations & Digital upgrades (Months 1-4)

Routine task automation and holistic view of the entire business

People Power (Months 3-8)

Created specialist roles, trained staff and developed mentorship programs

People Power (Months 3-8)

Created specialist roles, trained staff and developed mentorship programs

People Power (Months 3-8)

Created specialist roles, trained staff and developed mentorship programs

People Power (Months 3-8)

Created specialist roles, trained staff and developed mentorship programs

Process Perfect (Months 9-12)

Streamlined workflows, built continuous improvement system, and created central knowledge base

Process Perfect (Months 9-12)

Streamlined workflows, built continuous improvement system, and created central knowledge base

Process Perfect (Months 9-12)

Streamlined workflows, built continuous improvement system, and created central knowledge base

Process Perfect (Months 9-12)

Streamlined workflows, built continuous improvement system, and created central knowledge base

Teams now see everything at a glance, predict issues before they happen, share resources seamlessly, and focus on customers, not paperwork

And as a result, this put them on track to achieve...

Speed

  • Clearance time: 24 hours → 4.75 hours

  • Same-day clearance: 20% → 72% of shipments

Quality

  • Errors down from 5% to 0.3%

  • Client satisfaction increase from 75% to 91%

Money

  • Revenue increase of 45%

  • Profit margins: 8% → 18%

  • ROI: 385% in first year

Speed

  • Clearance time: 24 hours → 4.75 hours

  • Same-day clearance: 20% → 72% of shipments

Quality

  • Errors down from 5% to 0.3%

  • Client satisfaction increase from 75% to 91%

Money

  • Revenue increase of 45%

  • Profit margins: 8% → 18%

  • ROI: 385% in first year

Speed

  • Clearance time: 24 hours → 4.75 hours

  • Same-day clearance: 20% → 72% of shipments

Quality

  • Errors down from 5% to 0.3%

  • Client satisfaction increase from 75% to 91%

Money

  • Revenue increase of 45%

  • Profit margins: 8% → 18%

  • ROI: 385% in first year

Speed

  • Clearance time: 24 hours → 4.75 hours

  • Same-day clearance: 20% → 72% of shipments

Quality

  • Errors down from 5% to 0.3%

  • Client satisfaction increase from 75% to 91%

Money

  • Revenue increase of 45%

  • Profit margins: 8% → 18%

  • ROI: 385% in first year

The Human Victory

"The change is like night and day," says one Operations Manager. "What used to be a constant firefight is now a smooth, predictable process."

"The change is like night and day," says one Operations Manager. "What used to be a constant firefight is now a smooth, predictable process."

"The change is like night and day," says one Operations Manager. "What used to be a constant firefight is now a smooth, predictable process."

"The change is like night and day," says one Operations Manager. "What used to be a constant firefight is now a smooth, predictable process."

For one customer service rep, the change was personal: "I used to dread calls from clients asking about delays. Now, I'm excited to tell them how far ahead of schedule we are!"

For one customer service rep, the change was personal: "I used to dread calls from clients asking about delays. Now, I'm excited to tell them how far ahead of schedule we are!"

For one customer service rep, the change was personal: "I used to dread calls from clients asking about delays. Now, I'm excited to tell them how far ahead of schedule we are!"

For one customer service rep, the change was personal: "I used to dread calls from clients asking about delays. Now, I'm excited to tell them how far ahead of schedule we are!"

Looking ahead

For Swift Clear, this is only just the beginning. With these issues now a thing of their past, and a clearer pathway established, they are now exploring better, more predictive clearance systems; enhanced training environments, and AI-powered assistance for a bigger, brighter future.

*while we change the company and individual names to protect the privacy of our clients, all other information is real.

*while we change the company and individual names to protect the privacy of our clients, all other information is real.

*while we change the company and individual names to protect the privacy of our clients, all other information is real.

*while we change the company and individual names to protect the privacy of our clients, all other information is real.

Industry

Logistics

Service Areas

Process Analysis

Process Improvement

Automation

Strategy

Implementation

Swift Clear

Swift Clear operates such that they promise their clients quick customs clearance for shipments across Africa, and end-to-end speed overall. By 2023, they had served 100s of businesses and were growing fast. Until their success started to become their biggest problem. As shipments increased nearly 50% year over year, their manual processes couldn’t keep up. Clearance times stretched, error rates jumped, clients started leaving, and profits began to fall.

If you’re like us and you like getting into the details, you can find longer, more-detailed versions of our case studies in our Substack linked here.

If you’re like us and you like getting into the details, you can find longer, more-detailed versions of our case studies in

our Substack linked here.

If you’re like us and you like getting into the details, you can find longer, more-detailed versions of our case studies in

our Substack linked here.

If you’re like us and you like getting into the details, you can find longer, more-detailed versions of our case studies in

our Substack linked here.

Get in touch

Get in touch

Get in touch

Get in touch

Get in touch