G’s Fresh, Automating Customs Declarations for Perishable Produce Using AI

Sector

Private sector | Fresh produce

Location

Barway (Ely), United Kingdom

Revenues

£500 million

About

Automating Customs Declarations for Perishable Produce Using AI – G’s Fresh is renowned for cultivating the highest quality salads and vegetables. With an extensive selection of fresh produce, G’s proudly serves major UK retailers and numerous European markets.

Outcome



Workload of ~20–30 staff condensed into a single reviewer role.



Faster declaration turnaround, reducing risk of delays and spoilage of perishable produce.



Consistent and standardised customs submissions across varied supplier formats.



Staff can focus on exceptions and higher-value logistics planning rather than data entry.



Scalable model for G’s Fresh to handle growing supplier volumes across Spain, UK, and other European markets.

Executive Summary

Automating Customs Declarations for Perishable Produce Using AI

G’s Fresh is one of the leading fresh produce suppliers, operating across the UK, Spain and wider European markets. The business handles not only its own produce but also customs clearance for other suppliers, making it central to a complex logistics ecosystem. However, the customs declaration process had quite a few manual elements. Supplier invoices arrived in inconsistent formats, staff re-entered details into spreadsheets and third party systems that integrate with government systems, and teams worked around the clock to meet strict three-day logistics windows. Any delay risked spoilage, financial loss and reputational damage with retailers.

TTG is partnering with G’s Fresh to design and implement an AI-enabled automation pipeline. By integrating Power Automate with document intelligence and content understanding by using AI, the system will read, structure and validate invoices, prepare customs declarations, and submit them directly to third- party portals who have access or rights to access the government customs portal. Human effort will now focus on review and approval rather than data entry. The outcome will be a scalable, resilient process that preserves freshness, reduces labour dependency, and positions G’s Fresh for growth in a demanding sector.

The Challange

Tackling a Customs Bottleneck

The customs declaration process is a bottleneck in G’s Fresh’s supply chain. Every day, thousands of invoices and shipping documents arrive from suppliers, each in a different format, some with delivery notes, others with packing lists or certificates.

The G’s Fresh staff have to manually extract the data, standardise it, and re-enter it into 3^rd Party portals. This consumes enormous amounts of time. The timing challenge is acute. Fresh produce must clear customs within three days, and delays risks spoilage and lost revenue.

With operations spanning Spain, the UK and other European countries, the manual model was unsustainable. In peak seasons, the volume of invoices surges, placing additional strain on staff capacity and increasing the likelihood of errors. Rejected submissions or delayed approvals has significant financial and reputational consequences.

For a business built on speed, freshness and reliability, the customs bottleneck represents a fundamental risk.

The Solution

An AI-enabled Automation Pipeline

TTG Has delivered an AI-enabled automation pipeline that transforms the customs process. Supplier invoices will be routed to a shared inbox monitored by Power Automate. The system uses document intelligence and content understanding by using AI to extract and structure data from invoices, regardless of format.

AI then prepares customs declarations in the correct structure for submission to 3^rd party portals that have access to the government customs portal. Instead of re-entering information line by line, staff will only have to review the prepared requests, validate accuracy, and approve them with a single click. Once approved, the system submits to customs and returns validated documents to suppliers automatically.

Exception management is built in: if data is incomplete or inconsistent, the AI will flag the case for manual review. This ensures compliance while removing the need for repetitive labour.

The solution is designed not just for efficiency but for scalability, enabling G’s Fresh to handle growing supplier volumes without expanding headcount.

The Success

A Standardised Process

The automation is delivering transformative results. Tasks that once required the effort of 20–30 staff members is now condensed into a single reviewer role, freeing the workforce for higher-value logistics planning. Customs declarations are processed faster and with far greater accuracy, reducing rejections and minimising the risk of spoilage.

By shortening turnaround times, G’s Fresh ensures that fresh produce consistently reaches shelves at peak quality, strengthening trust with retailers and consumers. The process is standardised across all supplier formats, eliminating inconsistencies and creating a more reliable, auditable system. The automation also positions G’s Fresh for growth.

With demand rising and supplier networks expanding, the company can scale operations seamlessly without proportional increases in labour. Staff no longer spend their time on repetitive data entry but instead focus on strategic tasks, driving efficiency across the supply chain.