The growing unpredictability of trade tariffs, pandemic-induced disruption, and geopolitical volatility have left traditional B2B logistics models struggling to keep pace.
“We are living in an age where supply chains are shifting from being optimised for cost down to the nano penny to ones optimised for resilience,” Rathna Sharad, CEO and co-founder of FlavorCloud, said. “Covid-19 started this trend and now tariff volatility has accelerated and cemented this new paradigm.”
This shift is driving a transformation in freight strategy. Brands no longer view airfreight as a premium exception; instead, they see it as an essential tool for rapid response. “Merchants need flexible sourcing and shipping options to adapt to fluctuating demand and policy changes in real time,” Sharad added. “This means freight moving through faster modes of transport—air and ground—to reach demand.”
FlavorCloud’s Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) B2B airfreight network is purpose-built for this climate of uncertainty. “FlavorCloud’s guaranteed DDP B2B airfreight solution addresses this urgency by providing predictable and affordable network rates, automated brokerage and compliance, end-to-end visibility and faster transit times—giving brands resilience in an increasingly volatile global trade environment while saving costs.”
Fixing freight
Traditional B2B airfreight has long been mired in outdated practices—fragmented providers, manual paperwork, and opaque costs have been accepted as the status quo.
“Manual paperwork, OCR tech, estimated landed costs, multiple providers from brokers to air/ocean/ground transportation carriers. This market is overdue for tech and automation,” she said. “FlavorCloud eliminates these issues by offering a single platform with guaranteed landed costs, automated brokerage, and end-to-end visibility—bringing consumer-grade simplicity and predictability to a historically complex space.”
FlavorCloud’s is looking to digitalise the sector through the assumption of the Importer of Record (IOR) role. “In every cross-border transaction, there is an Importer of Record. If this is not clearly taken on by your cross-border marketer it falls on the merchants 90% of the time,” said Sharad. “By taking on the IOR role, FlavorCloud ensures brands comply with local government and regulatory requirements.”
This reduces not only compliance risk but also clears the path for quicker, smoother market entry. “Instead of navigating country-specific import regulations, commodity-level duties, tariffs and fee structures, and tax registrations themselves, brands can rely on FlavorCloud’s infrastructure to handle it all. This reduces legal exposure, accelerates clearance, and enables faster market entry—especially in difficult-to-ship regions.”
Automating accuracy
In a domain riddled with customs classification headaches and unpredictable duties, FlavorCloud’s AI-powered landed cost engine is a game-changer.
“FlavorCloud’s AI analyses product data from a brand’s product catalogue or directly from their ecommerce store and assigns highly accurate 10-digit HS codes in real time, with over 95 percent classification accuracy based on over a decade of honing with actual customs feedback loops,” Sharad explained.
This classification engine powers a broader system designed for financial accuracy and transparency. “Once the product is matched, our landed cost engine calculates duties, taxes, and fees based on destination country, product type, value, and trade agreements.”
It’s not just about customs clearance—it’s about better business decisions. “It also provides actionable insights into better quality of data for classification as well as customs clearance via a quality score mechanism,” she added.
This transparency is invaluable to CFOs and procurement teams navigating a landscape where financial clarity is scarce. “FlavorCloud’s guaranteed landed costs allow brands to accurately forecast and manage unit economics and gross margins in a very complex space so they can understand unit economics of their business better.”
