Derry Bros has automated the creation of Common Health Entry Documents (CHEDs) to streamline the customs requirements for the movement of live animals, animal products, high-risk food and feed, and certain plant products.

The company has used advanced Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and AI technology to enable this groundbreaking feature, which will form part of its all-in-one digital customs solution, Digicom.

“This latest customs innovation represents a major step forward for cross-border operations between the UK, Ireland and EU, enabling the generation of CHEDs in under 45 seconds,” explains Colin Robb, Head of Operations & Sales at Derry Bros. “The feature significantly reduces the time previously required for this process, while minimising the risk of human error.”

CHEDs are mandatory for the import of specific animal-and plant-based goods in the UK and EU, ensuring compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulations. They show that goods meet the required health standards, and as such, are used for notification, checks, and validation at border controls. Derry Bros’ automation has been developed to simplify the creation and validation of CHEDS within the TRACES-NT online platform, ensuring greater levels of speed, accuracy and efficiency.

“We are continually improving and adapting our cross-border solutions with advanced digital systems and features. The new CHEDs functionality is one of multiple enhancements we have planned for our Digicom platform this year, which ensures we are best placed to comply with new and existing requirements for our supply chain customers. It also means we can help reduce the need for human intervention, improve the accuracy of any documentation and achieve faster processing to avoid unnecessary costs, delays and operational risk,” adds Robb.

Derry Bros has more than 60 years of experience in the freight and logistics industry, serving the UK, EU and beyond. With a comprehensive range of managed booking, customs and consultancy services, it is helping businesses to navigate some of the most complex challenges facing cross-border trade and transport. The company’s success and proven track record is underpinned by award-winning technology systems, developed in-house, including the all-in-one digital customs solution, Digicom.