Tapping into the usefulness of AI, Moaah aims to revolutionise the way companies navigate cross- border shipments and reduce the amount of misdeclared cargo shipments. Recent findings from NCB reveal that 55% of inspected containers harbour deficiencies in security, labelling, or declaration. With maritime transport accounting for approximately 80% of global trade, disparate shipping regulations pose a formidable challenge for companies to navigate. Moaah’s vision is to help all stakeholders including importers and exporters to have easy access to global customs’ regulations for improved accuracy in declarations and overall compliance.
Transforming Shipping Compliance
Founded by a team of a lawyer and data scientists, the idea was first sparked by Yun Sil Chu, the co-founder of Moaah. Drawing from her experience in diverse law firms across Singapore, Yun Sil identified a glaring gap in companies’ understanding of shipping regulations, leading to recurrent clashes with customs authorities. Motivated to address the flaw in the shipping industry, Yun Sil said “I wanted to create something that is super easy, super-efficient and fast for companies to cross check all the regulations before committing, packing and delivering their goods.” Thus, Moaah, meaning "gathering" in Korean, materialised with the aspiration to amalgamate accessible information and data. Backed by four years of intensive research and bolstered by a team of 31 seasoned engineers and 158 customs trade data sources, Moaah aspires to be the go-to platform for cross-border shipment information, akin to the reliability of Google.
Revolutionising the Shipping Industry
Misdeclared cargo can pose significant risks and the repercussions of misdeclaration, ranging from onboard fires to hefty penalties, underscore the imperative for stringent compliance. To reduce the likelihood of such incidents, shipping companies like Hapag-Lloyd have instituted a penalty of S$15,000 per box for misdeclared goods from China. Moreover, anti-trust rules in Europe and the US enforce a hefty fine of up to 10% of a company's turnover, discouraging companies from non-compliance. With complicated and lengthy published forums containing up to thousand pages in PDFs or non-digitised regulations, it is difficult for companies to stay up to date.
This is where Moaah comes into the picture. Leveraging cutting-edge Natural Language Processing (NLP) and AI, Moaah synthesizes labyrinthine regulations into a user-friendly interface, transcending the barriers posed by voluminous PDFs and disparate forums. Yun Sil, mentions how committed the company is to their accuracy and timeliness, stating “We make sure that our regulations are updated by tapping into the actual customs authorities almost daily to weekly for each individual country and we make sure that they’re most up to date and we also cite their sources by looking into their government links or actual publication links available.” In the realm of dangerous goods regulations where products are often listed solely by their commercial names, Moaah helps to highlight the actual chemical compounds such as the lithium batteries inside electronic goods. This proactive approach helps in minimising the risk of fines or accidents. Even with a million shipments in a month, Moaah's unwavering vigilance in discerning hazardous cargo ensures adept risk management, safeguarding against potential fines and calamities.
Moreover, Mooah’s dedication to innovate and excel in their field was recognised in 2020, when it secured a spot as a finalist in the Smart Port Challenge hosted by PIER71 and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
“What we have done over the past 5 years is consistently work with our first few customers that we’ve gotten onboard being, very transparent with what we can deliver and moving forward hiring more developers and engineers. Right now, we are searching for talents specialised in AI across the world so that they can help compliment and boost up our accuracy.” said Yun Sil. Moaah’s continuous dedication in improving their accuracy and interface solidifies their place as a trailblazer in the realm of cross-border logistics, setting new standards for efficiency and accuracy in the industry.
Find out more at https://moaah.com/