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Foundations for nearshoring success
How we helped a global consumer goods manufacturer build a cross-border customs operating model for compliance, visibility, and growth.
Published on 30 September 2026
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A major factory investment can create production capacity. But without the right customs infrastructure, products can still be delayed at the border, and supply chains can falter.
For one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, establishing a new manufacturing operation in Mexico therefore required more than bricks, machinery, and production lines. It required a cross-border customs operating model built for compliance, visibility, and growth.
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Building solid customs infrastructure for a cross-border supply chain
As part of its North American nearshoring strategy, the company invested in a major investment in a new production facility near Monterrey, Mexico, dedicated to serving the consumer market across the United States and Canada. The facility marked a significant milestone in the company's North American nearshoring strategy, bringing manufacturing closer to end markets while enhancing supply chain resilience and responsiveness. The facility required the development of a new export-oriented supply chain spanning multiple countries, transport modalities, and regulatory environments. The future operating model needed to support northbound flows from Mexico into the US, onward distribution to Canada, southbound movements into Mexico, and intermodal transportation by road, rail, sea, and air.
Building this capability was not straightforward. The company had limited experience managing cross-border trade at the scale required by the new operation. Existing customs processes relied heavily on spreadsheets, lacked standardised operating procedures (SOPs), and offered limited operational visibility. Stronger controls were also needed to ensure compliance, governance, and the effective management of duties and taxes.
To make matters more challenging, the supply chain and customs framework had to be designed while the manufacturing facility itself was still under construction. Processes, responsibilities, and documentation requirements all needed to be established ahead of go-live. Crucially, customs clearance could not be treated as an extension of a broader transportation contract. It required a specialist, standalone solution with its own people, controls, technology, and governance.
A dedicated customs, compliance, and visibility model
Kuehne+Nagel developed a tailored customs solution specifically for the operation, building an entirely new operating framework around the customer’s emerging supply chain, compliance obligations with customs regulations, and anticipated cross-border volumes.
At the centre of the solution was a dedicated customs brokerage model covering 100% of the relevant northbound and southbound activity between Mexico and the US. The resulting scope supports approximately 8,900 customs entries annually, providing the customer with a single, coordinated framework for its US and Mexico customs brokerage requirements.
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Two dedicated team members were placed on site at the manufacturing facility. Their proximity to the operation enabled close daily coordination, faster information exchange, and direct support as the customer’s processes took shape. A dedicated customs implementation team in the US complemented the on-site resources and helped maintain operational readiness during the extended pre-launch period.
Technology formed another important part of the solution. Business intelligence dashboards were introduced to provide visibility into northbound US customs activity and support more structured reporting. The digital environment also strengthened document retention, creating a more reliable basis for customs records and future governance.
The setup placed equal emphasis on compliance and knowledge. Kuehne+Nagel worked with the customer to explain customs requirements for cross-border trade to the US and Canada from Mexico. This also extended to clarifying the reasons behind customs-related dependencies and building a better understanding of the regulatory environment. Dedicated workshops and ongoing knowledge sharing helped the customer’s teams prepare for an operation whose customs complexity exceeded initial expectations.
Senior-level engagement from Kuehne+Nagel reinforced the model. Executive sponsors remained involved throughout the relationship, while in-person working sessions with the customer brought operational and leadership teams together. The customer specifically recognised this hands-on executive engagement and collaborative approach as important factors in selecting and working with Kuehne+Nagel.
Patience was just as important as technical expertise. As construction schedules shifted, the implementation team maintained its readiness, supported the customer in resolving open questions, and continued preparing the customs framework for launch. This ensured that delayed production did not translate into an unprepared customs operation.
Creating lasting value through customs transformation
The customer now has a dedicated customs foundation supporting its new regional manufacturing strategy. Instead of relying on fragmented spreadsheets and loosely defined procedures, it uses an operating framework focused on cross-border execution, compliance, governance, and visibility.
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The solution delivers several specific outcomes:
A scalable operating structure, capable of supporting additional volumes and future growth across North America.
Business Intelligence visibility for northbound US customs activity, giving the customer a clearer view of clearance status and customs reporting.
Improved documentation management and retention, supporting stronger governance and compliance readiness.
A more informed customer organisation, equipped with a better understanding of regulatory requirements through workshops and ongoing knowledge sharing.
Combined, these outcomes have given the company the confidence and control needed to support its new regional manufacturing strategy.
By aligning customs compliance, operational processes, and governance within a single integrated framework, the company has reduced the operational uncertainty associated with launching an entirely new cross-border supply chain. It can now develop its manufacturing operations in Mexico on top of a customs model tailored to the business's scale and complexity.
Nearshoring is often measured by factory investment and production capacity. Its true success, however, depends on whether products can move efficiently and compliantly across borders. By establishing a scalable customs and compliance framework from the outset, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies laid the foundation for long-term growth across North America.
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