CenGlobal, a leading provider of transport and logistics systems, has kickstarted 2025 with a bang following a flurry of contract wins during a time where international compliance continues to become increasingly challenging for businesses operating in international trade.
The company, which has offices in the UK, Dubai and Manilla, has secured partnerships with several high-profile logistics firms in recent months, with CenGlobal working closely with each to help maintain compliance in a frequently turbulent international landscape.
With global sanctions expanding rapidly as international tensions continue, companies are under growing pressure to ensure their shipments comply with evolving trade regulations.
As widespread disruption and political conflicts both ongoing and new, an increased number of sanctions will likely be imposed, causing the industry as a whole to remain vigilant.
For logistics firms managing international transportation on behalf of customers, restrictions being introduced with little warning means the risk of non-compliance, and the potential penalties that come with it, has therefore never been higher.
CenGlobal, with its extensive expertise in consulting and implementing compliance-focused logistics solutions for freight forwarders and logistics providers, predicts that the most prevalent compliance challenges businesses will face this year are anti-money laundering risks and denied party screening.
Failure to comply with anti-money laundering regulations or engaging with denied or sanctioned parties can result in severe penalties, including substantial fines and reputational harm or even imprisonment.
In 2023, the US government tightened its shipping security requirements, making freight forwarders directly liable for export control violations where previously they were not held responsible for their customers' actions.
With this significant change, non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) and forwarders face the risk of substantial penalties, including fines potentially reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars and even criminal prosecution, if they fail to report customers exporting illegal components to countries like Russia and China.
Following the continuation of the Ukraine-Russia war, the imposition of tariffs and escalating tensions in the Middle East, Steve Cross, Managing Director of CenGlobal believes freight forwarders and logistics providers will be placed under more stringent compliance standards by governments and regulatory agencies this year and as such, face heightened scrutiny as geopolitical tensions persist.
In line with this, the importance of adopting and implementing international compliance software has never been greater to avoid the risk of human error.
Steve Cross said: “With geopolitical issues seemingly becoming more frequent as times goes on, the need for logistics providers to be more aware in their approach to compliance has never been greater.
“As these issues persist, the introduction of new sanctions will undoubtedly follow suit, and with that comes an added pressure on freight forwarders and logistics providers to stay ahead of regulatory changes – which is difficult enough anyway.
“Reliance on manual processes to screen shipments and verify compliance is no longer sustainable and those days frankly are long gone. In a literal sense, companies simply cannot afford to slip up and with human error, that risk is always there. All it takes it one missed detail or oversight and a business could face severe financial penalties or even legal consequences.”
C.H. Robinson, a U.S.-based supply-chain logistics firm, was fined over $250,000 by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) after its non-U.S. subsidiaries violated sanctions against Iran and Cuba.
Between November 2018 and February 2022, these subsidiaries provided freight brokerage or transportation services for shipments to or from Iran or involving Iranian or Cuban goods. The violations occurred because the subsidiaries' brokerage management systems had not been integrated into C.H. Robinson's system or updated to include the latest sanctions compliance controls, resulting in inadequate screening for potentially violative transactions.
Steve continued: “As regulations continue to tighten and sanctions come out of the woodwork with little warning, this is where leveraging automated compliance solutions will be crucial to remaining one step ahead for the industry.
“Within such systems, companies can seamlessly integrate compliance checks into their daily operations, ensuring that every shipment is properly screened before it moves through the supply chain – helping to remove the risk of oversight by providing real-time assessments that help logistics providers stay compliant with international
regulations. From automated denied party screening and commodity risk assessments to audit traceability and real-time compliance monitoring, the system basically ensures businesses can proactively identify and mitigate risks.
“We have spoken to customers, some of whom are multi-billion-dollar organisations, which are blissfully unaware of compliance issues such as denied party regulations and the corresponding consequences of non-compliance. Ignorance just isn’t an excuse though; adhering to compliance is a crucial component of global trade operations and its importance is only becoming more profound.”
CenGlobal in recent years has become a CargoWise Platinum Partner, a recognition it has earned by applying its expertise and knowledge to help many users in integrating their solutions to clients, partners and ERP systems.
CenGlobal is exhibiting at Multimodal on stand 8012
