International trade is rarely a marketing problem. It is a sequence of small structural choices — incoterms, customs, certifications, logistics — that compound into either margin or friction. We help leadership teams design that sequence properly the first time.
When clients come to us
When a first export shipment has revealed a hidden cost stack. When a Turkish manufacturer is preparing to enter the EU and needs a customs and certification path that holds. When a UK-based group is restructuring supply after a regulatory shift. Often when finance has discovered that landed cost is materially higher than the original commercial assumption.
How we work
A senior advisor maps the current trade flow end to end — origin, destination, intermediaries, classifications, payment terms — and identifies where structural cost or risk is sitting unmanaged. From there we redesign the trade architecture jointly with operations, commercial and finance, and we stay alongside through the first shipments under the new design.
What we deliver
- Trade flow map with cost and risk attribution
- Customs classification and origin review
- Incoterms and payment-terms recommendation
- Certification and regulatory clearance roadmap
- Logistics provider shortlist and selection support
- Documentation pack and process handover
Typical engagement
A trade advisory engagement runs four to ten weeks. On our side, a senior advisor leads with one operations specialist. On the client side, the COO or supply chain director is the principal counterpart, with finance and commercial involved at design points. We work in English, Turkish or Estonian as required.
Why CGLA
We sit physically in the three corridors that matter most to our clients — EU and UK — which means our advisors have current relationships with brokers, certifiers and logistics providers in each. The advice is grounded in current process, not last year's regulation summary.
