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Cross-Border Complexity Impacting Businesses’ Ability to Grow

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More than 8 in 10 (82%) business leaders surveyed say that cross-border complexity impacts their decision to sell to new markets Three quarters (75%) of consumers that have experienced ‘surprise’ custom duties costs, taxes and complex regulations will reconsider shopping with that same business againAlmost half (49%) of consumers that have faced shock fees will refuse delivery of a package with hidden costs altogether

DURHAM, N.C., July 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Avalara, Inc., a leading provider of tax compliance automation software for businesses of all sizes, today published new analysis exploring the impact of cross-border complexity on businesses and consumers globally. The findings reveal a complex compliance landscape and a disconnect between consumer expectations and the realities of cross-border commerce.

Cross-border complexity impacts growth for all businesses

Overall, 82% of businesses surveyed around the world indicated that cross-border compliance complexity impacts their decision to sell into new markets. Customs duty and import calculation, trade restrictions and payments and shipping complexities are the factors of cross-border compliance causing the biggest challenges for businesses. High-growth, high turnover businesses are impacted more severely by cross-border compliance: while only a 27% of businesses with turnovers under £100,000 cite customs duty and import calculation as a challenge, this shoots up to almost half (49%) of businesses with turnovers of £100,000-£999,999.

Business challenges directly impact consumer experience 

The difficulties businesses face in cross-border commerce directly translate into frustrations for consumers. The top reasons shoppers abandon their online carts when buying internationally include: expensive shipping, lengthy delivery times, and final costs, including duties and taxes, not properly displayed at checkout.

Businesses often underestimate the impact of these factors. For example, while 55% of consumers cite shipping costs as the number one reason, they abandon their cart, only 40% of businesses believe this is a critical factor. 

Further exacerbating the problem is the prevalent use of Delivered at Place shipping by businesses. Almost three-quarters of companies surveyed employ this method, which leaves customers responsible for customs clearance, duties, and taxes. 30% of businesses surveyed globally exclusively use this approach, despite it being a key pain point for consumers.

The consequences of these practices are stark. Nearly 3 in 5 (58%) consumers report experiencing unexpected customs duties charges upon delivery, with half of those who buy cross-border products describing these costs as “shocking.” This lack of transparency has a significant impact on customer loyalty and satisfaction. Three-quarters (75%) of surveyed shoppers say they reconsidered future purchases from a business after this experience, and nearly half (49%) say they refused the package altogether upon delivery.

Businesses turning to AI to unravel complexity

Younger shoppers are much more likely to purchase cross-border. Around two-thirds of both the 16–24-year-old (63%) and 25-34-year-old (68%) age groups surveyed have made international purchases in the last year, compared to only 41% of shoppers over the age of 55. Of those who made an international purchase in the last twelve months, younger consumers are almost twice as likely to experience surprise costs upon delivery compared to older consumers.

Businesses are increasingly using AI-enabled technologies to manage both an increasing consumer appetite for international shopping and their cross-border compliance requirements.

52% of businesses surveyed globally are leveraging AI and automation technologies, with a further 26% aiming to do so in the next two years. The highest rates of adoption among businesses surveyed are in India (64%), Brazil (63%), and Denmark (60%). Businesses in the U.S. (39%), Mexico and Australia (both 44%) have been the slowest to adopt new technologies, according to Avalara’s survey results.

“The disconnect between seller practices and shopper expectations leading to hidden costs can damage the cross-border commerce experience,” said Craig Reed, GM, Cross Border at Avalara. “In an era where international e-commerce is becoming increasingly prevalent, especially among younger consumers, businesses that fail to adapt risk being left behind. Solutions that support international growth and deliver a superior customer experience are key to building a business fit for the modern, borderless digital economy.”

Avalara provides an end-to-end platform to address cross-border tax compliance — from tariff code classifications to customs duty and import tax calculations and more. To learn more about how Avalara automates cross-border tax compliance requirements for businesses, visit avalara.com.  

About Avalara

Avalara makes tax compliance faster, easier, more accurate, and more reliable for 41,000+ business and government customers in over 75 countries. Tax compliance automation software solutions from Avalara leverage 1,200+ signed partner integrations across leading ecommerce, ERP, and other billing systems to power tax calculations, document management, tax return filing, and tax content access. Visit avalara.com to improve your compliance journey.

Methodology
The research was conducted by Censuswide, with 8,242 consumers (1023 in the UK, 1033 in the US, 1077 in India, 1059 in Brazil, 1003 in Australia, 1021 in Canada, 1026 in Mexico and 1,000 in Denmark between 10.05.202416.05.2024 and 4003 18+ senior business decision-makers within businesses / retailers that trade and / or sell goods cross-border per market US (500 respondents), UK (500 respondents), India (500 respondents), Brazil (502 respondents), Australia (500 respondents), Canada (500 respondents), Mexico (501 respondents), and Denmark (500 respondents) between 13.05.202424.05.2024. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.

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Zifo Transforms Ontology Engineering with AI-Powered Intelligent Automation

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Advanced AI solution speeds up ontology creation by 80%, generating structured, interoperable knowledge models for science-driven organizations.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and CAMBRIDGE, England, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zifo, the leading global enabler of AI and data-driven enterprise informatics for science-driven organizations, has developed an Intelligent Automation solution for Ontology Engineering, which is designed to seamlessly generate structured, interoperable knowledge models while accelerating ontology creation by 80%.

Overcoming the Bottlenecks of Manual Ontology Creation

Manual ontology creation in the biopharma industry has traditionally been a time-consuming process that requires specialized expertise. Organizations frequently struggle with semantic ambiguity, complex integration challenges, and limited scalability, resulting in workflows that can take weeks to complete. Zifo’s AI-powered automation tackles these challenges head-on by eliminating 80% of the manual work through automated class generation, description creation, and precise IRI mapping.

Addressing the Complexities of Semantic Knowledge

Developing comprehensive knowledge models often demands deep domain expertise to define relationships and align terminology. Zifo’s intelligent solution overcomes this by providing an AI-guided workflow featuring an intuitive interface, meaning specialized ontology engineering knowledge is no longer required. By leveraging LLM-powered generation, the solution creates precise definitions with a deep understanding of domain-specific context, while generating standardized synonyms and establishing controlled vocabulary alignment to eliminate inconsistent terminology.

A Solution Designed for Scalable Scientific Data Modeling

The AI-powered solution addresses critical format compatibility and integration points in ontology management:

Seamless Integration: Automated mapping connects directly to established ontologies, including NCIT, CHEBI, OBI, and EFO, via BioPortal and OLS APIs.Massive Scalability: Parallel processing and batch operations empower teams to execute large-scale ontology projects without performance limitations.Automated Hierarchies: The AI autonomously generates semantic relationships and parent-child hierarchies based on domain context and predefined relation vocabularies.Format Compatibility: The solution produces direct OWL/RDF exports with proper URIs, ensuring seamless downstream integration.

Unique Features include:

Multi-Source Integration: The solution combines BioPortal, OLS, and EMBL-EBI APIs to guarantee comprehensive ontology coverage.Intelligent Ranking System: The system uses AI-powered relevance scoring and justification for precise ontology mappings.Precise IRI Mapping: It ensures that each generated class is linked to the correct IRI, directly promoting semantic web compatibility.Human-in-the-Loop Design: The solution automates repetitive tasks while maintaining vital expert oversight.End-to-End Workflow: Users are guided through a complete pipeline, from initial domain knowledge input straight to exportable OWL files.Visual Knowledge Graph: An interactive graph visualization allows for intuitive relationship exploration and validation.Multi-Format Exports: Provides seamless export options in CSV, OWL, or HTML Ontograph formats for downstream use, collaboration, and visualization.

Strategic Value Across the Scientific Chain

This solution breaks down the traditional barriers of data structuring. Built on a robust backend of Python, LangChain, and leading LLM models, alongside a frontend framework using Next.js 15 and Cytoscape.js for graph visualization, the solution is highly adaptable. Furthermore, future optimization enhancements will include provisions for uploading user-defined classes or semi-ready ontologies.

About Zifo

Zifo is the leading global enabler of AI and data-driven enterprise informatics for science-driven organizations. With expertise spanning research, development, manufacturing, and clinical domains, Zifo serves a diverse range of industries including Pharma, Biotech, Chemicals, Food and Beverage, and more. Trusted by over 190 organizations worldwide, Zifo is the partner of choice for advancing digital scientific innovation.

For more information, visit www.zifornd.comhttps://zifornd.com/practical-ai-blueprints/

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zifo-transforms-ontology-engineering-with-ai-powered-intelligent-automation-302758975.html

SOURCE Zifo Technologies

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UNC-Chapel Hill establishes ‘Carolina in the Capital’ with new Washington, D.C. office

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C., April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has opened a new office in Washington, D.C., establishing an expanded presence for the University in the nation’s capital and creating exciting opportunities for students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Located at 101 Constitution Avenue NW, the 10,861-square-foot space – coined “Carolina in the Capital” – will support a variety of functions, including educational programming for undergraduate and graduate students, alumni relations and engagement with government partners.

As a leading R1 university, UNC-Chapel Hill annually attracts more than $1.6 billion to the state’s economy to fund research that creates a better quality of life for all its citizens. More than 60% of UNC-Chapel Hill’s total research funding comes from federal sponsors with the majority of that federal funding coming from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is based in the Washington area.

“Carolina in the Capital is a state-of-the-art facility that reflects our commitment to creating experiential learning opportunities for our students and faculty,” said Chancellor Lee H. Roberts. “The space is designed as an immersive learning environment where students can translate classroom knowledge into hands-on experience, which has never been more important. The facility also strengthens our ability to support engagement between our staff, alumni, policymakers and partners.”

Supporting students participating in Carolina’s Washington-based academic programs is a priority. For years, students and faculty have relied on temporary or borrowed spaces across the city. The new office provides a permanent home where students can gather, learn and build community while living and studying in Washington. A robust schedule of classes and events will fill the space throughout the year.

The Washington, D.C. region is home to the largest concentration of out-of-state Carolina alumni anywhere in the country. The new office creates a dedicated space to strengthen those connections and support networking, mentorship, professional development and community-building among D.C.-based Tar Heels.

The space will also serve as a platform to bring Carolina’s research and academic expertise into closer conversation with policymakers, industry leaders and member organizations. Carolina is the nation’s 11th largest university in the country based on research volume with primary federal funding coming from NIH and the National Science Foundation (NSF), both based in the D.C. area. Carolina is a proud member of the Association of American Universities (AAU) and the Association of Public & Land Grant Universities (APLU), which are both based in Washington.

The office is funded entirely through the UNC-Chapel Hill Foundation and does not use any state appropriations.

You can view additional photos of the space here.

Media Contact: UNC Media Relations, 919-445-8555, mediarelations@unc.edu

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SOURCE University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Office of Communications

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Investing.com Acquires Stonki to Accelerate Its Entry into the Agentic AI Era

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The acquisition strengthens Investing.com’s AI capabilities, advancing a next-generation research assistant that can analyze markets, generate insights, and guide investors in real time

NEW YORK, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Investing.com, one of the world’s largest financial platforms used by more than 60 million investors each month, today announced the acquisition of Stonki, an AI-powered investing assistant designed to help traders turn ideas into structured, actionable trading plans.

The move marks a major step in the company’s evolution toward agentic AI, strengthening its ability to deliver faster, deeper, and more actionable market insights to a growing base of more than 300,000 paying subscribers across its InvestingPro suite, the company’s premium subscription offering for advanced market data, tools, and AI-driven insights.

Over the past 12 months, nearly 3 million users have used WarrenAI, Investing.com’s AI-powered financial research assistant launched last year, to perform market analysis, making AI a central entry point into the platform’s ecosystem. With the addition of Stonki, the company is moving beyond traditional AI tools toward agentic systems that can proactively guide users through the investment process.

“We’re entering the age of agentic AI, where the technology moves beyond just answering questions to actively helping investors think, analyze, and act,” said Omer Shvili, CEO of Investing.com. “Bringing Stonki.ai into the fold accelerates our goal of building an agentic platform that will serve as a 24/7 analyst for our users. We are developing this to be more than just a tool; it will be a partner that identifies opportunities, tracks unfolding situations, and surfaces trade ideas even when the user isn’t active—giving our users the kind of edge that was previously only available to professional investors.”

Founded in 2025, Stonki is developing a new category of ‘agentic’ AI for investing, enabling users to turn investment ideas into fully defined strategies with entry and exit conditions, risk management rules, and continuous monitoring.

“We started Stonki because, as investors and traders ourselves, we knew how much time and focus it takes to stay on top of the market and properly manage a day trade, a swing trade, an investment idea, or a portfolio,” said Ulas Bilgenoglu and Itay Verkh, co-founders of Stonki. “We set out to build AI that could carry part of that load by continuously monitoring the market, turning ideas into structured strategies, and helping users make better decisions with clear entry and exit conditions, disciplined risk management, and ongoing tracking. Joining Investing.com gives us the scale, data, reach, and strong AI foundation to accelerate that vision. Together, we can create an experience where AI helps users stay ahead of the market, manage risk, and act with greater confidence.”

The acquisition expands Investing.com’s AI capabilities across both technical and fundamental investing workflows. Stonki’s technology is built around persistent, real-time intelligence, continuously monitoring markets, tracking user-defined strategies, and alerting investors when conditions align, rather than relying on one-off prompts or static analysis.

For active traders, the platform is evolving into a real-time analysis engine designed to support high-frequency decision-making with precision and speed. For long-term investors, it is becoming a central hub for research, enabling users to evaluate opportunities, set personalized alerts, and monitor portfolios based on their individual investment strategies.

Users will be able to define specific conditions, such as a stock crossing a long-term moving average, and have the AI continuously monitor the market, analyze relevant signals, and surface actionable insights in real time. The system will also review portfolios on an ongoing basis, helping investors avoid potential losses and uncover new opportunities aligned with their strategy.

This latest step builds on Investing.com’s broader strategy of expanding its AI-powered suite, including WarrenAI, ProPicks AI, and its recently launched AI Chart Analysis, all aimed at delivering faster, more accurate and more actionable insights to investors.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/investingcom-acquires-stonki-to-accelerate-its-entry-into-the-agentic-ai-era-302756588.html

SOURCE Investing.com

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