CUSTOMER CASE STUDY
iCustoms and TST Group:
Building Smarter Customs
Solutions Together
THE COMPANY
TST Group is a transport and logistics business managing
complex customs operations from their depots in
Ballymena (HQ), Birmingham and London – across Ireland,
the UK and beyond. From full loads and groupage to
warehousing and standalone customs services, TST Group
needed technology that could keep pace while improving
control, visibility and compliance.
Debbie Patterson
Group Customs Manager
THE CHALLENGE
When customs complexity
becomes a bottleneck
TST Group’s customs operations span multiple jurisdictions and regimes. Northern Ireland
adds further complexity, with requirements including the Windsor Framework, TSS, UKIMS
and NIRMS, alongside ongoing changes to GB-NI movements.
TST Group was also using different systems across jurisdictions, with processes relying heavily on
spreadsheets, manual intervention and individual knowledge. As volumes increased, maintaining
consistency, visibility and control became more challenging. The same issue applied to
TST Group’s excise bonded warehouse, where managing duty-suspended alcohol requires
accurate stock control and a robust audit trail.
Ultimately, the challenge was finding technology that could adapt to a customs
operation that is quite different from a standard import/export desk.
Debbie Patterson,
Group Customs Manager,
TST Group
THE SOLUTION
Turning real-world
challenges into new solutions
For TST Group, the solution wasn’t simply another piece of software. The business needed a
technology partner that understood its operation and could develop solutions around its
specific challenges.
Debbie Patterson, Group Customs Manager, has played a hands-on role in shaping iTSS and
iWarehouse, bringing her operational and compliance experience directly into the
development process.
GB–NI MOVEMENTS
iTSS
Debbie shared insight into the practical
realities of GB–NI movements and high-
volume groupage traffic.
BONDED WAREHOUSE
iWarehouse
The collaboration went further. Real-
world excise compliance challenges
shaped a solution designed to provide
stronger stock control, rotation visibility
and auditability.
It has been refreshing to be able to say, ‘This is the problem I have, how
can we build something that prevents it?’ rather than having to change our
operation to fit around the limitations of an existing system.
Debbie Patterson,
Group Customs Manager,
TST Group
THE PARTNERSHIP
From problem to solution
The relationship between TST Group and iCustoms
is built around a simple approach: start with the
problem, then build the solution.
Rather than expecting TST Group to adapt its
operation around a standard product, iCustoms
worked with Debbie and the wider TST Group
team to understand the operational and
compliance challenges they faced.
“For TST Group, that is
where iCustoms has
made, and continues to
make, the biggest
difference.”
THE RESULTS
Less manual work. Fewer errors.
Greater confidence.
The impact of iCustoms is already being seen across TST Group’s customs operation.
~70%
MANUAL DATA ENTRY
reduction in repetitive
manual data entry for
standard declarations
ACCURACY
~80%
reduction in avoidable data-entry
errors for repeat customers
IWAREHOUSE · EXPECTED
~70%
expected reduction in manual
administration for bonded stock
control once fully embedded
All figures are estimates provided by Debbie Patterson, Group Customs Manager, TST Group.
Beyond the numbers, iCustoms has given TST Group greater visibility and control across its
customs processes, helping reduce reliance on manual intervention and individual knowledge.
iCustoms has genuinely changed the way we work at TST Group. It’s taken a lot of
the manual work out of our day-to-day processes and, for me personally, it’s given
me much better visibility and confidence in how we manage compliance. The fact
that the system has continued to develop alongside us has made a huge difference.
Debbie Patterson,
Group Customs Manager,
TST Group