Accelerating Defence Supply Chains: Why Automation and AI Are Now Non-Negotiable

Bilal
2 days ago
3 min read

In the wake of growing geopolitical uncertainty and renewed investment in national security, the defence supply chain is entering a period of rapid transformation.

Events such as DSEI UK 2025 have underscored the urgency for defence manufacturers, logistics providers and technology partners to operate with greater speed, transparency and resilience.For organisations in this sector, staying competitive now depends on embracing automation, data-driven decision-making and intelligent digital systems that can keep pace with complex regulatory and operational demands.

At tradePhlo, we believe the time to modernise customs clearance, export compliance and supply-chain visibility is now. What is driving this shift is not just policy or technology, it is the growing need for trusted, audit-ready, and adaptive operations across every stage of the defence supply chain.

Here’s how forward-thinking firms are turning these challenges into opportunities.

The defence supply chain demands speed, agility and resilience

The UK’s newly-published Defence Industrial Strategy 2025 commits to reforming procurement, supporting SMEs and making defence an “engine for growth”, specifically:

Investment of £770 million+ over the next three years to strengthen supply-chains.
Procurement cycles shortened: in one case major equipment procurement timelines have been cut from six years to two.
A focus on innovation, dual-use technologies and export growth.

These shifts place new demands on suppliers: faster delivery, tighter compliance (especially with cross-border flows), and enhanced visibility. For companies handling customs, clearance, classification, documentation and logistics, the message is clear: manual, fragmented processes are no longer sufficient.

What this means for customs, logistics and supply-chain operations

For businesses supplying the defence or aerospace sectors, three key challenges emerge:

Complex documentation & regulatory burden: Defence-industry shipments often involve controlled goods, dual-use items, export licences, embargoes, specialised packaging and customs clearance. Any delays or errors risk contract failure or regulatory breach.
Data silos & lack of transparency: Many supply chains still rely on spreadsheets, email chains and disconnected systems. That makes end-to-end visibility, audit readiness and real-time decision-making difficult.
Need for agility & surge capability: Defence supply-chains must be able to respond rapidly, whether to support conflict, humanitarian mission or export-driven demand. As noted in aerospace industry surveys, “speed” is now a major design factor.

How smart software and AI-enabled tools change the game

This is where tradePhlo comes in. By leveraging automation, artificial-intelligence and workflow-orchestration, companies can transform their customs & clearance workflows:

Classification automation: Automatically identify HS codes and licence requirements, reducing manual error and speeding processing.
Real-time supply-chain visibility: Dashboards showing shipments, clearance status, materials flow, alerts for anomalies and delays.
Regulatory compliance built-in: Embed licence checks, embargo lists, audit-trail logging and documentation generation to ensure governance.
Collaboration platform: Suppliers, logistics providers, customs brokers and internal teams can share secure access, reducing delays and mis-communications.
Rapid scale-up capability: In surge environments (e.g., expedited defence orders), the system handles higher volumes, complex routings and changing documentation requirements with minimal manual overhead.

Why now is the perfect moment for defence suppliers to adopt digital clearance

Given the current strategic landscape, the incentive is strong:

The UK government is explicitly supporting SMEs in the defence supply-chain. With the DIS and related initiatives, firms that demonstrate agility and compliance are more likely to win contracts.
Timelines are shrinking: procurement and delivery will increasingly favour suppliers who can demonstrate not just capability but speed and traceability.
Export opportunity is growing: Defence firms are being encouraged to expand exports, meaning cross-border logistics, customs and regulatory compliance will be increasingly critical.
The risk of supply-chain disruption remains real: geopolitical events, sanctions, components scarcity all demand that suppliers have resilient processes.

5 questions your organisation should ask right now

To ensure you’re ready, consider whether your organisation can answer:

Can you rapidly classify and clear defence-related goods with dual-use or export control implications?
Do you have end-to-end visibility of shipments, clearance status, customs documentation and chain-of-custody?
Have you implemented digital workflows that reduce manual hand-offs, errors and delays?
Are you audit-ready, with full logging, documentation and compliance built-in?
Can you scale quickly when demand spikes (e.g., government or export orders) without introducing bottlenecks?

If the answer to any of these is “no”, you may face risk in a changing defence supply-chain environment.