| Dimension | Spreadsheets + WhatsApp | Generic ERP / forwarder portal | Import Assistant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duty calculation | A spreadsheet copied from last year's shipment | A flat percentage field, no progressive base | CD → RD → SD → VAT → AIT → AT in NBR order, shown line by line |
| Border reality | Phone calls to the agent for status | Sea-freight assumptions applied to a land port | Land-port milestones including Petrapole–Benapole transshipment |
| Payment method | Decided per deal, remembered by one person | Generic AP terms, no LC lifecycle | LC, TT and open account modelled, with LC expiry and amendment tracking |
| Counterparty access | Documents forwarded by email, versions diverge | Internal-only, or a single shared login | Separate buyer and supplier portals, isolated at the database row level |
| Auditability | Reconstructed from chat threads after the fact | Partial logs on selected tables | Every state change logged with actor, entity and timestamp |
| Language | Mixed English and Bangla in the same file | English only | English and Bangla across the public site and the console |
The lane we operate
Kolkata to Dhaka, modelled step by step.
Gate-out in India, the Petrapole queue, transshipment at the zero point, assessment and release at Benapole, then last-mile dispatch in Bangladesh. Each of those is a milestone in the product, not a note in a chat thread.
Proof
Read the corridor knowledge before you trust it
Our public guides are written from the same rules the product enforces. Check them, then check the calculator.
Secondary-market channels in Bangladesh
Overstock, customer returns and B-grade units usually leave an importer's warehouse through resale and liquidation channels rather than primary retail. The destinations below are independent third-party marketplaces, not partners of Import Assistant — listed for orientation only, and to be assessed on their own terms.
- Resale.bd — second-hand, overstock and liquidation listings
- Outfits.bd — apparel, including end-of-season stock
- Sneakers.bd — footwear, including returns and odd sizes
- Cosmetic.bd — beauty lines with short shelf life
- Foods.bd — packaged food near best-before dates
Bring the shipment that went wrong last quarter.
We will show where the system would have caught it.