A platform for visionaries
With the new BVL Start-up Award powered by BLG, we are giving a prominent stage to ideas and innovators who have the potential to transform our industry.
In October 2025, the BVL Start-up Award powered by BLG LOGISTICS was presented for the first time. The award highlights start-ups with the potential to shape the logistics of tomorrow through creativity, innovative technologies, and entrepreneurial spirit.
“It’s particularly exciting that the award went to a start-up in the area of customs and trade compliance. A lot is happening there right now: Customs issues have become a truly strategic concern in global supply chains.”
Of more than 40 applications, five finalists qualified for a live pitch on stage at BVL Supply Chain CX in Berlin. The expert jury ultimately selected the AI start-up traide AI as the first winner of the new award. The company and its founder, Leonie Althaus, made an impression with an AI-driven solution that automates customs product classifications. The AI system uses official customs and compliance data and avoids errors, thereby improving efficiency and transparency throughout the customs process.
“From my perspective, traide AI has a strong business model because the team is solving an extremely complex customs problem in an area where skilled professionals are becoming increasingly scarce. Traide AI relieves pressure on experts without replacing them, improves tariff classification quality, and reduces the risk of errors in the customs process.”
