APAC trade compliance software: Your return on investment

In this third article of my series on improving trade compliance management in APAC, we will dive into arguments for investing in export controls and compliance software. Missed the previous content in this series? Catch up now:

• APAC export controls 101: Internal Compliance Programs
• APAC export controls: How to get an ICP off the ground

While it’s clear to trade compliance and export control managers why effective tools are needed to support Internal Compliance programs, it can be difficult to convince company management and get the investment you need.

That’s because trade compliance is often seen as a burden rather than an opportunity. An organization’s sales team typically focuses on winning business. C-level executives are focusing on revenue-generating and cost-saving measures. It’s not uncommon for them to consider trade compliance merely as a laborious, resource-intensive hurdle that does not add to the company’s top or bottom lines.

Today’s highly dynamic global trade environment, however, is dominated by frequently changing sanctions and export control laws, stricter regulatory frameworks and enforcement policies across the globe, and overall geopolitical uncertainty. This landscape has transformed the need for effective trade compliance management into a vital prerequisite for ensuring long-term business success.

But how do you convince your company management of this?

It’s a fact that companies failing to implement effective export controls and compliance programs, risk jeopardizing their business operations and reputations. The “Nvidia case” is one of the latest examples with ongoing, widespread consequences that prove this point:

• Earlier in 2025, the US Commerce Department accused intermediaries in Singapore of illegally exporting Nvidia AI chips, particularly its high-performance H800 graphical process units, to China’s DeepSeek, an AI company that develops large language models.
• Following these allegations, Singapore authorities investigated and charged two Singaporeans and one Chinese national with fraud for misrepresenting the intended end users of high-performance servers that may have contained Nvidia chips.
• Nvidia itself, as reported in various media platforms, has been undergoing various export control investigations by US authorities which resulted in the company writing off billons of USD in sales and seeing its share of China’s AI chip market fall from 95% at the start of the Biden administration to 50% in May 2025 (source: The Guardian).

This is just one of many examples that demonstrates the impact of export control violations (or even suspicions or allegations thereof) on businesses in Asia Pacific and beyond. Based on such examples alone, investing in compliance with export controls already makes good business sense.

Any internal compliance program (ICP) today must be configured to cater for changing policies, legislation, technologies, and so on. It must be robust and adaptable enough to deal with uncertainty and unpredictability.

It can be safely said that the benefits of investing in export control compliance automation significantly outweigh its costs. This applies both to established businesses and those just starting out. Let’s look at the benefits of automating trade compliance outside of safeguarding your business.

Considering the volume, complexity, and frequent changes of regulations in export controls across in Asia Pacific and across the globe, it’s virtually impossible to establish successful compliance programs without IT support. Software solutions reduce reliance on manual processes and therefore support companies to:

• Decrease costs
• Increase efficiency
• Minimize errors
• Standardize procedures
• Increase regulatory compliance
• Improve recordkeeping
• Have audit records always ready at hand

The best systems enable you to comply with all relevant regulations, mitigate supply chain risks, increase efficiency, and demonstrate due diligence to regulatory authorities. The next section details some of the key aspects that you should be looking for in an effective trade compliance solution.