Trezix Revolutionizes Global Trade Through AI-Native Import-Export Platform and Intelligent Process Automation

In the complex world of global trade, where a single import-export transaction can involve dozens of stakeholders across multiple countries, the lack of digitization has long been the industry's Achilles' heel. While other sectors embraced digital transformation, international trade remained trapped in paper-based processes, manual compliance checks, and fragmented systems. This technological gap inspired Trezix co-founders Sunil Kharbanda and Harish Calcuttawala to build what they envision as the ERP for global trade—an AI-native platform that transforms how businesses manage import-export operations across 134 countries.

Drawing from over 25 years of experience in ERP implementations with industry giants like SAP and Oracle, the Trezix founding team recognized that global trade was the last frontier for comprehensive digitization. Today, their platform processes transactions worth billions of dollars, handles 400-800 page bills of entry without human intervention, and serves enterprises across 42 countries with a unified approach to trade management that bridges the gap between local compliance and global operations.

This conversation explores how Trezix is democratizing global trade technology, the technical innovations behind their AI-native platform, and why the future of international commerce lies in intelligent automation that can adapt to rapidly changing geopolitical and regulatory landscapes.

From ERP Veterans to Global Trade Innovators

Sunil's Journey: 25 Years in Enterprise Software

Sunil Kharbanda's path to founding Trezix began in Delhi, where his natural affinity for sales and relationship building led him away from coding despite technical aptitude. "I was great in terms of coding but did not choose that profession and got into sales because I always used to love meeting people from different walks of life," he reflects on his early career decisions.

His sales journey took him through major technology companies including Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP, where he gained deep insights into enterprise software implementation and customer needs. The experience of working with both established corporations and early-stage startups provided crucial perspective on how technology solutions evolve from niche applications to industry standards.

A significant early entrepreneurial experience came in 1998-2002, when Sunil ventured into independent business in Singapore. "That's where I got to see the whole other side of entrepreneurship," he describes this formative period that planted the seeds for future ventures while highlighting areas where he needed further development.

The decision to join Oracle and SAP was strategic: "I felt that I had certain areas which I need to develop. I need to take help from large corporates to learn how to build large businesses." This deliberate approach to skill development would prove invaluable when building Trezix as a scalable enterprise platform.

Harish's Multi-Industry Foundation

Harish Calcuttawala's journey began in Surat, Gujarat—a city where "90% are entrepreneurs"—providing early exposure to business thinking and commercial operations. His educational background in law and commerce, combined with masters-level studies in operations, created a unique foundation for understanding both regulatory requirements and operational complexities.

His career trajectory through Reliance during its peak growth phase provided exposure to large-scale logistics and business transformation. "I was part of Reliance when it was at their peak of growth, growing from Ahmedabad to Jamnagar to multiple places, global acquisitions, and that's where I started picking up logistics," he describes his introduction to complex supply chain operations.

The transition from business operations to IT came through Reliance's diversification and acquisition activities, where Harish gained experience in ERP processes and large transformation projects. His subsequent roles at Rockwell Automation in the US and SAP provided international perspective and deep technical expertise in enterprise systems.

His partnership experience with EY from 2015-2019 focused on building technology practices and solving customer problems—experience that would prove crucial in understanding how to build scalable consulting and implementation approaches for Trezix.

Identifying the Global Trade Technology Gap

The Digitization Void in International Commerce

The inspiration for Trezix emerged from a striking observation during their ERP implementation work: global trade remained virtually untouched by digital transformation. "Being in the ERP industry for more than 25 years, there was an itch of doing something for global trade management because we always used to see that there was no straight line of digitization for this piece," Sunil explains the market gap that sparked their entrepreneurial journey.

While other business functions had comprehensive software solutions, import-export operations remained fragmented across multiple systems, manual processes, and paper-based workflows. The digitization level in global trade was "not even 1% or even less than half a percent," highlighting the massive opportunity for technological intervention.

The complexity of global trade created unique challenges that traditional software vendors avoided. Unlike manufacturing or finance, which operate within relatively stable regulatory frameworks, international trade involves constantly changing tariffs, bilateral trade agreements, customs regulations, and documentation requirements across multiple jurisdictions.

Recognizing Export as Economic Driver

The timing for Trezix aligned with growing recognition of export's strategic importance. "2014-15 onwards it started becoming a big buzz word that export can be the fourth pillar of the GDP and countries can jump GDP rankings in a big way," Sunil describes the macroeconomic context that validated their market thesis.

India's rise in global GDP rankings demonstrated the potential impact of export-focused economic strategies. Countries were beginning to understand that post-domestic consumption growth, export capabilities could drive significant economic advancement and international competitiveness.

The founding team's early analysis of bilateral trade agreements and global trade zones indicated that international commerce would become increasingly complex, requiring sophisticated technology platforms to navigate regulatory requirements, optimize processes, and maintain compliance across multiple jurisdictions.

Building the Holistic Trade Management Platform

Learning from ERP Evolution

Trezix's platform architecture draws directly from the founders' experience with ERP evolution. "When I started selling ERP, it was not ERP—it was manufacturing resource planning software. Slowly, companies looked at manufacturing is not the only one—you've got finance, HR, sales and distribution, material management," Sunil explains how they applied ERP thinking to global trade.

Just as ERP systems evolved from manufacturing-focused tools to comprehensive business platforms, Trezix approached trade management holistically rather than solving individual pain points. "We knew where the foundation issues were because when you are implementing an ERP, you know which area is not at all looked after from an automation digitization point of view," he describes their systematic approach to identifying core problems.

The platform starts from the fundamental source of truth: "The single source of truth lies with the importer and the exporter. We said let's start from there because the biggest pain area is there," emphasizing their focus on building strong foundations rather than addressing symptoms.

Extended Resource Planning for Global Trade

Unlike traditional ERP systems that focus on internal enterprise resources, global trade requires what Trezix terms "Extended Resource Planning" (XRP). "If you look at importers and exporters, 70% of their work is outside their company—it is not enterprise resource planning internally, it's extended resource planning," Sunil explains the fundamental difference in their approach.

This external focus necessitated building collaboration capabilities that enable multiple stakeholders—banks, clearing agents, regulatory bodies, customs, shippers, and insurance companies—to work together on a unified platform. "All these collaborations have to be built if you want to be the number one global trade management platform," he emphasizes the importance of ecosystem integration.

The platform's 70-30 architecture reflects their global scalability approach: "70% global and 30% in that remaining 30% are nuances of the industries and localization." This structure enables rapid deployment across different countries and industries while accommodating local requirements and compliance standards.

AI-Native Architecture and Technical Innovation

Comprehensive AI Integration Strategy

Trezix positions itself as fundamentally AI-first rather than retrofitting AI capabilities onto existing systems. "We have ingrained AI as part of our DNA across the organization whether it's an entrepreneur or whether it's from a product perspective," Harish explains their comprehensive approach to artificial intelligence integration.

Their AI strategy encompasses multiple types of artificial intelligence: "We are trying to make sure that we use all parts of AI which is like generative AI to agentic AI to intuitive AI," demonstrating sophisticated understanding of different AI applications and their appropriate use cases in trade management.

The platform's AI capabilities handle complex document processing that previously required significant human intervention. "Right now we handle as complex as 400 or 800 page bills of entry with no human intervention—people uploading bills of entry with any language," Harish describes the system's ability to process multilingual trade documentation autonomously.

Human-in-the-Loop Compliance

Despite extensive automation, Trezix maintains strategic human oversight for critical decisions. "AI can definitely help with a clear cut concept of human in loop because the critical decisions—it's in compliance at the end of the day," Harish explains their balanced approach to automation and human judgment.

This human-in-the-loop philosophy recognizes that while AI can process data and identify patterns efficiently, compliance decisions often require contextual understanding, risk assessment, and regulatory interpretation that benefits from human expertise and accountability.

The system enables "autonomous functions are automated and we make sure that humans are also taken into consideration," creating workflows that leverage AI efficiency while maintaining human control over critical decisions that could impact regulatory compliance or business outcomes.

Real-Time Intelligence and Predictions

Trezix operates on three core pillars that define their value proposition: prevention, prediction, and possibilities. "We work on prevention in terms of no damages, no penalties, compliance, no issues in terms of notices," Sunil explains their proactive approach to risk management.

The prediction capabilities leverage data conversion to provide business intelligence: "Can I look at landed cost before the goods get into my country before I import it, or can I look at landed cost before I export my goods so that I can really look at my pricing," demonstrating how real-time analytics support strategic decision-making.

The possibilities pillar represents their long-term AI vision: "Tomorrow in five years down the line how the trade would look like, and it only happens when you have data, you have AI, and you have human in loop," illustrating how they're building foundations for future trade scenario planning and strategic guidance.

Technology Architecture and Integration Strategy

Blockchain Considerations and Distributed Architecture

While blockchain technology offers theoretical advantages for global trade documentation and verification, Trezix takes a pragmatic approach to implementation. "We are trying to make sure that we are not married to one technology," Harish explains their technology-agnostic philosophy that prioritizes business outcomes over specific technical approaches.

Rather than implementing blockchain purely for technological innovation, they focus on achieving blockchain-like benefits through proven technologies: "We try to provide a single window with the same functionality and feature making sure that the same document is accessed by multiple players with right roles and authorization permissions," describing their alternative approach to multi-party document access and verification.

The platform includes distributed ledger capabilities where appropriate while maintaining flexibility: "It's not 100% you can say blockchain or you can't name it as blockchain, but we have our own mechanism which is equivalent to that which suffices the requirement of the business," emphasizing practical solutions over technology labels.

Comprehensive Stakeholder Integration

The platform's integration capabilities extend across the entire global trade ecosystem. "I can give access to my customer, my distributor, my clearing agent. I'm anyways connected to all regulatory sites like Icegate, DGFT, CBIC," Sunil describes the comprehensive connectivity that enables end-to-end trade process management.

Government integration includes India's Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), which provides real-time verification and validation capabilities. "ULIP has information related to customs integration of Icegate, railway IRCTC codes, all movements, all documents—how do you integrate as part of your process at various stages," Harish explains how they leverage government infrastructure for enhanced functionality.

International integration covers regulatory frameworks across 134 countries: "Globally we are now having integration wherein more than 100 country HS codes we are online verifying, checking sanctions, restrictions," demonstrating their global compliance and validation capabilities.

Customer Success and Market Impact

Measurable Business Outcomes

Trezix delivers quantifiable results for enterprise clients, with documented improvements across multiple metrics. "Today we reduce cost by about 20% and increase efficiency by 40%," representing significant operational improvements that justify platform adoption and drive customer retention.

The efficiency gains extend beyond cost reduction to productivity multiplication: "Today I was doing $10 billion worth of exports. Today with the same team and Trezix, I'm able to do $20 billion. So I'm improving another 100% in terms of my productivity," illustrating how the platform enables business scaling without proportional resource increases.

Cash flow optimization represents another major value driver: "Some of the companies are unlocking 100 crores a month" through the platform's agentic LC (Letter of Credit) features, demonstrating how intelligent automation can significantly impact working capital management and financial performance.

Implementation Speed and Scalability

The platform's templatized approach enables rapid deployment: "Today we implement our product in 3 to 4 months and get out of the organization because everything is so templatized within the system," Sunil explains how they achieve fast time-to-value for enterprise customers.

This implementation speed results from the 70-30 architecture strategy where most functionality is standardized while allowing for configuration-based customization: "These are not customizations, these are all configurations," emphasizing how they avoid the complexity and timeline issues associated with heavy customization requirements.

The platform handles diverse operational scenarios without additional development: "Today when we are talking, we cater within import-export more than 200 different scenarios—somebody works within EOU concept, somebody has FTZ which is free trade zone, somebody using different concepts of licensing," demonstrating comprehensive coverage of global trade operational models.

Navigating Geopolitical Complexity and Dynamic Regulations

Real-Time Regulatory Adaptation

Modern global trade operates in an environment of unprecedented regulatory volatility. "Earlier if you had to give an example, once in a year you will get a budget and the duties are fixed and then that will stay for almost a year. Right now every day almost you keep hearing that the tariff has changed," Harish describes the accelerated pace of regulatory changes affecting international commerce.

The platform's architecture addresses this volatility through real-time monitoring and automatic updates: "The day it was announced in US probably we were one of those companies we were ready with the solution and we could demonstrate the same day how exactly the process is going to work," illustrating their ability to rapidly adapt to new trade policies and tariff structures.

Currency fluctuation management exemplifies their real-time capabilities: "Dollar fluctuation every day it's happening and every day exchange rates keep changing so our system is so integrated that the moment the exchange rate changes the system gets updated," enabling immediate adjustment to financial calculations and documentation requirements.

Proactive Risk Management and Compliance

The system's proactive approach extends beyond reactive compliance to predictive risk management. "Even if you're sleeping, our systems are monitoring what's happening to your transactions, what's happening to you, and how quickly we inform you," Harish explains how automated monitoring protects customers from regulatory violations and business disruptions.

This continuous monitoring proves crucial as logistics routes become unpredictable: "Even if you negotiate the rates, if you put the material on the vessel, you're not still sure what date it will reach because what time on which route he has to reroute because of warlike situations," highlighting how geopolitical tensions create operational uncertainty that requires constant adaptation.

The platform's intelligence capabilities help businesses navigate complex trade environments: "With the kind of agility of the platform, the kind of experience and the kind of data we are building, this is all going to help proactively," enabling strategic decision-making in volatile conditions.

Industry Verticals and Specialized Solutions

Deep Vertical Expertise

Trezix serves multiple industries with specialized understanding of sector-specific requirements. "We understand pharma very well, we understand auto very well, we understand oil very well. We've worked in 14 vertical industries. So we understand the nuances also very well," Sunil explains their depth of industry knowledge that informs platform development.

Pharmaceutical trade exemplifies the complexity of vertical-specific requirements: "For pharma industry, batch is always important. The origin of a molecule to a medication is very important. What were the quality parameters there and how it is being contracted or created by a manufacturing based in India, Mexico, Canada, wherever it is," illustrating the detailed traceability requirements that the platform accommodates.

Chemical industry operations require different compliance frameworks: "For chemical, hazardous non-hazardous is important. So those are the wrappers we create which basically takes another 10% of customization," demonstrating how they balance standardization with industry-specific functionality.

Geographic Localization and Compliance

Operating across 42 countries requires sophisticated localization capabilities: "Another 10% takes integrating with customs in US, customs in India, customs in Germany," Harish explains how geographic compliance requirements are incorporated into the platform architecture.

The system accommodates diverse regulatory frameworks: "Every geography has its own nuances and every industry within the geography has its own nuances," recognizing that successful global platforms must address the intersection of geographic and industry-specific requirements.

Trade scenarios vary significantly across regions: "Some countries have very different nuances in terms of working on a principle of incentives. We have learned and are trying to make sure that none of the global scenarios are missed out," demonstrating their comprehensive approach to global trade complexity.

The Future of Global Trade Technology

Intelligence Over Goods Movement

The fundamental shift in global trade thinking represents a transformation from physical logistics to information management. "Today global trade has to understand it is not about moving goods—it is moving intelligence that's important," Sunil explains how successful trade operations depend increasingly on data, analytics, and intelligent decision-making rather than purely physical processes.

Modern trade complexity requires systems that understand and respond to multiple variables: "Today you look at the kind of reciprocal tariffs we have. If the system doesn't understand the way you work and a system has access to regulatory information, it can move intelligence from one level to another level," illustrating how intelligent platforms create competitive advantages through superior information processing and application.

The evolution toward intelligence-driven trade enables organizations to anticipate rather than react to changes: "Conversion to data and moving to intelligence is what is required by global trade today," emphasizing how data transformation and intelligent analysis become core competitive capabilities.

Dynamic Adaptation and Scenario Planning

The accelerating pace of global change requires platforms capable of continuous adaptation rather than periodic updates. "The regulatory norms are going to be very dynamic in nature. Earlier the regulation was like for a month or a year, which was gradually reduced to a month, and now it is like anytime anything can happen," Harish describes the new reality of constant regulatory flux affecting international commerce.

AI capabilities become essential for managing this complexity: "Being human, how much you will be vigilant, how much monitoring you will do? And for that if you put in like it takes a lot of time, and that's where systems like us are going to play a major role," explaining how artificial intelligence enables continuous monitoring and rapid response that exceed human capabilities.

The platform's ability to provide immediate adaptation to changing conditions creates competitive advantages: "Even if you're sleeping, our systems are monitoring what's happening to your transactions and how quickly we inform you," demonstrating how intelligent automation provides 24/7 protection and optimization that human-managed processes cannot match.

Entrepreneurship Insights and Market Strategy

Leveraging Corporate Experience for Entrepreneurship

The Trezix founding team's approach demonstrates how extensive corporate experience can inform successful entrepreneurship. "Age is not a bar. You can become an entrepreneur at any point in time. We started almost after putting 25 years in the corporate," Harish explains how accumulated expertise can create advantages for later-stage entrepreneurs.

Corporate experience provides crucial insights into customer problems and solution requirements: "A lot of learnings what you have in your corporate lives, a lot of pain points you can identify those and you can actually come up with more matured and proper approach and solutions which can benefit the industry to a large extent," illustrating how professional experience translates into entrepreneurial advantages.

The systematic approach to business building reflects their ERP background: "We should reciprocate that in terms of coming up with some very good solutions," emphasizing how domain expertise enables more effective problem-solving and solution development than purely technology-driven approaches.

India's Export Potential and Economic Growth

The founders see significant potential for India's continued export growth: "In next 5 years I'm very sure that we're going to be very close to China in terms of taking them away from the second position," Sunil predicts, highlighting the macroeconomic trends that support their business thesis.

Product development from India represents a strategic shift: "Earlier we never thought of creating products. We always used to believe in products like SAP coming from Germany, Oracle coming from US. But today you look at India—Zoho, Freshworks—these are the products and there are many more products which are now becoming leading products and catering to international markets," illustrating the growing capability of Indian companies to build global technology solutions.

Government initiatives support export growth: "One initiative which is just recently launched by government of India is 700 products 700 cities—one city one product—and whatever that specialty of that city so there are a lot of such themes are getting built," demonstrating institutional support for export-focused economic development that creates demand for platforms like Trezix.

Technology Adoption and Enterprise Sales Strategy

Competing with Legacy Vendors

Selling to enterprises traditionally preferring established vendors requires demonstrating superior agility and capabilities. "These are all legacy stakeholders. They've been doing business for long long time and they would traditionally probably prefer a company which has always been there—for example SAP or Oracle would be their preferred choice," acknowledging the competitive challenge of displacing incumbent solutions.

However, market conditions create opportunities for agile platforms: "If your margins are effective in a big way, your margins are getting thinner, where will you put your effort to optimize? And for optimization you need all this kind of technology so that you protect your margins," explaining how economic pressure drives technology adoption even among conservative enterprises.

Demonstrating platform agility provides competitive advantages: "Whether it's through air or by sea or by road, any means of transport, whether it's bulk, whether it's break bulk, whether you are having container or you have miscellaneous—the system should be able to handle any kind of mode of shipment," illustrating comprehensive capability that exceeds traditional solutions.

Market Validation and Customer Success

Early customer success provides market validation and reference points for expansion: "They are very cautious about things, but if margins are effective in a big way and margins are getting thinner, where will you put your effort to optimize?" Harish explains how economic necessity drives technology adoption among traditionally conservative enterprises.

The platform's ability to handle urgent business requirements creates competitive advantages: "You have to ship immediately, time to market—you don't have time. Whether it's through any means of transport, the system should be able to handle any kind of mode of shipment," demonstrating flexibility that traditional systems cannot match.

Success metrics provide concrete validation for prospective customers: "We want to make sure that no whatsoever it takes, no way customers should think that I don't have a capable system. Every possible scenario should be the system," emphasizing comprehensive capability as a core competitive differentiator.

Key Takeaways for Enterprise Technology Entrepreneurs

As Trezix continues building the future of global trade through AI-native platform capabilities and intelligent process automation, the founders' entrepreneurial journey provides valuable insights for technology leaders navigating enterprise software development, international market expansion, and the intersection of artificial intelligence with complex regulatory environments.

The company's evolution from identifying a massive digitization gap to building a comprehensive solution demonstrates how deep domain expertise, systematic approach to technology architecture, and focus on measurable customer outcomes can create competitive advantages in complex enterprise markets traditionally dominated by legacy vendors.

About the Guests

Sunil Kharbanda serves as co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Trezix, where he leads business strategy, customer relationships, and global expansion for the AI-native global trade management platform. His 25+ years of experience in enterprise software sales and implementation with companies including Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP provides deep understanding of how technology solutions scale from early adoption to industry standards.

Harish Calcuttawala serves as co-founder of Trezix, bringing extensive experience in logistics, operations, and enterprise technology implementation. His career spans major corporations including Reliance during its peak growth phase, Rockwell Automation in the US, and SAP, along with consulting partnership experience at EY focused on technology practice development and customer problem-solving.

Together, Sunil and Harish have built Trezix into a comprehensive global trade management platform serving enterprises across 42 countries with AI-powered automation capabilities that handle complex documentation, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder collaboration. Their combined expertise in ERP systems, industry verticals, and international operations enables Trezix to address the sophisticated requirements of global trade while maintaining the agility necessary for rapid adaptation to changing regulatory and market conditions.

Trezix represents the next generation of enterprise software designed specifically for global trade management, combining AI-native architecture with deep industry expertise to solve complex import-export challenges. Founded by veterans of the ERP industry who recognized global trade as the last major business function lacking comprehensive digitization, the company has raised $2 million in seed funding and serves enterprises processing billions of dollars in international trade transactions. The platform's three-pillar approach—prevention, prediction, and possibilities—enables customers to achieve measurable improvements in efficiency, compliance, and cash flow while navigating the increasingly complex landscape of international commerce and regulatory requirements.