Export documents and importer enquiries. An AI system prepares them, you approve them.
We look at one of your orders and the documents that come out of it.
An order arrives in an email, a PDF or an Excel file, and someone in the office copies it into the packing list, the export invoice and the English spec sheet, then replies to the importer in their language. This work is done by a system built on top of your tools, with a person approving before anything goes out.
What it does: reads orders, PDFs, emails and Excel files; fills in the packing list, export invoice and English spec sheet; drafts replies to importers in five languages. A person approves every document and every message.
Measured on a test system on 4 September 2026: 98.7% of fields captured correctly across thirty documents, 6.3 seconds per document; 7.3 seconds from enquiry to draft, median across a hundred enquiries in five languages.
On your own, for free: the templates for the packing list, EX1, spec sheet and the other documents are in the export forms library, 83 templates to download.
This piece is part of the guide to export operations for small food producers and covers the office work that every shipment brings with it.
Export documents list: what you need, and who prepares it
Outside the European Union the core is four documents: export invoice, packing list, transport document and customs export declaration. Depending on product and country you add proof of origin (an EUR.1 certificate or an origin declaration on the invoice) and a health certificate, as the Turin Chamber of Commerce sets out.
| Document | Who prepares it, and what the system does |
|---|---|
| Packing list | The producer. The system fills it in from the order: products, packages, net and gross weights, batches. You check it. |
| Export invoice | The producer, from their management software. The system prepares the data from the order and the price list, and the software issues the invoice. |
| Spec sheet in English | The producer. The system carries it into another language field by field, using the terms the importer looks for. |
| Export declaration | The customs broker, on the exporter's behalf. The system hands over complete data, so the round of emails chasing what's missing gets shorter. |
| EUR.1 and health certificate | The EUR.1 is stamped by customs, the health certificate is issued by the local health authority (ASL). The system prepares the application with the shipment data. |
Every document has its free template: the packing list in Excel and PDF, the EX1 export declaration, the spec sheet template. The system fills them in from your orders instead of leaving them to be done by hand.
From order to packing list: what the system does
Across thirty real-world business documents, invoices, delivery notes, spec sheets and orders, in five languages and three layouts, the system got 234 fields right out of 237, 98.7%, in 6.3 seconds per document. It recognised the document type thirty times out of thirty. Measured on a test system on 4 September 2026.
The pile included an unreadable PDF, put there on purpose: the system set it aside rather than inventing the numbers. The three missed fields have a reason: twice a zero amount left blank, once a country that wasn't written on the document. The same work, live, is in the demonstration from order to packing list.
Importer enquiries: the reply drafted, in their language
Across a hundred enquiries arriving through four channels and in five languages, the system drafted the reply in 7.3 seconds, median, in the right language 97 times out of a hundred. Twenty enquiries that arrived in the same second were all closed in twenty-one seconds, with the right priority assigned a hundred times out of a hundred. Measured on a test system on 4 September 2026.
By hand the same enquiry takes four to ten minutes: read, understand, look up the data, write, reread. That's an estimate, and we state it as one; the seconds, on the other hand, are timed. What to write to an importer the first time is on the page about how to reply to an importer's email.
The rule is set out in Ethics: the system prepares and flags, but no message reaches an importer until a person has read and approved it. Offers, prices and order confirmations always go through you.
On top of the tools you already use
The system reads and writes where you work today: your mailbox, your management software, your Excel sheets, WhatsApp. Changing management software is a project in its own right, and it isn't needed here. We start with a single process, the one that weighs most, and the first piece runs within thirty days with the credentials in your name.
The number we measure by is taken on day one, before anything is touched: how many hours a week go into documents, how long an importer waits for a reply. On day thirty the same number goes back in front of you. Tools, suppliers and data boundaries are listed one by one on the AI transparency page.
Who pays for it: the digitalisation voucher and SIMEST
Piedmont's 2026 SME digitalisation voucher pays 50% to 65% of a project up to 25,000 euros, and among the eligible technologies it names «AI - NLP and document automation». Applications open on 22 October 2026, in order of arrival: what it can buy is on the page about the 2026 SME digitalisation voucher.
For companies with at least 3% of turnover from exports there's also the SIMEST artificial intelligence grant, open since 21 September 2026 across Italy, with up to 10% as a non-repayable grant.
Notes on sources
- The list of documents follows the Turin Chamber of Commerce page on trading abroad. The final list is set by the country of arrival, and should be requested in writing from the importer.
- The times and percentages were measured on a test system on 4 September 2026, across thirty documents and a hundred enquiries. None of the figures is a client result. The four to ten minutes by hand are a stated estimate.
- The voucher terms come from the call for applications of 17 July 2026.
First we count. Then we build.
| When | What happens | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | We look at one of your orders, the documents that come out of it, and where things get copied by hand. | The document that weighs most, and how much. |
| Day 1 | We take the number we'll measure by, before touching anything. | The baseline, in writing. |
| Days 2 to 30 | We build a single process: the one we chose. | A working system, credentials included. |
| Day 30 | We measure the same number again and put it in front of you. | Before and after. No renewal, no penalty. |
The ones asked by people who fill in documents every week.
What documents are required for export outside the EU?
The core is four documents: export invoice, packing list, transport document and customs export declaration. Depending on product and country you add proof of origin, an EUR.1 or an origin declaration on the invoice, and a health certificate. The final list is set by the country of arrival.
What is the difference between the EAD and the MRN?
The MRN is a number, the EAD is a sheet of paper. The Movement Reference Number is assigned when the export declaration is accepted and is used to track the movement; the export accompanying document travels with the goods and carries that number.
Are a packing list and a delivery note the same thing?
They are two different documents. The Italian delivery note (DDT) comes from Presidential Decree 472/1996 and is used for deferred invoicing; the packing list sets out the contents package by package for whoever loads, checks and unloads, and has no prescribed format.
Do we need to change our business software?
No. The system is built around what you already use: it reads and writes in your mailbox, your management software and the Excel sheets you use today. Changing management software is a project in its own right, and it isn't part of the thirty days of the first piece.
Who signs the export declaration?
The customs broker lodges it on the exporter's behalf, and the exporter remains responsible for the data. The system prepares the complete data and passes it to the broker; Itria does not draft, sign or lodge customs declarations on behalf of third parties.
Fifteen minutes, and you know which document to take off your desk first.
One of your orders, the documents that come out of it and the time they take. A figure, and the document to start from.
No quote, no contract, no one chasing you in the days after.