Case Study: Cuyana Unlocks Duty Refunds With Near-Zero Lift
Caspian Team
3 mins read
Cuyana’s collection of handbags and accessories is known for beautiful, quality designs that simplify your life. When tariff rates tripled on Cuyana’s core products, Caspian’s AI drawback simplified the process, involving minimal time investment for maximal compliance and returns.
THE PROBLEM
Cuyana recognized that tariff costs were becoming a more significant consideration for its business and warranted a more concerted internal effort. With increasing rates on key imports, the company saw an opportunity to recover past duties and strengthen its long-term supply chain strategy through a drawback program.
As Craig Foster, Controller, explained, “There was the potential to get some historical duties back but the motivation was really that we will likely recoup far more in the future as well.”
However, the path forward wasn’t straightforward. Drawback regulations and data requirements were highly technical, and Cuyana’s operations team lacked the specialized expertise to navigate the process internally in an efficient manner.
“Could we have done it internally? I would say definitely not,” said Craig. “If it was somebody's full-time job to know all about this, then maybe, but we don't have time to learn the technicalities. Caspian solves that problem for us.”
CASPIAN’S SOLUTION
Caspian implemented a fully-managed process that minimized the effort required from the Cuyana team. Working within Cuyana’s unique business processes and data, Caspian’s technology configured Cuyana’s product catalog, integrated their ERP export data, reviewed returns management processes, broke down import packets to product level details, and automated document retrieval from customs brokers and parcel logistics providers.
The onboarding experience was clear and efficient. Caspian guided Cuyana through the key decisions while ensuring that the client didn’t need to master the underlying regulatory nuances.
Through Caspian’s portal, Cuyana gained real-time visibility into claim progress without having to manage the underlying process. As Craig described, “I just go in and say, ah yes, I can see the claim is on its way.”
THE OUTCOME
Caspian’s AI-native drawback platform audited and matched more than 8,500 export shipments to eligible imports utilizing Cuyana’s specific inventory turnover patterns. In just a few months, Cuyana received refunds across the past five years of import duties, unlocking meaningful savings from previously unrecovered costs—all with only a couple of days of internal effort. Besides the data gathering process, “we maybe spent half a day on the full claim review spread over a few days. And the initial drawback application process was trivial,” said Craig.
Caspian helped Cuyana turn a complex, high-friction compliance initiative into a fast, reliable, low-lift cash lever–freeing a lean team to stay focused on the business while the platform handles the bureaucracy.
