Transformation of Customs Analytics for a Leading Ukrainian Retailer

Real Bargain, LLC, better known as Aurora, began as a Ukrainian retail innovator and now operates an impressive network of more than 1,800 stores across Ukraine—remaining an undisputed leader in its segment.

With ambitious expansion plans across Central and Eastern Europe, the Aurora group faced a fundamental challenge: how to ensure safe, efficient, and rapid international scaling. Achieving this required aligning its internal customs procedures with international and EU legal standards and obtaining AEO authorization.

International trade demands trust and transparency. For Aurora, AEO status meant not only meeting formal compliance criteria but also implementing strong internal controls and maintaining full oversight of customs operations.

As the company expanded, it aimed to increase operational flexibility and take fast, decisions. We served as Aurora’s trusted partner throughout this complex journey. Our team conducted an in-depth review of its operations and internal control environment, identifying improvement areas across customs clearance operations, interdepartmental coordination, and ordering/ transit processes related to goods moving through third countries before entering Ukraine. We also pinpointed multiple opportunities to improve efficiency, particularly in handling customs declarations.

Responding to the gaps we identified, Aurora decided to optimize its approach to customs management. A key factor in this shift was the company’s readiness to invest in innovative technologies. Given the complexity and volume of operations, Aurora became the first business to leverage a newly introduced State Customs Service digital tool—automated API-based access to customs declarations. This ensured full transparency in tracking customs transactions, which is crucial for meeting AEO criteria and strengthening customs compliance. As a result, the company successfully transitioned from manual methods to modern, digital solutions.

Collaboration with PwC Ukraine broadened Aurora’s understanding of improvement opportunities and operational enhancement pathways.

As Aurora expanded to international markets, we played a central role in supporting this transition. Our team conducted a detailed analysis of operational processes and internal controls, identifying weaknesses in customs clearance operations, internal communication, and ordering/ transit processes.

We helped to document customs procedures that previously relied heavily on employee discretion, creating risks of non-compliance and complicating oversight. By formalizing procedures, Aurora established clear internal rules, reduced the likelihood of errors, and strengthened compliance.

During our assessment of the company’s readiness for AEO authorization, we reviewed its audit trail and identified potential risks and improvement areas. This encouraged Aurora to revise established practices. To improve several processes, Aurora required consolidated customs data.

Simultaneously, in cooperation with the State Customs Service, we actively supported consultations that highlighted the need for providing international traders with access to their customs declarations in accordance with Article 452 of the Customs Code of Ukraine. This advocacy helped accelerate the release of API access—replacing manual downloads of customs declarations.

Once the API became available, Aurora quickly implemented the new functionality by adapting its software to read and store customs data, creating a sophisticated database structure, and deploying an integration service that automatically processes over 12,500 archives and updates data regularly. This significantly automated customs declaration monitoring, decreased the risk of errors, and ensured realtime information accuracy.

Power BI–based visual analytics became Aurora’s single source of truth for decision-making: more than 15 internal dashboards and 4 cross-functional dashboards provide deep insights into customs value indicators, guarantee usage, and other key logistics metrics.

PwC Ukraine’s analysis helped identify opportunities to strengthen Aurora’s internal control framework. With a phased roadmap and close cooperation with the company’s IT department, Aurora now effectively uses best practices in data‑driven management. Our approach not only optimized costs and reduced risks but also enabled the development of a scalable platform adaptable to new divisions, indicators, and business needs.  

Key results: 

• 12,500+ archives — automatically processed

• 1× per hour — data refresh frequency

• 100% elimination of manual downloads

• Reduced error risk thanks to automation (~10% of declarations now corrected automatically)