To overcome these obstacles, CIOs of customs organizations should look toward software vendors with expertise in decision intelligence platforms. The advantage of a platform approach is that one platform will support multiple use cases and multiple types of users in the organization. Working with an experienced software vendor can significantly reduce risk and provide a more cost-effective approach compared to developing an in-house solution, which will ultimately provides a greater return on investment. Decision intelligence platforms that come with pre-built analytical models can provide immediate value to customs organizations, regardless of those organizations’ existing analytical capabilities. The out-of-the-box insights can optimize risk management and investigation processes, for example by providing a risk scoring model to guide personnel as to which incoming and outgoing postal packages to inspect. At the same, customs organizations with more advanced capabilities and with their own internal data science teams can also derive benefits. For example, the Belgian Customs Authority has an experienced team with more than ten data scientists who have developed their own risk management models 8 . These data science teams can benefit from a decision intelligence platform which allows them to add their own customized models and use cases on top. The adoption of a data-driven approach and decision intelligence technology can empower customs organizations to modernize and optimize their decision- making and enforcement, which should provide a tangible return on investment by increasing revenue collection and seizure rates. The right software vendor can assist customs organizations in assessing their data sources and technology gaps, and deploy a decision intelligence platform that meets their unique needs. 14 In Practice 6