.png)
TradeTech is the application of digital technology to international trade - customs, logistics, documentation, finance, supply chains, and border security. It sits at the intersection of innovation and economic infrastructure, and it’s increasingly a policy priority, not just a commercial one. Governments are legislating for digital trade readiness. Trade agreements are embedding digital standards. Getting this right is becoming a matter of national competitiveness.
There is no single agreed taxonomy for TradeTech. Through our research, PUBLIC developed a framework of six domains that we believe provides a useful way to understand the landscape and how digital technologies are reshaping international trade.
Trade digitalisation is no longer a future ambition - it’s happening now, at different speeds and with different priorities across every major trading region.
Below is our read of where things stand: what’s driving progress, what’s creating opportunity, and what it means for the UK.
Home to one of the most advanced digital customs environments globally (ACE), and an increasingly influential driver of strategic trade governance standards as geopolitical competition reshapes trade policy.
We provide end-to-end support across the procurement process, from sourcing and supply chain management to running effective tendering approaches to spend data analysis. Our expertise has empowered numerous UK authorities to unlock the full potential of their procurement teams.
Working at the intersection of procurement and digital, we help authorities transform their procurement systems to leverage new technologies, embed organisational values, design world-class services and promote end-to-end innovation throughout the supply chain.
We partner with authorities to assess the impact and benefits of their projects, adhering to HMT best practices and employing modern data-driven analysis and evaluation methods.
We assist authorities in promoting sustainability and social value throughout their procurement and spending processes, while also measuring tangible impacts. Our toolkit includes innovative tools, frameworks, and data collection processes that allow authorities to deliver meaningful social and environmental benefits.
We provide end-to-end support across the procurement process, from sourcing and supply chain management to running effective tendering approaches to spend data analysis. Our expertise has empowered numerous UK authorities to unlock the full potential of their procurement teams.
Working at the intersection of procurement and digital, we help authorities transform their procurement systems to leverage new technologies, embed organisational values, design world-class services and promote end-to-end innovation throughout the supply chain.
We partner with authorities to assess the impact and benefits of their projects, adhering to HMT best practices and employing modern data-driven analysis and evaluation methods.
We assist authorities in promoting sustainability and social value throughout their procurement and spending processes, while also measuring tangible impacts. Our toolkit includes innovative tools, frameworks, and data collection processes that allow authorities to deliver meaningful social and environmental benefits.
Home to one of the most advanced digital customs environmentsEurope’s primary industrial and logistics hub, playing a leading role in implementing eFTI and setting the technical standards that will define European digital trade infrastructure in practice. globally (ACE), and an increasingly influential driver of strategic trade governance standards as geopolitical competition reshapes trade policy.
We provide end-to-end support across the procurement process, from sourcing and supply chain management to running effective tendering approaches to spend data analysis. Our expertise has empowered numerous UK authorities to unlock the full potential of their procurement teams.
Working at the intersection of procurement and digital, we help authorities transform their procurement systems to leverage new technologies, embed organisational values, design world-class services and promote end-to-end innovation throughout the supply chain.
We partner with authorities to assess the impact and benefits of their projects, adhering to HMT best practices and employing modern data-driven analysis and evaluation methods.
We assist authorities in promoting sustainability and social value throughout their procurement and spending processes, while also measuring tangible impacts. Our toolkit includes innovative tools, frameworks, and data collection processes that allow authorities to deliver meaningful social and environmental benefits.
Rapidly becoming the digital gateway for South-South trade, combining advanced logistics infrastructure, progressive regulatory reform, and strategic geographic positioning.
We provide end-to-end support across the procurement process, from sourcing and supply chain management to running effective tendering approaches to spend data analysis. Our expertise has empowered numerous UK authorities to unlock the full potential of their procurement teams.
Working at the intersection of procurement and digital, we help authorities transform their procurement systems to leverage new technologies, embed organisational values, design world-class services and promote end-to-end innovation throughout the supply chain.
We partner with authorities to assess the impact and benefits of their projects, adhering to HMT best practices and employing modern data-driven analysis and evaluation methods.
We assist authorities in promoting sustainability and social value throughout their procurement and spending processes, while also measuring tangible impacts. Our toolkit includes innovative tools, frameworks, and data collection processes that allow authorities to deliver meaningful social and environmental benefits.
The world’s leading reference model for interoperable digital trade, actively shaping international frameworks through its DEA programme and paperless trade standards.
We provide end-to-end support across the procurement process, from sourcing and supply chain management to running effective tendering approaches to spend data analysis. Our expertise has empowered numerous UK authorities to unlock the full potential of their procurement teams.
Working at the intersection of procurement and digital, we help authorities transform their procurement systems to leverage new technologies, embed organisational values, design world-class services and promote end-to-end innovation throughout the supply chain.
We partner with authorities to assess the impact and benefits of their projects, adhering to HMT best practices and employing modern data-driven analysis and evaluation methods.
We assist authorities in promoting sustainability and social value throughout their procurement and spending processes, while also measuring tangible impacts. Our toolkit includes innovative tools, frameworks, and data collection processes that allow authorities to deliver meaningful social and environmental benefits.
Africa’s most forward-looking digital trade environment, establishing the blueprint for scalable TradeTech adoption across the continent ahead of AfCFTA implementation.
In 2023, PUBLIC was commissioned by the FCDO to map the UK TradeTech ecosystem. What we found was a substantial and largely unmapped body of innovation: over 290 UK companies building digital infrastructure across every domain of international trade.
The UK TradeTech Index is that map - searchable, filterable, and open for anyone to access.
