Technology

The Onyx intelligence stack.

From billions of shipment records to one plain answer. How the stack gathers, resolves, reads and verifies the world’s trade data, and where the answer lands.

Talk to us See the stack

The stack, layer by layer

The stack, layer by layer

  1. 00Sources

    Three kinds of raw material.

    Licensed shipment records, market and policy signals, and company information. The stack starts with what can be checked.

  2. 01Gather

    Collected at global scale.

    Shipment records across 150+ countries, with 1.4M records added every month, plus the policy feed that moves them.

  3. 02Resolve

    One company, one record.

    Spelling variants and duplicates merged across 15.7M+ companies, with partners, history and verified decision-makers attached.

  4. 03Analyse

    Read for the signal.

    Demand velocity, 30-day movers, market size by volume, count and value, route flows and competitor movement.

  5. 04Verify

    Scored, not guessed.

    A 0 to 100 TradeScore with a letter grade and a red-flag screen. Same inputs, same score.

  6. 05Assist

    Ask in plain language.

    A built-in AI trade assistant reads your searches, CRM and tracked competitors, and drafts the outreach.

  7. 06Deliver

    Where the answer lands.

    A web portal, exportable reports and dossiers, the assistant, and API access on the enterprise tier.

The Onyx intelligence stack Three sources (licensed trade records, market and policy signals, company information) flow down through five layers: gather, resolve, analyse, verify and assist, and out to four delivery channels: portal, reports, assistant and API. Licensedtrade records Market andpolicy signals Companyinformation 01Gather 02Resolve 03Analyse 04Verify 05Assist Portal Reports Assistant API

01Data collection and information gathering

Information gathering at global scale.

Every answer starts with a record. We collect licensed shipment records and the signals that move trade, then keep them current.

  • Licensed shipment records across 150+ countries
  • 1.4M records added every month
  • A market intelligence feed: tariffs, trade agreements and port disruptions, filtered by HS code and country
  • Company and decision-maker information gathered alongside the trade record
InputsSchematic
Shipment records Buyers Suppliers Ports HS codes Tariffs Trade agreements Port disruptions Gathered

02Entity resolution

One company. One record.

The same company appears in trade records under many spellings. We resolve them into a single company record, so history, partners and contacts add up instead of scattering.

  • 15.7M+ companies indexed
  • Spelling variants and duplicates merged into one record
  • Full trade history, partners, lost partners and month-on-month growth
  • Verified decision-maker contacts
ResolutionIllustrative names
One record

Company record

Northstar Textiles

  • Trade history
  • Partners and lost partners
  • Month-on-month growth
  • Verified contacts

Four spelling variants of one illustrative company name merge into a single company record with trade history, partners, growth and verified contacts.

03Analytics and trend detection

See what is rising before it is obvious.

Resolved records are read for movement: what is accelerating, which markets are growing and which competitors are gaining ground.

  • Demand-velocity ranking with a 0 to 100 Trade Index Score
  • 30-day movers across 5,000+ HS codes, with one-click buyer lists
  • Market sizing by volume, transaction count and value
  • Country, route and port analysis
  • Competitor Radar: rivals’ shipments, value, partner growth and threat scoring, refreshed on demand
Trade Index ScoreIllustrative
  1. 01Product A
  2. 02Product B
  3. 03Product C
  4. 04Product D

04Verification methodology

Scored from the record. Never for sale.

TradeVerify reads a counterparty’s shipment record and returns a scored verdict a procurement team can file.

  • TradeScore 0 to 100 with a letter grade, weighing activity, recency, buyer diversity and market spread
  • Export status, years active, total shipments, distinct buyers, destination markets, first and last recorded activity
  • Shipment trend over the trailing 12 months, with recent shipment rows and buyers masked
  • Red-flag screen: recent activity, product match, repeat buyers
  • Deterministic: same inputs, same score. Suppliers cannot pay to be listed, raise a score or remove a red flag.
Verification reportIllustrative sample
82TradeScore · Grade A
  • Export activity and recency92
  • Shipment consistency85
  • Buyer diversity78
  • Market spread71
  • Proceed
  • Proceed with precautions
  • Walk away

Figures from TradeVerify’s published sample report. Live reports are generated from shipment-level records at request time.

05AI assistant layer

Ask the record in plain language.

Applied AI sits on top of the same resolved record. It answers in context, drafts the next message and classifies what comes in.

  • Kitty, ShipScout’s built-in AI trade assistant, one keystroke away with Cmd+K
  • Reads your searches, CRM and tracked competitors to answer in context
  • CRM AI: lead fit score, in-app email and AI-drafted outreach
  • Drafting and classification built into everyday workflows
AssistantIllustrative prompt
Which of my tracked buyers grew fastest in the last 30 days?
Your searchesYour CRMTracked competitors

In practice

Real questions, answered by the stack.

Every question a customer asks runs through the same layers. Here is which ones do the work, and where the answer shows up.

  1. Who imports this product, and how much do they buy?

    Importers ranked by volume, with full trade history and partners on each company record.

    GatherResolveAnalyseShipScout

  2. Is this supplier real, active and consistent?

    A TradeScore from 0 to 100 with a letter grade, export status, a 12-month trend and a plain verdict.

    ResolveVerifyTradeVerify

  3. What is rising in my category right now?

    Demand-velocity ranking, a Trade Index Score and 30-day movers, with a one-click buyer list for each.

    AnalyseShipScout

  4. What are my competitors shipping, and to whom?

    Competitor Radar: shipments, value, partner growth and threat scoring, refreshed on demand.

    ResolveAnalyseShipScout

  5. Did a tariff, trade agreement or port disruption change my market?

    The market intelligence feed, filtered by HS code and country.

    GatherAnalyseShipScout

  6. Who should I contact, and what should I say?

    Verified decision-maker contacts, a lead fit score and outreach drafted by the assistant for your review.

    ResolveAssistShipScout

06Delivery

Delivered where teams already work.

The same intelligence reaches people through four channels, each built for a different moment in the decision.

ShipScout Trending Products: products ranked by Trade Index Score and 30-day change

The ShipScout portal: Trending Products ranked by Trade Index Score.

Portal

Search, discovery, company profiles, trends, routes and competitor watch in one web workspace.

Reports

10 to 15 page company intelligence dossiers, and verification reports exportable for procurement files.

ShipScout company intelligence report: executive summary and financial snapshot

Assistant

Questions answered in context, inside the portal, with outreach drafted for review.

Cmd+K

API

Programmatic access for teams that want the intelligence inside their own systems.

Enterprise tier

07Security and privacy

Principles we hold the stack to.

These are the operating principles behind our platforms. They are commitments in how we build, not third-party certifications.

Licensed data

Intelligence is built from licensed trade records and published market sources.

Independence

No paid listings, no paid scores and no paid removal of red flags. We verify without commercial ties to the companies we score.

Auditable scoring

Deterministic models: the same inputs give the same score, and every verdict traces back to underlying records.

Masked counterparties

Verification reports show recent shipment rows with buyers masked.

Your workspace is yours

The assistant reads your own searches, CRM and tracked competitors to answer your questions, inside your account.

Access by account

Intelligence is delivered through signed-in accounts, issued reports and, on the enterprise tier, API access.

For enterprise buyers

What teams ask before they buy.

Straight answers about the data, the scoring and how the intelligence is delivered.

What data does the stack run on?

Licensed shipment records covering 150+ countries, with 1.4M records added every month, plus a market intelligence feed on tariffs, trade agreements and port disruptions, and company and contact information gathered alongside the trade record.

How do you avoid duplicate or misspelled companies?

Entity resolution. Spelling variants and duplicates are merged into a single record per company across 15.7M+ companies, so trade history, partners and contacts add up in one place.

Can a supplier pay to change its score?

No. Suppliers cannot pay to be listed, to raise a score or to remove a red flag. Scoring is deterministic: the same inputs always give the same score.

What is in a verification report?

A TradeScore from 0 to 100 with a letter grade, export status and years active, shipments, buyers and markets, a 12-month trend, a red-flag screen, recent shipment rows with buyers masked, and a plain verdict: proceed, proceed with precautions, or walk away. Reports export for procurement files.

How long does a company intelligence report take?

ShipScout intelligence reports are 10 to 15 page dossiers, delivered in 48 to 72 hours.

Is there an API?

Yes, API access is available on the ShipScout enterprise tier. Tell us what you want to connect.

Can we try it before we commit?

ShipScout has a 14-day free trial with no card. The first TradeVerify check is free, also with no card.

Onyx Labs

See the stack on your own question.

Bring a product, a market or a counterparty. We will run it through the record with you.

Talk to us About Onyx Labs