HarborLab launches AI assistant for disbursement accounting

HarborLab, the AI-powered platform for port cost management, has launched DEX, an AI assistant that checks every port expense on a DA, so analysts can focus on what needs a decision.

DA analysts are skilled professionals who know the tariffs, the ports, and the agents they work with. Yet every line of every DA gets the same attention, whether it needs it or not. Pilotage that matches the tariff takes as long to confirm as a line that needs a closer look, while port call volumes grow faster than the teams that review them. DEX redirects that attention by doing the routine checks, so analysts start with the answer and spend their time on exceptions.

Integrated into HarborLab’s DA evaluation page, DEX reviews Proforma and Final Disbursement Accounts for commercial port calls. Each port expense is checked against the applicable port tariff, parameters are validated against historical Final DA data, and every line is classified as correct, incorrect, or open to negotiation. Open points are consolidated into a single clarification email to the agent, and on Proformas, expenses that meet the company’s approval rules can be approved automatically. On Final DAs, expenses are located in the supporting documents and checked against live tariffs.

Control stays with the customer. DEX works under rules agreed with each company, and each step can wait for the evaluator or run automatically, depending on the company's choice. DEX never approves a DA and never sends an email on its own. Every action is logged, so teams always know what DEX did and what their analysts approved.

HarborLab ran DEX on its own DA desk before making it available to customers.

"Every port call ends with a DA, and every line of that DA gets checked, whether it needs it or not. DEX changes where that attention goes. It does the routine work under the rules each company sets, and leaves its people the decisions only people should make. We put it to work on our own DA desk first, because that is the standard we hold ourselves to. Today we open it to the industry," said Antonis Malaxianakis, Founder and CEO of HarborLab.