Is your company involved in transport from the European Continent to the UK and Northern Ireland? If so, Brexit will certainly affect you. But, don’t panic, we will explain just what you need to do.
Some of the questions we are being asked right now are:
- Will there be a border control and if so where will this be, at departure or upon arrival?
- What Customs formalities will we have to complete?
- Will any of these formalities be automated?
- Which rules will apply to cabotage (inland transport carried out by a foreign company)
Although we do not have all the definitive answers, we have been able to draw up a list with five basic steps to help your organisation to become Brexit-ready.
#1. Find a good partner
If transport, logistics or import/export are not your core business it is more difficult to follow all the developments.
A good first step would be to find a partner in logistics to keep you updated on all important developments, to inform you in good time of any requirements or criteria your company must meet.
#2. Working group/ responsible person
If you choose to prepare your company for Brexit as a project, it would be wise to set up a working/ project group.
We would also advise you to involve all your different departments at the same time.
Brexit may involve more than just transport to/from the UK.
What about marketing/sales, HR, legal matters, financial matters etc?
It is important to assign this group clear tasks and responsibilities. For smaller organisations, it may be enough to have one person to steer the company and ensure it is Brexit-ready.
#3. Do’s – Don’t’s & Action points
The working group can be instructed to draw up a detailed list of the results earmarking the areas where you need to take action. These may of course be positive, but may result in extra challenges.
You can draw up the list together with a logistics partner, like Windhorst.
Matters we will look into:
- your import and/or export
- your suppliers
- your company structure
- including affiliated companies
- your transport and logistics.
#4. Make a plan
Once you know what the consequences will be for your company, you can then define the steps to deal with it. Perhaps administrative procedures will have to be adjusted, cost-prices re-calculated and who knows, maybe new markets can be identified.
#5. Make a schedule
Once you know what has to be done, you will be able to plan when you want to carry out these tasks. Keep it under control by discussing this schedule with your logistics partner. We are happy to fulfil this role for you should you wish. We will help you stay on top of all the proposed changes.
Important
We want to emphasise how important it is for you to find a partner to keep you updated on the progress and procedures during and after Brexit. The same partner can help and support you with your shipments in to and out of the UK.
If you are already a Windhorst customer, of course you already know that we will look after you and keep you informed.
If you are not a customer yet, then please subscribe to our newsletter and we will email you with updates.
