Though the Brexit trade deal has lifted much of the threat of additional tariffs being levied on trade between the UK and EU, it still involves major changes in the way trade takes place, especially in the form of non-tariff barriers – which are mainly customs and excise related.
Additional onerous paperwork and reporting requirements are already causing problems across the logistics industry, with trucks being turned away at borders as well as parcel delivery issues. For instance, there have been many cases of companies not realising that Northern Ireland would continue to apply EU rules and hence vehicles being turned away due to not having the correct paperwork. In recent days, up to 100 vehicles destined for Great Britain had to return to base to correct their customs paperwork. Similar issues have arisen at almost every port, especially the Channel ports.
In addition, there have been IT problems in France and also HMRC IT certification issues on the UK side that have already caused serious problems for the Scottish fishing industry – an industry that depends on the expeditious transport of fresh seafood. According to Donna Fordyce, Chief Executive of Seafood Scotland: “The last 48 hours has really delivered what was expected – new bureaucratic non-tariff barriers, and no one body with the tools to be able to fix the situation. … It’s a perfect storm for Scottish seafood exporters. Weakened by Covid-19, and the closure of the French border before Christmas, the end of the Brexit transition period has unleashed layer upon layer of administrative problems, resulting in queues, border refusals and utter confusion.”
It’s our contention that to be successful in this post-Brexit world, transport operators that will need to employ TMS solutions that can integrate with customer supply chains and those of external stakeholders such as HMRC, to deliver information seamlessly and in real-time whenever necessary. The solutions that are best equipped to deliver these requirements are SaaS*-based, as they already deliver a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution that caters for the individual requirements of specific transport operators and their wider supply chain, including suppliers and end-customers.
If your TMS is unable to deliver the leading edge real-time solution required to incorporate all the complexity of reporting and administration that Brexit brings, and at minimal cost, please contact Bashir Khan at bashir.khan@deltion.co.uk
*Software-as-a-Service