Brexit teething problems

Brexit teething problems

Brexit Ferry

As expected supply chains are starting to strain and links break post Brexit. I always believed this would happen but I also always believed, and still believe, this would be a temporary issue. 6-8 weeks. By then companies, hauliers, customs officers etc. will all have adapted to the new requirements. A few things to remember:


1. You must have your paperwork correct. The forms are long and complex with up to 50 or more items to be filled in. BUT for most companies once you get it right once the vast majority of the information will not change on the form. Things like weight, cost etc may change but your address won’t and unless you are shipping a diverse range or products it is likely your, much feared, Taric code won’t change.

2. If you are using groupage (i.e. only taking up part of the shipment) you should keep in close contact with your hauliers on what they are doing to ensure other customers are correctly completing the required paperwork.

3. You may need to allow for extra lead times and extra inventory requirements in this period. This will help you ensure supply to your customer. It may go against Lean or JIT but I’ve yet to see a customer accept “we were operating best lean practice” as an excuse for missing a delivery. But be careful not to set and forget. In a few weeks you will be able to dial down the buffers again and this take the cost back out of the supply chain.4. There is still government funding available for training staff and even recruitment of staff to specifically deal with these issues. Contact your local enterprise office or Enterprise Ireland office for help with this.