Things aren’t looking good for UK ports in the New Year when the Brexit Transition Agreement comes to an end. The BBC reports that Felixstowe Port is already rammed with containers waiting to be hauled away and the port is so congested that some ships have diverted to European ports and offloaded there leaving their cargo to be transferred back to the UK – being faced with 10 day wait to berth and unload, after you arrive on your appointed day, just doesn’t work for container ships with a schedule to keep.
Partly this is due to enormous quantities of PPE arriving (11,000 containers of PPE currently in the port!) and partly down to many retailers who have ordered a ton of stock to avoid potential delays after the 1st of January. But if the ports are rammed beyond capacity now it’s not likely to be any better post Brexit in just 42 days time.
As an online retailer you can’t control the ports but there are steps you should be taking and these are actions you will need to do regardless of whether there is a long term trade deal with the EU or not and with only 42 days left, time is running out to prepare.
End of Brexit: Things you need to do #5
Over the next few weeks, in partnership with GFS, we are bringing you some bite sized actions you need to take, each of which will only take a short amount of time to complete. Tip #1 is to get an EORI number. Tip #2 is classify your products using HS Codes. Tip #3 is to make sure your carriers are ready for Brexit and Tip #4 is to check your shipping platform is set up to handle customs data. Today Tip #5 is to Make sure your ecommerce platform is set up for Brexit.
GFS strongly advise that you speak to your ecommerce provider directly to ensure that they are confident of their readiness to leave the EU. Use your leverage as a customer to find out what system updates and changes will be required and, if any, when this will need to be completed by.
GFS works with dozens of ecommerce providers and continue to support and advise our partners, as they always have done. If you’re unsure, GFS are always happy to help if you get in touch.