The Brexit Effect on Your Supply Chain

It seems to have taken forever but we finally left the EU as 2021 dawned, leading many companies to consider the Brexit effect on their supply chain. Even companies which trade exclusively within the UK are likely to find themselves affected, depending on where parts are coming from and how they’re managing their supply chains post-Brexit.

Longer delivery times

It usually takes a lorry around 20 minutes to clear customs in the UK when coming from a non-EU country. It’s still early days for the new Brexit arrangements, but initial signs indicate that drivers should now allow at least this amount of time when coming from EU countries too. And although that might not seem very long, when you consider the thousands of lorries entering the country each day, this can quickly cause major delays.

Few businesses will be completely unaffected by Brexit, which could even have an impact on the price of petrol within the UK. That’s going to be bad news for some of the bigger logistics companies, which have hundreds of vehicles out on the roads each day. But even for smaller businesses, any increase in fuel costs will need to be passed on to consumers, so anything you can do to mitigate price rises will help with customer relations.

New supply chain strategies

In an effort to prevent costs from spiralling, it’s worth spending time thinking about ways in which your business supply chain could be improved. Delays and disruptions interrupt work flows and lead to a loss of credibility, so look for improvements that add real value for your employees and your customers.

For time-critical deliveries, such as spare parts, it’s worth looking into all the options available to you. Rather than spending time and money on expensive warehousing, for example, it could prove to be much more cost-effective to consider Just In Time distribution. The parts you need will be with you as and when you need them, and you’ll have saved on storage, heating, lighting and staffing costs.

Smarter deliveries

With international shipping looking less appealing post-Brexit, businesses need to explore all their options. Solutions can usually be found closer to home, although it may take a little ingenuity to search them out. Time and business-critical parts are areas in which businesses cannot afford to compromise, so it’s important to consider all your options carefully.

Smart delivery solutions include In Night distribution, which avoids daytime traffic jams for lower-carbon deliveries. Scheduled and multi-drop deliveries make use of motorways and regular routes to speed up delivery times, while In Boot parts delivery allows field service engineers to get straight on with the day’s work.

As the relationship between UK and EU trade has recently changed, it’s more important than ever to ensure your supply chain is cost-effective.

If you’re looking for ways to improve your supply chain, then contact us to find out how we can help you deliver time-critical parts quicky and efficiently.