A project to bring export processes in house in the wake of Brexit is set to save the business more than £100,000 per year.
With Ideal Standard products manufactured in different parts of the European Union, including Bulgaria and Germany, stock transfers between local businesses is an essential process to make sure every country has the inventory to serve local needs.
After a period of uncertainty following the Brexit referendum, the UK left the EU trading zone relatively abruptly, meaning our business needed to use a third party shipping company to complete crucial paperwork like customs declarations, at considerable expense.
Now, phase one of a project involving our supply chain, warehouse and IT teams, working with an external software developer, has allowed the export process to be brought in house, with phase two due to do likewise with imports later this year.
Demand Planner Simon Fell said: “When Brexit first came about, there was a lot of uncertainty about when and if it was going to happen and then all of a sudden it happened and we needed to find a quick fix.
“The systems, knowledge and infrastructure were not there and it’s taken six months to put that in place.
“This has been a really good team effort across the business and we have gone live pretty successfully thanks to Debbie and her team, so that’s a significant saving.”
DC Administration Manager Debbie Chorlton said: “The warehouse team have done a brilliant job of learning how to complete the documentation to ensure our exports clear customs quickly and without any issues.
“This is critical to improving the efficiency of the operation and reducing costs”