With delays mounting at the UK’s ports, as bureaucratic hurdles have emerged since Brexit, it has never been more important to partner with the right companies to manage the smooth flow of product from the continent, according to glass consumables business Bohle.

“The issue for companies importing products from Europe is that there’s a lot of associated carriage costs, paperwork, management time and, in some cases, customs duties,” said Bohle’s managing director, Dave Broxton. “For companies that don’t have a dedicated import department, that can be time-consuming, frustrating, and expensive.”

Until recently, companies could benefit from international trade without negative impacts on production timescales and lead times.

That model was put under increased stress in the last couple of years, thanks to a perfect storm of the coronavirus pandemic and Brexit.

International shipping was significantly impacted during the pandemic as the effect of restrictions were felt around the world, and the movement of shipping containers fell out of sync with demand, which meant they ended up in the wrong place, pushing up the cost in the process – 500% in some cases.

In response, many companies turned to Europe for glass hardware and glass cutting consumables, but barriers were erected at the border as the effects of Brexit kicked in – processes that could drive up costs and lead times.

“This situation can be overcome if you work with companies that already have robust procedures in place to manage the flow of product from continental Europe to the UK,” Dave said.

“For example, Bohle moves huge volumes of goods from our large warehouses in Germany on a weekly basis; we send vehicles over to collect those goods and bring them into the UK. We handle all the paperwork, we handle all the customs duties, and we hold strategic stocks in the UK, which we can then distribute to our customers without any of the associated paperwork.”

More importantly, Dave argues, Bohle fulfils the functions of manufacturer, importer and distributor, which removes headaches for companies relying on imports, as well as offering improved lead times to customers.

“When we get demand for products, we can adjust our manufacturing output and inventory to meet that demand,” Dave said. “We’re not in a situation where anyone would ever have to wait weeks and weeks for a product if it was manufactured in China or the far east.

“We are very resilient when it comes to the supply chain, and we can pass that reassurance to our customers, some of whom have bought from Europe and found difficulties with carriage, with customs, and things getting stuck at the port.”