Metro Archives | Page 31 of 34

Brexit delay, dithering and duties: Metro has your back

Sep 23, 2021 | Brexit, Customs, EU, Metro, MVT, Supply Chain, Technology

To the consternation of many shippers, the Government is changing the start dates for new border checks and processes for imports and exports with the EU. The good news is that Metro’s experts can protect your supply chain from these changes and simplify customs compliance, with our intelligent, automated, digital solutions.

With three significant Brexit changes and developments already this month, it is clear why so many businesses trading with the EU are confused, uncertain and concerned about changing customs regimes, requirements and compliance.

Metro’s dedicated customs brokerage team, is one of the industry’s biggest, most experienced and best resourced. It is a unique repository for EU/UK Brexit expertise and a flagship for graduate professional development in a critical area.

Continuing investment in technology and the brokerage team has expanded the capacity of our groundbreaking Customs Document System - CuDoS - and the capability of the advisory, support and compliance resource we provide businesses that trade with the EU.

The proprietary CuDoS embraces proven, new and emerging technologies including optical character recognition, to convert documents into digital data. With automation technology, machine learning and artificial intelligence, to simplify and automate declarations, CuDoS is constantly adapting to ensure compliance with change UK/EU customs regimes.

CuDoS: 2021 Brexit stats:

74% of workflow automated
15,000 export declarations
6,000 Transit accompanying documents
12,000 import declarations
99% analog to digital accuracy
8 minutes = record declaration turnaround
85% of clearances turned around in under 2 hours

Importers pay more post-Brexit duties

UK importers have paid 42% more in customs duties since Brexit came into force on the 1st January, largely to the “rule of origin” tariff, which applies to goods imported from the EU which were originally made, or contain components made, outside of the EU.

UK importers are paying more duty and UK Customs is losing out on hundreds of millions of pounds, as importers fail to comply with the delayed declaration scheme set up to soften the impact of Brexit.

Delays cost business

Delayed customs declarations are not being converted into actual customs declarations and while some importers may be happy to import without declarations while they can avoid them, they do face the very real prospect of retrospective action and auditing by HMRC, to recover outstanding taxes and duties.

The decision by the UK government to further delay Brexit border controls has been criticised by trade associations who believe that if these controls were imposed on EU suppliers, it would cause friction that might encourage a negotiated relaxation in controls between the UK and the EU and is to the detriment of UK companies.

Under the revised timetable:

Pre-notification of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) goods, which were due to be introduced on 1st October 2021, will now be introduced on 1st January 2022.
Export Health Certificates, which were due to be introduced on 1st October 2021, will now be introduced on 1st July 2022.
Phytosanitary Certificates and physical checks on SPS goods at Border Control Posts, due to be introduced on 1st January 2022, will now be introduced on 1st July 2022.
Safety and Security declarations on imports will be required as of 1st July 2022 as opposed to 1st January 2022.
Exit safety and security declaration applies from the 1st October 2021. An EXS is required for a range of situations including, empty pallets, containers or a vehicle being moved under a transport contract and goods moving under transit.

Available, for the first time, to new customers, our CuDoS customs brokerage platform is optimised continuously, in line with the regimes in force on both sides of the Channel. Automating and submitting customs declarations, CudDoS simplifies compliant border processing, in either direction.

We simplify declaration submission and safeguard our customers EU supply chains from the potential fallout of easement and regime changes, which means that their EU/UK movements will not be interrupted when full UK/EU border controls are implemented on the 1st January 2022.

To discus your situation and to learn how we automate customs declarations for businesses of all sizes, please contact Elliot Carlile or Grant Liddell who can talk you through the options.

Why container transit times matter

Aug 25, 2021 | Metro, Sea, Supply Chain

The circulation of container equipment and vessel schedule reliability continues to be a struggle, with our own analysis confirming that transit times from key origins increased by an average of 14 days and while some improvements have been made, we expect these to be undermined by the Yantian and Ningbo terminal closures.

Aside from the pandemic itself, there is not a single root cause for the continued supply chain disruption we are facing. The situation is an intertwined blend of port congestion, vessel shortages and schedule disruption, container equipment shortages, chassis shortages, rail shortages, and driver and truck shortages. This is a Global situation and not unique to the UK and Europe further magnifying the impact at every supply chain ‘touch point’ of a container movement in transit.

However, there is not really a shortage in the number of containers and vessels available to handle the amount of cargo in need of shipping.

The real problem is that it now takes much longer to move the cargo (and the equipment carrying it) which removes large amounts of capacity and that is what creates the shortage in the number of containers and vessels available.

Without enough capacity to move cargo in need of transport, freight rates surge as shippers decide not to risk losing the sale of the cargo against paying elevated rates to try to ensure their product arrives into market for manufacture or sale, or both.

The long list of global operational challenges in 2021 is keeping the level of available vessel and equipment supply under severe pressure, including port congestion, bad weather delays, labour disputes, shortages of truckers, Suez, Yantian, Ningbo, insufficient rail capacity, empty box shortages in key locations, and quarantine and social distancing in terminals, depots, warehouses, and for vessel crews.

All these elements combined slow down the circulation of container equipment and slow down the progress of vessels travelling from port to port.

Only about 40% of container ships arrived on time in the first quarter of 2021, with average delays stretching to more than six days, which is far behind pre-pandemic reliability levels of 70%.

Our review of four key China origins - Ningbo, Qingdao, Shanghai and Yantian - confirms that between last October and February 2020 transit times from each origin had increased by an average of 14 days and while some improvements have been made, we expect these to be undermined by the recent terminal closures at various Chinese ports and throughout Asia.

When carriers report on transit times they do so based on pier to pier, or quay to quay, performance and do not take into account vessels held at anchor, the time taken to unload the vessel and make containers available for collection, or the inland leg to final delivery.

It is also worth noting that carriers do not take into consideration omitted ports and what happens to consignments that are offloaded en-route, or transhipped as a result to the final destination.

For shippers, any lost days are critical, because they have inventory (and cash) potentially tied up for extended periods, waiting for containers to arrive, unload and progress through to delivery.

Higher freight costs and delays are particularly hard for smaller businesses, with less stock on hand, to buffer supply disruption, which is why we have worked so hard to expedite the movement of landed containers to delivery. With the average time of 7 days between container arrival and final delivery, being maintained from August 2020 to last month. However even this element of a container movement is being disrupted with the inland issues with well-publicised driver shortages over recent months.

Metro negotiate rate and volume agreements with carriers across all three alliances, which means we can access the widest pool of equipment and offer shippers the biggest range of service offerings, port-pairings and rates.

Our fixed validity contracts provide supply chain security and peace of mind, but with space and equipment in such short supply, we recommend a minimum of four weeks visibility and booking window, to secure space on the vessel and get the right equipment positioned.

We will always keep you informed of the market situation and provide clear guidance on alternative options for critical cargo, when necessary.

Please contact Elliot Carlile or Grant Liddell to learn how we can support your supply chains, even in the most challenging market conditions.

Metro successfully test new eBL with FIATA

Aug 25, 2021 | Metro, MVT, Supply Chain, Technology, UNECE

Metro continues to actively support the development and adoption of emerging technology, across the shipping industry, by participating in the successful testing of new e-FIATA Bill of Lading (eFBL) standard, with FIATA , the trade association for 40,000 freight forwarding and logistics firms in 150 countries.

The COVID19 pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for adoption of the digital version of one of the most important trade documents – the bill of lading.

At ports and terminals around the world, goods cannot be released because the paper bill of lading is not there due to border restrictions, changes to the cargo’s routing, or people cannot physically stamp the document.

The ongoing disruption to trade, transport and the movement of documents, means that the digitisation of physical shipping documents is becoming much more significant

Several solution providers and carriers have offered proprietary versions of eBLs but the lack of standardisation has prevented large-scale adoption.

Metro’s tech experts work with the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), to harmonise trade documents and the exchange of information in the supply chain

In 2021, FIATA will release its eFBL standard, which is based on the UN / CEFACT Multimodal Transport Reference Data Model, to ensure interoperability with other standards and most systems.

“From a trust perspective we definitely see value in the document audit trail and the possibility for stakeholders to check the validity of documents.”

Simon George, Technical Solutions Director, Metro Shipping

Earlier this month FIATA’s eFBL was tested by Metro, other freight-forwarding companies and software providers, as part of a proof of concept, aiming to make the open source standard available to all.

As part of the concept testing, Metro’s operations system generated a document that went electronically to FIATA’s servers, made an entry containing ‘issue date’ and ‘issued by’ as well as the document itself, which then sent back a FIATA bill of Lading directly into our operations system.

FIATA really appreciate Metro’s assistance, in testing the electronic FIATA Bill of Lading issuance, sharing and verification processes. The detailed feedback will ensure our eFBL solution does answer to the needs of members around the world.

Lucelia Tinembart, Digital Projects Officer, FIATA

FIATA is going even further by testing a tracking solution for its documents, which will allow full traceability, through a unique QR code and number attached to each document. This will enable all parties interacting with an eFBL to verify the validity of the document, the integrity of its content, as well as the identity of its issuer, by scanning the QR code or uploading the PDF on FIATA’s website.

Full implementation is planned to start in Q3 / 2021.

Metro believe that Blockchain, machine-learning and emerging technologies are the future of international trade. That’s why we work with UN/CEFACT and FIATA: to harmonise the exchange of information in the supply chain; and develop digital capability with critical documents like eBL’s.

For specific information, or to discuss how our technology could support your supply chain, please contact Simon George our Technical Solutions Director.

Supercharging MetroTeam productivity with ‘Focus Fridays’

Aug 12, 2021 | Metro

Focus Friday is our team’s day to take a deep breath and concentrate - free from internal distractions to focus further on you – our invaluable customers!

We all get frustrated when we cannot clear the big jobs because little tasks, interruptions, calls and meetings suck up all our time, and pretty soon, we find ourselves surrounded by unfinished jobs with no obvious solution.

Metro’s ‘Focus Friday’ initiative is when we work together to create the buffer needed to focus on creating real value for our customers.

The purpose of ‘Focus Friday’ is to provide time to work without distractions, and those come mainly in the form of meetings.

With few exceptions, our team will no longer book internal meetings on Fridays, but customer calls or meetings are still to be led by customer availability, regardless of which day.

Companies from Citigroup to Facebook have embraced the ‘Focus Day’ concept, setting aside one day per week to focus on personal work priorities without being interrupted by meetings to increase productivity and reduce stress.

An uninterrupted ‘Focus Friday’ diminishes subject or task switching, which means no winding down one task to prepare for a meeting and no wrapping up loose ends post-meeting before trying to get the focus back on the original task.

Research shows that when you switch tasks, a part of your brain is still thinking about the previous task. It takes some time for those thoughts to quiet down so you can concentrate fully on the task at hand. In the meantime, your performance suffers. Researchers call this phenomenon “attention residue.” And studies show it takes 25 minutes and 26 seconds on average to get back to the level of efficiency you were at before an interruption. This means task shifting, even briefly, can cost as much as 40% of productive time.

We believe that ‘Focus Friday’ will give our team time to proactively complete tasks at hand while reducing virtual meeting fatigue, preventing burnout, maintaining engagement, and boosting productivity. Uninterrupted. The internal planning and functions will still be completed with discipline before Friday or at the weekend.

‘Focus Friday’ is not a blanket policy because not all our teams operate the same way, and some work requires more collaboration than other kinds. Sometimes Friday is the only day they can get an important meeting on the calendar, or that’s simply the day the customer wants it.

We have continued business expansion throughout the pandemic and welcome enquiries from ambitious and driven individuals at any stage in their careers. To express interest in a position with Metro, contact Paul Moss, who heads our HR function.

We continue to handle the current environment with innovation and by encouraging our team's talent and development – with customer-driven satisfaction and expectations as our number one priority.