Date Added: 27 October 2020
“Get ready for January 2021 and find a freight forwarder to help you,” says a new film starring Davies Turner & Co director Alan Williams.
Davies Turner, one of the UK’s largest independent freight forwarding companies, was approached by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to help with the public information broadcast, which now appears on the latter’s social media channels.
The film is part of a publicity drive by HMRC, working alongside the Cabinet Office, designed to showcase the services offered by the freight forwarding sector and to provide clarity to those businesses that have only ever been involved in the EU and Single Market with no previous experience of international trade in the wider world.
It also serves to encourage importers and exporters to use the services of freight forwarders as part of their preparations for the imminent end of the transition period.
Davies Turner Chairman Philip Stephenson explains: “Customs clearance can be a complex process and this is one area of a shipper’s business where it almost certainly doesn’t pay to do it yourself. Mistakes can have major financial implications, or can delay shipments and most importantly lose the goodwill of valued customers.”
In the film that can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpQChkzFYDU
Davies Turner Director Alan Williams explains how freight forwarders can be a company’s ‘eyes and ears’ to ensure that goods get cleared through the borders either in the UK or abroad with the minimum of complications or delay.
With decades of experience under its belt, a company like Davies Turner can help classify goods for customs purposes, sort out vital paperwork like customs invoices and offer services such as consultancy or explain regimes such as CFSP. “If you want your goods to move quickly and your supply chain to continue functioning smoothly, you really must speak to a multimodal forwarder with a pan-European transport network,” says Williams during the film.
He adds that many businesses have already responded to the call and enquiries to Davies Turner’s call centres have gone up by 300%.
Davies Turner, which passed its 150th anniversary this year, has been handling international freight and logistics longer than most, but it has kept fully up to speed with the latest developments. Davies Turner Air Cargo was one of the first companies in the EU to gain Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) accreditation, back in 2008, whilst Davies Turner & Co followed suit two years later.
Davies Turner Ireland (DTI) also gained AEO status with Irish Revenue earlier this year.
AEO status is proof that Davies Turner fully complies with all financial and Customs requirements, as well as demonstrating first class security at all its premises and distribution centres throughout its transport operations. Benefits include fewer documentary and physical examinations of cargo, priority use of non-intrusive inspection techniques when examination is required, and priority processing by Customs or Border Force when security is heightened.
Since January 2020, Davies Turner has also been offering its clients consultancy services on the AEO programme, following a surge in the number of tenders and preferred supplier qualification applications asking for accreditation.