Context and Introduction
Doing business with Europe has changed – the UK has left the European Union and from January 1st, 2021 new rules will apply.
As with most in the business community, the timing of the trade deal has meant that a number of minor changes are still being implemented into our company procedures, but we can assure clients, suppliers and stakeholders that our planning through the transition period has meant that there will be very little impact to our deployment capabilities.
ISOCOM’s Response
We continue to monitor the Brexit situation closely and remain prepared with measures to counteract the impact of these circumstances, ensuring a continued reliable supply of our products.
The key actions we have taken and are constantly reviewing are detailed below –
- We have identified our key fast moving product lines across the business and have adjusted production schedules accordingly to maximise availability.
- We have optimised the movement of already held buffer stocks between our UK and EU facilities.
- Those materials imported from the mainland Europe and non-EU countries come via a well-established process with robust supply chains and we are working closely with our key suppliers to safeguard these supply chains to ensure continuous availability.
- We are encouraging customers to review their stock levels to ensure orders are placed ahead of normal timing to protect against delays.
- We have spoken to our key customer base detailing our current approach to Brexit and to detail our current lead times, estimated customs delays, and ask them to consider their forecasted needs and stocking any specific items for them and their customers.
- We are continuing discussions to mitigate the risk of increase in customs administration and are working with providers in creating potential software solutions to assist.
- Our Brexit steering committee are continuing to review the political landscape, consult with customers and suppliers as well as industry peers as to the best way to mitigate the negative effects of Brexit.
- We are constantly updating our analysis of the financial impact of a no deal Brexit including increased duty and tariffs, increased cost of delivery and customs administration, foreign exchange fluctuations and are looking for ways to mitigate this to ensure minimal impact on our customers.
- We are also monitoring any travel issues for our employees during and after a no-deal Brexit.
We recognise that many of our customers may have concerns. We would like to assure you that we are taking all reasonable steps to mitigate risk, where this is within our control. We will continue to review our position as more information is provided by the UK Government.
We encourage any of our trading partners and related companies to contact us if they have any direct concerns. We hope the measures outlined above gives you some reassurance that we have plans in place to mitigate any negative impact, as far as possible, but if you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to speak with your usual point of contact.