Delivering the goods
Peter Quantrill, Director General, British International Freight Association, looks at the UK’s extensive logistics network
If you are reading this article, then you are already one of thousands of US businesses that are either thinking about investing in the UK or interested in expanding their businesses to reach UK markets. You might be at the planning stage or far along the path that sees you set up a UK office or operation to serve one of the most dynamic and fascinating populations and markets on the globe.
If you plan to take finished goods to the UK or parts for final assembly, time spent investigating one of the most intricate and comprehensive transport networks will give you a head start over the competition. The abiding consideration is that you must not let the relative size of the UK against the US give a false sense of the effort required to move goods from the ports and around the country.
Hardly the size of a decent State, the UK still manages to cram in around a quarter of the population of the US. While multi-million pound investments have undoubtedly been made by global, European and UK-based logistic providers over recent years to create networks of warehousing and transport solutions to move import goods quickly and economically into the supply chain and on to their ultimate destinations, they face increasing issues of congestion at both dockside and on the road or railroad track, as well as the airport.
Like the US, the UK has a great number of freight forwarders who can collect your cargo as soon as it touches UK soil, see it through UK Customs and then move it on to the final destination. If instead you use a global freight forwarder that you are familiar with at home, they are likely to have UK branches that will do the same for you.
The range of potential transport providers is bewildering. With around 3,000 freight forwarders vying for your business, how can you decide which might be the best forwarder to handle your cargo? Look for a member of the forwarders’ professional body, the British International Freight Association (BIFA). It has in excess of 1,250 members and accounts for 85% of all business handled by freight forwarders in the UK.
Another point to look for is whether the forwarder is AEO accredited. AEO stands for Authorised Economic Operator and is a Europe-wide scheme to guarantee that the company complies with the latest security measures to guarantee the safety of the global supply chain. Like the C-TPAT that you will be familiar with, AEO status means that the company has undergone rigorous examination of its systems and methods of operation. There is a relatively small number of AEO accredited companies at present but that is growing monthly.
One of the key services UK freight forwarders, sometimes called Customs brokers, provide is the electronic communication of data to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the UK’s national tax gathering organization. Like US forwarders, a great number of BIFA members have developed a wide range of value-added services for their clients of which you can take advantage. These can include local warehousing, order picking, sorting, labeling, packaging and final assembly of goods prior to distribution.
Hinterland connections for containerized freight are easily made on road or rail modes with ports constantly improving surface access. New ports are being planned and developed. Great Yarmouth on the English east coast is looking to attract transatlantic container traffic while a multi-million pound port is being constructed at the mouth of the Thames.
For cargo arriving by air at one of the main cargo gateways of London Heathrow, Manchester or Prestwick airports, connections with the national highway grid are convenient and well-planned.
On the road
Without doubt, the two most important means to distribute freight in the UK are road and rail services. Your shipping line will take your container to one of the 40 commercial ports through which freight can enter the country. These include major allpurpose ports such as Tilbury and Liverpool, ferry ports such as Dover or dedicated container ports such as Felixstowe. The majority of traffic, however, transits one of the top 16 ports. The selection of the right destination port in collaboration with your shipping line will cut down on unnecessary road transport and avoid many of the bottle-neck problems that affect UK road transport.
Once on the road, either the motorway or regional A-class roads, only the remotest parts for the British mainland cannot now be reached easily within hours. This decades-long investment in the highway system has seen many regional distribution centers (RDC) being deliberately located on planned and modern business parks designed with easy access directly to key road and highway routes. These are often located at highway junctions.
For almost 15 years, since the opening of the rail tunnel to Europe, the advent of cross-Channel rail shuttles has greatly eased access to mainland Europe. Depots throughout Britain, though perhaps logistically more convenient in the South East of England, can send trucks throughout Europe. This could be a consideration if you have later plans to expand further into the EU. Trucks can now be sent from Stoke to Stockholm as easily as Bath to Bristol.
Groupage trucking services for individual pallets or small consignments
are still very popular in the UK, especially to serve many of
the more remote destinations. While much of the UK is urbanized,
there remain many companies and individuals located on the margins
of the populated areas. This is particularly so in Scotland and
northern England where groupage services are actively promoted
to cut down on carbon use in transport.
The right lines for distribution
All railroads in the UK, whether passenger and freight, are private companies operating services on a State-owned national rail network. Managers at the freight railroads have long recognized that the future of UK rail freight is in intermodal services. The fact that most of the railroad system was built to Victorian clearance standards means that there are none of the double-deck container trains you are familiar with at home.
For exporters who plan large volume, constant container traffic to the UK, it would be a good move to talk long-term, contracted movements with potential railroads. Like in the US, rail transport of freight is seen as good for the environment. Your choice of using rail could give you a marketing or business advantage over those who stick with road transport. Like the road industry’s business parks, rail-connected freight villages, also known as logistics parks, have been developed since the 1990s. These have been planned as part of point-to-point networks where containers can be delivered for collection and onward distribution by road. Key freight villages include Cabot Park in Bristol, DIRFT in the Midlands, and Wakefield Europort in the north of England. Unlike the US, there are very few, if any, business locations or RDCs that are rail-served.
At present there are four main freight railroads in the UK that will handle containers. Railroad companies DB Schenker, Freightliner, and GB Railfreight provide nationwide services while Direct Rail Services offer similar services in Scotland. Unlike the US where shipping lines operate whole container trains, in the UK a number of leading freight forwarders organize their own container trains up and down the country.
Across the Irish Sea
While Northern Ireland may be physically separate from the UK mainland, do not think logistics providers have neglected the Province, as two main traffic routes serve the Province from the UK mainland. Direct ferry services, some freight only, serve Belfast from Liverpool and Stranraer while services from Wales to Dublin can be a second method of reaching Northern Ireland destinations overland through the border.
Come and se
The UK’s population is predominantly urban. Businesses, commercial and residential addresses co-exist in UK towns and cities which have grown up unplanned in many cases. What is picturesque and charming to the tourist is nothing less than a headache for the transport provider and you as the exporter. It might seem an obvious point to make but when you come across to visit your premises or assembly plant, take some time to observe the transport industry in action. Contact your potential forwarder, or BIFA itself, for hands-on, local knowledge. The transport element of your export drive is as important to its success as your product design or marketing plans. Goods stuck at Customs or stored in the wrong warehouse might cost more than just lost revenue dollars. A few hours or days spent seeing the issues first hand might be all you need to avoid an expensive and costly mistake.
For more information, visit: www.bifa.org
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