Ten years since the Leave vote: turning customs complexity into opportunities
Ten years ago, the UK’s vote to leave the European Union presented the logistics industry with a challenge which changed the game for international shipping.
For Spring GDS, the question was not of a political standpoint but from a practical execution: how could we help customers continue shipping between the UK and Europe? The previously frictionless movements would now require new customs formalities, additional data and different operational processes.
The changes were not brought in with a ready-made solution. Regulations were still developing, deadlines moved and businesses were trying to understand how they would be affected. The final commercial impact could not yet be predicted, but it was clear that cross-border logistics would become more complex and increasingly reliant on accurate data.
Spring GDS responded by bringing together people from across the organisation, combining existing expertise with new customs capabilities. What began as an uncertain and highly complex situation became an opportunity to strengthen services and demonstrate what can be achieved through collaboration.
Ten years on, the resulting customs clearance solution is an important part of the cross-border services the company offers. However, it also became a moment of success the team frequently draws upon. The attitude Spring GDS has towards change, the strength of the partnerships which have been built, and the people within the company allowed an ambitious idea to evolve into a strong customer centric solution became a defining moment for the way teams across the industry collaborate.
Finding opportunity within complexity
The introduction of new customs requirements created friction at every stage of the cross-border journey, for shipments both to and from the UK.
- Customers needed to understand new obligations and provide additional information
- Operations had to adapt to new physical processes
- Technology needed to support new forms of data
- Transport and delivery had to connect effectively with the customs implementation process.
For Spring GDS, however, complexity is not seen as obstacle, it is where the greatest value can be added.
Would break this up into the introductory sentence 'The introduction of new customs requirements created friction at every stage of the cross-border journey', add something like 'for shipments to and from the U.K.' and then break up the points of friction into a series of bullet points.
Abbi Swindin, the Central Project Manager and Designer for the Customs Solutions 2016, states:
“Where there is complexity and friction, there is an opportunity for Spring GDS. We knew Brexit would be hugely disruptive. The question we needed to answer was how could we turn the disruption into something valuable for our customers?”
This meant looking at the challenge from the customer’s point of view. Customers did not necessarily want to manage multiple customs arrangements or understand every technical component behind them. They wanted a dependable partner that could provide guidance, connect the relevant services and create as consistent an experience as possible.
By taking responsibility for connecting customs, data, transport, operations and delivery, Spring GDS transformed a difficult regulatory requirement, into a fully compliant service. While supporting international growth, we could navigate our customers through the changes with confidence.
A shared solution built across Spring GDS
Although customs clearance was at the centre of the project, this was never only a customs initiative. It affected almost every team involved in the Spring GDS network and required expertise from across the organisation.
For Abbi, the breadth of that contribution is one of the most important reflections from the experience:
"What really made the difference was having so many different teams involved, each bringing their own functional expertise. Marketing made the changes understandable for our customers, product prepared sales, IT turned the design into something that worked, procurement worked with both new and existing suppliers, and our commercial teams made sure what we were building was viable. Everybody had a role to play.”
The solution may have had one objective, but it was created through many different perspectives. Its success came from teams working towards a shared customer outcome, rather than from one department developing something independently. Every part of the business helped turn the initial idea into something compliant, viable, and commercially sustainable.
Agility guided by purpose
The project also demonstrated an important distinction between moving quickly and acting with purpose. Throughout this period, proposed implementation dates and regulatory details continued to change. Teams could work towards a deadline only for it to move, often at short notice. Information from customs authorities was often highly technical and could still leave room for interpretation.
Spring GDS therefore needed to remain agile without responding unnecessarily to every announcement. This meant relying on the patience and judgement of their expertise which was supported by giving the project the necessary priority and capacity. The team had the freedom to scale resources in response to changing deadlines, while legal guidance and the organisation’s compliance focus helped establish clear boundaries for decision-making.
Agility, in this context, did not mean speed at any cost. It meant creating an environment in which the right people could make informed decisions, learn from testing and adapt without losing sight of compliance or the customer.
Kelly van der Weg, Solutions Director of Spring GDS Europe 2016, compared the process to cooking without already possessing every piece of knowledge or a completed recipe. Customers, internal professionals and external specialists each added knowledge that helped create a more sustainable solution. He stated:
“It has created a lot of trust, taking our customers by the hand or involving them in this design process. And some of them have really helped us with their needs to build the selection of the solution in the right way.”
Customs, data and delivery
Although the customer experiences one connected service, many different activities sit behind the customs clearance solution.
Customers prepare the required information for each item and consolidate it into an electronic manifest. Spring GDS receives this data as a pre-alert alongside the physical volume. The shipment can then be matched against the manifest and the relevant data validated, including IOSS information where applicable.
The items are consolidated and prepared for transport from London, UK to the clearance location in the Netherlands. Import controls take place, including relevant customs checks. Then once the required process has been completed, the items can be scanned and connected to the onward network for delivery throughout Europe.
Behind this journey is a coordinated combination of data quality, technology, customs knowledge, transport, operational processing and delivery.
This illustrates why customs clearance cannot sit separately from the rest of the logistics network. It must operate effectively alongside every other stage of the parcel journey. Spring GDS’s role was, and still is, to bring those elements together, making the overall process more accessible and consistent for customers.
Continuous adaption for customers
One of the clearest lessons from the experience is that responding to regulatory change is not a one-time activity. As Neil Hague, Commercial Director for Spring GDS UK put
“We started by listening to customers. They consistently told us they wanted three things: simplicity, transparency and reliability”.
The original response created an important foundation, but the solution continued to evolve as regulations and customer expectations changed. Spring GDS initially developed direct customs clearance solutions for key markets such as the Netherlands, France, Germany and Spain. Customers ultimately wanted a single-entry point through which they could reach destinations across Europe, although with regulatory conditions this brought further challenges.
Following later VAT and customs changes, Spring GDS carried out a further implementation, where shipments could be exported from the UK and imported into Europe through the main hub in the Netherlands. Shipments would then connect to the onward network to their final destination. This gave customers one European entry point rather than requiring separate arrangements for individual destinations.
This development reflects Spring GDS’s wider attitude towards change. The goal is not to create one fixed answer for the foreseeable. It is to build services, partnerships and expertise that can evolve alongside regulation and customer centricity.
The spirit of change behind the solution
Through all the turns encountered during the transformation, what really stood out was the spirit the team had to take a chance, be agile, but to know when the right time was to take that leap. The team was built around people who were willing to consider unfamiliar ideas, challenge existing processes and develop capabilities that the organisation had not previously required.
Although Spring GDS already had a strong network of postal, transport and last-mile delivery partners, one of the challenges was connecting those established services with new commercial customs capabilities.
From working with numerous experts across the industry Spring GDS developed a trusted network of specialists to arrive at a capable and successful solution for the ongoing changes.
As Abbi states, it was Spring GDS’s openness to change which was fundamental to making those ideas possible:
“For me, one of the fundamental reasons for our success was that people were open to change. Sometimes you pitch brand-new ideas or capabilities you’ve never had before, and initially they might sound a little crazy. But with the right expertise, an open mindset and that spirit of change, you can turn those ideas into a reality.”
This combination of experience and freedom helped Spring GDS not only move forward with the solution but build on the existing strengths of the business to create a product which is still integral now. The spirit of change was not simply about accepting that the process would be different during the transformation, it meant actively exploring how the company could adapt within the market and provide new value to customers.
When reflecting on the solution, what lessons did Spring GDS learn?
Ten years since the Leave vote, the customs clearance solution represents much more than a response to a regulatory event.
It is a story about how the people across Spring GDS applied their expertise to one shared challenge. It shows how local knowledge, central support, customer insight and external partnerships can come together to create something no single team could deliver alone.
As Neil stated:
“Today, we ship more parcels than we did before Brexit, which is a great example of how adapting to change can lead to growth. One of our key values is "Better Together", and this experience really brought that to life.”
It further demonstrates the importance of clear communication. A technically compliant solution would not have been enough if customers could not understand what was changing or how it could be delivered consistently.
The experience reinforced that successful transformations require every part of the organisation to come together, led by a team of experts who are willing to change and adapt to allow us to grow. The project showed that Spring GDS does not need to possess every answer from the beginning to move forward with confidence. Strong partnerships, an open mindset can provide direction even when the wider environment remains uncertain.
The lasting success is therefore not only the customs clearance service that emerged. It is also the knowledge developed across the teams and the confidence gained from overcoming a challenge of this scale.
What began as a complex and unfamiliar situation became an opportunity to broaden Spring GDS’ capabilities within a new environment, allowing the team to build “One of the most commercially attractive solutions for customers in the market” (Kelly van der Weg).
The logistics industry is one that will never stand still, it is a constant moving cycle, which we continue to see with the recent customs changes to both the US and the EU. The UK’s vote to leave was not a one-time change, it was a challenge that has now shaped the way in which the teams across the business work. When cross-border logistics increases in complexity, Spring GDS brings together people, partners and expertise to deliver simplicity with clarity.
