I have worked in Freight and Customs area for the last 20 years. Lastly before joining Gerlach, I was also responsible for Customs and Brexit, building up the Customs product and ramping up teams in the light of Brexit.

On my first day at work it was really a special day. We celebrated Gerlach’s 140th birthday and I was received very warmly by the team. My Managers came over from other countries to give me a personal introduction. I was really very honored by that.

My first impression of Gerlach was what an impressive company with such a long history. Not many companies can look back on 140 years.

"The way the team has mastered the challenges with Covid and Brexit makes us all proud."

Let us speak about Brexit: a short review from you and what is still to come?

I think for many companies the new customs formalities were a big challenge. Not only to name the problem side… I also see a lot of the positive side.

Some companies in the UK are now better positioned for international trade, they have better and more compliant processes in the Supply Chain.

From 1 January 2022, Goods vehicle movement (GVMS) will be in place for all imports and exports at GB port locations who have chosen to use it. GVMS is a UK Government IT platform for moving goods. In short, all customs declarations must be completed before the truck arrives at the border. It is very important for us and our customers to stay informed about these changes.

For me, in my role as Managing Director, the most important thing is to build a structure in our organization in the UK. We have grown very quickly and now need to organize ourselves effectively in order to be able to continue our growth. At the same time, we are also looking at automation and digitization and will be tackling projects in this area.

We are still recruiting and now is a great opportunity for newcomers to join us, we are looking for innovative, committed team members who want to grow quickly and help shape a company.

What makes you proud of your team?

Our team is simply incredible: Dedicated to their jobs, enthusiastic, resilient.

We stick together very closely as a team and don’t let anyone fall. The way the team has mastered the challenges with Covid and Brexit makes us all proud. I am very grateful to be part of this great team.

Even in my wildest dreams, I would not have predicted the scenario that happened in 2020. I do not even know when 2020 flew by. It was a very intense and unpredictable year.

I spent the beginning traveling around the country, getting to know my employees in different locations, but also my colleagues from other countries. I had the opportunity to visit colleagues in Prague – a great Team of Ludek Prochazka.

Then COVID appeared, which changed my planned activities for a longer period of time. All in all, an intensive year but one of the best in my career. I found myself in a company where wonderful people work. My team of direct reports is very professional. The majority of them have worked in Gerlach for many years – which is the proof that it is really worth working for Gerlach.  My colleagues are a wonderful team of supportive experts.

Despite the pandemic and unpredictable costs, we met our budget plan. There were relatively few cases of illnesses in our company. We worked in a hybrid system – some from home some from the office. The biggest challenge was at the border offices where work is done 24/7. There, we were forced to close the office for an hour/half so that people working different shifts would not meet. This minimized the risk of potential COVID infection.

But apart from those challenges I must also admit that the pandemic was a real driver for digitalization for us:

1. It proved that working from anywhere is actually possible. It is essential to have trust and have clear communication on expected outcomes
2. It shows that it is important to have the daily interaction (also virtual) between employees, customers etc. We humans are social creatures and need the interaction.
3. It made us decide on digital projects quickly. For example, for our team it is crucial now to allow more internal knowledge transfer session online. Before, most information and knowledge if new employees joined company where exchanged on personal interaction. Now we also want provide online trainings.

What opportunities and challenges are you facing in the Polish market – customs related?

Poland has a strong economy and will hopefully continue to grow. The Polish economy is expected to grow by 3.3 percent in 2021 according to information of World Trade Bank.

The Polish market is very strong on exporting. We observe more exports going out of Poland than imports coming in. Also, you see that Poland has become an attractive country for companies due to lower labor costs compared to other developed European countries.

What I see is definitely more opportunities than challenges. This is not to say that business will grow without major problems. The biggest challenge that probably all customs agencies are facing at the moment – is the employment of customs agents. Brexit has resulted in customs agents being cleared out of the market. There is even the shortage of those with no experience.

This, in turn, requires the opportunities I see in the market to be carefully analyzed before making a decision.

As for the opportunities: as Gerlach, we have a great chance to become the leader in the European customs market. We are a strong network of customs agencies, the cooperation between Gerlach, the brand of the company – more than 140 years in the market speaks for itself. We do not have to fight for customers – customers come to us by themselves. We can focus to be better and better every day and this is our way to sell services

"... we do not provide just basic services like import, export, etc. but also services related to the whole customs process."

What do you want to drive in the future?

I have been focusing on the quality of service from the very beginning of my professional career. This must go hand in hand with development and evolve faster. One of the ways we ensure quality in Gerlach is the usage of electronic data to avoid manual data entry. In other words data digitization. We are currently investing in digital modern solution. It will have an impact of course on the quality but also on the efficiency. The benefits are on both sides – the customer and Gerlach. Electronic data is gold for companies, but detailed data – e.g. per part number level data is a diamond. Soon we will be able to send such data to customers – as a result of their import and export activities. Such possibilities are only available in Gerlach.

The second very important thing is the pro-client approach. Gerlach in Poland is an agency that is open to customer needs. Within one year we started cooperation with two huge world-famous companies precisely because we do not provide just basic services like import, export, etc. but also services related to the whole customs process. Supply chain analysis e.g. the amount of customs duties paid with feedback to the customer what market instruments are available to minimize the amount of duties paid. We provide this as a one-stop service – from analysis, through the requesting of the relevant permits, to the settlement of such measures and the presentation of the final benefits to the customer.

The third thing is customs simplification – because we have colleagues in other countries, we can offer centralized customs services in one of the EU countries. Not everybody can, not everybody wants to.

Today, the customs brokerage is much more demanding. It is not just about the knowledge on how to write a customs declaration, but also computer and communication skills and broad knowledge of related legislation are required.
Customers start to use our consulting services more and more already in the phase of contract negotiation, what helps them in preventing the occurrence of complications or penalties resulting from poor or only marginal customs knowledge. For our customers three criteria are most important: speed of clearance, credibility and level of compliance.
I also see a higher tendency to more tailor-made solutions, including the development of sophisticated tools such as our web portal where contract customers can online find their customs declarations or invoices used, have a possibility to export all data to Excel and generate own reporting or add their own data and notes directly into this tool.

"For our customers three criteria are most important: speed of clearance, credibility and level of compliance."

2. Are there any new regulatory events – customs related – happening in your environment that customers should know about?

After decades of releasing barriers and restrictions on foreign trade and hence in customs, for the last several years we have to deal with new and increasing restrictions now.
Given the events in the Crimea, restrictions imposed on Russia are gradually expanding and Russia comes with its retaliatory steps, which forced many Czech engineering and food companies to focus on other markets.
Unfortunately, in the US the imposition of anti-dumping duties of 25% respectively 10% followed for steel and aluminum imports also for goods coming from EU, what required a retaliatory introduction of 25% on imports of selected US products into the EU.
China has now introduced additional duties of 18.1-103.1% on stainless steel and ingots. In addition, the question of 25% duty on cars and car parts imported into the US from the EU is still unresolved. And this is how we could continue to enumerate sanctions against Iran or still open questions related to Brexit, where we already have the solutions for our customers.

3. What makes you very proud of your team right now?

Most Gerlach employees recognize that it is them who make Gerlach as Gerlach is. For me personally, the greatest achievement is that we treat each other with respect and pull together in difficult situations. And for this, a big thank you to all Gerlach Customs employees, because only a cohesive team can constantly outperform itself. Year-over-year results confirmed again Gerlach’s dominant position in the Czech market.

Due to the political uncertainties, we are unfortunately observing a trend towards the development of trade barriers. Companies must prepare themselves better at an early stage and act accordingly by identifying possible risks – especially with regard to transport and customs.
Brexit is a relevant topic for our industry of course – but it is less relevant for us in Switzerland. The UK is an important partner for Switzerland. Switzerland-UK relationships are based on bilateral agreements signed between Switzerland and the EU. Switzerland and the UK had already agreed and identified solutions before the Brexit.

An important trend for our industry is the trend towards digitisation and automation. I see many opportunities for the customs industry in particular: When time-consuming, repetitive tasks are automated, experts can focus even more intensively on the challenging tasks.
This is why I think it is important, and this is how we do it in our area, to promote and facilitate digital transformation within the company and among our employees.

"It makes me proud to see that at Gerlach, we work fast and in an unconventional way – this way we offer exactly the flexibility that customers demand from us."

2. Are there any new regulatory events – customs related – happening in your environment that customers should know about?

In this context, I would like to address two key points: the DaziT transformation programme and the change in the VAT law in Switzerland.
What’s DaziT? Swiss customs launched the DaziT transformation programme on January 1, 2018. The aim of the programme is to digitise all customs processes by 2026 to further simplify and speed up border crossings. We were involved in this programme by the Swiss customs authority as part of the pilot project. Of course, I am very pleased that our team can participate and shape such future-oriented programmes.

Another important event is the change to the VAT rules in Switzerland: Foreign mail order companies are subject to value-added tax in Switzerland if they generate at least CHF 100,000 turnover per year with shipments that are not subject to Swiss import tax. This means that registration is mandatory for import shipments. At Gerlach in Switzerland, we can provide comprehensive advice on these issues.

3. What makes you very proud of your team right now?

It makes me proud to see that as a team at Gerlach, we work fast and in an unconventional way – this way we offer exactly the flexibility that customers demand from us.

Our strength is our knowledge and our many years of experience – over 135 years – in the field of customs. Especially in the age of digitalisation, knowledge becomes even more important, as robots can only be as intelligent as the humans who feed them with knowledge.

Looking at the global economic situation, we observe increasing political uncertainties and the resulting increase in trade barriers. In our business segment and for many of our customers, the issue of Brexit and its potential impact on customs and trade is a priority. There has been a very strong increase in customer enquiries about Brexit. We have prepared well for Brexit in recent months. In this way we can advise our customers accordingly and offer possible solutions.

Furthermore, we are experiencing a major shortage of human resources in the customs area. Although we as Gerlach with our profound customs expertise are seen as an interesting employer. The shortage of skilled workers is as challenging for us as it is for the entire market.

Finding and retaining good employees is very important to us. We have therefore been training customs employees ourselves for many years and train them in the wide range of customs procedures. I personally promote “lifelong learning” in my area of responsibility. My employees, but also myself, constantly refresh our knowledge – through internal and external training, participating in expert forums and working groups.

Are there any new regulatory events – customs related – happening in your environment that customers should know about?  

On May 1, 2016, the Customs Code of the European Union (UCC) entered into full force and replaced the Community Customs Code in force since 1992. The aim of the UCC is to meet the increased security requirements as well as the simplification and digitisation of customs procedures.

Although the UCC means that some companies have to meet stricter requirements, they can also benefit from many of its advantages. For example, the requirements for an AEO authorisation have tightened in some respects – such as personal guarantee, financial solvency and security.

"Although the UCC means that some companies have to meet stricter requirements, they can also benefit from many of its advantages."

We, at Gerlach are well positioned with regard to the changes and requirements of the UCC and can provide our customers with competent and salient advice so that they can benefit from the advantages of this reform.

What makes you very proud of your team right now?

Particularly in the light of the intensive Brexit preparations, it has made me very proud to see how our team has been able to advise the customer quickly and comprehensively. Our talented IT colleagues, together with our customs experts, quickly worked out solutions that enable automatic and scalable processes. I am very proud of my Team!

Furthermore, I am very proud to see how we, as a team manage to help companies with their expansions and experience the fascination of “trade” live on a daily basis. I see us as “architects” – we help the customer to realise his ideas – by listening, planning, advising and implementing.

In Sweden as neighboring country of Norway, we observe as a major trend a strong e-commerce boom. With the highest share of online buyers in Scandinavia – 78% of Norwegians shop online. Norway, is a very import-friendly nation and an important partner to Sweden. Most imports come from Sweden.  

However, as Norway is not part of the European Union, customs clearance at the border is required. We at Gerlach can support our customers to handle the customs procedures smoothly and to benefit from the e-commerce boom, e.g. just to name a few through Bonded Warehouse solutions, supporting customers to get registered as a NUF (Norwegian Foreign Company) with own tax registration, authorizations for deferred payments etc.  

Another trend we observe is that most customers want a digital solution when it comes to submitting information. That is where we see the future and where we focus our strategic initiatives on.  

Are there any new regulatory events – customs related – happening in your environment that customers should know about?  

From the first of May this year the customs authorizations in Sweden do no longer allow representatives to use EIDR. Unless you are a specific group representative with direct access to the electronically book keepings of the declarant. It is the direct access from the HoA (Holder of Authorization) that is the crux of the matter. Since then all customs declarations have to be submitted and accepted by customs before release of goods (applies to all customs procedures).

"A new set up based on WCO data requirements will also be introduced for the first time..."

Later this year (or in the switch of 2019/2020) there will also be a change regarding TS (Temporary Storage). New procedure with requirements for TSD (Temporary Storage Declaration). A new set up based on WCO data requirements will also be introduced for the first time, setting up this new model of data element messages built in different levels.  

For the customers this could mean that shipments more often will be stuck or delayed. Comparing with the previous Swedish model, the future will offer a more harmonized model (with the EU), but not as smooth as we were used to do it before the implementation of UCC. 

What makes you very proud of your team right now?

Our special strength is our knowledge in customs. And this is essential for me as it enables us to support and advise our customers on all special and complex customs related topics. I always support and engage my team to further develop their knowledge through trainings, but also through participation in customs related forums and working groups.

And I am also very proud of the European network that we have at Gerlach – we can help customers on local level with detailed customs knowledge in their country, and at the same time help them with their expansion in other countries.

As the biggest neutral Customs Broker in Europe, Gerlach offers a wide range of services. Recently we worked with a large Chemical Company where we helped by auditing their Tariff Classifications. We were able to identify incorrect classifications and have them corrected, with a stroke of good fortune this also resulted in a large refund from HMRC.

A large Produce Company approached us to support them in them gaining AEO certification. By working closely at their site, we understood there processes and ensured they gained their AEO status at the first attempt.

"A point to note is for businesses that already have an EORI number from another member state..."

And what are some things that companies should have in place now?

Companies should already have applied for an UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number. A point to note is for businesses that already have an EORI number from another member state (one that does not start GB) can still continue using it for now.

Decide if you want to make declarations through a Customs Agent, and then contact Gerlach as soon as possible. You do have the choice to do this yourself, but you will need to have trained employees, ensure you are linked to the HMRC’s customs systems and for exporting, ensure you are registered for the National Export System.

Another option is to look at HMRC’s new Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP) for Customs. This will be set up for an initial period after the UK leaves the EU, should there be no deal. This allows some flexibility on your Customs paperwork as you can transport your goods into the UK without having to make a full Customs declaration at the border, and you will be able to postpone paying your import duties.

Do you have a message for companies to offer them support?

Gerlach offers a personal service and would welcome the opportunity to be able to look at your current processes and look at ways in which we could help you reduce risk, cost and time by optimising the way you currently operate. Please do contact us here.