The United Kingdom is setting up a new logistics hub in Belgium and has already bought ferry freight capacity to ensure the smooth supply of medical items after Brexit, according to the Supply Management magazine of The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Link (CIPS).
Suppliers will be able to buy ferry tickets from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) of the British government so that medical items can surely get to the UK in time after a no-deal Brexit. DHSC is planning to manage a shipment channel dedicated to medical items, which should also ensure that products from Europe can reach the UK “typically” in 3 days.
CIPS quotes a letter which was written by Steve Oldfield, the chief commercial officer at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). According to this document, there is a chance that the EU imposes full third country controls on goods passing from the UK to the EU because there has been no agreement signed on customs between the UK and the EU so far. These controls can cause delays.
However, to ensure there is no risk to importation from the EU of critical goods such as medicines, the government has secured some additional ferry capacity. This will be available as an alternative supply route for companies moving these products into the UK.” – Oldfield adds in his letter.
How is it going to work?
The British government has already bought tickets from ferry operators for the additional capacity, and these tickets will be sold on from 4 March. According to the news published by CIPS, these tickets are going to be sold “at market rate“.
This particular shipment channel is set up for medical companies that are operating on short lead times.
Photo: Ad Meskens/ Wikimedia Commons
