This headline might sound a little dramatic, or even like a potential title for the next James Bond movie.
Director General at BIFA
It is not meant to be either, but rather to serve as a reminder of how adaptable the freight forwarding and logistics industry has always been and needs to continue to be.
2023 has seen a good deal of merger and acquisition activity in our sector, accompanied by the oft-repeated statement that small forwarders would not survive as the industry will be dominated by a handful of major players. Well that predication, often repeated since, was wide of the mark and still is today.
That’s because freight forwarders small and large are able to adapt. During the past year or so we have faced an economic crisis, rising costs for energy and staff, as well as fluctuating freight rates across all modes, which have meant BIFA members have had to continually adapt.
At our second Business Leaders Forum, Aidan Reilly, Director of Customs Policy and Strategy at HM Revenue & Customs, outlined the considerable changes at the border that are in the pipeline as part of the Government’s stated ambition to develop and implement a Single Trade Window.
Reilly outlined how freight forwarders would need to adapt to the potential disruptions likely to result in the Customs environment in regards to the BTOM, CDS Exports, Windsor Framework, and Single Trade Window, among others.
HMRC has shown how it can adapt to feedback too. Following a number of formal submissions requesting an extended transition period for the move to NCTS Phase 5 to prepare for the implementation of the new phase, the Common Transit Convention (CTC) authority announced an extended transition period for the move, moving the date to 1 July 2024, rather than the original implementation date of 16 November 2023.
In 2023, we have also seen the need to understand and address the environmental impact of freight forwarders’ activities within global supply chains growing by the day. That’s why we have continued to strengthen the cooperation we established with Pledge, a leading player in the field of carbon emissions measurement and offsetting, at the start of this year.
BIFA is adapting too. Whether that is improving our membership engagement, establishing a new Sustainable Logistics policy group to provide guidance on environmental issues, or ongoing development of our training department, it is part of the evolution BIFA will go through in order to best support our members and the industry.
BIFA
020 8844 3634
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