Since 1st January 2021, Law Print has been operating a brand new EU set-up to overcome the Brexit chaos.
Earlier this year, the EU and the UK narrowly avoided a no-deal Brexit agreement. However, in its place came a vague deal, which many businesses were unable to decipher.
This lead to a freight crisis; ships were delayed, lorries were backed up at the Channel, containers were trapped. Paperwork was mainly to blame for this, as businesses who were used to filling in just a few forms, were now forced to fill out lengthy documents which could take entire days to do.
We’ve put together this quick-fire blog, to help our clients both new and old, with a simple-to-refer-to guide on how exactly our new EU set-up can help their businesses.
New company subsidiary with Law Print Ireland
Being a UK-based flexible packaging supplier, we at Law Print were all too aware of the impact this would be having on businesses; it was also going to affect our own business. So, way before it all kicked off in January, we had started to troubleshoot the best ways in which we could protect our great lead times and outstanding customer services, by helping current and new clients with their packaging projects without suffering from the Brexit aftermath.
As a business trading in Europe, we’re able to benefit from the EU Single Market and also from certain trade arrangements with other European countries. This means most goods can move freely within this territory without any extra costs or quantitative restrictions. This is known as the “free movement” of goods, however this doesn’t mean “easy movement”!
We supply packaging to many customers in Europe, so it was important that we came up with a solution that all could benefit from. This is why we chose to set up a new trade entity in Ireland, which is a 100% wholly-owned subsidiary of Law Print & Packaging Management Ltd. This means that we can service all our EU customers and avoid unnecessary delays and piles of time-consuming paperwork by trying to bring in goods in the UK that would then need to be re-exported to Europe.
New shipping hub with warehousing facilities in Holland
We are also now fully set up with warehousing facilities in Holland. This allows our factories to ship directly to Rotterdam port. This means all of our EU customers’ orders are now consolidated on full Law Print containers, customs cleared and QC checked by our Dutch freight forwarding partner and dispatched out all over Europe on our behalf.
By working closely with our trusted freight forwarder, booking container spaces weeks in advance and planning our customers’ stocks carefully, we’re able to get the packaging out to customers when they need and where they need it, within an average 12-week lead-time, making us one of the best choices for packaging supply in these troubling times.
This is why our new Holland base has also become a great go-between for us, as it has allowed us to connect with EU customers normally without the need for delays from extra paperwork or congestion.
Ultimately, this also means that ourselves and our clients pay no additional import duties, no VAT and benefit from the same lead times as before. There are no red tape delays due to Brexit additional paperwork, so businesses can be assured that their packaging will be in their hands exactly when they are expecting it and quicker than most other suppliers.
Our EU customers are already benefiting from this new set-up. It cuts out a lot of the worry and unwanted surprises and speeds up the whole supply chain, all the way from order to delivery.
At Law Print, we are experts in global logistics and planning. We knew we had to do what we could despite some of the limitations and obstacles in place. Our global expertise span 16 years and so we were well equipped to know exactly which path to take.
Initial feedback from customers is that this new set-up not only cuts out an incredible amount of transit time and makes the experience quick and easy, which is vital in an industry as fired up and busy as ours.
If your brand is looking to invest in quality packaging, we will guide you through the entire print process. Providing recommendations along the way to improve efficiency, reduce costs and add untold value to the end product.
