Nearly three years have passed since the UK voted to leave the European Union and Brexit is still pretty much an everyday topic on the island. Will it be a hard Brexit or a soft one, or a no-deal Brexit still remains the question. But, one thing is certain, once it’s done, Brexit is going to cause some big changes in the business world of both the UK and the EU.
It seems that the British exit from the European Union is going to affect literally every business, including courier services. Until now, sending a parcel from a country within the EU to the United Kingdom (or vice versa) was pretty simple. All you had to do is drop it off at a post office or call a courier to pick it up. In both cases, you had to pay only a small fee.
However, in the post-Brexit era, the chance is that you will have to pay more. In fact, it’s expected that the shipping costs are going to go up by 30% on average. Of course, the question is whether the increase in the shipping costs is going to affect the customers as well, or only the courier services dealing with parcel transport between UK and EU.
A factor that can greatly impact the shipping costs is whether the UK will remain a member of the European Economic Area. Norway, for instance, is a country from the EEA, even though it‘s not a part of the EU.
Unless the UK government manages to get such a deal, the country won’t share a single market with the other European countries, meaning that all kinds of expense will come into power, including those involvingcustoms processes and paperwork. Apart from increasing the cost of parcel shipping, Brexit could also have an impact on the delivery times.
Brexit’s Impact on Parcel Delivery Times& Costs
One of the main reasons why the United Kingdom became a part of the European Union nearly five decades ago was that it allowed free trades with other member counties. Being a part of a single market mean that the Brits could buy and sell things from and to other EU counties in the same manner they did within the UK.
As a result, the European Union became the biggest single importer of UK-made products. In fact, before Brexit, the members of the EU were the ones buying over 40% of the total UK exports. According to leading experts in the world of global economy, that percentage is bound to go down as soon as Brexit is put into action.
The main reason why that’s expected is that export/import regulations are going to get more complicated, requiring more paperwork, which, in turn, is going to cost the customers their time. Every package sent from any EU country to the recipient within the United Kingdom borders will need to go through the customs’ inspection.
Apart from increasing the parcel delivery times, Brexit can also affect the cost of items bought abroad. If the UK falls out of the shared market, the country will probably have to add VAT on packages coming from the continent. You can expect that, in post-Brexit Britain, you will have to pay about 20% more on goods imported from the European Union.
And that’s why many UK business people are expected to give up on international trade and focus on doing their business domestically. As a result, the British courier industry is expected to grow, at least in the first few months after the Brexit. However, as soon as the people from the UK are used to the new delivery times and the new tariffs, the UK-EU trade is expected to bounce back to its feet.
How to Prepare Yourself for the Future?
If your business relies on goods shipped from/to the UK, Brexit has the potential to cause you some problems. The good news is that everything is still pretty much in play; no one can yet say for sure what kind of changes Brexit will cause in the courier industry.
Still, the experts do agree that there isn’t a need to panic. Even though Brexit does have the potential to make international shipping more complicated, it surely won’t destroy this industry. After all, it’s in no ones’ interest for the trade between the UK and the EU to die out. And couriers play a crucial role in this trade.
In the worst case scenario, the trade with the EU will become similar to the trade between the UK and other countries, e.g. China, India, etc. Of course, due to the geographical location of the UK, shipping delivery times for EU parcels just cannot be as long as those coming or going to other parts of the globe.
When it comes to the costs of international shipments, the experts agree that it’s going to have more to do with the couriers than the government. In order to keep the customers interested in making trades between the UK and the EU, the courier companies will have to deal with some of costs on their own, rather than adding themto the customers’ bills.
Finding a reliable international courier service is crucial for ensuring a bright future in the post-Brexit era. Apart from providing you with good deals money-wise, the couriers also need to ensure decent delivery times for the goods you order or ship off. They will also have to make sure that the items reach their destination undamaged and unaffected by potential delays.
Every decent international delivery company will have to make sure their vehicle fleet is good enough to handle waiting at the customs. They will also have to provide alternative transportation methods in case delay would be too long. For instance, if the delivery by truck would take much longer than expected, it’s up to the courier company to find a way to deliver the cargo on time, either by planes, ships, or some other means of transport.
It seems that the British exit from the European Union is going to affect literally every business, including courier services. Until now, sending a parcel from a country within the EU to the United Kingdom (or vice versa) was pretty simple. All you had to do is drop it off at a post office or call a courier to pick it up. In both cases, you had to pay only a small fee.
However, in the post-Brexit era, the chance is that you will have to pay more. In fact, it’s expected that the shipping costs are going to go up by 30% on average. Of course, the question is whether the increase in the shipping costs is going to affect the customers as well, or only the courier services dealing with parcel transport between UK and EU.
A factor that can greatly impact the shipping costs is whether the UK will remain a member of the European Economic Area. Norway, for instance, is a country from the EEA, even though it‘s not a part of the EU.
Unless the UK government manages to get such a deal, the country won’t share a single market with the other European countries, meaning that all kinds of expense will come into power, including those involvingcustoms processes and paperwork. Apart from increasing the cost of parcel shipping, Brexit could also have an impact on the delivery times.
Brexit’s Impact on Parcel Delivery Times& Costs
One of the main reasons why the United Kingdom became a part of the European Union nearly five decades ago was that it allowed free trades with other member counties. Being a part of a single market mean that the Brits could buy and sell things from and to other EU counties in the same manner they did within the UK.
As a result, the European Union became the biggest single importer of UK-made products. In fact, before Brexit, the members of the EU were the ones buying over 40% of the total UK exports. According to leading experts in the world of global economy, that percentage is bound to go down as soon as Brexit is put into action.
The main reason why that’s expected is that export/import regulations are going to get more complicated, requiring more paperwork, which, in turn, is going to cost the customers their time. Every package sent from any EU country to the recipient within the United Kingdom borders will need to go through the customs’ inspection.
Apart from increasing the parcel delivery times, Brexit can also affect the cost of items bought abroad. If the UK falls out of the shared market, the country will probably have to add VAT on packages coming from the continent. You can expect that, in post-Brexit Britain, you will have to pay about 20% more on goods imported from the European Union.
And that’s why many UK business people are expected to give up on international trade and focus on doing their business domestically. As a result, the British courier industry is expected to grow, at least in the first few months after the Brexit. However, as soon as the people from the UK are used to the new delivery times and the new tariffs, the UK-EU trade is expected to bounce back to its feet.
How to Prepare Yourself for the Future?
If your business relies on goods shipped from/to the UK, Brexit has the potential to cause you some problems. The good news is that everything is still pretty much in play; no one can yet say for sure what kind of changes Brexit will cause in the courier industry.
Still, the experts do agree that there isn’t a need to panic. Even though Brexit does have the potential to make international shipping more complicated, it surely won’t destroy this industry. After all, it’s in no ones’ interest for the trade between the UK and the EU to die out. And couriers play a crucial role in this trade.
In the worst case scenario, the trade with the EU will become similar to the trade between the UK and other countries, e.g. China, India, etc. Of course, due to the geographical location of the UK, shipping delivery times for EU parcels just cannot be as long as those coming or going to other parts of the globe.
When it comes to the costs of international shipments, the experts agree that it’s going to have more to do with the couriers than the government. In order to keep the customers interested in making trades between the UK and the EU, the courier companies will have to deal with some of costs on their own, rather than adding themto the customers’ bills.
Finding a reliable international courier service is crucial for ensuring a bright future in the post-Brexit era. Apart from providing you with good deals money-wise, the couriers also need to ensure decent delivery times for the goods you order or ship off. They will also have to make sure that the items reach their destination undamaged and unaffected by potential delays.
Every decent international delivery company will have to make sure their vehicle fleet is good enough to handle waiting at the customs. They will also have to provide alternative transportation methods in case delay would be too long. For instance, if the delivery by truck would take much longer than expected, it’s up to the courier company to find a way to deliver the cargo on time, either by planes, ships, or some other means of transport.
Tags: Courier, Courier Services, Parcel Delivery, Reliable Couriers, Sameday Couriers