About Flash Global
Flash Global, a European Leader in premium freight, are a division of the €250m turnover Redspher group. As their name suggests, Flash Global are specialists in “On Demand” (time-critical/express/unplanned) logistics and other “special” situations where response time, flexibility and the ability to handle unexpected or unorthodox requirements are needed.
Although non-asset based, the size of their business means that nearly 50% of drivers are fully contracted to Flash Global.
Flash Global cover various customers and markets, including Automotive, Agriculture, Technology and a diverse spread of industrial clients. 70% of these are van deliveries, and often irregular or short notice, but where deliveries are time critical.
Flash Global had more than 5,000 active customers and covered 295 million kilometres last year.
The challenge
Before Brexit, the fact that most loads were UK/Intra-European domestic shipments meant that clearances were rarely needed. Flash Global already used ChannelPorts amongst a few other brokers for those occasions.
The advent of Brexit created a significant increase in the need for clearances for Flash Global, and they were keen to minimise this impact.
With the significant increase in demand for clearances, Flash Global found that many traditional agents were being selective in those clients they worked with and the clearances they handled to manage the expected increase in demand. Flash Global wanted to be reassured that all approvals could be processed quickly and as a priority without risk of delays.
Why choose ChannelPorts?
Flash Global movements were primarily Ro/Ro, which fitted closely with ChannelPorts’ traditional activity and the development of CustomsPro.
Why CustomsPro?
Flash Global was looking for a simple, easy-to-use platform linked directly to HMRC. Customs Pro “looked more intuitive” and “more like a proper end-to-end solution than just a portal that ended up at a desk for input”, they commented. The fact that the data input was user-friendly was another critical factor for them.
Plan of action
Implementing CustomsPro had few challenges, and the team found CustomsPro easy to use. An initial delay in receiving the original user manual and ongoing changes to it whilst systems were fine-tuned during the early post-Brexit period was frustrating. However, the reasons for this were understood. The helpdesk was always able to answer their frequent questions swiftly and effectively, and the support during this initial period was greatly appreciated, “It was great to pick up the phone and get a quick answer”.
Results
Flash Global predominantly uses CustomsPro for export declarations and appreciates the ability to produce UK Export Declarations and T1 Documents simultaneously and without additional cost. The ease of use and simplicity of layouts makes it easy for their staff throughout Europe to use.
The benefits to Flash Global
For Flash Global, the main benefit of Customs Pro has been the “geographic scalability of the system”, the ability to implement the system across their European operation without concern about the quality of the information being entered, removing worries about compliance. Having a single system which eliminates the need for multiple emails with brokers and stores the information in one place is also appreciated.
“CustomsPro is the complete Customs process in one place“, summarised James Griffiths, UK Country Manager, “You squirt the information in, you get the documents out”.