Customs is your game-changer!

Do you want to save millions? Read this.

When it comes to supply chains, senior leaders often look for the ‘silver bullet’: the one strategic element that will make the biggest difference. Drive the biggest efficiencies. Free up the most capital. The revolution that will make you a superhero within your business.

As an end-to-end logistics integrator, you might think Maersk would say no such silver bullet exists – and that you should instead closely examine every element of your supply chain. But it does exist, and it’s often completely overlooked by big corporates: customs.

When procurement professionals are tasked with finding cost savings in a supply chain, they might start with transportation costs. How to move products from A to B to C in a smarter way. Directors may re-evaluate operating models to increase speed to market.

But implementing large-scale changes in your supply chain can take upwards of two years, and the impact of these changes can take even longer to be felt. Though the payoff is worth playing the long-game, it’s understandable that you may want quicker wins.

Customs could be the answer to saving considerable amounts of money in a shorter timeframe. By streamlining and standardising the customs process, you gain the necessary data and visibility to cut costs. For example, often only around 40% of applicable Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are being made use of. But by correctly utilising these for both imports and exports,

Maersk helped one of our global clients fix their commodity codes and fully utilise applicable FTAs, saving them $15m.

Want more visibility over your operations? Many of our clients have complex supply chains with multiple moving parts across the globe, and it can be hard to see the entire picture. In one example, by examining the customs in Italy alone, we identified they were missing out on €4m in savings. Starting with just one trade lane can be transformative. When you have a handle on the data, you identify more opportunities for how and where trade can be monitored – and the more that is monitored, the more cost-saving decisions you can make.

Want to see greater return on investment and be a cost-cutting hero in your business? Maersk uniquely combines operational excellence, trade monetisation and regional alignment to give you that return via customs. For example, an FMCG client of Maersk’s was able to see 147% increase in returns every year: with 9% reduced software fees, 4% from no demurrage, 21% from digitised production modes, and 113% from duty optimisation.

Looking for the easiest way to de-risk your supply chain?

You can read the entire article here: Maersk Insights