Food Retailers Target Customs Improvements to Tackle UK–Ireland Cross-Border Delays

Food retailers are increasingly turning to managed customs solutions supported by automation to address the growing complexity of transporting goods, particularly perishable produce, between the UK and Ireland. Supply chain delays caused by incorrect customs documentation are having a significant impact on high volume and time sensitive retail operations. Sarah-Louise Murray, Customs Manager, explains that these delays result in product loss, inventory shortages and reduced profitability.

"Customs delays have a huge knock on financial and reputational effect on a retailer's business", explains Sarah Louise Murray. "A day lost in transit is a day lost at the store, resulting in a reduced shelf life for many fresh products."

As retailers work to protect supply chain efficiency, many are seeking solutions that provide round the clock customs support and automated processes that reduce the risk of human error while allowing issues to be resolved quickly. “Retailers are looking for peace of mind that the supply chain is moving as efficiently as possible, so they are increasingly seeking 24/7 support using automated processes that eliminate human error and provide immediate issue resolution,” she explains.

Every consignment moving between the UK and Ireland must undergo multiple regulatory checks either at the border or prior to arrival. These include processes such as CERTEX and SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) checks, which require accurate and detailed documentation. Manual data input within these processes can be time consuming and significantly increases the risk of inaccuracies.

"Retailers are targeting compliance levels as close to 100 percent as possible, but this is proving to be a significant challenge," she says. "To date, we have been able to achieve a rate of 99 percent through a combination of smart data management, process automation and regulatory precision."

To help address these challenges, Derry Bros launched FulfilClear last year, a fully automated customs management solution designed for moving goods between the UK and Ireland. The system streamlines the entire customs process, minimises manual intervention and provides a single platform for communication between all stakeholders involved in the supply chain.

FulfilClear automates exports and import declarations, ENS, PBN and GMR generation, as well as CHED documentation where required. The platform uses a verified product database so that every declaration is created using trusted information, with full auditability maintained at every stage of the process.

While automation plays an important role in reducing errors and improving efficiency, it is emphasised that technology alone cannot eliminate all delays. "We are seeing retailers relying on an in house 9 to 5 customs function, when their supply chain operates on a 24/7 basis" Sarah-Louise explains.

"If loads are arriving at a port in the middle of the night, out of hours support is crucial to avoid serious disruption. You do not want to be waiting until 9am as you are losing valuable time and risk stores having empty shelves."

For retailers managing high volume supply chains between the UK and Ireland, combining automation with continuous customs expertise and support is becoming increasingly important to maintain smooth and efficient border trade.