Following the momentous decision to leave the EU, the UK’s supply chain and logistics industry faces an uncertain future. A long period of negotiation will mean that it will be several years before the UK’s relationship with its largest single trading partner, the EU, becomes clear.
In September, Ti’s Chief Executive, Professor John Manners-Bell, was asked to testify to the House of Lords’ EU External Affairs and Internal Market Sub-Committees’ inquiry into UK’s trade in goods and services post-Brexit.
He gave his views on which sectors he believed would be most affected by leaving the Single European Market; the merits of the future trade models which could be adopted and highlighted the potential opportunities. He referenced other successful trade agreements which the EU had developed in recent years and called on the UK Government to be assertive and confident in their negotiations.
Following on from this, Professor Manners-Bell has written a whitepaper: What will Brexit mean for the UK Supply Chain and Logistics Industry. The paper examines future trade scenarios and supply chains within a number of logistics markets and industries. It also offers analysis on trade patterns and the impact of trade barriers, as well as insight into customs and technology post-Brexit.
One of the many insights shared in the whitepaper focuses on future trade scenarios and their potential impact on supply chains, highlighting the effects of different types of trade regulations and their relative significance in supply chain planning. Professor Manners-Bell commented, “When addressing the issue of the UK’s future role in global supply chains it would be easy to become pre-occupied by trade relations. This would be ill-judged as in many respects supply chains have already left trade policy a long way behind. When supply chain managers make decisions, tariffs and non-tariff barriers are not at the forefront of their minds. Inventory levels, risk, product quality, transport availability and even ethical and environmental factors these days are significantly more important.”
Source: Transport Intelligence, October 19, 2016
Author: Transport Intelligence
Click here to download the whitepaper
