Whilst we acknowledge that there is still a lot of uncertainty around Brexit and the outcome is far from decided, here at Hcsuk we have plans in place to mitigate any risk in our supply chain.
Several of our customers have asked us to share our strategy to give them confidence and trust in us as a responsible and responsive supply partner. We wanted to share this with all of our customers so that you understand and have the confidence that this is something we have thought about, considered and taken appropriate action where possible, to ensure that there is minimal disruption to your businesses.
Below, we have itemised each identified potential risk of the conceivable negative effects of Brexit and described our strategy and what actions, where appropriate, we are taking:
Delays at customs while new border controls are implemented
The majority of our direct supply partners are UK based and we do very limited trading overseas. However we are negotiating with key UK suppliers who may themselves rely on imported goods to get them to hold additional stocks on our behalf.
We have already placed larger orders for any imported goods in order to increase stock levels above normal levels to create a buffer against any delays.
We are pledging to treat our existing customers as our absolute priority with regard to the supply of goods, so we do not intend to fulfil large orders from new customers. Therefore, as best we can, we will be ensuring that we can fulfil our existing customer requirements during the immediate period of uncertainty.
Also, as we carry a wide and varied stock range, we will be actively looking at and offering alternative suitable products should supply become an issue with any of our stock lines.
Labour shortages
We have no labour employed from mainland Europe so we do not foresee any issues for Hcsuk
Trade Tariffs and Currency Devaluation
As we trade with multiple supply partners to satisfy our extensive and varied product range, this is an area which is outside of our control as each product groups have differing and varied World Trade Organisation trade tariffs which would be imposed in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
Likewise, with currency devaluation, each supplier has their own strategy for mitigating the impact of exchange rate moves which may include forward buying currencies.
So we are completely in the hands of each of our supply partners with regard to this, however, what we can see is that we will be working hard to minimise cost increases and that any price increments which may be necessary will be introduced with some notice to our customers.
Changes in Legislation
As our products and services are currently fully compliant with UK, European and most other overseas regulations and quality standards, we do not foresee any short-term compliance issues.
However as any changes that may be introduced are as yet unknown, we will only be able to manage them once they have been announced.
In summary, whilst we cannot say with 100% certainty that a no deal Brexit will not impact us, we feel that with the plans we have in place we are as well prepared as we can be at this time.
We must add a caveat though, that as the Brexit process remains very uncertain, we can only reflect the current position and should there be any detrimental changes in the future, we may have to reconsider our approach.
We would like to thank you for your continued business and assure you that in these uncertain times we are putting as many contingency plans in place as possible to limit the impact Brexit may have on service levels to our customers.
If you have any concerns, please do give us a call on 01773 713 713