Food Distributors

Meeting the needs of your customers is paramount and as challenges such as Brexit, the falling value of sterling and labour availability loom, there is also the need to focus on transport costs.

The cost of losing your roll cages can really damage not only your balance sheet but also your reputation with your customers.

Uncertainties ahead  

The move to online shopping and the prospect of a no-deal Brexit means that a partnership approach with your customers is essential. That’s why we offer the solution of a roll cage rental service backed up by our nationwide UK roll cage recovery service from ACQSYS.

What would a no-deal Brexit mean for food distributors?

With the prospect of a no-deal Brexit looming large and the potential for goods to be stuck in transit it’s important to plan ahead and ensure that you have enough roll cages to transport food to your customers as fast as possible.

The Economist wrote about the dangers to distribution of a no-deal Brexit in February 2019. They highlighted the issues with the lack of UK warehouse space to do any stockpiling, as recommended in the government advice papers regarding Brexit. You can read more here.  

What are UK food distributors doing to plan for a no-deal Brexit?

We’ve been researching what UK wholesalers are doing to plan for a no-deal Brexit situation and you can read more about their plans from Wholesale News here.    

The CBI report titled “What comes next?” which came out in July 2019 has put forward 200 recommendations on preparing for a possible no-deal Brexit situation. You can read it here.

The CBI report shows that the agri-food sector is one of the sectors where both the UK and EU are jointly least ready for a no-deal Brexit. It also states that many companies would be less prepared for the impact of a no deal on the movement of goods on November 1 than they were in the spring, due to the additional pressures of Black Friday and the Christmas rush.  

The CBI report claims that research by the Freight Transport Association [1]shows that only 37% of businesses in the logistics sector have taken any action to prepare for Brexit, with just 17% having made a plan and 9% starting to implement it.

With the potential date of a no-deal Brexit so close to the traditional Christmas rush in demand for food products, there are concerns mounting for distributors. Not to mention any severe winter weather and another “beast from the east”!

[1] Freight Transport Association,  FTA Logistics Report 2019