The Effect Of Brexit On Trade

International Trade Secretary – Liam Fox – recently suggested that the chances of a deal with the European Union stood at 60/40 against, and as time goes by the reality of a hard Brexit looms large.

With this in mind, UK manufacturers have identified supply chain disruption as being the single biggest factor that will impact their business post Brexit. Recent studies have suggested that over 80% of British manufacturers are now preparing for the likelihood of a hard Brexit by targeting new relationships with non-EU suppliers and customers.

Supply chain networks may be about to change considerably as trade with EU-based countries is expected to decline following Brexit. Regions like Asia, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East are likely to benefit from increased activity with the UK.

There are going to be implications on the supply chain when doing further business with these global territories including: cultural and language differences, product standards and legislation, longer lead times, customs and duty formalities and more complexity within the logistics operation.

UK supply chain business will need to be more agile with capability to handle data from connected technologies and the cloud. Supply chain leaders could benefit from being better educated in the complexities, innovations and current strategies, making them more adaptable and enabling them to manage the potential changes ahead.

There is still no certainty that a hard Brexit will follow. However, the increasing likelihood has made UK business look at its supply chains and global trading relationships more closely, which means we may be heading for major changes either way now.

The Supply Chain Academy are the only worldwide resource centre that focuses solely on the subject of supply chain. We are currently providing in-company workshops to assist customers in their Brexit preparations, details of which can be found here:

Brexit Thought Leadership Workshop

For further information on how the Supply Chain Academy can assist in adding leverage to your post Brexit supply chain, please email info@supplychainacademy.org.uk, or call 01708 259450