Anonymous

Skills

In my role as relationship manager, I am nurturing relationships with customs broker,
freight forwarder and haulier accounts, as a close partnership. I ensure high service
quality by doing regular service audits and discussing. Any issues with these
partners and holding internal accountability for errors or knowledge gaps. I manage
this by designing training sessions for my teams, to communicate our processes and
procedures to cover those gaps and help ensure they will not be repeated.
I also do regular internal documentation audits to find errors to correct proactively,
and train on, as part of my HMRC audit readiness and due diligence compliance.
I also analyse service reports and find opportunities to stay on budget by negotiating
with carriers, to improve efficiency and costs as appropriate.
It is my role to be the internal contact person liaising between internal business
teams to ensure every colleague understands what is required for exports and
imports to be achieved in a customs compliant, deadline efficient and workflow
efficient manner. I act as the contact person responding to internal and external
customer queries and concerns regarding status of consignments, invoicing,
services and carriers.
I have advanced Excel and other Microsoft Office software skills, as well as
advanced problem solving, attention to detail and focus. I am accustomed to
managing good relationships with colleagues, partners and suppliers, to ensure fast
accurate communication with urgency prioritisation.
In my current role as a Remote working Customs and Trade Consultant with the
Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade for 5+ years; I train Department
for Business and Trade (DBT) and Scottish Enterprise Trade Advisors, as well as
Export Control Professionals and numerous businesses, in the best practice
processes for managing partnerships with freight forwarders, carriers and customs
brokers, creating customs documentation, managing customs and trade compliance,
regulatory compliance and audit readiness.
I train organisations on duty reliefs, tariffs, and understanding of trade agreements
and country of origin preferences. I create content for HMRC, the EU TAXUD (the 27
EU member states’ tax authorities) on origin, classification and valuation, customs
procedures, international agreements, conventions and national customs law.
I also problem solve for Scottish Enterprise Trade Advisors and Department for
Business and Trade (DBT) Advisors with complex problems they struggle with.
Daily, I problem solve for businesses encountering complex US tariff rates and
restrictions, international sanctions on Russia as it affects imports of metal-based
goods, EU regulatory requirements for importing electronics and software and export
licences for Dual-use and Military controlled goods. I also deliver guidance on
documentation for sale and export/import, on a permanent/temporary/repair basis.

I am comfortable working remotely, am focused, self-motivated and professional.

Lastly, I am British and do I live in the UK.

About

As an experienced Logistic Manager and Customs and Trade Consultant of 12+
years; I hold a BA equivalent qualification in World Customs Compliance and
Regulations, ten World Trade Organisation course badges, and regularly attend
training to update my knowledge. I also hold a BA (Hons) Degree in literature and am doing a Masters currently.
In my previous Logistic Manager roles, I worked closely with engineers and R&D
products, liaising regularly with MD’s, CEO’s. I was the UK Customs Compliance and Logistic Manager within a broadcast engineering electronics and software R&D business. Later in the same role in the R&D and science sector moving scientific equipment and hazchem. Both roles involved close partnership and liaising with respectively, Japanese, EU and US colleagues in sister or parent businesses.
I am accustomed to moving finished goods, materials for import, and prototypes for
temporary testing, trials, trade shows and exhibitions, and for repairs and upgrades.

I am also accustomed to de-coding technical specifications and requirements
accessibly, for non-technical customers, colleagues and HMRC Customs teams.

I manage all documentation for cross border shipping, as well as Customs and VAT
compliance, to ensure best practice regulatory, fiscal and legal compliance. I also
have considerable experience with all modes of transport, including fast parcel
operators, ocean, airfreight, LTL and carriers.