Managing a high volume of export shipments each day can be challenging, especially for a small customs team. The customs team at Reynaers Aluminium, which consists of two employees, requires speed, accuracy, and automation not only to manage the customs workload but also to stay up to date with continuously evolving legislation.
Previously, Reynaers relied on customs agents to fulfil their customs requirements. However, to keep up with their fast-moving supply chain, they began exploring automation options. In January 2019, Reynaers implemented CAS, which allows them to manage declarations on a single centralised platform. This transition streamlined the filing process, facilitated exception-based declaration handling, and freed up resources for more significant customs-related projects. Reynaers chose CAS to drive this automation, focusing on exports from Belgium and transit to Switzerland.
“We knew from our experience working with C4T previously that their knowledge in the customs field is unparalleled, which gave us confidence in their solution”, said Ellen Spruyt, Business Analyst at Reynaers Aluminium.
Reynaers had previously automated its export flows, but Brexit created the need to extend the solution to UK imports in line with the new legislation. This was facilitated in CAS through single-message double filing. Since the UK is a key market for Reynaers, this enhancement was particularly important.
“Since we already had a solution in place for our exports, it was easy to integrate consecutive imports into the UK as well. We were pleased to see that C4T provided straightforward functionality for this through their single-message double filing flow. The UK import declaration is triggered automatically after the export declaration, eliminating the need for any action from our UK colleagues. This ensured our flows to the UK continued smoothly, even with the Brexit requirements. Moreover, we implemented it on time and avoided much of the Brexit-related stress that other companies faced”, said Christof Van Roey, Credit Manager at Reynaers Aluminium.
Recently, we have further centralised our customs operations by integrating air shipments into its automated flows in CAS. A crucial factor in this process, which is also important for customs declarations made via road and sea, is ensuring the accuracy and availability of customs documents.
As an AEO-certified company, Reynaers Aluminium has a legal obligation to have post-clearance checks of their documents made. In our previous dealings with brokers, we often found that the necessary customs documents for reporting were either missing or contained errors.
“Chasing missing documents from our brokers and correcting mistakes is extremely time-consuming for our team. It creates a significant workload in the months our monthly or quarterly reporting is due. Since this reporting can be checked by the customs authorities, accuracy is crucial—any possible mistake is supposed to be solved” explains Christof.
With CAS, Reynaers Aluminium can configure all customs requirements, including legally defined additional document codes, in decision tables to automate both the customs filing and reporting processes. Additionally, all our export documents are accessible within the system at any time, making it easy to provide them to customs for reporting purposes or in the event of an audit.
As part of our Approved Exporter authorization, Reynaers Aluminium is required to maintain an annual ledger of all shipments made under this authorization. With the help of CAS, we can simply filter a few criteria to generate this report, saving a considerable amount of time. Previously, the team had to gather data from various sources and consolidate it into a presentable report. With CAS, this reporting burden is lifted, and the required information is readily available with just a few clicks.
Take advantage of special duty regimes that allow you to store, temporarily use, process, or repair your goods and get either suspension, partial or complete relief from import duty. The use of automated Customs Special Procedures can be beneficial for companies dealing with processing, distribution, and other manufacturing activities that are subject to high duty rates.
Take advantage of special duty regimes that allow you to store, temporarily use, process, or repair your goods and get either suspension, partial or complete relief from import duty. The use of automated Customs Special Procedures can be beneficial for companies dealing with processing, distribution, and other manufacturing activities that are subject to high duty rates.
