Amid a (transport) world where security of goods and services is becoming ever more prevalent and shippers/buyers are demanding faster transit times for the delivery of goods, both retail and commercial. Shippers, importers, forwarders and ports alike are all focussing on how best to streamline the international supply chain and many, like Alliance, have chosen the route of becoming AEO accredited.
The U.S. were pioneers in such an accreditation and introduced the Customs Trade Partnership against Terrorism (CTPAT) back in 2001, combine that with the development of the World Customs Organisations ‘SAFE Framework of Standards’ and the EU’s response was to introduce their own accreditation, AEO, that would align with both. Much of Europe reacted immediately, with thousands of companies going through the application with their relevant governments and customs authorities to become accredited. However, the UK seemed to have a very slow uptake with only a handful of companies becoming accredited within the first few years. As the global economy has evolved, with ‘Brexit’ leaving many British companies wondering what will happen next and ‘Trumps trade war’ causing much uncertainty, the UK has seen a huge surge of applications. The senior management at The Alliance Group of Companies foresaw these events and decided to begin the application just ahead of the aforementioned surge and they are very proud to announce that, as of August 6th 2018, Alliance has been awarded AEO status (both customs simplification and safety/security) by HM Revenue & Customs.
It has been a lengthy process for Alliance but one that will benefit not only the company itself but also its customers. Many new procedures have been introduced and they have adopted a culture that is much more stringent with regards to the security of its customer’s cargoes. Add to that the benefits of holding the customs simplification certificate and Alliance can ensure that it is always delivering the best service to its customers, not only in 2018 but for decades to come. As adoptions of accreditations such as AEO and CTPAT become ever more widespread and recognised internationally, many major clients will demand that their carriers hold such certificates, meaning that being granted AEO status has also provided Alliance with additional business opportunities in the future.
The Alliance Group of Companies Ltd., now in its 5th decade of operations, is also well known for its specialised Letter of Credit ASL-Flo© services and operates global import and export consolidation services, especially between the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, China and New Zealand, with offices and depots across the UK and over 250 reciprocating global agents.
