In this article, we explore the hidden financial aspects of the customs function and how outsourcing how outsourcing can help businesses enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and increase flexibility.
Understanding the fixed cost of customs
Every time you bring in an import, you incur clearance fees and tax. These costs are naturally variable as your shipment volumes fluctuate.
However, your customs -related expenses also include significant overheads such as:
- Salaries: for both your specialised and administrative staff
- Software
- Training and certification
- Port connections and associated fees
- Compliance audits and regulatory checks
- Licencing and ongoing operational costs
Although you can reduce or increase staff, SaaS seats, and port connections, these costs are mostly fixed. Over the course of a year, the fluctuation of your monthly cost per clearance can go from reasonable to extremely inefficient.
You can also be exposed to:
- Overcapacity when your team doesn’t have the volume
- Overworked staff if you keep a lean team
- High costs for clearances at ports that you don’t frequently use
- Expensive compliance risks when expanding into new trade routes
- Skills shortages when navigating regulatory changes or compliance audits
How you can keep your customs costs variable, and make your operation flexible
By working with a partner like the Customs Support Group and utilising Customs-as-a-Service (CaaS), you can outsource the majority of your customs overheads and get access to a full suite of expertise, solutions, and locations – boosting your customs performance while maintaining cost-efficiency.
In a world where regulations are becoming increasingly complex, the landscape is ever-changing, and geopolitical shifts are influencing trade like never before, Real Intelligence—access to the best talent in the industry—has never been more essential. The demand for qualified customs professionals is at an all-time high, with a severe shortage of talent on the market. To address this, continuous investment in training and staying updated with new regulations is necessary. By partnering with Customs Support Group, you gain access to over 1,700 industry-leading experts who bring Real Intelligence to your operations, solving the challenges of expertise, capacity, and costs. Let the pros handle your customs operations and navigate this complex world for you.
With CaaS, you benefit from:
- Full or Partial Outsourcing of Customs Activities
- On-site or Off-site Support
- White Label Solutions
- Peak Season Support
- Interim Management
- Centralised Service across Europe
- Management of Third-Party Customs Brokers
This is particularly beneficial for companies with multinational operations and diverse product flows, where regulatory or market shifts can have a significant impact in a short time.
Here are some of the financial benefits that a client found after outsourcing their customs to us:
- 50% reduction in full-time employee (FTE) costs
- 3% decrease in duty spend through optimised classification and re-export strategies
- 0 customs fines or penalties in seven years of collaboration
Additionally, they make and save money because of:
- 10% increase in cross-border delivery KPIs
- Enhanced data accuracydue to automatic updates
- Direct cost and stock impact comparisons for fulfilment options across multiple locations
They also gained long-term resilience, with full access to all European ports, advanced data collection, and the experience of over 1,700 customs experts at their disposal – all whilst only paying for the level of staffing that they need for their volumes in any given period.
Make your customs work for you
Variable costs, a flexible operation, and a premium performance can go hand in hand. The Customs Support Group is the leading provider of customs and trade solutions in Europe, helping businesses of all shapes and sizes get more out of their customs function.
Whether you are in the EU, UK, Switzerland, or Norwayget in touch with us todayand LET THE PRO’S HANDLE YOUR CUSTOMS OPERATIONS and optimise your business with a fully tailored customs outsourcing solution.
