Alex Knowles, managing director of Cambridgeshire based Knowles Logistics has described the introduction of two new bonded warehouse facilities as a “win win”. Mr Knowles said: “Never has the trading environment been more volatile with geopolitical issues, increased fuel, energy and staffing costs to name but a few.
“By offering those customers importing goods the flexibility of a bonded facility helps them to mitigate some of these issues.
“Not only does it help improve cash flow it also helps customers to streamline their operations, reduce costs and maintain greater control over their stock.”
He added: “It is a win win and one which we see becoming in even greater demand in the coming months.”
Specialist 3PL Knowles Logistics has further expanded its offering with investment in two bonded warehouse facilities at its sites in Wimblington and Cromwell Road, Wisbech in response to increasing demand.
The two new facilities form part of Knowles’ existing 2m sq ft warehousing portfolio. Spread across four locations all sites are BRCGS accredited and feature state of the art warehouse management systems.
The addition of bonded warehousing services to its existing comprehensive warehouse and storage offering provides an additional value-added solution for the benefit of its customers.
A solutions driven company, Knowles Logistics has identified that businesses today are facing an ever-increasing array of challenges, not least the complexities of import duties, customs regulations and inventory management.
Bonded warehousing, however, provides a solution to a number of these challenges offering importers and exporters a secure environment for the storage of goods under customs control, without the immediate need to pay import duties and taxes.
Indeed, it is the ability to defer customs duties and taxes on canned goods such as tuna and sweet corn, is a key benefit from which Knowles Logistics customers are currently taking advantage.
In essence when goods are stored in a bonded warehouse, businesses do not have to pay the import duties and taxes at the time of arrival.
Therefore, by taking advantage of Knowles bonded facility allows its customers to manage their supply chain and cash flow more efficiently, as they can delay payments until the goods are actually sold or removed from the warehouse.
Inventory management and flexibility is also enhanced. The fact that duties are not paid until goods leave the warehouse means that companies can hold inventory for an unlimited period of time enabling them to manage fluctuating demand and costs more effectively which in today’s climate is proving to be a major advantage.