Customs We have the expertise, and we can steer everything in the right direction

The Thermotraffic offices in Rotterdam, Venlo, Antwerp, and the UK all have their own team of experienced Customs Forwarders and Administrative Support. Moniek Lammen, Team Leader Customs at the Venlo office, explains that all offices work closely together to meet the challenge of delivering outstanding temperature-controlled logistics for our customers.

The role of Customs within Thermotraffic

Our job is to make sure that all activities comply with the regulations and to create the required paperwork for the shipments of our customers. In the EU we have the same regulations for all member states, but some topics such as taxes are arranged at a national level. We are often the last link in the chain so our challenge is to ensure that customers can transport their products in the correct manner and as quickly as possible.

Thermotraffic is specialized in temperature-controlled logistics and handles products such as meat and fish, plants, vegetables and fruit. We work closely with Customs, as well as with other authorities such as the NVWA (Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) to make sure that shipments run smoothly by complying with the regulations around shipping these products.

Customers also come to us for additional services such as transport or cold storage. As a Customs forwarder at Thermotraffic you will therefore coordinate with our other departments and our sister company Eurofrigo.

Life as a customs forwarder

The job is challenging and fun because the rules are constantly changing and there are all kinds of interests involved from all sides. Clients often know there are Customs requirements for their shipments, but they usually don’t know the details and that’s where we play such an important role. We have the expertise and we can steer everything in the right direction.

The Brexit challenge

Brexit has certainly made our job more interesting. Although Brexit went ‘live’ in January 2021, there are still Brexit developments which impact our daily operations.

Shipments between the EU and UK often take no more than a couple of hours in terms of moving the product, which doesn’t leave much time to arrange the customs documents. It’s a great advantage for us that every customs forwarder within Thermotraffic can work in the Duty Management Systems of all three countries (the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK). It also means that our customers can access a single point of contact within Thermotraffic.

Change and growth

With the growing amount of international trade, the number of shipments requiring Customs handling increases. And there are always changes and developments in terms of regulations, upgrades to national Customs systems, and other areas.

Thermotraffic keeps evolving in response to these changes and there are real opportunities here. We see the potential in people and want to help them grow and develop. You can start from zero experience with administrative work and gradually take on more customs tasks. Then, over time, you can acquire valuable expertise in the veterinary and phytosanitary fields while also thinking along with us as we face more developments and offer more services to our customers.