A ground-breaking new end-to-end parcel delivery and returns service which overcomes post-Brexit barriers to trade and unlocks Britain’s 69 million-strong consumer market for Irish SMEs has been announced by An Post.
As Irish small and medium-sized businesses continue to face complexity, cost and considerable delays when shipping to Britain, UK Direct now provides seamless innovation to firms wishing to sell, ship and scale up into Britain’s 69 million-strong consumer market. Firms simply register to integrate with the new UK Direct service, a full turn-key solution including advance customs payments, 3-day delivery with end-to-end tracking.
Between customs charges and the exacting compliance demands of Brexit, selling into Britain has become increasingly difficult for Irish small and medium-sized firms. Despite all the red tape, however, Enterprise Ireland forecasts that 97% of Irish companies want to expand into new markets over the next 12 months and in their recent pilot programme for potential new exporters, circa two-thirds of participants prioritised the UK as their target market.
The new service gives Irish SMEs a seamless route to the UK market, with a pre-cleared UK customs and three-day e-commerce parcel delivery via Dublin Port. Along with end-to-end tracking and an integrated customer-friendly returns service, the innovative technology bridges the trade gap and accelerates growth by overcoming the obstacles to sending parcels from Ireland to the UK post-Brexit.
An Post worked closely with Irish SMEs to understand the full extent of their difficulties in trying to expand their trade with the UK. In designing the new service, and partnering with Royal Mail, An Post is providing SMEs with a bridge directly into the vast UK market, a seamless shopping experience for UK consumers, and a simple, secure system for returns and refunds.
To learn more about UK Direct, businesses can email: ukdirect@anpost.ie
