Attendees at next month’s MemberCon 2025 event in Leeds on 13 March will get practical advice and insight on a range of the challenges facing traders.
One of particular note in recent years, however, following the implementation of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) and other new requirements for those trading with the EU, is a case study session examining how to navigate new regulatory challenges following Brexit.
The ‘Trade in Practice’ session, chaired by Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade senior trade and customs specialist Anna Doherty, will include practical insights into real-life business scenarios as well as a Q&A.
It will also feature speakers from the world of business and trade, including Sylwia Nowak, global trade technology manager at Collins Aerospace, PortWest customs manager Danielle Ford and Nikki Sayer, managing director at Casper Customs.
‘Insights and experiences’
Speaking to the Daily Update ahead of the event, Nowak says that she will “share insights and experiences” on handling Simplified Customs Declaration Procedure (SCDP, formerly CFSP) and Customs Supervised Exports (CSE) “in a fully automated, end-to-end customs operations process across the entire supply chain”.
Her advice will be based on her experience in industry and in her capacity as an academic.
She notes her experience of optimising and automating customs processes at an automotive firm, a process which has informed her research at the University of Warwick on ‘Innovating Trade in the Digital era’.
The takeaways from this research will be among the insights she will deliver at the session, she adds.
‘Practical, technical conversations’
Speaking on MemberCon 2025 more broadly, Doherty says events like this are crucial because “the world of customs does not stand still”.
“Navigating various systems and processes at the border can be very challenging,” she notes, adding that the event will be “full of practical, technical conversations” that will help traders to “do customs right!”
The Trade in Practice session she’ll be chairing will emphasise “the practical aspects of compliant trade”, she emphasises, “from documentation and customs declarations through to post-entry checks”.
